As Robert Gordon University came to town in the first round of the trophy, nothing less than a convincing win was expected.
The Scottish side had lost all five of their league matches this season, conceding at least five goals on each occasion, whereas the hosts were unbeaten in their respective league.
The Gryphons took this opportunity to rest some first team players, with Saskia Walker being brought in from the second team to partner Fiona Worts in attack.
With a lack of match officials in attendance, the referee delegated the task of running the line to none other than myself. What had begun as an innocent sports report turned into an impromptu Try something new with Adam LeRoux escapade.
The considerable gulf in class was evident from the off, as Leeds piled on the pressure. The Gryphons forced an early flurry of corners, but could not find the opening goal, much to the frustration of the expectant hosts.
Fiona Worts was causing RGU all sorts of problems as she effectively used the channels, proving to be a constant menace for the visitors back line.
After a number of saves from the visiting keeper and spurned chances from Leeds, the home side eventually took the lead after 20 minutes.
Good vision from Maggie MacDonald from a throw in gave Saskia Walker more joy down the right flank as she outmuscled the defender. Her dangerous low cross was too hot to handle for the Scots and ended with the ball trickling over the line off a defender.
For a team that has had such poor results this season, Robert Gordon may have been forgiven for letting their heads drop, but to their credit they made a real game of it in the first half. Shots on goal were at a premium though, and this could have been what led to keeper Gaby Noe’s misskick straight to an RGU striker.
Although saving the first attempt and Mim Chadwick eventually saving one off the line, the visitors eventually managed to level the scores against the run of play.
Meanwhile, I was pleased with my performance on the line, as things were going swimmingly. However, that was all to change though as Leeds regained the lead; contrasting views from myself and the referee led to a controversial Leeds throw in, much to the annoyance of several Scots. While I was being berated by several irate RGU players, Leeds weren’t messing around and a quick throw to Fiona Worts saw her clean through on goal to slot past the keeper. Needless to say there was a barrage of abuse aimed at the makeshift linesman afterwards.
Leeds were soon dominating the park, with Doncaster Belles and England under-23 international Kasia Lipka proving herself to be a cut above the rest.
Her impressive technique and composure often gave the impression she had an age to pick the pass, even though she was constantly being hounded by several RGU players. It was Lipka herself who scored the third before a winding run through several defenders set up Worts for her second to make the score 4-1 at halftime.
The second half was all Leeds, as they exposed RGU’s high line time after time. If it wasn’t for a Manuel Neuer-like ‘sweeper keeper’ performance from the visiting goalie, more one-on-ones would have been converted. She had no chance though as Lill Stanton converted from the spot after Becky Hopkins was taken out while clean through on goal.
The game plan of working the wide areas continued to bear fruit and Worts must have thought Christmas had come early as she was gifted countless chances. Her third goal was another simple, but her fourth was a superb fierce strike which fizzed into the net. Another three for the striker left her on an incredible seven for the day, whilst Hopkins grabbed a goal of her own late on to seal the deal.
With bottom of the table Manchester 1s visiting next week, another strong performance is to be expected from the Gryphons as they challenge Sheffield 1s for the title this year. With such a strong all-round performance here, promotion is well within reach for Leeds this year.
Adam LeRoux
Image courtesy of Carlotta Grimaldi