Women's 2nd XI Vs Mannamead

Caradon 2s faced Mannamead in their last home fixture of the season last Saturday, fresh in confidence after three wins on the bounce and eager for more points and goals. They started well, as they have done in recent games with strong pressure from the first whistle. Dominating in their attacking half, it was clear that Caradon were out for an early goal and it didn’t take long to arrive.

Sarah ‘Browner’ Strevens leapt onto an accurate pass from midfield and drove towards the D, despite numerous defenders trying to stop her she carried on her solo run right up to the keeper and managed to slip the ball into the tightest of corners to put the home side 1 up. Mannamead however were quick on their counter attacks and it seemed the Caradon goal woke the visitors up as a number of attacks started to come through. One particular Mannamead player caused a lot of hassle for the Caradon defence, with weaving dribbles and obvious skill but left back Claire Brown managed to block the majority of her runs, unless she got as far as Rachael Spencer, who was also strong enough to hault any early threats.

Shots on goal were end to end with chances for both teams to score, the playing field felt level for a solid 20 minutes of the match where it could have gone either way. But once again it was down to Mannmead’s solo star who weaved her way through the Caradon midfield and defence to score an impressive goal all on her own. The two teams went into the half time break even at 1-1.

Both teams started the second half strong, having both come up from Trelawney 2 last year it was obvious this was going to be a close game. Tensions were rising among the visiting side as they started to question every single decision from the umpires, stick tackles came in and both green and yellow cards were given to Mannmead players in light of this. Caradon tried to take advantage of Mannamead being a player down, player of the match Sadie Mullis made continuous superb runs down the wing, strong hits into the D and won more than one short corner with her efforts.
Despite scoring many goals this season through shorts, they weren’t working in this match as Mannmead were quick to come out and stop both straight strikes and slips which have been successful in recent weeks. It was after one such saved strike where a full and busy D of players all jumped on the loose ball, Helen Manley found space for a strike only to hit the post.

With 10 minutes to go, Caradon were keen to hold out for a draw but still found they had the time and space to push for a winner. Unfortunately a foot in the D gave Mannamead a short in the dying minutes which was converted to give them the lead. As the final whistle blew, Caradon couldn’t help but think a draw would have been more deserving in what was a very equal match, but should be happy with their performance as well as keeping their heads in a heated and frustrating 70 minutes.

It was a long wait for Caradon 2 as they needed Falmouth to beat Truro to guarantee their stay in Trelawney 1 next season, without the pressure of it going down to the last game next week. It wasn’t until Sunday morning the news came through, as Truro lost even if they win next week Caradon will finish above them and above the drop zone. They play Falmouth tomorrow with an early start in Penryn, hoping to get a last decent result before the celebrations can really begin at the End of Season party.