TAMWORTH LADIES 5
BARTON LADIES 0
AFTER the joy of the previous week’s critical victory against Belper, Barton were brought back down to earth with a bump as skipper Hannah Smith struggled to assemble a side to face high-flying local rivals Tamworth.
The Barton squad, ravaged by illness and injury, was threadbare, and the forced late withdrawal of Beckie Hickman meant they travelled a player down.
The evergreen Gill Perry once again stepped into the breach from the seconds and Jenny Heathcote made her first appearance of the season as she returned from university.
Forward Jo Preston also came back into the side.
Despite facing an uphill battle from the off, spirits were high prior to the game and the pre-match emphasis was to maintain good structure and discipline in defence.
Barton knew they boasted one of if not the best goalkeepers in league in Connie Wain and an outstanding central defender in Manda Kirkland.
These two players proved their mettle with outstanding displays in a game which, despite the scoreline, will give Barton a positive base to build on going into the Christmas break.
As expected, Barton were under pressure from the start, with the movement of the Tamworth midfield and forwards causing some initial concern.
However, the visitors soon settled and began to pick up the runners and hold their defensive line well, restricting Tamworth chances.
The diminutive Steph Welch, playing in central midfield, marshalled the area at the top of the D with great discipline and showed a level of maturity and team responsibility well beyond her years.
Welch was supported by Katie Robinson and Heathcote, who both stuck to their tasks throughout and forced Tamworth into errors and misplaced passes through excellent closing down and positional awareness.
Approaching the midway point of the half, Tamworth, although dominating possession, had yet to test Wain.
Kirkland and Julie Manning were consistently getting the better of their opposite numbers, much to the frustration of the Tamworth coach and players.
Barton, as a team, despite their numerical deficiency, were producing one of the most controlled performances of the season.
They were cautious not to be too enterprising going forward for fear of leaving openings at the back, but they did advance on occasion, with Robinson teaming up with Perry to force a lastditch clearance from the defence.
Preston also latched onto stray balls across the middle to cause concern amongst the Tamworth ranks.
Barton’s superior structure in defence forced Tamworth into a change in formation, moving to three at the back and providing an extra body in midfield.
This change reaped rewards, with the hosts finally creating some openings.
It took a well-worked move on the stroke of half-time to finally break the deadlock and beat Wain in the Barton goal.
The Barton defence were caught marginally out of position and a quick break gave a Tamworth forward space to convert from close range for a 1-0 scoreline at half-time.
Barton’s 10-strong group were determined to keep up the sterling efforts of the first half into the remainder of the game and although the prospect of taking any points from the match was low, they were focused on keeping their goal difference tally competitive against the teams around them in the table.
In a similar pattern to the first half, Barton continued to defend well, with Manning, Woodcock, Welch and Kirkland once again looking assured and composed.
Hannah Smith, on the left, showed some excellent movement, breaking from defence as Barton created two decent chances on goal after the break.
The first came from Perry, who created herself some room to the side of the D for a good shot on target which forced the Tamworth keeper into a low save to her left.
The second came from good work by Robinson and Perry, which set up Preston to sweep towards goal.
It was 12 minutes from time before the Barton resistance was finally broken once more.
A good ball from deep found a Tamworth forward in the central position and her shot beat Wain.
The home side’s relief was evident and they began to play more free-flowing hockey, which was rewarded with the award of a series of penalty corners.
The third goal for the hosts was scored from a well-worked corner which was slipped right and fired back across goal for an easy tap-in by the injector.
Two more corners followed to make the final scoreline 5-0.
Barton look forward to the Christmas break hoping to return in January with the renewed energy required to maintain their place in Midland Division Two in their inaugural season at this level.
