TOWN WOMEN LOSE TO WELL-ORGANISED BURNLEY SIDE

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Huddersfield Town Women suffered their third defeat of the season against Burnley Women last Wednesday with a 3-2 score-line. This loss saw Huddersfield dropping a place to 4th in the league, whereas Burnley have risen to 2nd with 2 games in hand. A poor first half saw Burnley gain a 2-goal advantage before Town got a goal back before half time. The second half didn’t see Town’s performance improve leading to Burnley scoring again. Town found a last-minute goal which was too late into the game.

Burnley Women enjoyed majority of possession within the first quarter and looked threatening in front of goal. Their persistence paid off in the 24th minute when Sarah Greenhalgh netted from the edge of the box, passing Lauren Joyce on her left into the bottom right corner of the goal. 15 minutes later and Burnley had doubled their lead. A quick counterattack saw Burnley pass Town’s keeper before finding Kerry Hope who slotted it into the back of an empty net against her former club.

The final moments of the first half saw Town reacting well as they tried to find a way back into the game. A Katie Mallin corner saw several touches from various defenders and attackers before Laura Elford made the key touch to get the ball across the line. A goal before half time provided Town a lifeline going into the second half.

The second half saw slight improvements from Town however, Burnley’s well-organised defence prevented any clear-cut chances. But multiple errors in defence, saw Burnley regain their 2-goal cushion in the 54th minute. Elizabeth Hamer scored by getting enough power in her shot to pass the goalkeeper and slowly trickle over the line.

As the game entered the final 20 minutes, Huddersfield started to get more into the game. They were awarded a second goal in the 85th minute. Substitute Sarah Danby gained control on the wing and put a dangerous cross into the box, met by the head of Katie Nutter to put town back in the game. Stoppage time saw multiple chances for Huddersfield to get an equaliser. Two close-range freekicks failed to find the goal and Burnley prevented any dangerous crosses. The full-time whistle sounded to the relief of the Burnley defenders.

Ashley Vickers: “We were beaten by a team who worked harder than us, took their chances and showed more desire to win the game. I thought the substitutes gave us a reaction but ultimately, we weren’t good enough. We have no consistency in our performances and until we switch our mentality to match that of winners, we will continue to be inconsistent”

Huddersfield Women are back in action on Sunday in the FA WNL Cup against Sheffield FC at home.

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Match Report By Oliver Eaton