In a no thrills encounter, where neither team could find their groove, a single goal from Lucy Reimer was all that was needed to separate Ulverstone and University.
The 2-2 draw from round 2 was evidence the encounter was always going to be tight and University’s hunger for a first victory was evident, however Ulverstone ground out the result to make it two 1-0 wins from their last two games.
The Bees welcomed back Emma Cazaly from injury, who immediately made an impact acting as a rock in defence. The reliable centre back saw Olivia Young pushed to out to right back. While the Reds made one change from last weekend, similarly at the centre of defence, with Georgia Burley replacing Odette Carpenter.
From the first minute, it was evident both defences had their WeetBix and would dictate the affair. Ulverstone looked to have the early jump, when Ellie Cropp attempted to breach the area, producing the first shot but ultimately was shielded by her opponent for a corner. The early bite from Ulverstone would soon dim, with the high pressure from Uni’s front three in Lilian Shegog, Zoe Lovell and Sophie Young causing headaches for Reds defenders.
Luckily this wasn’t a rock concert, because neither side found a comfortable rhythm. University was hungry to be first to the ball, while Ulverstone found little pockets of good movement. But ultimately the turn over in possession was too high and neither side could penetrate the area.
Experienced defending was on display 15 minutes in, when Isabelle Ingham used patience and strength to put off Lucy Reimer. The pair battled side by side as Ulverstone looked to pounce off the counter with some confident passing. At the other end ten minutes later, Megan Gaffney denied University’s most promising attack. Sophie Young had sent a searching ball to her fellow forwards, but the young fullback was there to cut out the danger.
A tug of war ensued. Goal opportunities were few with University searching off their press and Ulverstone working the counter.
Just after 40 minutes there was finally a breakthrough. Ulverstone had already been searching down the left hand side on a handful of occasions and finally they were successful. Reimer received the through ball from Cropp, and almost over ran the chance. But from a tight angle Reimer finished, the ball finding a way into the far post with Mikalha George at the back stick as an unneeded contingency.
Half time arrived with an unlikely goal on the board, and a ping pong display definitely at hand before the repeat button was pressed for the next 45 minutes.
Cropp was Ulverstone’s threat this half, with a number of driving runs where she was unable to totally shrug off her defenders to provide Rhiannon Steele with anything other than catching practice. The big challenges in midfield marked the match, but University’s desperation to not lose eventually saw the advantage of territory and possession swing the Bees way.
Ten minutes into the half, Lovell came close. Turning on the last line of defence, her early shot glided under a diving Georgia Anderson, however to the dismay of the away side and the relief of the home crowd the shot was off target.
Half opportunities began to build for the chasing team. Uni forced turnovers in good areas but just couldn’t find the momentum to move into good shooting areas. As Ulverstone dropped in deeper to deal with the pressure, only moving forward themselves on the counter or the occasional forward press.
The match could have been tied up in the 75th minute. Shegog made a clever run into the box, received a switching ball behind the defence and produced a pearl of a finish, but the flag was raised and the goal was ruled out as an offside.
Play opened up for a brief moment late with another opportunity to Cropp that just rolled the wrong side of the post, assisted by a deflection. University moved Olivia Young into midfield, as they threw everything, including the kitchen sink at the Reds in search of the equaliser.
A final chance arrived in injury time, when Olivia Young sent a looping shot that seemed destined to drop just underneath the crossbar. Anderson denied the late game-changer, mustering patience to follow the ball and palm it over the bar. The captain call of ‘everyone forward’ for the imminent corner showed intent, but ultimately it wasn’t enough as Ulverstone clung onto a one goal victory against the late onslaught.