Torquay United’s Women tasted defeat on Sunday afternoon, as they lost out to an impressive Swindon Town side 4-0.
It was always going to be a very tough challenge for the yellows, heading up to Wiltshire to a 3rd-placed Town side blessed with the stunning facilities visible, and the men’s County Ground dominating the skyline in the background, whilst the yellows took to the field with a small squad on the day.
However, displaying heart and fight until the end, United’s signs of improvement in their NL journey were evident throughout the game and especially during a dominant opening 25 minutes of the second half whilst chasing the game having been two goals down at half time.
United were behind on nine minutes when Ellie Strippel got in front of keeper Emma Ayres and tucked the cross into the net.
United dug deep and were very resilient and organised, making it very challenging for the hosts to break them down. United’s organised high line was catching the Town players off on several occasions, however keeper Emma Ayres was forced to produce a couple of fantastic one-v-one smothers when the Robins did break through.
Unfortunately the ladies couldn’t hold on till half-time when Annie Colston broke through to add the second, and give them a 2-0 half time lead.
The yellows competed well upon the restart, and the message was clear to start strong, control the game, and look to get a foothold in the opening quarter to find a way back into the game.
The yellows did just that, and gave everything that their stretched squad could give.
For the opening 20 minutes of the second half United were creative and first to the ball on several occasions,with Ella Stephens looking dangerous down the right and the hard working Lexi Watts providing plenty of chances for her side, with Stephens driving a shot low to the keeper’s right post.
Watts also had an opportunity, shooting over when driving a shot from the edge of the box.
United’s best chance came from a lovely move, when impressive debutant Amy Salter rose from the bench to set up skipper Tracey Cross, whose 30-yard shot was curling into the top corner but for a fine save from the Robin’s stopper.
Town stayed resolute against the United pressure and the game was put beyond doubt on 68 minutes when Colston added her second from a cross.
The last 15 minutes were played out evenly, until a tough fourth was conceded as Strippel got her second passing the ball into the corner.
Overall a deserved win for the high-flying Robins but United could look back with perhaps frustrations on the final score due to the manner of their their performance, and were unlucky not to have grabbed a goal or two themselves on the day.
Manager Steve Elswood gave his reaction following the game;
“Overall Swindon deserved their victory, and you’ve only really got to look around to see the amazing facilities to know how strong both financially and appealing this club is to bring in top quality players to their squad. It does go to show how far we’ve come, to come to venues and clubs like this in our journey, that we’ve been looking to achieve for nearly 14 years.
“I’ve got a lot of frustrated players today who quite rightly should be very proud of their performances throughout the 90 minutes and that frustration is showing how far we’ve come and are developing as a team.
“It’s very clear and documented through our injuries this season we are not a big squad. I think people know that, but it’s a squad of a lot of heart and on several occasions today they went toe-to-toe with Swindon.
“Chances on another day could’ve gone in for us, and I think we frustrated them more than perhaps they were expecting. However, the longer term project is the same. Our season is not defined by results against Exeter City, Bournemouth or Swindon Town. What’s important for us is our results against the five teams in and around us, as it’s clear that the league has splinted into almost 3 separate leagues within one.
“So we dust ourselves down and take the positives from today ,and the positives from our previous league game at Abingdon and make sure in 2024, we get the results we need against those teams around us to secure National League football and sustainability into next season. That in itself will be a victory.”
Pictures used with kind permission of Swindon Town FC