AFC St Austell Ladies 1 Torquay United 5
Torquay United returned to winning ways in the South West Regional Women’s Premier League, with a disjointed but thoroughly deserved victory, on a farm of a pitch in Cornwall! The win might have been bigger had United been more clinical early on, and in the final half hour, as St Austell defended resolutely, when reduced to ten players through injury.
The hosts, for the second week running, struggled to find enough healthy players for the team sheet, while United, even missing Alex Sheppard and Anthea Kaptein, travelled with a 19-strong squad. Kayleigh Brown and Lexie Watts started in midfield, with Adele Brown dropping into the back four. Youngsters Lily Hilton and Lana Northcott started on the bench.
United should have forged ahead in the opening salvos. Lucy Solloway lobbed Megan Llewellyn in the St Austell goal from the left edge of the area, inside the opening sixty seconds, but her effort missed the back post by a whisker. Ellie Bishop hit the side netting, trying to beat Llewellyn at her near post from slightly closer in, and Tracey Cross dollied a shot from the edge of the area into the keeper’s arms, and still we’d not played three minutes!
However, like last week, Torquay could not find a way to goal from open play despite bags of effort. They weren’t helped by the pitch, bobbly at best after a second-eleven game yesterday, and at worst, virtually impossible to pass on. United toiled trying to forge the opening, Kate McKane on the right and Bishop on the left often in acres of space, but not able to supply the killer pass to Lucy Solloway.
Eventually, set pieces came to the visitors’ rescue. Rebecca Mc Mullin swung in a near post corner from the left, but a defender got a cross Bishop to block the ball behind. Take two! McMullin’s second corner saw Bishop ahead of the defender to glance the ball across Lllewellyn into the corner.
Goal number two came just shy of the half hour, another corner, McKane from the right this time, and Cross ghosting between two defenders to head home. And that should have been Torquay in cruise control.
By now St Austell had lost skipper, Shania Fenlon, to what looked like a hamstring injury, who after trying to continue, saw the home side forced to use their single substitute. Alexia Wright took over between the sticks, with Llewellyn switching to the left wing. St Austell might wonder why they hadn’t started with her there?
Llewellyn made immediate impact breaking down the left but curiously tried to curl in a right footed cross which went behind. Torquay didn’t learn and when Lllewellyn squared again, with four minutes to go to half time, a host of yellow shirts missed the opportunity to deal, and Lucy Grose thumped home, what was actually St Austell’s first home goal of this campaign!
United were shellshocked and staggered to the interval, but Grose had to be helped from the field at the break, having injured a foot, moments before.
Whatever was said in the Torquay dressing room at half time worked. With Lucy Palmer and Emily Elliot on, the two-goal advantage was restored within three minutes of the restart. Cross received the ball and drove towards the St Austell area, before cutting the ball onto her right foot and smashing a low drive past Wright and into the bottom corner.
Grose tried valiantly to play through the pain but was practically dragged off the pitch by her management team when clearly unable to continue, but still willing to fight for the cause!
With St Austell a player down United were now in control. Lucy Hilton, on for Kayleigh Brown, almost added another with a speculative 40-yard effort that had Wright sprawling to her right to save. And it was another Lucy, this time Lucy Palmer who put the game beyond doubt, cutting into the area from the left and smashing a vicious finish past Wright from 12 yards.
With still a quarter hour left, United tried to help their goal difference further, but a resolute St Austell rearguard kept them at bay until stoppage time. Again, the move originated on the left, Elliot the architect, her low cross turned home by Lana Northcott, who was rewarded for another decent performance in the closing stages.
Torquay United: 24 Jas Read, 3 Rebecca McMullin, 6. Adele Brown, 14. Kaitlynn Harris, 17. Natascha Bevan, 7. Tracey Cross ©, 8. Kayleigh Brown, 16. Lexie Watts, 15. Kate McKane, 9. Lucy Solloway, 19. Ellie Bishop Substitutes: 2. Lucy Palmer, 5. Lily Hilton, 10. Lana Northcott, 12. Emily Elliot, 31. Danni Wyatt