Pre-season Friendly....

7:45 KO in a breezy 3G cage.
Stoke turned up to 1 of Derby's training grounds (Leesbrook High School) Derby LFC looking very much the part and showing what higher level football is all about with a finely structured warm up and each player looking like such the athlete thats needed for 2nd tier league football ,it was difficult to tell what was going to happen on this evening.

With the Stoke City Ladies team getting there late due to girls work commitments it only gave Manager Steve Swanwick a short time to prep his players and staff for their first real tough test of this campaign.

However with Mitchell and Carson having the warm up set and ready for outfield players and keeper it all looked as impressive as what Derby had on offer.

As the game kicked off Stoke looked the dominate side in the running of the game and with only 6 players playing from last season's 1st team and the rest made up of new players from trials Swanny new this was going to be an exciting game. With Stoke having much of the play and retaining quite alot of the posession in the first 2/3 minutes things looked positive, the start of it all was a cracking ball coming out of Midfield and on the left of Kate Asher the foot chase was on between Asher and Derby's centre half, as soon as Asher had worked the pacy defender twisting and turning her Asher had her eye set on the goal ,she struck the ball with a fearceforce towards goal which was lifted over the keeper and hitting the roof of the net, 4 minutes Stoke 1- Derby 0.

With this being Stokes first real tough test we new the girls had to keep up the hard work and pace out their fitness for the rest of the 80 mins plus.....

(with time agianst us we only played 40 mins each way)

With much of the possession being won by Stoke in the first half our movement looked good and very positive from a team that hasnt yet kicked a ball together as a team.
The game got into a frantic stage at one point where Derby's number 9 was having strike after strike and being very well supported by her right winger they were each trying to push Stoke's Keeper Langstone further back into her own goal but with some exceptional defending from Cassi Hyde and Evans all game Langstone new she had great cover with her back four.

With half time creeping upon us Anna Lowndes took her chance from 25-30 yards out with a fine strike at Goal, Lowndes was given time to turn look up realise that Derby's number 1 was off her line made her decision and was spot on with a looping strike at Goal which saw Stoke go in half time 2 nil up.

Half Time

With Stoke having a mental battle with their fitness and needing an all important re-charge and knowing that Derby would come out all guns blazing they new they had to continue in their superb performance and battle to the final whistle.

With some changes made in first 45 minutes with the exceptional performance of Centre half Evans making way for Bassett and front runner Taylor making way for Roberts it was two very well worked players off for two quite the same going on.
Bassett making her ultimate debut for Stoke had an outstanding performance at Centre half and together with Hyde kept up the dominating role which Evans and Hyde both had, With Lowndes who had the super strike from 25-30 yards out making way for newbie Kayleigh Smith, Smith realising she had big boots to fill pressure was on...
With fitness being one of the factors for Stoke it didnt seem that way with the ball being knocked about from Left to right, right to left until soemthing was on or again we had time to shoot...
Smith having a couple seconds on the ball from 30 yards out saw once again a chance that she didnt want to loose and struck the ball looping it and everyone thinking surely not again, it just brushed over the crossbar but again an excellent opportunity taken, many positives was coming out of the Stoke team and the balls that kept going forward for Asher looked all too much for Derby to deal with especially when Asher was suddenly on the break again and worked her way into the box but got the slightest tap on her ankles from Derby's Centre half bowled Asher to the floor, PENALTY! was the cry and given... with Swanny prepping his players ready for these occasions young Lucy Ridgway stepped up to her job and role for tonight, she struck in neatly into the keepers bottom right corner, however it had to be re-taken for some reason, so pressure was on a little for Ridgway for her to do the job again, she stepped up struck the same corner but with a bit more vendeter this time , she even shouted a little YEAH!!! which was greated by a cheer from the few spectators along with a giggle from the bench....

With the sun going down and floodlights on, Stoke saw yet another couple of Changes with the speedy and diversity player that of right back Nic Hudson making way for Rachael Blunt who had a fast pacing left footer aginst her for the rest of the game but with the dominace showed by Stoke Blunty was able to match that standard of the girls and adapted to the game well,making some postive challenges and serving the forwards with some pin point balls it was looking good. It also saw the change of Evans coming back on as left Winger and gave once again an outstanding performance up and down the wing. It saw the end for Newbie Vicky Gutteridge after 70 minutes with a fine and very tidy performance and a very well deserved break after the hard graft of attacking and defending and some tidy passing to allow the game to be as successful as it was. It also saw the End for Asher after a superb performance and great 1st half goal who made way for a tricky, good footed and skillful player Tash Catalano who went in a role upfront to chase balls down and work off what Roberts could win and again another newbie making that all important mark.

The main aim of this was to see what inidividuals could offer, each player had really opened up Managers Steve Swanwick eyes and from this things can only get better.

Well-done to all involved a good postive step in the right direction.