COVENTRY LADIES IN STALEMATE WITH MIDLANDS RIVALS
Coventry City Ladies FC 1-1 Aston Villa Ladies FC
Liberty Way, Nuneaton, 29th August 2010
Coventry City Ladies were held to an entertaining score draw in their opening FA Women's Premier League Cup match at Liberty Way on Sunday.
Jade Formaston was the star performer for the Sky Blues and could have put her side in front with a string of first half chances. Her first effort fizzed wide of the left hand post and just minutes later the midfielder hit a powerful shot towards goal from just outside the area which thundered against the Aston Villa cross bar.
Coventry City continued to push forward and take advantage of the wind with their opponents struggling to find a foot-hole in the match and it was no surprise to see the home side take the lead in the 15th minute when Jade Richards handled in the area and referee Carlton Henry awarded the penalty.
Katy Ward made no mistake from the spot, confidently slotting the ball left-footed into the bottom left-hand corner to give Paul Cudby's side a much deserved lead heading into the interval.
The momentum didn't look like changing in the opening period of the second half despite Coventry having to now cope with difficult windy conditions. Jade Formaston twice came close in the space of a couple of minutes, firstly hitting the bar once more with a powerful effort and her second shot was well saved by Naomi Bruton.
As the second half progressed, Aston Villa began to find a way back in to the match and drew level in the 63rd minute when captain Erin Vaughan launched a speculative long range effort from just inside the City half. The unfortunate Sue Woods misjudged the flight of the ball on the back of a strong wind and despite getting both hands to it failed to prevent it dropping just behind the line.
With just minutes to go, the away side had one final chance to snatch a late victory with a deflected header from a corner which hit the Coventry bar which was just reward for Coventry City Ladies who picked up a point at this group stage, a point which first team coach Paul Cudby feels was his side can build on.
He said, "I think we were the better footballing side. We tried to get the ball down and play and if we had taken another chance or two in the first half it would have been a different game in the second. I am not saying we were the better team, but I do feel we played the better football.
We performed well as a team and I think we are beginning to believe in ourselves. I am massively pleased with our performance. We were disciplined and now we have a strong base to build on ad if we perform like we did today next week then we have got every chance of getting three points."
Paul added, "Jade Formaston was up for it today, she spent time at Aston Villa but she came back to her roots. She can get wide and can hurt teams with crosses."
Team: Woods, Cardin, Ward, McKenna, Lynch, Butler, Formaston, N. Miles, James (Allen 85) , Robson, Hickmott (Archibald 70)
SUBS NOT USED H. Miles, Manca, Wilcox