Shanklin Ladies suffered their first league defeat of the season on Sunday in a close game against title contenders Farnborough FC at the County Ground.
Prior to kick-off, playing conditions were good but as forecast upon the referee’s whistle, the wind and rain came in restricting both teams from playing in the style of football they would have liked.
With the conditions as they were the term a “game of 2 halves” most certainly applied. Playing into the wind, both teams had little joy going forward and found themselves on the back foot for the majority of the half.
The 1st half saw Shanklin kicking into the wind first and immediately found getting any sort of grip on the game hard and were unable to get the ball down and play.
Farnborough dominated possession and early in the half scored the only goal of the game. Following a freekick into the box, the ball fell at the feet of an unmarked Farnborough player, who turned and – with a 1st time strike – found the bottom right corner.
The half continued with Shanklin defending throughout and although under pressure with Farnborough looking lively, no further clear cut chances were created
Half time: Shanklin Ladies 0-1 Farnborough FC Ladies
The 2nd half started and the roles were reversed this time, Shanklin having the lion’s share of possession and pushing Farnborough onto the back foot.
Shanklin looked to test the Farnborough keeper from range, but she stood up to the task and provided a faultless display under the worst conditions for a goalie.
The closest Shanklin came to scoring was direct from a Tilly Yardley corner which hit the crossbar.
The game ended 1-0 with both sets of players having working tirelessly in awful conditions, having given there all for their clubs.
Full time: Shanklin Ladies 0-1 Farnborough FC Ladies 1
Shanklin’s next game is Andover at home on 9th March.
