Sheffield Wednesday Ladies triumph in 10-goal thriller
Sheffield Wednesday Ladies came out on top in a ten-goal thriller as Kieron Lee got the Owlesses back to winning ways.
Following last week’s disappointing result against Handsworth, returning manager Lee looked to hit the ground running as Wednesday took on Rossington.
The first ten minutes set the pace for what would be a chaotic ninety minutes of football, with neither team able to establish any real control early on.
The first breakthrough came in the twelfth minute when a lovely low-driven ball through drew the Rossington keeper off her goal line. In a rash decision, the ‘keeper cleaned out Jodie Gregory, and Wednesday were awarded a penalty. It was coolly slotted home by Keeley Franklin to give the hosts an early lead.
They came close to doubling their lead almost immediately, too, when Rachel Norsworthy whipped in a superb cross towards captain, Eleanor Vessey… Unfortunately, the skipper couldn’t quite get her toe to the ball to steer it home.
Not long after, in the 21st minute, Rachel Norsworthy delivered another great cross from the right-hand side. This time around a goal looked certain as Gregory met the ball first in acres of space, but the effort rolled agonisingly wide of the post and it remained 1-0.
The Owlesses’ number 21 didn’t take long to redeem herself though, doubling Wednesday’s lead soon afterwards with a powerful header as she rose above the away centre-back to head home.
Wednesday weren’t resting on their laurels, and continued to press forward as they looked to close out the half. Amy Broomhead’s well-struck attempt rattled the woodwork in the 35th minute, but it would be Franklin who grabbed a deserved third goal of the half. After a defensive mishap presented the ball to Vessey, the captain laid it off to the number nine, who expertly lifted the ball into the roof of the net from close range. The hosts ended a dominant first-half display with three goals to show for it.
Momentum shifted after the restart, Lee’s troops took a little time to settle into the game again. Rossington were enjoying their best spell of the game, but against the run of play the home side made it four.
A long ball over the top from Imogen Yeardley was met in the air by Gregory, and her clever knock-on created a one-on-one opportunity for Broomhead. It was bread and butter for the striker, and she made no mistake as she calmly placed the ball past the goalkeeper.
Rossington, to their credit, continued to grow into the game and were eventually rewarded with their first goal, converting a penalty following a handball decision in the box. A dangerous delivery bounced up onto the arm of Molly Crossland, giving the referee little choice.
The visitors’ momentum proved to be short-lived, though. With just over an hour played their defence was once again exposed by a simple ball over the top. Courtney Kaye extended the lead to 5–1 after finding herself with acres of space behind the back line, and she finished calmly from just inside the box. They were cruising, but the away side weren’t about to throw in the towel.
Lee Briggs’ side pulled another goal back when a well-taken chance fell to their right winger on the edge of the box, who neatly slotted into the bottom left corner. 5-2.
Again the hosts responded, though, and in the 72nd minute, Millie Colford was fouled around eight yards outside the penalty area after a late tackle from the defender. Colford stepped up herself, and with a worldie of a free-kick that nestled perfectly into the top right corner she made it 6–2.
Rossington rallied late, grabbing two consolation goals, but it wouldn’t change the final outcome. The first came in the 76th minute when an attempted cross hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity before looping over the Hollie Coughlan and bouncing into the roof of the net. The second, and final goal of the game arrived with six minutes of normal time remaining as a moment of individual brilliance saw Rossington’s winger strike a first-time effort from twenty-five yards that rocketed into the top corner. Coughlan stood no chance at all.
Despite the away side’s late efforts, Wednesday were thoroughly deserving winners at the Jubilee Sports Ground, and were delighted to claim their victory as the referee blew the final whistle. A 6-4 goalfest, and three big points on the board.
By Ollie Ledger