Invisible Ladies faced the acronym-tastic SAMCRO of Division 5 with Pebblethefish’s side hoping to go at least one round better than last term.
The opening leg at the San Seethrough was a masterpiece of misdirection as Invisible players kept appearing on the shoulders of SAMCRO players and then belting it away. This led to a lot of possession in harmless areas for the visitors, whilst at the other end Beáta Nádasdy and Rachel Crouch struck in the 64th and 74th minute to ensure the smash-and-grab had happened.
The return again saw SAMCRO again dominating the ball but not the chances. They did half of the job asked of them by scoring after 55th had gone to pull things back to 2-1. However any goal by The See-Throughs was the likely clincher as it returned SAMCRO to square one, or arguably even further back. So when Elly Björkgren burst through in the 76th minute there was a collective holding of breath... and then a release as she finished clinically. Björkgren added another a few minutes later to make the final handful of minutes a cruise.
The Round 3 draw has pitted Invisible against SurteBohus FC, who operate in Division 4e. Despite that being two rungs higher than The See-Throughs, Invisible are the higher seeds making leg two the one to be played at The San Seethrough.
An all-Division 6 affair saw Sockford Emollient take on FBC Luja. It would prove as tight as might be expected by the closeness in the standing of the two teams.
The opening leg at Luja was goalless, but not from want of trying by Emollient, who created five chances in the game but failed to take any of them. That left the tie very much in the balance ahead of the return at John Spencer Street. It remained that way throughout, with the single goal of the entire tie coming in the 54th minute when Lotta Ericson headed home. That put Sockford ahead, but did little to calm the Framleyshire Massive as their side were just a deflected shot away from going out on away goals.
Fortunately nothing like that occurred, and Foxy265’s side held on to progress. There was one dark spot on the day though as forward Alexia Batistuta suffered a 9-day injury that will make her a major doubt for the away opening leg of Sockford’s Round 3 meeting with bad girls Misconduct United of Division 6:37.
The balls had not been kind to Menywod Maeshafn as they pitted IsThatcherDeadYet’s charges against Division 4 opponents in Danis Ladies.
Getting through the first leg in Wales with minimal damage was the probable first step towards pulling off an unlikely victory. And this was going wrong almost from the get go. First defender Roza Makovetskaya went down with a 16-day injury after just 7 minutes, and then on 16 a penalty was given away which Danis Ladies converted for an away goal. They added another on 56 minutes, and to make matters even more galling for the Maeshafn fans this was all so undeserved – the Welsh had more possession and chances in the match, but found themselves in a deep hole at the end of it.
Clawing back the deficit away from home was going to be hard, but Maeshafn were determined to try. They halved the advantage on 33 minutes when Lisha Boye fired in, and had the chances to wipe it out entirely. Indeed a Maeshafn player did score the next goal, but unfortunately Eloide van Hijde’s attempt to challenge just saw the ball skew off her and drop agonisingly into the net. Deflated, the visitors shipped another a few minutes later and will leave the tie reflecting on the injustices of the 1-4 final aggregate score.
A team from the tier above for Csiki Girls as they took on a former league foe in F.C U Mobitelco, who are now in Division 5.
The opening leg in Cluj was a showcase for Csiki Girls, who put in a thoroughly impressive performance, holding 3/5th of the ball and making a slew of chances whilst giving up just a handful. A showing like this needs the goals to decorate it, but for a while it looked like these might be absent after the ref had ruled out Saoirse McInns’ apparent 11th minute opener. No matter, McInns just went and did it again half-an-hour later, this one counting.
McInns was replaced by Ellie Clevan just past the hour, and with 15 or so to go Clevan made the opening leg safe as she was the sharpest to react in a goalmouth scramble following a corner.
The return at A kertem was mostly focused around ‘don’t blow this’ [or words to that effect]. It was something that Ad hoc’s charges managed well, holding Mobitelco at arms’ length for the entire 90 minutes whilst once again winning on the night courtesy of Emelie Gränsmark’s 28th minute header from a corner.
The Csiki’s now go forward to a third round meeting with very familiar foes in Yellow Black Brasov, who are now up to Division 3g. The first leg is at a kertem.
Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC were the clear favourites against The Pretty Reckless, whose Division 6 level is two below The Sea Spirits.
At half-time of the open leg it looked to be plain sailing as Kanjeng lead 2-0, both goals scored by Diksha Dalmiya, one after 17 minutes and the other on 34. Dalmiya had also had a hattrick ‘goal’ disallowed, and Kanjeng had bossed the game overall as well, holding 63% possession and 3-0 on chances. Maybe this half prompted overconfidence as the second was an almost complete role reversal. Pretty Reckless were the team holding on to the Football and creating chances, eventually drawing level after 88 minutes.
Not what manager SeanoftheShed would have wanted or expected at half-time, but he did still have a two away goal day in his back pocket. That meant The Sea Goddesses were ahead before starting the return in Indonesia. But only just. A goal would give a cushion, forcing Reckless to score twice to turn the tie around. And the strike came (eventually), Tia Farisy netting a breakaway on 82 minutes to put it essentially to bed.
Kanjeng will play the side they edged our in the league last season, Spandex FC in round three. Spandex remain in Division 5:21.
Would the Cup be the opportunity Witches of Chiswick have been looking for to end their long run without a win? A draw against a Division 5 side, i.e. one tier higher, like Club Ragazze said maybe not.
The Bewitched were undeterred by this, and put in the sort of superb performance that manager Wiblflibl must pine to see more often. Chiswick were on top in every statisitical category, possession, chances and most importantly goals, Johanna Herrlin firing home from close range on 18 minutes and Terumi Ota doing likewise midway through the second half.
Holding an unexpected lead going into a home second leg prompts questions for a side; do we continue to press on, or do we sit back and try and hold out? Chiswick opted for option B, which was looking good whilst the score remained goalless after 75 minutes, but less so when the aggregate scores were level ten minutes later. That turned into a new, rather similar difficult. Push on for the winner and risk conceding a killer third away goal? Again the Witches choice was the conservative one, but this time it worked out to the extent they survived to penalties.
The spot kicks became tenser and tenser as each player stepped up and scored, with all of the original five of both teams finding the back of the net. Ragazze also converted their sixth attempt, which put the pressure on Chiswick’s Yayoi Urakami, under which she sadly buckled. A defeat that could have been a win, and a kick in the teeth for a side that really needs some results to boost morale.
Coxy Ladies Wulpen were after blue blood when they took on Royal Ladies FC.
The opening leg at The Palace was all about the upstarts as The Waders uncouthly demanded they be the centre of attention. Janik’s side had already been making basically all the running prior to Eva van Sttenberghe headed opener on 37 minutes.
Wulpen continued to push in the second half, shrugging off the loss of Ursula Madjarevic to a 10-day injury with fifteen minutes to play, Madjarevic’s replacement Aurelie Wostijn doubling the advantage within three minutes of coming on. It was three not long after this, and once again the scorer would not be involved in the game in close temporal proximity to their strike, but in this case it was because Noémie Kerckhoeven ran into Dick Tator and saw a second yellow a few minutes after scoring.
Janik’s side just needed to avoid doing anything stupid on their return to Flanders, and managed to this efficiently. The Waders attacking play also used the least possible effort as they created two first half chances and made use of both, Laetitia Vandenbergh with the first and young forward Charlotte Beyen nodding in the second.
Wulpen’s opponents at the next stage are Vasas Femina of Division 4p. The first leg will be in Flanders.
Round 3 draw - first listed teams home in opening leg
The opening leg at the San Seethrough was a masterpiece of misdirection as Invisible players kept appearing on the shoulders of SAMCRO players and then belting it away. This led to a lot of possession in harmless areas for the visitors, whilst at the other end Beáta Nádasdy and Rachel Crouch struck in the 64th and 74th minute to ensure the smash-and-grab had happened.
The return again saw SAMCRO again dominating the ball but not the chances. They did half of the job asked of them by scoring after 55th had gone to pull things back to 2-1. However any goal by The See-Throughs was the likely clincher as it returned SAMCRO to square one, or arguably even further back. So when Elly Björkgren burst through in the 76th minute there was a collective holding of breath... and then a release as she finished clinically. Björkgren added another a few minutes later to make the final handful of minutes a cruise.
The Round 3 draw has pitted Invisible against SurteBohus FC, who operate in Division 4e. Despite that being two rungs higher than The See-Throughs, Invisible are the higher seeds making leg two the one to be played at The San Seethrough.
An all-Division 6 affair saw Sockford Emollient take on FBC Luja. It would prove as tight as might be expected by the closeness in the standing of the two teams.
The opening leg at Luja was goalless, but not from want of trying by Emollient, who created five chances in the game but failed to take any of them. That left the tie very much in the balance ahead of the return at John Spencer Street. It remained that way throughout, with the single goal of the entire tie coming in the 54th minute when Lotta Ericson headed home. That put Sockford ahead, but did little to calm the Framleyshire Massive as their side were just a deflected shot away from going out on away goals.
Fortunately nothing like that occurred, and Foxy265’s side held on to progress. There was one dark spot on the day though as forward Alexia Batistuta suffered a 9-day injury that will make her a major doubt for the away opening leg of Sockford’s Round 3 meeting with bad girls Misconduct United of Division 6:37.
The balls had not been kind to Menywod Maeshafn as they pitted IsThatcherDeadYet’s charges against Division 4 opponents in Danis Ladies.
Getting through the first leg in Wales with minimal damage was the probable first step towards pulling off an unlikely victory. And this was going wrong almost from the get go. First defender Roza Makovetskaya went down with a 16-day injury after just 7 minutes, and then on 16 a penalty was given away which Danis Ladies converted for an away goal. They added another on 56 minutes, and to make matters even more galling for the Maeshafn fans this was all so undeserved – the Welsh had more possession and chances in the match, but found themselves in a deep hole at the end of it.
Clawing back the deficit away from home was going to be hard, but Maeshafn were determined to try. They halved the advantage on 33 minutes when Lisha Boye fired in, and had the chances to wipe it out entirely. Indeed a Maeshafn player did score the next goal, but unfortunately Eloide van Hijde’s attempt to challenge just saw the ball skew off her and drop agonisingly into the net. Deflated, the visitors shipped another a few minutes later and will leave the tie reflecting on the injustices of the 1-4 final aggregate score.
A team from the tier above for Csiki Girls as they took on a former league foe in F.C U Mobitelco, who are now in Division 5.
The opening leg in Cluj was a showcase for Csiki Girls, who put in a thoroughly impressive performance, holding 3/5th of the ball and making a slew of chances whilst giving up just a handful. A showing like this needs the goals to decorate it, but for a while it looked like these might be absent after the ref had ruled out Saoirse McInns’ apparent 11th minute opener. No matter, McInns just went and did it again half-an-hour later, this one counting.
McInns was replaced by Ellie Clevan just past the hour, and with 15 or so to go Clevan made the opening leg safe as she was the sharpest to react in a goalmouth scramble following a corner.
The return at A kertem was mostly focused around ‘don’t blow this’ [or words to that effect]. It was something that Ad hoc’s charges managed well, holding Mobitelco at arms’ length for the entire 90 minutes whilst once again winning on the night courtesy of Emelie Gränsmark’s 28th minute header from a corner.
The Csiki’s now go forward to a third round meeting with very familiar foes in Yellow Black Brasov, who are now up to Division 3g. The first leg is at a kertem.
Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC were the clear favourites against The Pretty Reckless, whose Division 6 level is two below The Sea Spirits.
At half-time of the open leg it looked to be plain sailing as Kanjeng lead 2-0, both goals scored by Diksha Dalmiya, one after 17 minutes and the other on 34. Dalmiya had also had a hattrick ‘goal’ disallowed, and Kanjeng had bossed the game overall as well, holding 63% possession and 3-0 on chances. Maybe this half prompted overconfidence as the second was an almost complete role reversal. Pretty Reckless were the team holding on to the Football and creating chances, eventually drawing level after 88 minutes.
Not what manager SeanoftheShed would have wanted or expected at half-time, but he did still have a two away goal day in his back pocket. That meant The Sea Goddesses were ahead before starting the return in Indonesia. But only just. A goal would give a cushion, forcing Reckless to score twice to turn the tie around. And the strike came (eventually), Tia Farisy netting a breakaway on 82 minutes to put it essentially to bed.
Kanjeng will play the side they edged our in the league last season, Spandex FC in round three. Spandex remain in Division 5:21.
Would the Cup be the opportunity Witches of Chiswick have been looking for to end their long run without a win? A draw against a Division 5 side, i.e. one tier higher, like Club Ragazze said maybe not.
The Bewitched were undeterred by this, and put in the sort of superb performance that manager Wiblflibl must pine to see more often. Chiswick were on top in every statisitical category, possession, chances and most importantly goals, Johanna Herrlin firing home from close range on 18 minutes and Terumi Ota doing likewise midway through the second half.
Holding an unexpected lead going into a home second leg prompts questions for a side; do we continue to press on, or do we sit back and try and hold out? Chiswick opted for option B, which was looking good whilst the score remained goalless after 75 minutes, but less so when the aggregate scores were level ten minutes later. That turned into a new, rather similar difficult. Push on for the winner and risk conceding a killer third away goal? Again the Witches choice was the conservative one, but this time it worked out to the extent they survived to penalties.
The spot kicks became tenser and tenser as each player stepped up and scored, with all of the original five of both teams finding the back of the net. Ragazze also converted their sixth attempt, which put the pressure on Chiswick’s Yayoi Urakami, under which she sadly buckled. A defeat that could have been a win, and a kick in the teeth for a side that really needs some results to boost morale.
Coxy Ladies Wulpen were after blue blood when they took on Royal Ladies FC.
The opening leg at The Palace was all about the upstarts as The Waders uncouthly demanded they be the centre of attention. Janik’s side had already been making basically all the running prior to Eva van Sttenberghe headed opener on 37 minutes.
Wulpen continued to push in the second half, shrugging off the loss of Ursula Madjarevic to a 10-day injury with fifteen minutes to play, Madjarevic’s replacement Aurelie Wostijn doubling the advantage within three minutes of coming on. It was three not long after this, and once again the scorer would not be involved in the game in close temporal proximity to their strike, but in this case it was because Noémie Kerckhoeven ran into Dick Tator and saw a second yellow a few minutes after scoring.
Janik’s side just needed to avoid doing anything stupid on their return to Flanders, and managed to this efficiently. The Waders attacking play also used the least possible effort as they created two first half chances and made use of both, Laetitia Vandenbergh with the first and young forward Charlotte Beyen nodding in the second.
Wulpen’s opponents at the next stage are Vasas Femina of Division 4p. The first leg will be in Flanders.
Round 3 draw - first listed teams home in opening leg
Code:
Csiki Girls vs Yellow Black Brasov (3g) Coxy Ladies Wulpen vs Vasas Femina (4p) Erbil vs Independiente (5:3) Misconduct United (6:37) vs Sockford Emollient ZFK Nase Taksi (5:28) vs LNWR Locomotive SurteBohus FC (4e) vs Invisible Ladies Spandex FC (5:21) vs Kanjeng Ratu Kidul WFC Transmontanas Babes (5:28) vs Drakaina Wenches of Doom (3c) vs Solent Sirens Ykraina (5:31) vs Viking South Utsira
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