1st Half
A hard fought evenly contested game saw Upminster come away with a deserved Point from League Leaders Ipswich.
With both defences testing each other Upminster’s initial forward play was halted outside the D, as Ipswich pressed forward two S/Corner efforts were denied by Defender of the Game Charlotte Triggs with Rosie Pettingill & Lucy Quinlan assisting in clearing the ball.
Upminster nearly broke the deadlock as Drew Bailey hit the post with her strike from a S/Corner, whilst continued forward play around the Ipswich D by Lucy Rolfe, Imogen Hodges, Coco Thomas and Amy Byrne saw Upminster threaten to open the scoring.
From a further S/Corner Lauren Slater-Harvey’s strike into the corner put Upminster into the lead on 18 mins. With Ipswich moving the ball around, looking to get to the back line ,the Defensive Unit remained resolute and strong, clearing a S/Corner and restricting Ipswich’s efforts on goal.
2nd Half
With Ipswich raising the tempo and winning the majority of the midfield they pressed for an equaliser, several S/Corners were denied by composed defending and a Triggs save by the post.
Alexa Marston’s silky stick action brought some relief as Upminster looked to move the ball forward, a long downfield clearance saw Thomas give chase and having kept the ball in play, had Upminster in the Ipswich D.
Continuing to press harder a further Ipswich S/Corner was worked across the D leading to a strike goalwards which levelled up the game on 53 mins.
As Ipswich tired Upminster were able to counter, Byrne, Rolfe and Uzal’s forward play caused confusion in the Ipswich D but a combination of composed defending & GK kept Upminster at bay.
As Ipswich looked for the next goal Bella Boyle’s defensive composure saw her clear an Ipswich counter whilst Upminster were able to see out a final Ipswich S/Corner as Slater-Harvey cleared downfield.
Upminster’s great Team effort resulted in a 1-1 draw.
Report Don Triggs
