Tilehurst Panthers Stripes 5 - 2 Caversham AFC

Caversham were once again caught napping away from home after conceding two goals in the first 5 minutes as they visited Tilehurst's Linear Park for the first time. Caversham had started brightly from the kick-off as some slicking passing from Daisy, Grace and Josie (back from injury) found Ruby down the right. Player of the match Ruby ran the Tilehurst left back ragged for much of the game and some skillful football had the Tilehurst defence under pressure early on. However, Tilehurst punished Caversham twice early in the game with two devastating counter attacks. The first came when the defence was caught square and with Serena struggling to position on the full size pitch, it was a straight forward finish for the Tilehurst striker. Caversham were unlucky not to equalise immediately when another slick move found Daisy on the edge of the box and with her shot caught well it was disappointing to see the ball rattle the under side of the cross bar. However, in a game that was proving an end to end affair, Caversham were again caught again with a carbon copy long ball behind the defence and with a simple finish they found themselves 2-0 down with a mountain to climb.

The attempted ascent began when Ruby got behind the left back and crossed the ball to Evie who couldn't quite connect facing an open goal. Just as it was looking like lady luck wasn't on Caversham's side, Josie struck a shot from the edge of the box and this time if found the top corner for a spectacular finish. It was her first goal for the club and she won't score many better. After a frantic opening period the game settled down and although the Izzy, Josie, Ruby, Evie, Daisy and Grace continued to cause problems, Olivia, Martha, Maud and Anna were coming under increasing pressure as Tilehurst exploited the space left in front of the Caversham defence. Niamh, Lianna and Leonie swapped in for Martha, Olivia and Izzy and with the game well balanced things fell apart for Caversham just before half time. With the defence under pressure, a crossed ball looped over everyone from a tight angle and landed in the bottom corner and then minutes later a corner ricocheted in off a Caversham player for Tilehurst's fourth. Whilst the half time scoreline was harsh on Caversham, they had not found the same defensive organisation in their previous game against Tilehurst and paid a heavy price for this.

The second half saw Caversham switch from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1 with Grace and Izzy playing a defensive midfield roll in front of Leonie, Martha, Grace and Niamh. Josie played centrally to Lianna on the left, Ruby on the right and Evie up front. The impact was immediate and Tilehurst's midfield threat was nullified. Serena was now left inactive for large periods of the game as Caversham sought the goals to get them back in the game. Daisy returned and Caversham looked even more dangerous as she and Evie went close. Under pressure the free kicks in Caversham's favour mounted, Ruby made a run into the box she was tripped by a mistimed tackle. The free kick was awarded on the edge of the box and Caversham went close with the free kick. With the game drawing to a close, Caversham got their reward when Ruby struck a great shot to net her first of the season. Although it was ultimately proved just a consolation, it capped a fine second half performance that should give the team plenty of confidence to progress in this tough division.