Penalties again for the Ladies!

Was anybody really surprised when Knowle Ladies faced up to another penalty shoot-out following a home cup tie? Every single one so far this season has ended in this manner!

There was some doubt before kick off whether the game would go ahead as thick fog descended on Hampton Road. The referee was happy all of the pitch was visible though, so the players headed out into the mist to start the game – and what a start it was for Knowle. In the second minute of the game, Poppy Wheatstone picked up the ball around the halfway line, skipped past one challenge and played a perfect through ball to her strike partner Demi Rolph. The young forward raced towards goal and finished perfectly past the keeper to give Knowle a 1-0 lead. It looked as though that lead may not last too long when Coventry Sphinx carved out what turned out to be their best two chances of the game. Firstly the team in blue put together a good move to free up an attacker in plenty of space in the area, but she blazed her shot over the bar. Soon after another good chance came in a one on one, but keeper Katy Smirthwaite pulled out a good save. Still only ten minutes in, a frantic start to the game to say the least, but it did then settle. Coventry Sphinx had the vast majority of possession, keeping the ball very well but Knowle had settled and set up their shape to frustrate the higher league opponents. A header from a corner was one of the few clear chances they created, but the attempt sailed over the crossbar. When Knowle did win possession, they tried to attack quickly and from one such move Alice Belcher and Jess Barlow combined to set Wheatstone up. She attempted to round the keeper, but the goalie got a touch which sent the ball too far in front of Knowle’s forward and the defender was able to get back to ease Wheatstone away from goal. Good work from Rach Keen down the right side then set up Jess Holland for a long range attempt, but the keeper gathered well.  

The second half also started well for Knowle; Barlow won a challenge in the middle of the park and played back to Emma Shaw. Her pass allowed Rolph to run at the defence once more and she outpaced both defenders but the keeper came out to make a good save. Sphinx were still enjoying a much larger share of possession than the Robins, but Knowle were working hard to restrict any efforts on goal. They benefitted from being able to bring on fresh legs in the form of substitute Morgan Betteridge and Camile Abbotts, with the latter showing some assured touches in midfield to keep possession and the former making several runs down the right side to offer an option in attack. One such attack led to a Knowle corner; Shaw’s in swinging ball in was inch perfect but Maz Byrne was unable to connect on the stretch. Coventry were struggling to break down Knowle’s backline so attempted to play balls over the top and through the gaps, but Smirthwaite was alive to this and came out to claim everything in her penalty area. Byrne did well to clear a dangerous cross and Barlow protected the backline by blocking two shots from the edge of area. The game began to peter out and it seemed Knowle would put it beyond the reach of their opponents in the last minute when Betteridge raced through with the ball to create an overload of three Knowle attackers against one Sphinx defender. The defender did well to steal possession though, and that gave Coventry time to launch one more attack. Incredibly, this time the hopeful ball into the box caused confusion in the Knowle defence, with Smirthwaite’s clearance smashing into Byrne and looping back towards goal, leaving the Sphinx skipper with the easy task of slotting home for a 92nd minute equaliser.

One all the final score and so the game went straight to penalties; a familiar situation for Knowle of course. It looked like this shoot out might not go the Robins way when the Coventry keeper pulled off an excellent save from Belcher’s first kick. However, whilst Sam Smith, Rolph, Byrne all buried their attempts, Sphinx’s third pen hit the post and the fourth one was hit wide, leaving Wheatstone with the opportunity to win it for the Knowle. She duly smashed her penalty into the net to give Knowle a 4-3 penalty win and send them into the quarter finals of the County Cup.

Knowle: Smirthwaite, Keen, Byrne, Smith, Shaw, Belcher, Barlow, Holland, Harris, Wheatstone, Rolph.

Subs: Horsburgh (for Wheatstone, 43), Betteridge (for Harris, 43), Abbotts (for Holland, 59), Jones (for Shaw, 68).