Cougars robbed of a good fight!

KS made their last away trip of the season to Yeovil on Saturday looking to increase their chances of a second place finish in the league., taking on Yeovil who were facing relegation if they lost the fixture

With an impeccable start Esme Ansley set up Laura Kerly to open the scoring on 12 seconds, matching the Cougars stunning start from the previous week.

Yeovil were unperturbed and immediately pushed back with a strong ten minute spell that called keeper Claire Guard into early action to make some crucial saves.​ ​Defenders Rachel Roberts and Gemma Harvey had their work cut out to defend the Cougars early lead and put in some great work around the baseline.

With a high turnover rate for both sides in the midfield the first half swung end to end as each team attacked at pace. ​​Lou Read and Bex Darke worked tirelessly through the centre channels as KS looked to work the ball forwards and created some good opportunities around the D.

Kerly was denied a clear opportunity as the Yeovil keeper dived into the ball and lay prone over it, making no effort to release the ball. Despite Kerly's best efforts to dig the invisible ball out KS were denied the flick and were then astounded to see the defence awarded a 16 instead of the minimum now expected short corner upgrade.

It soon became apparent that the Cougars were playing a solid 13 as they were denied time and again by some more than questionable umpiring, something they experienced in the same fixture last year with the club appointed umpires.

With unending opportunities to upgrade Yeovil soon pulled level through a short corner.

Chloe Harvey and Fern Tucker were battling hard in the high midfield against some quick through play by the Yeovil halfs as Sarah Budgen and Bella Slade put in some strong spells in support.​ Lucy Croft put in a rock solid shift in the left half position as she time and again​ denied her opposite number, backing up Fi Wadey's excellent performance through the half and back positions.

​​With some obvious frustrations at half time KS focused on playing through the pressure and simplifying their passing to make working the ball upfield easier. Despite making better connections the fractured nature of the game soon saw Yeovil take the lead as the Cougars were robbed of all momentum.

The Cougars had a good opportunity to pressure Yeovil at the back but allowed them a lot of time on their transitions. This allowed the home side to move the ball around the back too easily and opened up channels for a long ball into their high forward which Yeovil took advantage of to further extend their lead midway through the second half.

With some tight man marking on KS forward Kerly​,​ Yeovil were denying the Cougars their usual attacking channels​ as they sat deep and looked to counter KS on the break. Applying good layering around the ball Yeovil were quick to close down any KS possession although frequently with 2 in the tackle KS were time and again denied any respite due to the lack of any decision making from the umpires, even when Ansley battled through 2 players and was flattened in the process.

The final whistle blew on a hugely frustrating game for the Cougars as the unbalanced umpiring destroyed the flow of the game.

Taking nothing away from the Yeovil players who gave 100% in their performance to earn the win, KS felt rightly aggrieved that what should have been a great competitive match with opportunity for both teams became a one sided stop/start affair as the home side received a favourable outlook on every decision.

At post match teas Fern Tucker took Coaches Player for an outstanding workrate throughout and Fi Wadey won the Woman of the Match vote for a great all round performance.

KS play at home this Saturday in their last league match of the season with an excellent chance to take second place in the league. With all 3 teams in contention losing last weekend it all comes down to the final matches this weekend!