Steve Elswood’s team kept the promotion dream in their own hands, following a battling 2-2 draw away at promotion rivals Bristol Rovers Women.
Torquay United’s women earned another hard-fought point on the road at Bristol Rovers’ Women, but succumbed to a stoppage time equaliser, that prevented them overtaking Forest Green at the top of the table.
In testing conditions, Rovers having changed ends at the coin-toss, enjoyed the best of a wind-assisted first half, as United struggled to cope with the conditions, at times unable to get out of their own half.
Rovers posted notice early, three times getting in down the left side, Annys Turner hitting the side netting with a third minute shot. And it was no surprise just three minutes later when another long ball over United’s back line caused confusion between Sasha Mole and Emma Ayres, allowing Turner to round the United keeper to open the scoring.
Turner had gone close again, before United’s first shot in anger, Esme Kilburn-Thompson firing straight at Rovers’ keeper, Georgina Hunt. And Rovers themselves went close to a second when a free kick from the right glanced off Rhi Bailey in the box and went narrowly wide.
The first of numerous injuries, in a fair but hard-fought battle saw Daisy Self replaced by Anthea Kaptein and she immediately won the ball twice for United on the right flank, setting up Bailey to shoot over from a tight angle.
United grew into the half and the conditions, and another crisp move down the right, saw Kilburn-Thompson’s shot parried round the post by Hunt. United again went close from the resulting Ocean Latto corner, Tracey Cross heading just wide.
In truth, United would have been happy to go in just a single goal down at the break, and no sooner was the wind at their backs in the second half, and they restored parity. Again, working hard as a group, they won the ball back on the wing, and Connie Pengelly looped a shot over the back-peddling Hunt, from just outside the right edge of the area.
Kaptein went close to a second for United, a low diagonal drive from the right corner of the area, just evading the far post, and Pengelly repeated the act with a direct free kick from a very similar position. Moments later though and United’s persistence had them in front. Kaptein punctuated a surging run to one-two with Cross, and though Hunt blocked her first shot, the ricochet fell for Kaptein to slot home.
The final quarter of the game was heavily punctuated by several injuries as both sides tackled and headed, full-blooded, emphasising how important the points were to either side.
Just as United had grown into the conditions in the first half though, so Rovers’ women grew in confidence in the closing stages. Their equaliser came in the eighth of fourteen stoppage time minutes, a distinct hint of offside in the build-up, but United failing to clear the cross twice, allowing Abigail Todd a close-range finish.
The point is probably of more value to United than Rovers’. Torquay stay third on goal difference behind Rovers, still with a game in hand, and now two points adrift of Forest Green Rovers, but they have two games in hand on the league leaders, who visit Liverton in a mouth-watering clash, next Sunday.
TORQUAY: Emma Ayres GK, Sasha Mole, Jana Richards (Scarlett Williams), Emma Hunt, Ocean Latto, Rebecca Mc Mullin, Daisy Self (Anthea Kaptein), Tracey Cross, Rhi Bailey (Laura Lewis), Connie Pengelly, Esme Kilburn-Thompson
Manager Elswood reflected on a hard earned point after the game:
“Overall happy to take the point from what was a very physical encounter. with both sides not giving in throughout on their challenges, and their will be some some aching and bruised bodies on the way home back to Torquay for sure. though we knew what atmosphere and game we’d get and we prepped well for it.”
“Our first twenty minutes were well below the standard we’d expect, with a cross wind causing us uncertainties in what we had discussed pre-match. However after their initial goal and a formation change, I was really pleased with how we began to grow into the first half challenge and how we finished the half on top.”
“At half time we got into the group a little, ensuring we got on the front foot from the off in the second half, and we did with the performance being fantastic. We deservedly took the lead and with players dropping out with knocks and injuries on both sides, the stop start nature probably didn’t help us and our momentum, though Rovers one bit of quality in the second period opened us up for their late equaliser. So overall I’m delighted with the reaction second half, and the resilience yet again that we showed to come back into the game and the fight in what was a battle at times.”
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