Knowle Control Cup Tie

They say familiarity breeds contempt, but there was a healthy amount of respect on show at Hampton Road when Knowle Ladies played Sedgley & Gornal United for the third time in four weeks. After two exciting games, both sides were well aware of the qualities their opponents possess. United tweaked their tactics somewhat to deal with Knowle’s attackers, and the home side were aware they needed to dominate the midfield battle.  

Knowle started the game with a couple of chances; Ebony Harris not quite able to direct her header from Michelle McCormack’s corner, then Alice Belcher shooting over the bar after great work by Demi Rolph on the right to set her up. Much of the first period was played out in the Sedgley & Gornal half, with the Knowle defenders able to pick off the away side’s sporadic attacks relatively comfortably. The front three for Knowle were putting plenty of pressure on Sedgley & Gornal back line and winning the ball high up the pitch, and that created long range attempts for McCormack and Holland, but the keeper palmed them away. Knowle couldn’t quite find the right final ball or finishing touch in that first half. The pick of the attempts was from Rolph; she showed fabulous skill to control a cross and hit a volley that flew inches wide of the post. No score at half time then, but Knowle felt they were well in control of the game.

It didn’t take too long for Knowle to get their reward for that control when they broke the deadlock four minutes into the second period. The away side’s keeper made a good save to push away McCormack’s effort, but from the resulting corner, the midfielder crossed in a perfect ball for Belcher to rise high and bury her header into the net. The goal gave Knowle the breathing space they needed, and they created more clear cut chances in the second half. Camile Abbotts’ shot was flying into the corner of the net before a defender managed to block it, and McCormack worked the keeper yet again with a free kick. A lovely passing move between Belcher and Poppy Wheatstone gave Rolph the chance to skip round the defender, but her shot rose just over the bar with only the keeper to beat. As the game wore on, it became rather disjointed with both sides giving away several fouls that broke down play and slowed the tempo. It looked as though that single goal would be enough to win it for Knowle, but in the 90th minute, Knowle thwarted a Sedgley attack and played forward on the counter. Jess Barlow fed Rolph, she outfoxed the first defender with a smart turn on the halfway line and outpaced everyone to cut round the last recovering runner before smashing her finish into the net. There was still time for late drama though; a Sedgley free kick bounced off Katy Smirthwaite in goal and was stabbed home by the right winger, but she was adjudged to have been offside when the ball was played in. 

Plenty of reasons to celebrate after the final whistle – Alice Belcher and Demi Rolph both hitting their 20th goal of the season and becoming the first KLFC players to do so since 2010, the team’s 10th clean sheet of the season, Jess Holland's player of the match performance and a third victory in a row. Most importantly though, the 2-0 win sends Knowle through to the semi-finals of the league cup, where they will face Solihull Sporting…another side they have had tough battles with this season! 

Knowle:  Smirthwaite, Keen, Smith, Byrne, Holland, Belcher, Fleming, McCormack, Harris, Rolph, Barlow.

Subs: Shaw (for Keen, 30), Bamber (for Harris, 30), Abbotts (for Barlow, 45), Wheatstone (for Fleming, 45)