Alan Wyatt’s ladies rounded off their pre-season schedule with a 4-0 in over Saltash United Ladies on Sunday, as their debut National League season gets ever closer.
Torquay United’s Women continued their preparations for their forthcoming historic National League campaign, with a comfortable 4-0 pre-season victory over Saltash United Ladies. An early goal quickly settled United, and despite a strong display from the visitors, which provided a physical workout for United in warm conditions at Coach Road, Saltash rarely threatened.
It gave Alan Wyatt another chance to blend last seasons’ title winners with the summer’s new recruits who bring a mix of youth and experience, and overall, all of the combinations worked well.
The game was just four minutes old, when one of the new recruits, Milly Klinkenberg, won the ball on the left side of defence and threaded the ball to Lucy Palmer. She set up Bex McMullin, who unleashed a fierce 25-yard drive, parried onto the crossbar by the Saltash keeper, allowing Chloe Kind to nod home the rebound.
Klinkenberg put a header wide from an Ocean Latto corner, before Saltash tested Emma Ayres in the United goal, with a direct free kick, straight at the Torquay keeper.
McMullin had the goal in her sights forcing another save from the Saltash goalie, after great combination play down the right from Ella Stephens and Lucy Palmer, Tracy Cross hit the inside of the post with a shot across the Saltash goal, and Kind should have had her second, completely miskicking, as substitute, Mia Preston, played her in from the right wing.
The pressure was mounting on the visitors and United extended their lead four minutes before the break, Preston again providing from the right, Nat Warman arriving with a back post bullet header for two-nil.
Still there was time to hunt for a third, Esme Kilburn- Thompson heading wide and Warman firing across goal in the eight minutes of first half stoppage time, McMullin the architect of both moves.
Two-nil as we know is a dangerous lead, and it was very nearly reduced three minutes after the break as Saltash won a free kick on the 18-yard line. The brilliantly struck free kick from the visitors’ number 19 produced an equally brilliant flying save from Ayres, leaping away to her right to turn the ball round the post. United responded immediately, Latto and Kilburn-Thompson combined on the left, Cross sweeping home via deflection to effectively kill off the encounter.
The inevitable raft of changes and rotations broke up the pattern somewhat with few chances at either end, until the tireless Stephens was tripped in the Saltash area, and Danni Wyatt thumped hope the fourth from the penalty spot. United played well within themselves, fluent and almost purring in patches, especially just before half time. They now have two weeks before the start of their season, which begins with a trip to Portishead on Sunday 20th August.
United: Emma Ayres, Ella Stephans, Emma Hollingsworth, Milly Klinkenberg, Ocean Latto, Lucy Palmer, Rachel Griffiths, Rebecca McMullin, Nat Warman, Tracey Cross, Chloe Kind
Substitutes: Mia Preston, Emma Hunt, Jana Richards, Jess Smith, Esme Kilburn-Thompson, Danni Wyatt