Lincoln Ladies season just got back on track with 2nd win in 4 days.
OOH Lincoln (1) v (0) Man City (match report)
An injury time wonder-goal from OOH Lincoln striker Jodie Michalska yesterday sealed all three points against a tough Manchester City side, keeping the home side in the hunt for the Northern Division top spot.
With only four matches of the season played, Lincoln lie just five points behind Liverpool, who themselves beat Leeds City Vixens 5-1 yesterday afternoon, giving them four wins out of four.
The Lady Imps piled on the pressure from the start, pinning Manchester City in their own half for long periods of the match.
However, the Blue’s were quick to respond on the break, and as early as the 3rd minute came close to scoring, when their striker found herself through on goal forcing a brave diving save at her feet from Lincoln goalie Kay Hawke.
Michalska, Stacey Aisthorpe and Amanda Barr all went close, but the Blue’s Welsh keeper Andrea Worrell frustrated all their efforts with two faultless halves of goalkeeping, which kept her side well and truly in the match until the 92nd minute.
Worrell’s diving save kept out Michalska’s hard shot in the 14th minute, and she again kept the Lincoln striker out with a similar spectacular save with just just four minutes of the first half remaining.
She punched the ball off the line early in the second half following Carla Ward’s curling goal-bound corner , and again punched away off the line in the 72nd minute following an inswinging corner from Barr.
Stacey Aisthorpe was cleared off the line during a goalmouth scramble, which forced two saves from Worrell, and Paige Crossman put the ball just past the near post after she received a through ball from Shelly Futter.
With just three minutes remaining Aisthorpe was tripped up just outside the box, but the Lady Imps failed to convert the resulting free kick.
With one minute of injury time gone the Lincoln support had resigned themselves to a solitary point when Jodie Michalska headed the ball from close range into the arms of Worrell – however Michalska hadn’t given up on the vital extra two points for her side. With Referee Thistlewood examining his watch closely, Michalska chested Stacey Aisthorpe’s cross from the left down onto her left boot and volleyed home leaving Worrell rooted to the spot with no chance of getting her glove to the ball.
‘That was not the performance I was looking for from the players today following an excellent midweek display against Sheffield Wednesday,’ said OOH Lincoln manager Rod Wilson.
‘We were flat and didn’t really show our quality when we pushed forward. City were very defencive and as always difficult to break down, and all credit to them, they nearly took a point away with them, but Jodie came through for us late on with a superb goal, and hopefully that will do her confidence the world of good’.
‘However all credit to the players for coming back in the second half with a much better and more determined performance, they raised their game and I would say that in the end we did deserved all three points – a win is a win so I’m very pleased with that. However I will be looking for a better all round performance next week’ he said.
From Geoff Adams.
