Old Silhillians 1st XI 2 - 1 Stratford 1st XI

Old Silhillians 1st XI 2 (0) - (0) 1 Stratford 1st XI

Goalscorers: Lara Berardo; Frankie Levey

This was a must win match for the Sils as they look to secure their place in the Midlands League next season, and it was the first time the full squad was available. However, with a new formation thrown at the team on Tuesday night to work through, there were also some challenges ahead.

The Sils lost the toss, and sadly had to play directly into the low Winter Sun in the first half, meaning Ali Williams in goal did really well to repel the two or three efforts sent her way, but the Sun also presented more issues for the defence as they struggled to even tell what shirt colour the players in front of them were wearing with the glare in their eyes! This, added to a new formation, and new players, meant the first half was a little disjointed, but Sils strung some nice moves together and had the better of the attacking opportunities, but never really troubled the visiting keeper.

The second half continued in a similar vein, with Sils having more of the ball, but never really causing loads of problems, and the one or two chances they did create were saved impressively by the Stratford keeper. At the other end, the visiting team also had a few half chances, with a couple of scrambled clearances being the only thing to keep the team just above Sils in the league, from scoring.

With Sils looking to up the pressure for the last few minutes, Stratford broke down the other end and a deflected shot lifted into some players and a corner was awarded. With Ali Williams making the first save, she caught Claire Wright at the same time, meaning Claire was not able to put pressure on the person on the ball, who slotted home; 1-0 to Stratford with 4 minutes to go.

This really spurred the home team into action, and within a minute Sils were level. Sophie Boyle and Ruth Dovey combined down the right, and won a PC off a foot. A strike to the far post by Levey was deflected by Libby Shepherd, and whilst the ball did not go in, it fell kindly for Lara Berardo to slam home from close range. 1-1, and very much game on.

With 2 minutes to go, another strong piece of play down the right by the Sils, with Player of the Match Jess Cox involved, resulted in another corner, perhaps slightly fortuitously, being awarded to Sils. With the seconds ticking by, Levey smashed the ball at goal, deflecting off the number one runner and past the Stratford keeper. This just left Sils to play out the last minute and secure a vital 3 points.

Next week sees the ladies take on top of the league Bromsgrove with a point to prove having lost to them in the first half of the season with a goal in the last 30 seconds. Any support from the other Ladies teams not playing would be really welcomed! The support today made a real difference in the last few minutes - so thank you to everyone that came along and watched.