Knaresborough Town Women 22-0 Wakefield Owls FC Ladies

Sunday saw Town return to league action at Manse Lane. The weather had been kind to us this week and the pitch was in excellent condition despite having had the men’s team play on it less than 24 hours earlier.

The visitors to Manse Lane were Wakefield Owls, a team we had played only a few weeks ago at their Stanley Rodillians RUFC home ground.

Despite having won the away fixture, we knew this would be a difficult game and one that we had to approach with the right attitude and give our opposition the respect that they deserved.

It was unfortunate that they had a last-minute change to their line-up and could only field ten players for the game, however, when many teams would have asked for a postponement, to their credit they wanted to fulfil their commitment to playing the match.

The game kicked off at a canter, with the home team on the front foot in the early minutes of the half.

A series of chances had already been created before Boro’ scored in the fifth minute of the game. A cross by Hattie Robson to Lorna Wilkinson, who controlled the ball with a single touch and slotted it past the keeper into the centre of the goal to get the home team off the mark, 1-0.

Lydia Corner was enjoying the early moments of the game, finding space to run at the Owls’ defence and it was from a run and cross by her in the eighth minute that found Rachel Carmichael who fired the ball into the far-left corner of the Wakefield goal to make it 2-0.

The next ten minutes saw both teams vying for the ball in midfield and trying to play it forward to set up various attacks.

It was the home team who scored next in the 18th minute as Cass Lane ran in on goal, rounded the keeper and put it away to make it 3-0.

Almost immediately from the restart, Grace Adams got on the ball just outside the penalty box; looking up, she unleashed a thunderbolt of a shot that cannoned off the crossbar, creating havoc in the box. A resulting shot was put just wide of the post and the score stayed at 3-0.

In the 23rd minute, a corner from Cass Lane reached Lorna Wilkinson who rose just above the defenders around her and glanced the ball in with her head to make it 4-0.

Hattie Robson was really enjoying the space she was getting on the right wing, and in the 25th minute beat the Wakefield Owls’ left back, hit a fiercely struck shot goalward with the defender just about managing to push the ball out for another corner to Town via the base of the post.

A minute later a cross from Town’s right hand side and resulting shots forced a magnificent double save from the Wakefield stopper, however, the ball finally rebounded to Sarah Parkes who forced it over the line with her knee, 5-0.

Lydia Corner got an assist in the 29th minute as a run and pass found Hattie Robson, who ghosted past the defender and put the ball in from what seemed an almost impossible angle, 6-0.

Hattie turned provider in the 30th minute as she drew the defender out of position and passed the ball across the penalty box to Grace Adams, who then guided the ball into the top left-hand corner of the goal to make it 7-0.

An unfortunate clash in defence saw one of the Wakefield players go down and receive treatment, before having to go to the side-line reducing the visitors temporarily to nine. As the next attack developed, the defender hadn’t been waved back on.

It was this next attack in the 35th minute that saw Hattie Robson receive the ball from Cass Lane and increase Town’s lead with a shot to the bottom right corner of the goal, 8-0.

Lorna Wilkinson then fired in a quick double in the 36th and 37th minutes to reach her first and then start her second hattrick. Hattie had provided another assist in the build-up to the ninth. Town had reached double figures in the league for the second time this season, 10-0.

Lorna wanted more and in the 40th minute was denied her fifth of the game as she was ruled offside having slotted the ball past the advancing keeper. This was the last significant action of the half, and the whistle blew for the end of an excellent 45 minutes for the home team.

Town were in the mood to increase their league goal difference and it took just two minutes of the second half for the next score. Rachel Carmichael, who was having a superb game in midfield, shot from outside the box, beating the keeper to make it 11-0.

Less than a minute after the restart, Lorna got onto the ball and looking up, saw the keeper off her line. A well struck shot dipped at the last moment and the keeper reacted to try and stop the ball dipping over her into the net. She got her hands to the ball but could only take the pace out of the shot and it dropped behind her and over the line to make it 12-0.

Six minutes into the second half and Lorna completed a superb double hattrick as a shot from Grace was blocked by the Owls’ keeper with Lorna getting onto the ball in the air to force it in and increasing the lead to 13-0.

It only took a further two minutes for Grace to get her second of the game; Hattie Robson once again the provider as the Boro’ captain made no mistakes - slotting the ball into the middle of the goal to make it 14-0.

It was Hattie’s turn to reach her hattrick in the 54th minute as the Wakefield keeper was unable to stop the lightning bolt of a shot placed to her right, 15-0.

To be fair, playing with only ten meant that as the visiting players tired, spaces were opening up all over the field and this afforded Knaresborough the time to put together attack after attack.

Lorna got her seventh in the 59th minute with a header to the left-hand corner of the goal to make it 16-0.

Polly Asquith-Brown got in on the action in the 65th minute, with a right footed shot at goal, the defender getting a touch but unfortunately not enough to stop the ball going in and making it 17-0.

Lydia Corner scored the goal her play deserved in the 67th minute to make it 18-0 and Cass Lane followed that up a minute later to get her second and Town’s nineteenth of the game, 19-0.

A change of keepers for Wakefield in the 70th minute and despite the scoreline, the supporters recognised that the outgoing stopper had actually had an outstanding game, making a series of superb saves.

Cass Lane was then denied her hattrick in the 73rd minute as she was deemed offside having reeled away to celebrate putting the ball into the net.

It was Polly who got the next goal in the 81st minute, scoring her second of the game and Boro’s 20th; her shot from outside the box hit the right-hand corner of the net, 20-0.

Lorna capped off a magnificent performance, getting her eighth in the 84th minute, making it 21-0.

But the final word of the day was had by Cass as she got her thoroughly deserved hattrick; shooting from the right-hand side of the six-yard box, her shot crashed past the keeper into the bottom left corner of the goal to make it an unbelievable 22-0.

There was still time for the stand-in stopper to make a superb triple save, denying Grace her hattrick.

The final whistle blew, and Town had chalked-up their biggest ever win in the league and put last week’s defeat in the County Cup firmly in the past.

With so many strong teams in Division 4, goal difference in the league is going to be vital and Town are determined to take every opportunity to score, try out new systems to play, and put players into new formations.

As with our first game against Wakefield, we must take a moment to compliment a club that epitomise what football should be about. They came to play. They didn’t complain. They literally played with a smile on their faces and when many teams would let their heads drop…they didn’t and played on.

We cannot praise them highly enough…they may sit at the bottom of the league on points currently, but if the table was based on club attitude and spirit…then they certainly would be at the top of the league.

POTM: Lorna Wilkinson; Goal of the Game: Polly Asquith-Brown.

Goals: Cass Lane 3; Sarah Parkes 1; Rachel Carmichael 2; Lydia Corner 1; Grace Adams 2; Hattie Robson 3; Lorna Wilkinson 8; Polly Asquith-Brown 2.

Referee: Alex De Marco.

Match report by Connor Doherty