The Owls travelled to Derby this afternoon with a strong fit squad. Wednesday were full of confidence after the previous couple of performances but it was Derby who managed to score first with a speculative punt from a wide left position the looped into the back post of Danni Maslin’s goal after she could only manage to get finger tips to it, after losing it in the bright sun, in the first minute. Derby are another side who like to play their football with the ball in the sky more than on the grass. Wednesday did create enough chances to win the game but couldn't put the ball in the back of the net. The derby keeper carried the ball over her goal line from a Beth Gingell free kick but they couldn't keep it level until the break as Derby broke from their centre spot with a well worked move down the right which resulted in the best goal of the game as the driven cross was headed home like a bullet into the Owls goal.
H-T Derby 2 Owls 1
In the interval the Owls were given specific instruction by the staff and they did start getting the ball down to try and play some football but it still was woeful. We all knew what the second half was going to bring within the first minute when the keeper started to either take 2 minutes to fetch the ball or use the whole of her 6 seconds (and more) to release. Derby were going to protect the lead as their footballing skills were not as accomplished as Wednesday’s. Tanya Rich was introduced to try and take any chance she could and the Owls looked slightly better and did create one or two further half chances but they didn't trouble the Derby keeper. Derby continued to play kick and chase football and utilised their quick right winger time and time again as they managed to wrap up the scoring from inside the area on another hopeful ball over the top in the closing minutes of the game as Wednesday kept pushing for the equaliser.
The conditions were perfect for the Owls today with the pitch being flat and wide, the weather being dry and with the confidence running through the camp. Wednesday admittedly did not step up to the plate and didn't deal with Derby’s style of play but a big factor that upset the Owls trying to get any sort of momentum was the appalling refereeing. This is the 2nd time Wednesday have had to endure the same official in a month and at this level of football it’s a great disappointment when a ref makes a game all about himself!!!!
F-T derby 3 Owls 1
“We know that today's performance was in simple terms just not good enough. The players are massively deflated with their individual performances and we are ill impressed with the team performance and lack of fight in the squad. The girls know they are much better than they have showed in any of the fixtures this year as we have only seen small flashes of what they are capable of. We have to keep focused on the bigger picture this is a marathon not a sprint and as long as we learn from today's game then we can move on to next week. We do however need to try and find our pre-season form sooner rather than later and as each game goes by the pressure inevitably mounts up. There will be a turning point where one side is in for a damn good hiding but when that comes is all down to the players"
In better news for the team they have become more mobile thanks to the help of Marcus Brameld and the Football In The Community team who have donated a mini bus to the Owls, saving them a significant sum of money on coach hire in the process.
For more news on the owls ladies visit the club website at www.swwfc.net