Under Pressure

Fog and a partially frozen pitch made what was always going to be a difficult tie against top of the division Manto even tougher.  Stockport were put under pressure from the start and conceded the first of what were to be many short corners almost immediately.  Adele Lumsdon’s solid defence of the line thwarted Manto’s first effort, but it wasn’t long before they were able to convert another short corner for their first goal.
 
Stockport responded by applying pressure of their own, and when Lisa Horbury was obstructed in front of goal a penalty flick was awarded.   Amy Nicklin’s shot appeared to have been saved, but the Manto keeper had been standing in front of the line when it was taken.  Amy kept her composure to score convincingly at the second attempt.   
 
Twenty minutes into the half, defensive errors from Stockport were rubbed in by an unlucky bounce of the ball leaving it perfectly positioned for Manto to scoop it into a wide-open net: 2-1.  Despite the disappointment of the soft goal, Stockport continued to push forward and to create chances but just couldn’t get past the Manto defence.  Just before half-time, Manto put together yet another set of penetrating passes and scored to go into the break 3-1 ahead.
 
The second-half started as the first had finished with sustained pressure from Manto and a series of short corners: five minutes into the half Manto put one away for 4-1, and not long after hit another for 5-1.   However, Stockport continued to fight even to the extent of Adele attempting to clear another ball off the line by driving it out through the keeper – fortunately the rebound did not result in a ‘bum’ own-goal!  The last quarter saw some better play from Stockport and improved possession and passing. Lucy Cook made some great interceptions, Charlie Simms distributed the ball well and Laura Woodhead made some charging runs down the right, but the few shots Stockport had were saved.
 
POM – Amy Nicklin