Hepworth United Ladies FC
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Sun 16 Dec 2018
HEPWORTH UNITED
Hepworth United Ladies FC
0
7
Sheffield FC
County Cup Exit

County Cup Exit

John Field17 Dec 2018 - 21:10
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Expensive Bacon Butty Still better than a Greasy Chip Butty

Hepworth welcomed Sheffield Fc to Far Lane for the third round county cup tie and were always going to be the underdogs in the tie. Sheffield who last year made the decision to withdraw from the FA WSL due to the rapidly escalating financial demands of playing in the top two tiers, saw an exodus of players and staff which has resulted in leaving the Club facing a huge rebuild. That process started with the new look first team commencing the 2018/19 season in the Northern Division of the FA Women's National League. With Hepworth standing top of the West Riding County Premier League and hoping for promotion to the NERWFL it was hoped that they may cause an unlikely upset or at least improve on the scoreline from the last meeting in the competition in 2013 when the teams met at Sheffield for a Semi final tie with the hosts winning 25-0. Back then things were very different than today Hepworth are a team slowly yet steadily building to rise gradually up the pyramid and Sheffield having withdrawn from the FA WSL now struggling close to the bottom of the Northern Division of the FA Women's National League.
The difference is still clear to see as their players most of whom have been recruited from RTC's and other bigger clubs development squads around the county and further a field, and Hepworth whos players are pretty much all local and socialise on and off the field and actually know each other ! The one thing the hadnt changed was the air of arrogance that surrounds them, playing at the higher level and being physical yet very cute and clever with it aswell. The game was a good test for Hepworth and proved that they have made hugh progress in recent seasons rising up from the bottom division to the premier division in such a short space of time.
Hepworth playing up the slight slope in the first half imeadiately took the game to Sheffield and caused a few early scares, and had the official have had appointed linesmen would have surely had a penalty early on as a Sheffield Defender clearly handled the ball in the box on one of the first attacks but to everyones amasement he waved away the appeals.He also waved away a claim for a free kick and gave Hepworth a throw in after Renata Feherova was wiped out from behind before the Sheffield player made any contact with the ball. As mentioned before Sheffield were very cute and clever as they nudged, kicked and used their strength well in tackles yet winged and moaned the whole game if Hepworth as much as breathed on them. That said Sheffield are a very well organised ,fit, quality side and played well though they did panic when Hepworth got the ball down and ran at them. Hepworth had several good half chances in the first 10 minutes before Sheffield took the lead on the quarter hour mark, through a quick break from a Hepworth attack saw a good effort pushed onto the bar by Rebecca Harper in goal and it went out for a corner. It was from that corner that Sheffield took the lead as a well placed header hit the back of the net. Hepworth went on the attack straight from the re start and forced a corner and then Abigail Iggleden had a glancing header go just wide from which Sheffield broke quickly with pace and went 2-0 up. The game then became a little more open, with Sheffield still having the greater number of chances but Hepworth's work rate was immense as Purchon, Hirst and Halstead worked overtime to keep Sheffield out, and as they were often pushed back Em Husband, Emma Holroyd , and captain Jo Forrest were also forced to close players down and defend in numbers no one more so than Merita Prebrezova who chased everything and covered nearly every blade of grass on the pitch. Out wide Renata Feherova and Steph Teale tracked back well to assist and looked to run the ball out at every opportunity trying to release Iggleden up front who also covered alot of ground closing Sheffield down and disrupting their defence. Hepworth put in a great team performance to keep Sheffield out and yet caused some trouble themselves as Jo Forrest had an effort go close as did Iggleden. Holroyd in the centre of midfield was the target of some heavy crunching tackles yet failed to get one single free kick for her troubles. Sheffield finally made the break through again on40 minutes when having lost possesion Sheffield took advantage and broke clear to make it 3-0. Then right on the stroke of half time the visitors broke free again from an error in play as Hepworth attacked and they went 4-0 up.
Just two minutes into the second half Hepworth were slow to react and Sheffield broke away to make it 5-0 and the game was really put to bed as Hepworth despite never giving up were not looking likely to score despite their hard work and effort. On 57 minutes a clumsey challenge in the box by Feherova saw Sheffield convert the penalty to make it 6-0. But still Hepworth kept playing passing and moving trying to break down the Sheffield midfield Paige Green and Sophie King were introduced to the game and their fresh legs helped to create further half chances for the home side who had a shot blocked and pushed wide for a corner on 67 minutes. Becky kirk replaced Emma Holroyd who had played fantastically despite being battered around the midfield. It was Kirk who took a free kick which Abigail Iggleden had won 25 yards out afer yet another sly dig in the back, the free kick was well saved however by the Sheffield Keeper diving to her left. Jo Forrest saw her effort go just wide on 79 minutes and she then put another agonisingly wide from a great Prebrezova corner on 81 minutes. rebecca harper was called upon on 84 minutes and made yet another fine save when it seemed Sheffield would score again. Then in the last three minutes Hepworth went close as Sophie King was just beaten to a loose ball by the keeper and an iggleden free kick was flicked on and again King was beaten by the visiting keepe who collected the ball. From that Sheffield again broke quickly and raced clesr to score a great goal to make it 7-0 and progress through to the quarter finals after playing just one game.
The competition really does need the FA to look at it and shake it up as too many games get awarded as teams do not wish to face clubs from much higher up the pyramid as at least one team has done this weekend, and with bigger clubs coming in so late on its stacked in their favour and yet again it will be one of the same names to end up on the trophy having seen them play in justa couple of rounds to get to the semi final stage.
All in all a good run out for Hepworth who have tested themselves against a club much higher up the leagues and they can now focus on their Premier division run in come January and their quarter finals of the league cup. As for Sheffield they can look forward to a quarter final tie and their fight to move away from the bottom of their respective league, aswell as continue to moan about the slope of the pitch and the price of a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich,as the backwaters of Hepworth are obviously not up to the high flying city dwellers usual standards.
It was very hard to pick a player of the game for Hepworth as everyone put in a great team performance but in the end Laura Hirst just pipped Em Husband by on e vote to claim the accolade.

Match details

Match date

Sun 16 Dec 2018

Kickoff

13:00

Meet time

12:00

Attendance

32
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Team Sponsors

Matchday Training Tops - Dornack International Ltd
Ladies Shirt Sponsor - Gallery Hairdressing, Kirkburton
Ladies Match Day Jackets - Myers Building Supplies
Ladies Team Sponsor - Keystone Europe Ltd