
Sunday 24th October
Ipswich 1-0 Bridgwater Utd
Ipswich Line Up –
Quantrill, Boswell, Peake, Smith, Hughes, Horwood, Lafayette, King, Grey, Barratt, Biggs
Subs – Egan, Robertson, Thomas, O’Brien, L.Jackson
The most difficult game Town have faced in the league for a long time and have to hand it to Bridgwater, they come to win, where most come and happily take a draw.
The game went on for 90 minutes before the deadlock was broken but that wasn’t for lack of trying. Ipswich had the better chances but it just seemed the ball didn’t want to fall for them, or maybe nerves got the better of them in a game which held such significance at the top of the Southern Premier.
Maddie Biggs had the best chance in the second half when she went through on goal, chasing down a loose ball but her lob over the keeper didn’t drop in time to get under the cross bar.
Lucy O’Brien also come close when she slipped past her marker but her shot also went over the bar.
The deadlock finally got broken when Bonnie Horwood’s corner reached the far post and the head of Natasha Thomas, who nodded the ball home. A 395 crowd sent into celebration and no time for the opposition to reply. Town continue in top spot, with Southampton in 2nd but with 2 games in hand.
The Ups and Downs
Downside to the game was Anna Grey leaving the field with what looked like a muscle pull of some sort.
Ipswich were faced with an incredibly tough test, easily their toughest in a league game for many years, but they overcome it and still come away with 3 points. It’s these games we’ll look back on come the end of the season that prove to be vital points.
Player Of The Match
A tough game overall but Eloise King stood out for me. Playing in the holding midfield role instead of her usual number ten role, King was solid and wiped up anything that come near her. Alongside Lafayette at the start, but changed to Robertson early on, King protected the back lane so much that Bridgwater had to resort to the wings to get anywhere near the Town penalty area.
Officials
This would have been a decent test for the ref as Bridgwater were so physical. Not one we have seen much of previously, but had an ok game. There were a few decisions I thought were dubious but overall, I thought he had an ok game, considering how the opposition were throwing themselves about. Rating 6/10