Women’s Football
University of Leeds 1 – 7 Durham
ON what was a wet and windy occasion, Leeds once again suffered an undeserving defeat, this time to Durham 3rds. The Leeds side had their best attacking performance of the season, but this came at a price with Durham scoring many a goal on the counter.
With kick-off came a stop to the torrential rain that had been pouring down all morning. Durham started well, scoring in the first ten minutes after Leeds conceded a free-kick just outside the penalty box. Leeds responded well however, with one of their shots just skimming the post and going wide. As the pitch became muddier and muddier, with the middle of the field resembling a bog, the game became scrappier. With both sides having chances, Durham extended their advantage, lobbing the keeper inside the box. The rest of the first half remained at 2-0 to Durham.
However the start of the second half did not go well for Leeds, with Durham scoring three goals in quick succession, essentially winning the game and securing three points. With this, however, Durham relaxed and gave Leeds the chance to score a well-deserved goal. Having struggled to hit the back of the net all season, the goal sparked wild scenes, with the Leeds players jubilantly celebrating all over the pitch as the Durham players looked on a bit confused.
This goal gave Leeds a massive confidence boost, with the players showing a real desire to get a second one, and indeed they did come close, forcing a few corners and good saves from the Durham keeper. However, due to Leeds’ focus on attacking, Durham managed to score two more goals on the counter attack. The last five minutes saw a further push from Leeds but they didn’t manage to score again. The final whistle blew at 7-1 to Durham.
Despite this disappointing defeat, finally scoring a goal was enough of an achievement to leave the Leeds players happy. Defender Chloe Sainsbury said after the game: “We are obviously disappointed with the result and there are definitely things for us to improve. Having said that, we were very happy to at least get on the score sheet and the effort from all the players throughout the match was fantastic. We are now already focused on and looking forward to our next game and hoping to improve on past results.”
The other women’s football teams fared better than the 3rds. The 1st team beat Manchester Met 7-1 away, in what is turning out to be a promising season. The seconds also collected three points against Hull, winning 4-1.
Nancy Gillen
Featured image: The Gryphon