Hepworth United Ladies FC
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Sun 08 Apr 2018  ·  WRCWFL Shield 2018
HEPWORTH UNITED
Hepworth United Ladies FC
S King (7'), (15'), (24'), (76'), A Iggleden (11'), R Purchon (41'), C Berry (77' Pen)
7
2
Leeds Medics & Dentists
The King Rules

The King Rules

John Field9 Apr 2018 - 20:18
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All Hail the King

Hepworth made the short trip to Casson Avenue home of Tingley Athletic which was the neutral venue for the League Shield Semi Final v Leeds Medics & Dentists a team they were confident of getting a result against having beaten them twice this season in the league. However Hepworth were travelling with a vastly depleted squad due to illness, holidays, work and injuries. The pitch was very heavy and was not going to be the best for Hepworths passing style but a Final on May Bank Holliday Monday was awaiting the victors.
Playing 3-1-4-2 due to the players available it was a nervous first few minutes as both teams made errors due to the pitch and Leeds Medics were first to take advantage of an error in the Hepworth defence as Hellawell was slow getting out and allowed a LMD striker to race through and put them 0-1 up. Hepworth did not shirk from their task and this error only spurred them on and they soon found their stride forcing a couple of corners in quick succession. From the second corner striker Sophie King superbly curled the ball in direct at the near post beating the Leeds Medics keeper and several other players who were hopeless to stop it despite the keepers cheeky effort to lift the ball back over the line match official Imran Pandor was well up with play and imeadiately awarded the equaliser. With Hepworth now level their work rate increased and so did the pressure on the Leeds Medics defense. On 9 minutes Abigail Iggleden raced clear but saw her shot pushed wide for a corner, Iggleden was soon on hand to put her team in front just 2 minutes later as hannah Nicholl headed on from a throw in down the left flank and Iggleden raced clear once more. She cut in from the wing and slotted home under the advancing keeper to give Hepworth the lead they would never lose. With the quarter hour mark on the clock Sophie King was sent clear by Captain Rebecca Purchon and just outside the 18 yard box on the right flank King lofted the ball up and over the keeper into the opposite top corner to make it 3-1.
The back three of Hepworth were now working well and Hellawell and Kirk made several perfect crunching tackles as the Medics looked for a way back into the match. When they were beaten Lucy Pickles playing her first full 90 minutes since being out 18 months with a knee injury was in superb form and was relentless in her running and closing down in her sweeper role. Harper in goal was quick off her line to clear numerous times yet didnt have too many actual saves to make in the first half. Claire Berry was now controlling and orchestrating all the Hepworth attacks spraying the ball out wide at every opportunity she was aided by the hard work of Hannah Nicholl and Merita Prebresova who chased and harried everyone allowing Purchon to advance up one wing and Cleary up the other. Hepworth were pushing Leeds back continually and they did not know what to do with Claire Berry she was too hot to handle !
Purchon had a great close range effort superbly saved on 23 minutes how no one knows as it seemed destined to hit the back of the net but the Medics keeper did well but just a minute later she could do nothing about Sophie Kings "Hat Trick" goal which was identical to her second and left the keeper no chance again as Hepworth went 4-1 up. It was a very humid day so Hepworth used their only sub wisely with Paige Green coming on for Claudia Cleary in a straight swap midway through the half. Hepworth were now finding more and more space as they worked the ball about well, Claire berry had an effort from 6 yards out stopped on the line and Iggleden had a couple blocked by the keeper when one on one. Just before half time Hepworth got their fifth goal with a great move from deep in defence as Chloe Hellawell brought the ball out moving it to Paige Green who sent Rebecca Purchon free with a great cross field ball and she fired home.
The hard work would not be over in the second half as Leeds Medics came out fighting and pushed three up front in an attempt to get back in the game, and with players tiring due to the heavy pitch mistakes were made and free kicks started to come thick and fast. From one free kick Becky Kirk just shot over the bar from 20 yards out. On 55 minutes Iggleden fired straight at the keeper when one on one as the Hepworth Ladies looked to increase their lead. Iggleden was a constant threat with her pace and often had two players tracking her which created loads of space for king upfront as Hepworth kept soaking up the pressure and hitting Leeds on the counter attack. The game was now end to end and clumsy tired tackles started to appear, from one on 59 minutes Medics hit the post and shortly after Rebecca Harper made an outstanding double save to keep them out again. Hepworth swapped players around as Captain Purchon came off for a rest and Cleary was back in the thick of it. On 76 minutes Cleary linked up with Hannah Nicholl who passed to King, her turn and pass set up Iggleden who raced clear but she was thwarted by good goalkeeping again, the rebound was won by Iggleden wide of goal again and this time she beat the keeper and squared the ball to Sophie King unmarked in the 6 yard box she tapped home her 4th goal and Hepworths 6th. A minute later as Hepworth were looking for more goals Merita Prebresova was upended in the box and Mr Pandor pointed to the spot, up stepped Claire Berry who curled in a great spot kick into the top corner to make it 7-1. Leeds medics got their second goal on 83 minutes as Becky Kirk clattered a player in the box and once again Mr Pandor pointed to the spot, Harper was very unlucky as she went the right way but just couldnt get enough on the ball to stop it. A crazy last seven minutes ensued as Kirk made another tired tackle resulting in a yellow card and within a minute was lucky mot to be sent off as she lunged in again. Thommo and Bambi sent Hannah Nicholl back on despite her being exhausted from all her hard work but they wanted to save Kirk from a suspension as she was exausted and making rash decisions when tackling. Purchon dropped into the centre half role in place of kirk and Nicholl a holding centre midfield role to hopefully see the game out. The drama was not over yet as Medics pushed forward and with the Medics management still upset Kirk had not been red carded they berated the officials again as Hellawell upended another player right in front of them, no card shown added fuel to their fire as they went beserk. The resulting free kick was struck well again but Harper hung onto it just under the crossbar. The scoreline would suggest an easy game but it was a tough battle and for long periods was end to end it was just the superior fitness and hard work that pulled Hepworth through as they coped with the heavy pitch and used the ball well.
The player of the match award was deserved by each and every player but four goal hero Sophie King was voted the winner by her team mates.

Match details

Match date

Sun 08 Apr 2018

Kickoff

14:00

Meet time

13:00

Attendance

16

Competition

WRCWFL Shield 2018
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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