United go down to narrow defeat as Stacey bags friendly debut brace
Torquay United Women opened their pre-season campaign with a narrow 3-2 defeat against Queens Park Rangers in London, following a highly competitive fixture played across three 30-minute periods.
Manager Ryan Perks utilised the non-traditional format to rotate his entire squad, building essential match fi tness and integrating several trialists into the side ahead of a demanding league campaign.
The hosts established an early dominance, forcing a disciplined United defensive display. QPR broke the deadlock in just the fifth minute, beating the United goalkeeper with a powerful strike from the edge of the penalty area.
United responded well to the early setback, gradually finding their rhythm and asserting themselves in possession. New signing Sarah Stacey looked dangerous up front, consistently threatening the QPR backline alongside her strike partner by targeting the offside trap and pressing defensive errors. Despite growing into the game, United ended the opening 30 minutes trailing 1-0.
Perks fielded a completely refreshed starting eleven for the second period, blending retained squad members with trialists. United started the brighter of the two teams, but QPR were handed a golden opportunity to double their lead when the referee awarded a penalty for a foul in the box.
United goalkeeper Mitchell produced a sensational triple-save, denying the initial spot-kick and brilliantly blocking two consecutive follow-up efforts to keep the deficit at one goal.
Spurred on by the penalty save, United thought they had equalised in the 45th minute, only for the goal to be chalked off for offside. The deserved equaliser fi nally arrived right on the 60-minute mark. Stacey capped a fi ne debut performance by converting a clinical fi nish from close range to make it 1-1 at the second interval.
The f nal 30 minutes delivered a fl urry of goals. QPR restored their advantage early in the period to make it 2-1, but United’s fighting spirit shone through. In the 75th minute, Stacey struck again, turning the ball home from close range to claim her second of the match and draw United level.
The parity was short-lived, however, as QPR immediately countered from the restart to reclaim a 3-2 lead.
United threw everything forward in the closing stages in search of an equaliser. The visitors struck the woodwork, hit the side-netting, and created multiple clear-cut opportunities, but the hosts held on for the win.
Despite the narrow defeat, Ryan Perks and his squad will take immense encouragement from a resilient performance that, with a bit more clinical fortune, could have yielded a very different result.
Report by Martyn Norman
