Shaw and Byrne Combine to Down Leamington

With Leamington’s usual ground unavailable at the weekend, Knowle Ladies travelled to Southam to take on their Division One opponents and came away with a comfortable 1-4 win.

Both sides took some time to get used to the conditions – a sandy pitch and gusting wind made it difficult to anticipate the bounce and flight of the ball so the opening minutes were scrappy at best. Knowle eventually settled however, and started to use wide areas to good effect. They won a free kick in a dangerous area when Jess Barlow was felled on the edge of the area, however the wall blocked Bex Clarke’s effort. Soon after, Barlow combined well with Jess Holland to play Alana White in, but Leamington keeper Angela Wiffin made a superb save to her left side to push White’s effort round the post. From the resulting corner, captain Maz Byrne rose highest to head home Emma Shaw’s dangerous delivery to give her side the lead.

Knowle doubled that lead almost immediately.  They worked the ball well through midfield, Kate Fleming found Demi Rolph on the wide left and she cut inside to cross to White. The forward kept her composure and produced a fine finish, lofting the bouncing ball over the advancing keeper Wiffin. Leamington were not out of the game however, using their right wing to good effect with Ava Barnes and Kiran Sangha finding space. Shaw dealt with the threat well however, ably backed up by Sam Smith. The home side did eventually get their reward and pulled a goal back, though Knowle played a big part in their own downfall. They attempted to play short from a goal kick but scuffed the second ball straight at the feet of Sangha on the edge of the box.  The number nine made the most of the opportunity with a quick first touch and an excellent finish low into the bottom right corner to poise the game at 2-1.

Knowle kept their heads and hit back; another free kick gave Shaw another opportunity to cause chaos. Her cross was met by Byrne again; the header went straight in the top corner and rattled off the stanchion before popping out, but Byrne saved any doubts by poking the rebound in as well. The Robins fourth goal was credited to Rolph, who had now switched over to the right hand side. She tied Turner in knots before trying a low cross and Lucy Cooke unfortunately turned the ball into her own net. 

There was still plenty of time in the half for Knowle to keep threatening; Nadia Bacciochi weaved her way through the Leamington defence twice to set up chances that her teammates couldn’t quite convert. Camile Abbotts added guile to the midfield and she played a neat one-two with Ebony Harris but her cross was scrambled away by Sophie Jordan. Knowle had to settle for their 4-1 lead at halftime.

In total contrast to that exciting first half, the second period was something of a none event. Neither side truly threatened, and the ball spent a lot of time in midfield with little to report. Bacciochi led the line well for Knowle and much of what they did create came through her turning and running at the Leamington backline. One such occasion led to Natalie Gibson shooting just over the bar which was the closest Knowle came to extending their lead. Fleming also had her attempt blocked by Ella Astheimer when it looked as though it may have been creeping inside the post.  At the other end, Katy Smirthwaite stuck out an arm to divert a good effort from the Leamington forward, but the Knowle defence snuffed out most of their other attacks. 

The game finished 1-4 then, with a bit of an end of season feel about that second half from both camps. Knowle will certainly be looking to shake that off ahead of their final three games this term. 

Knowle: Smirthwaite, Shaw (Smallwood), Smith, Byrne, Betteridge (Harris), Clarke, Barlow (Gibson), Fleming (Abbotts), Rolph, Holland (Bacciochi), White.

Photos courtesy of Tim Nunan