| On an unseasonly warm day City made their way almost as far to the South West of England as it is possible to go to take on Penzance Ladies. Gloucester were short on numbers and the continued absence of goalkeeper Jade Johnson-Manley mean't that right winger Yvette Kemp donned the number one shirt whilst new signing Jade Pollock slotted into her berth on the flank. |
| As both teams struggled to get to terms with the hard and bumpy surface it was Kemp who was the first goalkeeper to be called into action when she stood firm to keep out a direct free kick. Good work from Tsileka Perry on the left provided a good ball in for Pollock but the new girl couldn't control before the Penzance keeper snatched it. |
On a rare attack by the home team Grace McCatty ran in to take the ball but her opponent followed through and clashed with the City defender meaning the game was delayed whilst both received treatment. More probing by City saw Helen Wood volley narrowly over with a first time shot from Jodie Hennessy's right wing cross.
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| Penzance turned defence into attack by countering after clearing a City corner but Lorraine Johnson bravely blocked a through ball before returning it to Hennessy whose cross again found Wood only for the prolific City striker to shoot over the crossbar. |
| Controversy was abound on the Tigresses next attack as Helen Wood saw her shot well saved by the home goalkeeper, but the only problem was that she handled the ball outside of her area. The linesman failed to raise his flag though and no action was taken despite vociferous appeals from the Gloucester players. |
| Next up was a shot from outside the box by Hennessey that was well held by the keeper but even though City had dominated possession they were struggling to break down a sturdy defence well marshalled by the experienced sweeper Dawn Bateman. The linesman did show that he was watching the game when a ball over the top was fired home by Wood but after a delay he raised his flag despite it looking as though the City Captain had timed her run perfectly. |
To rub salt in the wounds Helen Wood received the ball from a throw and skillfully shook off two defenders on the corner of the penalty area, turned, headed for goal, cocked her leg to shoot and the referee blew up for half time!
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| After a quiet opening to the second half where neither side produced anything of note City reshuffled their pack. As they had no substitutes Kemp was brought out of goal and full back Grace Smith took the gloves, new girl Pollock dropped back into Grace's defensive role whilst Kemp was restored to her more familiar place on the wing. |
| It wasn't long before Smith was tested as she pulled off a great save as Penzance attacked on a breakaway. But the next time that the home team went forward Lorraine Johnson was shrugged off by Natasha Mills and sent tumbling. No foul so play continued and Mills smashed the ball into the far corner and beyond Smith's dive to give the home side a surprise lead. |
| No luck for City and none still as a reply from Jodie Hennessy saw her shot take a massive deflection to beat the keeper but the ball ended up just on the wrong side of the post. |
Appeals for a Penzance penalty were turned down as the impressive McCatty ran across her opponent inside the box and shoulder charged her off the ball. Still no luck going forward though and a goalmouth scrambled was cleared before the keeper was in the right place at the right time to prevent Helen Wood's shot on the turn from finding the back of the net.
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| The goalkeeper was penalised when she made a save, dropped the ball to kill some time and then picked it up again when Tsileka Perry closed in. Amazingly an indirect free kick was only given after serious protests from the away team as neither linesman or referee seemed to realise what had happened. |
| Perry came close to scoring when she narrowly failed to connect with Wood's cross but the next Penzance attack saw them score again. The kind of officiating that blights football at this level was in evidence as the home team virtually killed off any hope of a City comeback. Despite being stood in an offside position Jo Barker collected a through pass and ran all the way to goal before slotting past Smith despite the close attention of Grace McCatty. |
| The City protests fell on deaf ears with even team coach Martyn Stephens request that the referee overturn the decision being ignored. It's enough to make teams question why they travel so far only to have the parity disturbed by ineptitude. Typically though as the game restarted a ball over the top saw City clear and up went the linesmans flag, much to the derision of the Tigresses. After many protest City's Grace McCatty was booked for dissent, although she has my sympathy. |
| That was it, the final whistle went and it was more than four hundred miles on the road for a surprise defeat. |
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| Tiger Roar Player of the Match - Grace McCatty |
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Grace McCatty
Star Player |
It's hard to believe how young Grace McCatty is when you watch her play but today she was as awesome as ever. Highlights included a header saved by the keeper and a well timed shoulder barge to prevent a goalscoring opportunity in the second half.
The only downside was the last minute yellow card but that was only awarded so that the referee could save his own face.
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