The Ladies unbeaten run came to an end at the weekend as they were beaten 2-1 by rivals Huncote in the League Cup.
Although disappointed to be out of the Cup the Blues were relieved the loss hadn’t come in the league so the promotion chase was still on.
The sun was out over the pitch and the Blues were hoping it would be a repeat of the league match against Huncote a few weeks ago where the Blues came out well deserved 1 nil winners.
However it was evident in the first few minutes this wasn’t to be as Huncote caught Long Eaton napping and passed through the Blues defence to slot the ball past keeper Cairo Hopewell to put the home side 1 up straight from the kick off.
It was a stark wake up call for the Blues who tend to start slow and they had to book up their ideas to get themselves back in the game.
This wasn’t as easy as the Blues hoped as buoyed by their early lead Huncote continued to attack the Blues and the under pressure defence struggled, only panicky defending keeping the scoreline becoming even worse for Long Eaton.
The Blues battled on and did manage to attack Huncote on the break, but playing too deep and with only Jodie Hancock up front they found it hard to find a way through the resiliant Huncote back four.
On the few occasions when the pacey Hancock attacked the defence she was brought down twice just outside the area, but the Blues couldn’t convert the resulting free kicks.
The game continued with both teams trying to get the edge over each other until half time.
The second 45 began with Long Eaton looking slightly more spritely, again it was Jodie Hancock who was worrying the home side’s defence and when she ran at the Huncote centre half she was brought down for a third time, this time it was in the area and the referee took no hesitation in pointing straight to the spot.
Midfielder Kimmi Harford stepped up and shrugged off the pressure to confidently put the ball into the net, putting the 2 teams back on an even keel.
Huncote were not about to give up the fight and again the two teams battled to get the upper hand. Huncote dominated the midfield at times and the pressure paid off for them when the Blues defence found themselves undone by the Huncote forwards and Carly Hayes brought down their striker as she bore down on Long Eaton’s goal. The referee deemed it to be in the area, resulting in a penalty for the home side.
The Huncote captain measured up to take the kick, she looked confident but the kick flew over the bar, granting the Blues a temporary reprieve.
However the Blues did not heed the warning and within a few minutes the reprieve was gone as the Huncote right winger managed to hit a low cross which was met by the Huncote striker in the middle of the box as the Blues back four found themsleves stretched yet again and she slotted home to give Huncote the lead.
Long Eaton tried to equalise but to no avail, Huncote’s defence standing up to the Blues attacks.
Time looked to be running out and an injury to Lisa Jones didn’t help matters, after one last attack the whistle went, signaling a disappointing end to the Blues cup run.
Overall it was an under par performance from the Blues and the better team on the day won. With a week off the ladies will be hoping to return to winning ways when they continue the assault on the league top spot.
