Sunday saw the first team visit Southampton Women FC reserves. After their own first-team dismantled us a few weeks prior and a promising 2-2 with AFCB, we were expecting a challenging game. Yet, it seems that SWFC First Team prioritised their cup game and left their reserve team to play with ten players. So the game was more of a training exercise, with one team trying to break down a dogged defence and an impressive GK. Add to this that the pitch was a poorly maintained 3G that would suit a 9v9 game, that also had wires overhead that made the game a little disjointed and occasionally farcical as the ball often deflected off the cables.

Fair play to the opposition to keeping the game going right to the end. Only 2-0 at halftime with assists from Roe and Mosley onto Eden and Lewis, respectively, showed that we would have to work for every chance despite not having to do much defending.

The second half went much like the second, Soton working hard for each other and Sports probing away. It was an excellent opportunity to rotate and experiment while dealing with the absence of the team’s 3 top scorers Miles, Shaw & Brewer. It can only be optimistic that we found the net three more times. Mosley finished smartly from a neat Eden pass across the area. Yeo scored suspectly outrageously with a drive to the far post that flew into the side netting after a Knapton layoff. And finally, Eden, again getting driving a ball across the 6-yard box for the pouncing Parsons. Five goals, five goal scorers, four assistors. Pretty satisfying.

Slightly disappointing that we gave a few needless free-kicks aways that allowed Soton to get numbers into our box. This led to a few obliged actions from Clarke, but nothing she could do about a deflected ball from a deep freekick landing at a striker’s feet 6 yards out. 4-0 at the time, 4-1 took a little shine from a routine game but perhaps the reminder we needed as we face top of the table next week.

Player of the Match – Rosie Eden for her tireless running

Managers Player – Lindsey Roe for her constant effort in the middle of the park

Rory – Rebecca Knapton – for sprinting all the way to the byline to then fall over before kicking the ball.