SJR Worksop Ladies made a winning start to life at Tier 5

It was the start of the first season in Tier 5 football for the SJR Worksop Ladies, and although at home, SJR knew Stamford had won the South Division last season and would be a very difficult side to play against. The game was played mostly in the midfield areas of the field with neither side really being able to create a meaningful chance on goal. It was Myatt who had the first chance of the game when a well-worked move, finished with Myatt shooting left footed, but the Stamford goalkeeper was equal to the effort. Stamford was next to come close but some fantastic goalkeeping from Olivia Walker kept the Stamford striker at bay. Emily Murphy went through but she dragged her shot wide of the target after a good run. Myatt had another effort just wide of the target, but not long after, a bit of sloppy play by SJR resulted in the Stamford striker getting hold of the ball and expertly turning and planting an unstoppable shot into the SJR goal.

In the second half SJR changed their game plan slightly and came out to try to impose themselves further on the game. However, it was Stamford ,who almost doubled their lead when an effort was again brilliantly tipped around the post by Walker. SJR started to get on the front foot and Murphy yet again was through but fired inches wide. This gave SJR lots of confidence and they flooded forward, Myatt entered the box and was brought down by a Stamford defender. Murphy had her penalty shot saved by the Stamford goalkeeper and she hit the rebound straight at the keeper again, before Clarke reacted quickest and turned the second rebound into the goal. SJR now had their tails up and Clarke was played in again, this time though the keeper came rushing out and collided with Clarke. Both players needed treatment but it was the Stamford keeper who had to come off injured. This unsettled Stamford a little bit and not long after, a misunderstanding in the Stamford defence resulted in the ball landing at Clarke's feet, who made no mistake in giving SJR the lead. Another Clarke effort was tipped round the post well by the stand-in keeper. Charlotte Finch drove a brilliant shot against the bar, Clarke again involved as she shot wide from a tight angle and Myatt shot over the bar with the keeper stranded. Overall the attitude of the ladies was excellent with the back players marshalling a very good Stamford forward line well. The midfield and forwards of SJR linked well and produced some good phases of play. It's always important to get points on the board in the first fixture of any season, but this was an important start in a brand new division for the ladies. There is plenty to work on in training for the girls but the positives from this game far outweigh the negatives. It's going to be a long hard competitive season for the ladies and it continues this weekend away to Nottingham Trent University.