Cottage Farm Ladies

  The Ladies train on Mondays and Thursdays at Belgrave High School starting at 6.00pm in summer months, and at 8.00pm on Thursdays at Queen Elizabeth Mercian School in winter months.

Reports:

18/04/2004 - In the last game of the season Cottage Farm Ladies did not do themselves justice in a scrappy encounter. Wolverhampton started the better  but didn't really create much. Cottage Farm then began to get into the game as it became end to end stuff.. Wolverhampton then took the lead from a corner and the scoreline stayed 1 - 0 until half time. The second half started the same with both teams trying to push forward, but in truth the game was very scrappy. Wolverhampton got a second and then Becky Thomas pulled one back direct from a free kick. In the last 10 minutes, Wolverhampton sealed the victory with their third. Player of the Match: Kate Harker.

04/04/2004 - Up against the potential champions, Cottage Farm Ladies put up a very good defensive display in a battling performance. Stone Dominoes who narrowly missed out on promotion last season seem determined not to miss out this term and put together some excellent passing football. Cottage Farm were equally determined not to make it easy and battled for every ball and refused to lie down. Unfortunately, Cottage Farm's passing game was not up to recent standards and they continually lost possession to the excellent Stone team. However, they refused to give in and made Stone battle for their win. Players of the Match: Becky Thomas and Emily Cotterill. 

28/03/2004 - Despite missing players again, Cottage Farm Ladies completed the double over Stafford Rangers with a comfortable 7 - 0 victory. They stormed into a 3 - 0 lead inside the first quarter and never looked like relinquishing their advantage. Vicky Cobb, making her first start of the season, combined well with Kirsty Gardner and Kayleigh Hewitt to set up a steady stream of chances prompted by the midfield behind them. Indeed Vicky Cobb scored the first after a well timed run and Kayleigh Hewitt quickly scored the second. Vicky Cobb then scored her second direct from a corner before Kayleigh scored her second before half time. Cottage Farm eased off in the second half and the good football only showed in patches, but another two from Kayleigh Hewitt and one from Kirsty Gardner completed the scoring although it should really have been double figures. Another good performance from this young group of players. Player of the Match: Kayleigh Hewitt.

21/03/2004 - On a very blustery day, Cottage Farm started off against the wind and had to defend well against the visitors from Stoke. This they did very well, and limited Milton to 2 or 3 long range efforts which keeper Alex Dockray dealt with comfortably. Cottage Farm had to play football just to clear their lines which they did very well at times. Indeed, Cottage Farm had a couple of good chances to take the lead which they couldn't quite convert. The second half enabled Cottage Farm to build up some pressure which eventually told when Emma Gray used the wind to her advantage to lob the keeper from fully 30 yards. Unfortunately, at this time the home team eased up and allowed Milton to apply some pressure of their own. This they were willing to do, and this pressure eventually told when Milton equalized. Nature then decided to take over when the heavens opened. The wind picked up even more, the rain lashed down, and when this turned to hail, the game was abandoned after 81 minutes. A good game and on possession, a fair result.  Player of the Match: Becky Thomas.

07/03/2004 - Despite the scoreline, Cottage Farm gave leaders Darlaston a run for their money in a very good game of football. On a pitch with a considerable slope, Cottage Farm found themselves defending the bottom goal and were put under a lot of pressure. Some good defending however, saw them ride the storm and then start playing some good football of their own. Both sides were quick into the tackle and so tried to use the width of the pitch to find openings which they did. Chances went begging at both ends as the defences just about held firm. Darlaston took the lead after 30 minutes through a good strike when the Cottage Farm defence were just not quite tight enough, but soon after Cottage Farm had the chance to score but again missed from the penalty spot. The second half started with Darlaston scoring two quick goals, both again well taken. Cottage Farm pulled one back through Kayleigh Hewiit after some good passing between Emma Gray and Kate Harker. Darlaston completed the scoring with two more good strikes the fifth one being a gem with the keeper being chipped from 25 yards. The scoreline did not really reflect the game, no doubt Darlaston deserved their win, but the two sides were closer than the scoreline suggests.  Players of the Match: Audrey Kavanagh and Kirsty Gardner.   

29/02/2004 - With only 10 players, this was always going to be a difficult game, especially on a pitch where there wasn't a blade of grass to be seen up the middle of the pitch. But not for the first time this season, the Ladies saved their best for the games when they are up against it. Straight from the kick-off, the Ladies started passing the ball around well, better than they have in a quite a while. Sensibly, they tried to get the ball out wide and attack down the flanks. Kirsty Gardner and Kayleigh Hewitt were a constant handful for the Yates defence and with Emma Gray and Katie Harker being more than a match for the home midfield Cottage posed several problems. After having a goal disallowed for offside and then missing a penalty, Cottage Farm eventually took the lead through an own goal when Zoe Pugh's shot hit the post rolled across the line and stuck in the mud. The home defender in trying to clear it, only succeeded in putting in her own net. The second half saw Yates applying some pressure, but Cottage Farm Ladies weathered the storm, and came back into the game to get a second through lone striker Zoe Pugh with 10 minutes left. Yates to their credit did not give up and with 5 minutes left got one back following a right wing cross. Cottage Farm held out to secure the points after a very good display.   Player of the Match: Alex Dockray.

08/02/2004 - This game was played in very difficult conditions, on a soft pitch with a very strong wind blowing straight down the pitch producing a very scrappy game. Cottage Farm Ladies had the wind at their backs in the first half and enjoyed the majority of the territorial advantage and the possession but did not make it tell. They created some good chances to take the lead but never quite managed to convert them and at half time the score stayed at 0 - 0. The second half was inevitably the complete opposite, with Cannock doing all the pressing and taking the lead with a near post flick from an in-swinging corner. The tiring Cottage Farm team struggled to get their passing going to relieve the pressure and eventually Cannock came up with 3 more goals to seal a comfortable victory in the end.  Players of the Match: Becky Thomas and Kirsty Gardner.

25/01/2004 - In their first game in 7 weeks, the Ladies enjoyed a comfortable win against Sandwell. Cottage Farm also welcomed back Emily Cotterill, Vicky Cobb and Vicky Roe back, the two former after long term injuries. Straight from the kick off, Cottage Farm dominated and didn't allow Sandwell a sniff of a chance, indeed the only real problem was coping with Sandwell's offside trap. The first goal came in the third minute and at regular intervals thereafter. The goalscorers were Kate Harker 2, Emma Gray 2, a super 30 yarder from Becky Thomas, an own goal, and within 20 seconds of coming on, the two subs combined with Emily Cotterill putting Vicky Cobb through to score. Cottage Farm played some very good football at times but some times were a little sloppy, only to be expected after such a long lay off.      Player of the Match: Vicky Roe.

07/12/2003 - A promising first half performance was spoilt when after dominating the first 35 minutes, both in possession and territory, the Ladies failed to capitalise and eventually went down to a defeat. The football played in the first half was very good with good passing, support and commitment. After the break, APS dominated although the first goal came about when an indirect free kick was awarded on the 6 yard line for dangerous play (high feet) which was debatable, and then insisted on a retake when the first effort was blocked, due to people moving too early, which was debatable too. The luck was definitely going APS's way as a couple of the other goals had an element of good fortune about them, although they undoubtedly deserved the win but the score line was rather flattering.       Player of the Match: Becky Thomas. 

23/11/2003 - After last week's fine display, this was very disappointing. Although Cottage Farm were under strength, so were Wolverhampton United. This did not stop them playing some very good football. Cottage Farm's marking was not good enough and they did not keep their shape, and they basically were taught a bit of a lesson. Kayleigh Hewitt's first half goal gave Cottage Farm the lead, but Wolverhampton did not give up and eventually ran out worthy winners by 3 goals to 1. Players of the Match: Stephanie Parker and Kirsty Gardner. 

16/11/2003 - Cottage Farm Ladies had to play with 10 players after being decimated by injuries and unavailabilities. However, despite being on the wrong end of a 3 - 0 score line, the 10 players played superbly against top of the table Stone Dominoes. Despite being a lot of pressure the Cottage Farm midfield and defence worked tirelessly to keep the impressive Stone side at bay. A penalty was the only difference between the sides at half time, and Cottage Farm had a  great chance to equalize early in the second half but the keeper pulled of a good save. It took until the 75th minute before Stone broke through to score their second, and they followed it soon afterwards with a second penalty to take the points and maintain their 100% record. Players of the Match: Amy Waller and Jenny Lowe. 

09/11/2003 - This game started off as an even contest with both sides playing some good football. Stoke took the lead midway through the first half but Cottage Farm hit back when Kayleigh Hewitt pulled the ball back from the left corner to Anna Kelly who lashed it into the back of the net. The game stayed this way until half time. In the second half, however, Cottage Farm lost the inspirational Anna Kelly and then lost their shape and rather lost their way. Four more goals were conceded, two of which were down to Cottage Farm errors in a forgettable second half. Player of the Match: Amy Waller.

02/11/2003 - Another good performance which Cottage Farm Ladies controlled from start to finish. Goalkeeper Alex Dockray was very rarely involved as the defence were hardly troubled. The midfield again provided plenty of possession, and probably the only criticism was the finishing could have been better. The goalscorers were Kate Harker 2, Emma Gray with a 30 yarder which was still rising when it hit the back of the net, and Kayleigh Hewitt. Players of the Match: Anna Kelly and Emma Gray.

26/10/2003 - Back to league action this week, and after 5 minutes, this was always going to be a comfortable victory with Cottage Farm already 3 - 0 up. The pacy midfield trio of Karen Moss, Kirsty Gardner and Kayleigh Hewiit provided a constant stream of possession and it was always going to be a case of how many goals Cottage Farm would score. The offside trap that Sandwell employed did cause a few problems, but once that was overcome, the goals continued to flow. The visiting Sandwell keeper produced many fine saves to keep the final score down to 11 - 0. Goalscorers were Zoe Pugh 4, Anna Kelly 2, Kayleigh Hewitt 2, Kirsty Gardner, Karen Moss and Kate Harker. Player of the Match: Kirsty Gardner.

19/10/2003 - With the welcome return of one or two players, the Ladies were able to field a stronger line up and 3 subs! 

Player of the Match: Kayleigh Hewitt

12/10/2003 - More unavailabilities meant more changes to the line up, but the Ladies started well against third-placed Milton Ladies in Stoke. Some good work from both teams meant that the game was an end to end affair initially with Milton just having the edge. Their pacy front runners were threatening to break through but some good defensive work and also some good goalkeeping from stand-in keeper Vicky Roe kept them at bay. Not to be outdone, the Cottage Farm attack also created chances with Kayleigh Hewiit finishing off a superb run down the left when she cut in to test the home keeper. Milton Ladies took the lead when a long ball over the top caught the Cottage Farm defence out. Cottage Farm were virtually down to 10 players when left back Jenny Lowe pulled a hamstring, but despite this they stayed well in the game. Milton went 2 up through a superb strike into the top corner of the net. Zoe Pugh and Katie Harker up front went close on several occasions but it just didn't seem to be their day. Milton wrapped the game up in the last 15 minutes with a good header from a right wing cross. Credit to both teams teams for a good contest which was played in the right spirit. Perhaps the final score was a little unjust.                        Player of the Match: Vicky Roe

05/10/2003 - Against a hard-working and tough-tackling Darlaston team, the Rangers got off to the worst possible start when they conceded a sloppy goal from a corner in the first 5 minutes. They then began to slowly fight their way back into the game although Darlaston continued to look threatening whenever they attacked. The Cottage Farm defence though, with Steph Parker in commanding form, looked much more solid. Katie Harker and Zoe Pugh up front also struggled to break through the Darlaston defence although they did come close on a couple of occasions. The second half brought more end to end play, with Kayleigh Hewitt looking very lively out on the right, but the two defences continued to look solid. Darlaston did eventually break through for a second, but another good performance from Alex Dockray in goal prevented any further Darlaston goals. Cottage Farm could not quite break through the Darlaston defence on the day.         Player of the Match: Lyndsey Statham. 

28/09/2003 - Another week, another problem. The Ladies currently struggling with injuries and illness, could only field 10 players against Stoke Reserves. However the battling 10 gave a brave performance, especially from Kayleigh Hewitt in her first full match and Kirsty Gardner, holding Stoke for 80 minutes and could have gone in front when the ever lively Katie Harker tried a chip shot over the advancing keeper, only to see the ball go inches over the bar. Stoke had had a fair number of chances to take the lead, but due to a brilliant performance from Goalkeeper Alex Dockray who somehow kept the ball out of the net, even Paul Daniels would have been impressed. Then they finally succumbed to a shot that took 4 or 5 deflections, before trickling over the line. With the team getting tired, Stoke scored a second well taken goal with just 3 minutes left.                                Player of the Match: Alex Dockray

21/09/2003 - This was a better performance from the 1st team against a strong Cannock side. Honours were shared in the first half, although the better chances fell to Rangers, with Katie Harker and Zoe Pugh going close. The 2nd half was very much the same, but with Cannock running in 3 goals, which did not reflect the game. Outstanding performances from Vicky Roe, Becky Thomas and Kirsty Gardner.       Player of the Match: Stephanie Parker.

14/09/2003 - The Ladies had a much sterner test this week, but again as last week ended up with missed chances.  There was some good football being played by both teams but the Ladies had to thank their Goalkeeper Alex Dockray on more than one occasion as APS tried very hard to get the winning goal. An all round improvement and good individual performances from newcomers Kayleigh Hewitt and Katie Harker. Player of the Match: Alex Dockray

07/09/2003 - The Ladies 1^st  Team opened their season with a draw. The Ladies, unable to field some of their normal players due to injury, played some good football, especially from new comers Susan Blabey and Kirsty Gardner. The score line didn’t do justice to the match, as the Ladies spent most of the game camped in the opposition half, but just couldn’t get the ball in the net, due to some heroic goalkeeping. Player of the Match: Kirsty Gardner