ESSEX COUNTY WOMEN’S FOOTBALL LEAGUE

DIVISION ONE

 Sunday 25^th April 2004

 Saffron Walden Town 4 – 4 Chelmsford City

CHELMSFORD City travelled to Saffron Walden, for what turned into an eight goal thriller.

    City were slow starters in this game, and with only two minutes gone the Saffron Walden striker capitalised on a City defensive error, only to see her shot go inches wide of the upright.

    This was an early wake-up call for an unusually unsettled City team who reacted to this, and who played some neat football to create their first goal scoring opportunity, which fell to Paula Drane, who calmly slotted the ball past the keeper to put City ahead.

    This only spurred Walden on with City’s defence struggling to keep them at bay and on 20 minutes, Walden levelled the score through a well-taken corner, which saw a volley from the edge of the area nestle in the bottom right-hand corner of the net.

    Unfortunately City could not pick up the pace, and continued to defend nervously.  Walden with the bit between their teeth kept up the pressure, forcing yet another corner.

    This was to have the same out come as the last with Walden’s Hannah Rushforth needing two attempts to beat the keeper to give her side the lead.

    A rejuvenated City took to the field in the second half, and on 50 minutes were awarded a free kick just out side the area for a push in the back on City’s Emma Wells.

    Up stepped Paula Drane, who floated the ball over the wall and into the roof of the Walden net to level the scores.  Once again Walden were to regain the lead through some poor City defending, leaving Walden’s Andrea Wright one-on-one with the City keeper, and calmly chipped the ball into the net.

    Within five minutes Walden had stretched their lead even further, with the City keeper gifting Walden their fourth goal, with a very poor handling error, from a well taken corner.

    City continued to battle, and their hard effort was eventually rewarded, with a free kick very close to the corner flag, which Lucy Garrett drilled into the area for Sharon Brownlie to head home.  City took heart from this and piled the pressure on Walden’s defence and with only a few minutes remaining forced an error from Walden’s defender, who ended up putting the ball in her own net.

CHELMSFORD CITY: Smith, Marshall, Thompson, Binks, Bell, Wells (Madlin), Brownlie, Cole, Drane, Ridings and Garrett

Unused Sub: Harman.