Winsford turned up to play the league leaders on a very cold and icey Sunday afternoon. The pitch was apparently unplayable earlier on, around 9am, but with the sun shining and the men's team willing to play on it, the game wasn't postponed. However, it should have been, as the pitch was badly cut up from the earlier match, it was very boggy in places and there were parts of the pitch which were still frozen and covered with ice.
But the ladies were undeterred and got stuck in straight from the kick off. The Winsford defence of Catherine Southern, Emma Johnson, Elizabeth Asken and Leanne Hudson and our mid-field of Kathryn Hulme, Kylie Kettle, Danielle Lydiate and Hanna Hewitson, all worked hard, putting challenge after challenge in to win the ball back and break down the Liverpool attacks. Such was their determination, that Liverpool were left with taking long range shots at the Winsford goal. The Winsford midfielders also worked hard, trying to supply that killer ball or pass that would give our strikers a chance to put Winsford ahead.
Winsford's front two of Sarah Lee and Ashley Kerr had their chances in the first half, but the Liverpool keeper was well placed and dealt with their shots confidently.
The pitch was the winner of the first half, as the scoreline remained 0 - 0, and Winsford were forced to make a half-time substitution, with Hudson suffering a re-occurance of a knee injury, due to the condition of the pitch. Rachel Robbins came on to replace Hudson and put in a great performance during the second half, with some well needed interceptions.
The second half was a the same as the first with the exception of the goal scored by each team. Liverpool opened the scoring early in the second half, when their striker, who was clearly in an off-side position, picked up the through ball and ran into the Winsford 18-yard box unchallenged. The Liverpool player then slotted the ball past the stranded Winsford keeper.
The Ladies never gave up hope though and doubled their efforts in the search of an equaliser. It was Danielle Lydiate who won the ball back in the Winsford half and carried the ball past the Liverpool mid-fielders. Lydiate looked up, saw both Lee and Kerr running into the Liverpool 18-yard box and threaded a perfectly weighted through ball, with Lee beating Kerr to it and passed the ball under the Liverpool keeper, into the far corner to bring the scoreline to 1 - 1.
Mid-way through the second half Winsford were again forced to make a change, when Asken was forced to retire with a re-occurance of a knee injury. Winsford needed to make changes, so Hewitson was moved into defence and substitute Emma McNeil replaced her on the right wing. Then in the closing stages of the game, Jay made her debut for the Ladies and replaced Kerr up front.
The Winsford goal keeper, Jessica Moore played, probably her best game of the season so far, putting in an outstanding performance and making several fantastic saves.
Overall, Winsford played well, it was a tough game, a good team performance and a well deserved point.