Gloucestershire's first match of the Season entertained the Army last Seasons Champions and saw them come back from being 2-0 down to earn a 2-2 draw with Gloucestershire goals coming late in the match earning a valuable point.
South & West Counties Championship Competition - Women's Competition Season 2008-09
Gloucestershire Women v Army Women played at Oaklands Park, Almondsbury 14th November 2008.
This was a creditable performance by the Gloucestershire team under their new management team of Josh Giddins and Louise Hutton.
The Army put Gloucestershire under pressure right from the outset and on the 17th minute took the lead when a shot Sgt B Mason was saved by the Gloucestershire keeper Terry Brown (Bristol Academy) rebounded to the feet of Cpl Helen Lee who found the net from close range to put the Army 1-0 up. Play was end to end in the remainder of the first half with both sides defenses holding firm.
In the opening minutes of the second half the Army kept up the pressure and on several occasions had opportunities to increase their lead but the Gloucestershire defense held firm and kept third goal intact. After 60 minutes the Army increased their lead to two when a shot from Pte Kim Holden from the edge of the penalty area found the corner of the net to put the Army 2-0 up.
Gloucestershire came more into the game and put pressure on the Army defense particularly when Jess Gittings (Hartbury College) came on as substitute. After 70 minutes Gloucestershire pulled a goal back when a shot from the edge of the penalty area by Abbie Britton (Bristol Academy) found the back of the net with the Army keeper well beaten.
Gloucestershire continued to put pressure on the Army and after 83 minutes equalized when a shot from Kaylee Greening (Bristol Academy) which to the Army keeper LCpl V Guring got her hand to but was unable to prevent the ball crossing the goal line for Gloucestershire to equalize and make the score 2-2.
The last few minutes of the match saw both sides pressing for the winning goal and whilst both teams had opportunities for several corners neither side could press home the advantage.
The match, whilst competitive, was played in the best of spirits with the standard of play being of a high quality and a credit to both County Associations and the South & West Competition. Gloucestershire's fight back from being two goals down to earn a draw was very encouraging for future matches in the competition.
Peter T McPherson
14th November 2008
Photo by Sue Henson-Green.