We lost our first match in the goalposts league against current league champions Coats & Goalposts in a 13 goal thriller and yet again TRUK were left ruing some contentious refereeing decisions as we were denied 2 clear penalties.
TRUK started ok with both Maysa and Lucy Clark going close but it was C&G who took the lead slightly against the run of play as TRUK failed to clear the ball and following a scramble it trickled in. Lucy Copsey then did well and drilled the ball home to bring TRUK level and she then had an effort well saved. A great strike gave C&G the lead and then a swift counter attack saw them go 3-1 up as for the first time since the 5 a side team were formed TRUK were terrible as an excellent C&G team ripped them apart. Poor defending and great movement from C&G saw them race into a 4-1 lead only for Lucy Copsey to give TRUK some hope when she finished well to make it 4-2. However! from the kick off C&G made it 5-2 as the ball was smashed into the bottom corner straight from kick off! A brilliant double save from Heather kept us just about in the game and Orlagh had a great chance to pull one back from TRUK but she failed to hit the target from 3 yds out with just the keeper to beat as the ball rebounded back from a Lucy Copsey shot. C&G then finally made a mistake as the GK passed the ball straight to Lucy Copsey who smashed the ball home to make it 5-3 and TRUK should have then been given a penalty as the C&G keeper saved Clarks shot only to then clearly handle the ball outside of the box the referee however failed to see this and instead of it being 5-4 C&G made it 6-3 as some more poor defending and another great finish saw us go in at the break 6-3 down.
Following some stern words at half time TRUK came out for the 2nd half looking to get back into the game but disaster was to strike as straight from the kick off a poor touch from Orlagh saw them break free and go 7-3 up! a Great strike from distance from Lucy Copsey pulled one back for TRUK and the C&G GK then made some great saves denying both the Lucy’s. Orlagh then tried her luck from range but saw her strike bounce of both the post and then Lucy Clark put one over the bar when she should have hit the target. Lucy Copsey then trickled one home to make it 7-5 and TRUK should have had a 2nd penalty when the 2 Lucy’s combined and Copsey was bundled over in the box but the referee again frustrated TRUK by saying no. Lucy Clark pounced on a mistake from the C&G GK to smash one home to make it 7-6 but despite TRUK expecting some added time due to change of GK’s from C&G midway through the half the referee blew bang on time denying TRUK the chance to get an equaliser.
In summery it was a poor performance from TRUK but that is taking nothing away from C&G who were an excellent side with some excellent players and you can see why they won the league last time round.
TRUK return to action in the league in January
TRUK: Heather E, Abi Cornell, Lucy Clark, Lucy Copsey, Orlagh O’Driscoll, Maysa P
Scorers: Lucy Copsey 5, Lucy Clark
Player of the match Heather E