Women's football news
Written by: Joe
Lewes earned a hard-fought point against third-place Ipswich Town on Sunday after Lucy Connolly-Brame’s tap-in secured a 1-1 draw at the Dripping Pan, reports Lily Perrill.
The Rooks went a goal down in the 26th minute when Ipswich’s Natasha Thomas got her head on a free kick.
Lewes fought hard and dug deep to defend mounting pressure from the visitors, and the hard work paid off when Connolly-Brame broke and found the net to earn the hosts a point.
The Rooks went into the fixture knowing that a win, as difficult as it would be, could take them up to sixth in the FA WNL South. Nat Lawrence’s side were unbeaten at home in their last five fixtures, and were looking to maintain this strong record.
Early possession fell with the visitors who brought a large travelling fanbase along to the Dripping Pan. Lewes did well in defence as a few chances came for the opposition in the opening minutes of the game, with the hosts holding firm.
There was a close call for the Rooks in the fourth minute as Paula Howells closed down Ipswich keeper Natalia Negri, who only just managed to boot the ball away before the forward could get to her.
Howells caused the Ipswich defence issues throughout the match, chasing after every loose ball and forcing multiple errors from the opposition.
Connolly-Brame put in a fantastic challenge to stop a charge in the Ipswich attack from Lucy Watson, resulting in a corner, which amounted to nothing thanks to the work of goalkeeper Emily Moore punching the ball out of the box.
The first proper chance for the Rooks came in the 14th minute when the ball fell nicely for Leah Lane in the left hand side of the box. She attempted a curled shot but it was too high and flew into the stands.
Lewes again came close to an opener when a free kick was swung in from the right hand side and Layla Proctor was close to tapping it in, but it went just wide of Negri’s net.
Howells showed outstanding footwork once again to fashion a shot from the left hand side after getting round two Ipswich defenders, but the shot was from a tight angle and ended up in the keeper’s hands.
The Rooks played a period in the first half with 10 players on the pitch when Sydney Schreimaier went off for treatment with a nosebleed. In that time, captain Hannah Godfrey made a fantastic goalline clearing header to keep the visitors at bay.
However, Ipswich took the lead in the 26th minute after winning a free kick on the right flank. The ball was swung into the box in front of goal, and Thomas was in the right place at the right time to head the ball past Moore.
Howells attempted to hit back almost instantly with a powerful shot just outside the box, but it was caught by the keeper. The Rooks continued to pile on the pressure and won a corner, which was agonisingly close to going in, but the ball fumbled around the box before being cleared by the visitors.
Despite being a goal down Lewes stayed very much in the game, dominating spells of possession and defending well.
Olivia Carpenter got a shot off in the 42nd minute from well outside of the box, which had the crowd gasping as it dipped down towards the goal, but unfortunately landed just wide of the target.
After robbing the ball off of Ipswich defender Leah Mitchell, Howells turned and shot at goal from the left outside the box, and some of the crowd already began to celebrate an equaliser as it looked to be heading on target, but it sailed just over the crossbar. The Rooks were piling on more and more pressure, frustrating the opposition.
The visitors came close to doubling their lead early in the second half through Ella Rutherford after a free kick came in from the right hand side, but she hit her effort wide, before Godfrey stopped Watson from breaking through on goal.
Another double chance for Ipswich soon followed, with a shot from Summer Hughes dipping and hitting the crossbar, followed by Moore making a great save after a shot from Rutherford outside of the box. Grace Garrad’s free kick then hit the crossbar as the chances started to pile up for Ipswich.
And yet, Lewes dug deep and hit back right when they needed it. Connolly-Brame bagged the equaliser just after the hour mark after great play from Lois Roche down the right hand side. Roche pushed past two Ipswich defenders and created enough space to find the on-rushing Connolly-Brame, who kept her cool to fire low into the bottom-right corner of Negri’s goal.
The momentum of the game completely changed in favour of the Rooks with the equaliser. Lewes almost made it 2-1 when Carpenter broke through one-on-one but Nefri managed to make the save.
But Ipswich still had their moments. Some resilient defending shown by the Lewes defenders in the closing moments of the match defied the visitors from a string of corners. One deflected over the crossbar, while another hit the post, but the Rooks stayed strong and kept the ball out.
The grit and determination from Lawrence’s side to hold on for a point shone through as they worked impressively well together as a team to keep the ball out of the net despite intense late pressure from the visitors.
In the end it was a well-deserved and hard-fought point that means that Lewes remain seventh in the FA WNL South.
The Rooks face top-of-the-league Hashtag United at home on Wednesday.
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Lewes XI: Moore, Brant, Schreimaier, Glass-Oliver, Godfrey, Proctor, Carpenter, Howells, Connolly-Brame, Roche, Lane
Subs: Hunkin, Ginger, Eze, Fatuga-Dada, Gilligan, Bacon
Words: Lily Perrill