On a beautiful, warm and sunny Sunday afternoon, Winsford knew this league match against Denton was always going to be an up hill battle. Yet again they started the match with a depleated squad. When the whistle blew for the start of the game Winsford only had 10 players on the pitch, as three of their first team players were still enroute from Manchester.
However the Ladies were ready to do battle and held the visitors at bay and even had an opportunity to break the deadlock, when Winsford's striker, Ashleigh Kerr picked the ball up on the edge of the Denton 18-yard box. This resulted in a one-on-one with the keeper. The visiting keeper was equal to the shot, much to Kerr's disappointment.
Winsford's back four of Rachel Robbins, Emma Johnson, Sarah Lee (striker) and Leanne Hudson continued to work hard as a unit and put in some of their best individual performances of the season.
Winsford kept fighting but found it difficult with players having to play out of their normal position to compensate for the late arrivals. The Ladies mid-field was made up of Nicola Bogue (striker), Vicky Jones (left wing), Kathryn Hulme (defender) and Jay Anderson (striker). Just as help arrived Denton broke through the back four on the half hour and opened the scoring. The management bolstered the team by initially putting pressed for an equaliser.
With the visitors on the back foot, the management made another substitution and put Danielle Lydiate on to replace Nicola Bogue. With Lydiate back in centre Mid-field and Jones on the left wing, the Ladies team dug in for the final few minutes of the first half.
Unfortunately the visitors scored a great second goal from an opportunist shot from distance just as the whistle blew for the end of the first half and the Ladies went into the break trailing 0 - 2.
Winsford made a second substitution at half time and brought on Kylie Kettle for Anderson This strengthened the midfield and meant Lee could resume her more usual striker role. Hulme pushed onto the right wing and Hewitson dropped into defence .
The Ladies started the second half as they did the first and took the game to Denton. Their efforts didn't go completely unrewarded, as when Kettle picked the ball up just inside the Denton half, she turned on the skill and went past several players and into the visitors 18-yard box, where she paused as if she was about to pass the ball back but then chipped the ball over the defence and just out of the keepers reach. This goal put Winsford back in the game.
However, the visitors had other ideas and continued to press for another goal, which they were rewarded with just a couple of minutes later.
Although Winsford had a fair share of the possession, it was the visitors who made the most of it and looked the more likely to score again. Which they did twice more to put the game out of Winsford's reach.
Denton passed the ball around effortlessly and were the better organised team on the day. The final scoreline of 1 - 5, wasn't a fair result for the Ladies team and didn't show how hard they worked.