Wandsworth Borough Ladies Match Report - 19 September

Following last Sunday's narrow defeat, the ladies were keen to return to winning ways on a soggy Sunday afternoon in Dulwich versus South London Reserves.

Borough lined up in a 4-3-3 formation and welcomed Becky Michaelson returning to the front line whilst Hannah Smith took her place between the sticks with Maureen McAllister facing a one-match ban following her red card last week.

The three in midfield for South London cleverly pinged the ball about, which meant Kirsty Mulcahey played a slightly deeper role alongside Emma Green and the first 45 minutes were a stalemate with both sides pressing to no avail.

The second half opened up, with chances coming from both sides, and Borough was unlucky to concede against the run of play despite the efforts of Hannah Smith and Rachel Marshall. Borough always controlled the game with Becky Michaelson linking up well with Hannah Lees, Kirsty Mulcahey and the ever-impressive Meg Ward. After some great work down the right by Gemma Manley, Emma Green was bought down 25 yards from goal and stepped up to thump one in over the keepers head to bring Borough level.

Once the ladies drew level, they were fired up for another, and Kirsty Mulcahey played a perfectly timed ball through to Becky Michaelson, who avoided the oncoming keepers' efforts to clear the ball before calming slotting into an empty net.

Listening to Manager David Newland's wise words in pre-season, the remaining 20 minutes were about game management. The back four remained compact with crucial interceptions from POTM Mahnoor Rauf and last weeks stand-in keeper Jay Verry Justicia to see the game out with a 2-1 victory.

Next Sunday, the ladies return to Richardson Evans versus Civil Service Women, who sit 6th in the table with a win and two losses.