First team suffer further league defeat

First team suffer further league defeat

Bexhill United Ladies suffered a further defeat in the London South East Regional League on Sunday at home to Crawley Wasps.

The visitors hit the ground running and immediately placed Bexhill on the back foot. Hayley Calder made 3 vital saves in the opening 10 minutes as Bexhill struggled to keep up with the pace and threat of the Crawley forwards. The onslaught continued and Crawley were able to find the net on the quarter hour mark when they slotted home a half clearance. It appeared that Calder was impeded in the build up to the goal however the foul was not given and the goal stood. Bexhill struggles continued as the half progressed, they conceded a number of corners and free kicks in dangerous areas and were unable to muster any meaningful attacks in reply. On balance of play and chances Crawley could have easily been 3 or 4 goals up by halftime however the slender margin remained.

After the break Bexhill were keen to take the game to Crawley however almost found themselves 2-0 down shortly after the restart when a close range shot went inches wide of the post. Initially disjointed, Bexhill began to build possession and pressure on the Crawley defence and the match began to develop from the 1 sided affair seen in the first half. Fay Denyer was unable to connect with a Lucy Knight corner and Anne-Marie Pier was denied a 1 on 1 opportunity with an inch perfect tackle on the edge of the visitors defence. Crawley became restless as Bexhill continued to build on their possession and again had to rely on a last ditch tackle to prevent Laura Bolton from equalising on the hour mark. After collecting the ball 45 yards out Bolton set her sight on goal but the outstretch foot of the Crawley centre-half meant Bexhill had to settle for a corner. Denyer and Knight saw further efforts blocked whilst at the other end Calder was on hand to prevent Crawley extending their lead. In the final stages of the game Crawley headed home from close range but a foul in the build up was awarded and the goal was disallowed.

A dismal performance after a 5 week break, Bexhill will be keen to make drastic improvements in time for their derby fixture with Eastbourne Town next Sunday.