Emily Nuttall

Women’s Football Leeds 1 – 2 Glasgow

LUUWAFC 1s suffered their first defeat of the season when they faced a strong Glasgow 1s side in the semi-final of the BUCS Trophy on Wednesday. Despite a five hour journey, LUUWAFC entered the game full of energy. However, they conceded early in the first half against the run of play. Undeterred, the 1s quickly found a reply with a great finish by top goalscorer Abbie McIver.

Midway through the first half Leeds suffered the loss of both striker McIver and defender Sophie Cole in quick succession, with both players requiring hospital treatment in Glasgow. After this set back, Leeds worked hard to reset but were undone in the last few minutes of the first half by a goal from the Glasgow number 9. The half-time whistle gave Leeds some time to gain composure, entering the game in the second half with centre midfielders Lauren Griffiths and Billie Murphy working hard to feed the ball through to the player of the game Natalie Brace.

Perseverance eventually paid off for LUUWAFC with an equaliser midway through the second half with a fantastic finish from Safia Zerdazi. With increased pressure on the Glasgow back four Leeds looked to have put the injuries behind them and continued this momentum up until the final minutes of the game.

Sadly for Leeds, Glasgow scored the winning goal with seconds to spare – despite strong calls for offside from the Leeds back four. The 1s will now look to Wednesday and their game against Liverpool John Moores, when they have the opportunity to win the league. LUUWAFC wish both McIver and Cole speedy recoveries. Elsewhere the 2s were a little closer to home in their league match against Hull 1s. Hoping to emulate their 3-0 win away to Hull last week the 2s went out strongly. The half-time whistle saw a 1-1 scoreline however Leeds were not able to diffuse the relentless Hull attack and saw another three goals enter the back of the Leeds net.