Battling Glassgirls Defeated at Stoke

Zoe Clarke’s (pictured) goal just before the half hour levelled the score up after the home had taken an early lead, but two quick-fire goals gave Stoke a 3-1 half time lead, which they added to shortly after the break, and although Stour had the better of the play thereafter they were always up against it as far as finding a way back into the contest was concerned.

There was also an added blow as recent signing Amy Dicken suffered an unfortunate injury which is likely to keep her out of action for some time. Our thoughts are with Amy for a swift and full recovery.

Dicken was one of two players, along with Daisy Clements, returning to the starting eleven after the defeat to Halifax, while Ellie Butler was back on the bench as Stour looked to bounce back from that game, but they got off to the worst possible start as Saffron Jordan reacted quickest to control Lily Murphy’s cross from the right and fire past Jamie-Lee Bamford with less than two minutes on the clock.

The Glassgirls seemed stunned by that blow and struggled to find an early foothold, with Stoke controlling possession and probing for openings. Rare forays from Jess Lowe and Clements were glimpses of a Stour threat but ultimately were snuffed out by the Potters defence.

At the other end, the Glassgirls were doing well to limit Stoke’s sights of goal, but they were indebted to Bamford twice in little more than a minute when she clawed away Shannon Stamps’s cross from under the bar, and then palmed Jordan’s snap-shot over the bar.

Stour were starting to show signs of life, managing to commit more players to their attacks, but it was still largely against the run of play when they drew level on 29 minutes. A good interchange between Hannah Fishwick and Esme Moran saw the latter set ZOE CLARKE free to drive into the penalty area and calmly clip her shot across Georgie Ferguson and inside the far post.

Unfortunately that parity lasted no more than four minutes, as Arabella Suttie got beyond everyone at the far post to place her header back across goal and past Bamford, and although the Glassgirls’ keeper did well to beat away Heidi Logan’s shot five minutes later, she could prevent Jordan adding Stoke’s thirds and her second as she swept home Murphy’s low cut back four minutes from the break.

Stour might have reduced the Potters’ advantage right on half time, with Clarke heading over from Kelsey Richardson’s corner, but as it was Stour had a job on their hands, and that only got tougher five minutes into the second half as Murphy again was the provider for Alice Higginbottom to net from close range.

With play halted for Dicken’s injury shortly after, it seemed nothing was going right for the Glassgirls, but they would go on to enjoy much the better of the final half hour, and on another day might have found a route back into the contest, albeit Stoke seemed happy to keep them at arm’s length.

Clarke’s looping header from a Richardson free kick didn’t trouble Ferguson, but she was well beaten by Lowe’s volley on the turn two minutes later, with the inside of a post coming to her rescue, whilst at the other end Stamps might have done better with an effort she fired straight at Bamford.

Substitute Lizzie Bennett-Steele fired wide from a narrow angle, and then Fishwick was brought down to give Richardson a chance from the spot, which Ferguson dived to her left to parry away, with Bennett-Steele’s long range effort then well held by the keeper.

Stoppage time saw Butler pinch the ball off Ferguson in the area but, from a tight angle, she was only able to find the side-netting with what would prove to be Stourbridge’s final chance.

(Photo – Anthony Dunn, Focus Dunn Sports)