WARMINSTER TOWN LADIES 2 – 2 BRISTOL ROVERS WOMEN

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Intro

I was supposed to be going to an FA Vase game on Saturday but had to change my plans at the last minute. Every cloud has a silver lining, as they say, and I was long overdue a visit to a women’s game of football. This was the perfect opportunity to tick that off my list and also to revisit Weymouth Street. I was last there for a pre-season friendly between Warminster Town men’s team and Bemerton Heath Harlequins in 2019.

Warminster Ladies were promoted from the Eastern Division of this League last season, and today was their first home game of this campaign. Getting off to a tough start, Warminster lost the opening game 6-0 away at Ilminster Town who finished in second place last season. Another away trip followed, this time down in Somerset against Bishops Lydeard. And Warminster secured their first 3 points of the season with a 2-1 victory.

Last season saw Rovers finish top of the Northern Division, winning all but 2 games and conceding only 12 goals. The first game of the season sounds like an incredible match with the Gas Girls putting 6 past Royal Wootton Bassett, but also letting in 4. At home last weekend they lost narrowly 2-1 to Forest Green Rovers.

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The Ground

Weymouth Street hasn’t changed much since my last visit – still offering great views over the surrounding hills. It lacks much seating and doesn’t really have a huge amount of cover for if the rain decides to fall. There is still plenty of character to be found with its turnstiles and assortment of buildings on the nearside.

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The Match

The visitors got off to a flying start but Annys Turner shot straight at Abi Footner in the Warminster goal. This was following iffy defending from the home side who should’ve cleared a ball over the top. Abigail Todd fired just over for Rovers on 18 minutes and then Footner made a great save from a corner. A couple of minutes later, away keeper Charlotte Cousin found herself stranded without the ball but the Warminster striker could only hit the base of the post. The half looked like it would finish goalless but with a minute remaining Footner couldn’t hold onto the ball despite a good save. Todd was there to bury the rebound and ensure Rovers had the lead at the break.

Cousins made a good save from Sophie Kelly’s low shot 7 minutes into the second half. The away side almost doubled their lead but the impressive Footner thwarted a one-on-one effort, swiftly followed by a superb tip around the post. With just under half an hour to go, the home side pulled level. A precise effort into the bottom corner from Kelly evaded the dive of Cousins. There was a lengthy delay after Andrea Chludilova seemingly sustained a nasty head injury in the celebrations. 10 minutes later and the visitors retook the lead as Turner sent an in-swinging corner deep and it went straight into the far corner. 3 minutes later Kelly got her toe to the ball on the stretch but it flew agonisingly wide of the post. The clock ticked into the injury time accrued from the earlier clash of heads and the home side pushed for an equaliser. The ball was played through (and from where I was standing 2 Warminster players appeared to be offside, but no flag from the Rovers-supplied linesman was forthcoming) and Cousins made a great save. The ball was played straight back into the box and eventually landed at the feet of Libby Goater who finished well and levelled the game. The last action of the game saw Rovers captain Libby Bell blaze over from a good position in the box.

So it finished 2-2 between the 2 promoted sides. Probably a fair reflection on the game and a great first women’s game for me.

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The Photos

The full gallery of match photos is also available HERE