A chilly December afternoon set the scene for the highly anticipated Bristol derby. UWE women’s 1s made the short journey across Bristol to Coombe Dingle to face UOB women’s 2s. The match didn’t necessarily start in UOB’s favour with UWE having a burst of chances, however, they thankfully manage to miss the goal on all occasions. A fantastic cross into the box from Beth, playing at left back, found Yas who set Bella up to have a cracking shot which unfortunately just flew past the goal. Down the other end of the pitch, Hollie truly encompassed the spirit of the derby and fouled one of the UWE players just outside the UOB box. A UWE midfielder stepped up to take it and dragged it wide, nevertheless, Millie had the shot covered. Zoe won the ball on the far touchline and drove up the line, before delivering a fantastic cross into the centre of the box, where Annie pounced and drilled the ball into the bottom left-hand corner. 1-0 to UOB!!!!! Mere moments later Anna intercepted a poor clearance by a UWE and played the ball into Maya who sent a beautiful ball over the top for Beth to run onto. A cross Alexander-Arnold would be proud of was swung in by Beth and a very well-placed header by Yas extended UOB’s lead to 2 goals. In a turn of events a long ball over the top from an UWE defender left Millie 1vs1 with their striker, thankfully the ball is sent flying wide, accompanied by a huge sigh of relief from all UOB players. Bella and Yas displayed good link up play unfortunately just as Bella breaks the back line and is about to pull the trigger, the Sunday league conditions cause her to slip, and the chance is over. The mud’s first but not last causality of the game. This was closely followed by another shot on target from Yas, which was met by the UWE goalkeeper. The course of events then appeared to favour UWE with a series of shots on goal and a freekick, all of which are deterred by Millie. One of the standout controversial events from the 1st half is when Noa identified a UWE player offside (VAR can confirm this was the correct decision) and the UWE players, had a toddler in tiara like tantrum. The UOB defence continued to repel various efforts from UWE, with great saves from Millie and vital clearances from Phoebe. Despite their strong efforts they were eventually broken down, when UOB failed to clear the ball and a winger ended up in a pocket of space of the right-hand side of the box allowing her to drill the ball into the bottom left-hand corner. UOB responded appropriately by a corner fizzed in by Annie and helped on by Bella, ultimately ended up in the back on the net courtesy of Yas. The first half concluded 3-1 in favour of UOB.
The 2nd half began less than ideal for UOB with UWE scoring a scrappy goal resulting from the aftermath of Mille’s excellent save from their initial shot. End to end action continued for the remainder of the 1st part of the 2nd half. A brave challenge from Maya in the box, is deemed a foul by the referee, leading to a UWE penalty – which is buried. 3-3. UOB turned to their bench in hope of finding a winner, and to save the subs from guaranteed hypothermia. Lily and Serena replaced Ella and Beth, who both had outstanding performances. Both teams threw everything at each other, desperate to find that all important last goal. In the dying minutes of the game a promising UOB move turned disastrous. A hit and hope clearance by UWE developed into an assist due to an very unfortunately timed slip. The conditions once again favoured UWE. UOB fought to the bitter end but to their dismay and after such a promising start, the match ended 4-3 to UWE.
POTM: Millie Lovelock
Written by: Alice Jack