Sils lose out at the death

Sils still reeling from last week's defeat took to the field against Sutton Coldfield 3s with a positive attitude and a further tweak to the lineup as the dream team is still being sought. Much of the early possession was shared whilst both teams were sounding each other out and adjusting to the style of play required. Sils had the fortune to have Ruth Dovey back in midfield and she was soon back into her stride breaking down attacks and moving the ball forward to the fast running wingers with Georgina Jones providing an outlet on the wing with her speed proving a constant threat to the Sutton defence. Sils were starting to take control and after early forays into the opposing half a short corner was gained and after the initial clearance the ball broke loose in the D and Frankie Levy was on hand to coolly slot home for the opening goal. But as usual a lack of concentration allowed to Sutton to immediately march upfield and gain a short corner of their own which was immediately charged down by Dovey.

Sils were on the up and were making inroads through the Sutton ranks with ease although chanced after chance went begging a further short corner to Sils saw the ball being hacked off the line by a defender. All was going well until from nowhere a shot came in through a ruck of players and squeezed into the bottom corner of the net for a surprising equalizer and within a minute whilst Sils were still reeling a frantic attack by Sutton saw the ball cleared by Joanne Brett the ensuing follow up shot cleared off the line by a sprawling Ali Leeke only to find a further attacker on hand to smash the ball home.

The start of the second half went from bad to worse as the Sils defence was breached once again with attackers closing in on the goal and as Brett came flying out and smothered the ball deflected off her body into the net. At 3:1 down there seemed to be little way back but sleeves were rolled up as Sils went for broke with the wingers playing wide down the flanks allowing the midfield and centre forwards to press through the middle, within 10 minutes Naomi Ennis found space to narrow the deficit and with time running out Samantha Cooper finding time and space in the centre of the D smashed home the equaliser with a superb reverse stick shot that bulged the back of the net. By this time Sutton were deflated and didn’t know what had hit them and within minutes of the re-start Molly Sullivan finding space sprinted into the D in anticipation and as the ball came across smashed the ball home for her debut goal and for Sils to take the lead.

With Sils still in celebratory mood, the clock ticking down, and tired legs Sutton still found enough space to somehow equalise against the run of play to share the points.

As long as the team continue to play as they did in the second half and the defence to hopefully soon to be bolstered by the return of the experienced Kate Huntington it is hoped that the defensive frailties shown in recent weeks will be avoided.

MoM: Samantha Cooper who once the going got tough led by example throughout and smashed home the goal of the season.
DoD: Whilst there are usually a number of contenders for this particular award for some reason there seems to be one person that stands out more than anyone else and Sils own little “Irish Treasure” has done it again, Naomi Ennis – what does MoM and DoD actually stand for, whose Mum and Dad are they………. You do wonder!!