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The Owlesses got their league campaign underway with a six-goal thriller away at York City Ladies Development on Sunday afternoon.
Wednesday were forced to respond on three separate occasions, and showed plenty of character to battle until the final whistle - with Nicole Shaw’s 90th-minute equaliser ensuring the points were shared.
The hosts made the perfect start, taking the lead from a corner after just four minutes… Wednesday’s response was almost immediate, though, with Annie Hall delivering a dangerous free kick into the area - and Courtney Kaye was on hand at the back post to turn the ball home and bring the Owls level.
Wednesday thought they had completed the turnaround on 26 minutes as York’s goalkeeper spilled the ball and the visitors found the net, but the referee pulled play back and the goal was unfortunately ruled out.
Instead, it was York who regained the advantage, doing so in the 38th minute. A strike from the edge of the area was just beyond the reach of Holly Coughlan, and meant the visitors headed into the interval 2-1 behind.
The Owls emerged strongly after the restart, though, and were level again within four minutes… Shaw stepped up to take a corner, and produced a superb delivery which bent directly into the net to make it 2-2… An Olimpico one matchday one.
There was a brief concern seven minutes later when Rebekah Pratley required treatment following a head injury, but she was cleared to continue after a brief stoppage.
York then came close to restoring their lead in the 68th minute when a threatening attack ended with an effort striking the post, before Wednesday went close themselves as Abbie Hastie produced an inventive effort with the outside of her foot, narrowly missing the near post.
With five minutes of normal time remaining, York struck again, squeezing an effort beyond Coughlan at the near post to leave Wednesday chasing the game for a third time… But the Owls weren’t finished - they don’t give up that easily.
And their endeavour was rewarded in the 90th minute. It was Shaw again, who struck for the second time to drag Wednesday level once more and secure a point from a six-goal contest. It was no less than they deserved.
It was a game of two halves, and a display full of character from the Owlesses, who battled until the end to ensure they left York with something to show for their efforts. Kieron Lee will have been pleased with their battling spirit.
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