ON Saturday, November 17, Carmarthen Ladies 2XI welcomed Whitchurch Saints 5th’s for their first meeting of the season.
The game started off strong from both sides with Carmarthen eager to get a goal from the start.
Carmarthen midfielders Lili Church and Lucy Davies held the centre well which allowed Carmarthen’s forwards Celyn Thomas, Charlotte Harries, Claire Evans and Ffion Raymond to get some attacking opportunities early on in the game. This put pressure on Saint’s defence as Carmarthen tried to break through their back line.
Carmarthen were awarded for their efforts with a short corner. A sweep from Kate Howell from the side of the ‘D’ was unfortunate to be kicked away by the Saint’s Keeper. This kick found Celyn Thomas on the penalty spot who calmly pushed the ball into the corner of the goal to put the home side into the lead, 1-0.
The half time whistle blew and after an effective team talk from Captain Charlotte Harries, Carmarthen were confident and eager going into the second half.
Carmarthen started with first back which created some excellent play but Whitchurch Saints were eager to get back into the game and started breaking through Carmarthen’s defence. Carmarthen’s defence held strong with Siriol Richards, Marianne Spratt, Elinor Routley and Leia Thomas working hard to keep the ball away from keeper Janine Owen.
Owen displayed some excellent saves but with the persistent attacking efforts in Carmarthen’s ‘D’ by the Saints, Carmarthen were unfortunate to concede a goal, 1-1.
Both teams could see that this was a close game now and pushed themselves to the limit to try and get back into the lead. Carmarthen used their young team well by connecting together and moving the ball up the pitch as a unit.
Wingbacks Sioned Raymond, Kate Howell and Caitlin Marshall worked effortlessly together to transfer the ball up from the defence to the forwards making some promising play.
Carmarthen started to tire which allowed Saints to make some breaks attacking up the pitch. Leia Thomas highlighted her ability in defence when making some goal saving tackles to clear the ball away from Carmarthen’s ‘D’. Carmarthen continued to defend hard but were unfortunate when Saints managed to slip the ball in to put them in the lead for the first time in the game, 2-1.
This gave Carmarthen the push they needed as they knew they didn’t have a lot of time to get back into the game. Carmarthen pushed hard in the last part of the game with Raymond, Davies and Church getting the ball from the centre to the wings which saw some close calls in Saint’s ‘D’.
With the last play of the game, Carmarthen’s heads were held high which showed their team spirit. A ball from Richards to Raymond found Celyn Thomas on the p spot who pushed it passed the goalie with ease, making the final score 2-2 in the last few seconds of the game.
Sioned Raymond was awarded man of the match from both team for her effective attacking and defending play throughout the match. Ffion Raymond was also praised for her excellent play in her 2nd’s debut.
Carmarthen 2XI will train hard this week before their upcoming away game to Whitchurch Saints 6th’s this Saturday (Nov 24).
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