22 Nov : Rovers 1 Vale Rec 4

First Half:
Rovers Ladies came down to earth with a very disappointing home defeat to Vale Rec on a wet and windy day and a very heavy pitch at Port Soif.

Neither side managed to get to grips with the poor conditions in the first half, with the ball spending much of the time off the pitch due to the gale force wind blowing diagonally across the pitch towards the club house side. The wind direction was in Vale Rec’s favour, but little headway was being made until 20 minutes into the game when poor defending allowed a Rec forward to get to the ball and unleash a long-range shot which fooled everyone, including Rovers goalie Francesca Bulpitt, and flew into the net.

Rovers only clear attempt in the first half came from midfielder Michelle Torode, who broke clear for a run on goal but her shot was too close to the opposition keeper who made a good save.

1-0 down at half time.

Second Half:
Rovers came out for the second half in a confident mood, with the wind more in their favour, but almost immediately a disastrous series of errors in defence let in a Rec player for a simple tap-in second goal.

This woke up Rovers who started to press forward and eventually led to an outstanding goal.  Striker Hilda Marrero collected the ball on the left mid way in the Rec half, cut inside several times and finally hit an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box.  Score now 1-2.

It didn’t last.  Rec seemed to be the more confident team, and started to run in numbers right through the heart of Rovers midfield and defence.  Too often brave last ditch attempts to stop them from our defenders Becky Hart, Anne Carre, Cath Gallienne and Ashley Young failed to stem the flow, and another goal followed for the opposition.  At this point Ashley needed to come off, having fallen heavily and banged her head hard on the ground, causing concern for mild concussion. Thankfully Ash recovered, and came back on late in the game, too late to help stop Rec scoring a fourth goal, another simple tap into an empty net.

Late on Rec forwards had at least three clear run-throughs from the half way line on our goal, but Fran kept her cool and waited for the approaching player before diving at the feet and collecting the ball safely to prevent an even worse score line. Excellent goalkeeping Fran.

A disappointing result for Rovers against a team they have already beaten once and drawn with once this season.  Not to take anything away from Vale Rec, they have improved considerably since those earlier games.

Reporter : Brian Horsepool

ISLAND SELECTIONS

Four of Rovers' women's team have been invited by Paul Mooney, the Women's Island TeamManager, to join the new-look Island training squad. Congratulations to Toni Osborne, Hilda Marrero, Rachael Le Vallee and junior Kirsty Carre for being selected.  We are sure they will do Rovers proud.

18 Oct: Rangers 1 Rovers 2

After four games in the current season, and a disappointing 4-2 defeat at St  Martins two weeks ago, the Rovers Ladies bounced back today with a fighting 2-1 defeat of Rangers at the St Andrews ground.  Rovers have been plagued with injuries to key players this season, and today's game was no exception, but the ladies fought hard with an excellent first half when they dominated the play and entered half time with a 2-0 lead.  The first goal followed an excellent cross from the right by new girl Lisa Batty, which resulted in a fierce shot and goal from winger Toni Osborne.  Toni later crossed a free kick from the right into the box which after a goal line scramble resulted in an own goal to help Rovers go in at half time 2-0 up.  This would have been even better if another new player Lucelia Alves had converted a header from right under the bar just on half time.

The second half saw an early penalty for Rovers following a handball, but the Rangers keeper made an excellent diving save to push Becky Hart's spot kick around the post.  Following this, Rangers reorganised and pushed more players forward without really troubling Rovers defence until the referee gave Rangers a somewhat generous penalty (which even their players and coach did not believe) with 20 minutes to go which their player converted to make it 2-1.  A tense finish saw Becky booked for a tackle, but Rovers held on to claim a well deserved win.

This win puts Rovers in second place in the league behind Sylvans.  They play Sylvans at Port Soif in two weeks time, when hopefully several of Rovers injured players will be back to strengthen the team.

Report by: Brian Horsepool

28/8/09 - Womens Secondary Cup - Rovers 1 Vale Rec 0

Congratulations to Rovers Women who in impossibly windy conditions last night down at Port Soif beat Vale Rec 1-0 to win the Womens Secondary Cup (which they also won last year).

Playing into the near gale-force wind in the first half, neither side could find any cohesion in their play although Rovers fared better, forcing several corners and three or four shots which were carried past the post by the strong wind.  However, matters changed in the second half and with the wind at their backs Rovers dominated, with our goalkeeper Becky Hart posing a lonely figure in the right hand goal and not getting a touch of the ball at all during the half.  Vale Rec could not get out of their own half, so something had to give, and after 15 minutes it did. 

Jade Hall received a diagonal ball just inside the box, turned her defender and struck a careful shot wide to the right of the Rec keeper.  A smartly-executed goal.  Not long after Jade paid for it with a ball full in the face, and had to come off with blood pouring from her nose.  Any black eyes this morning Jade?

Our ladies continued to press but could not find the net again, with many shots being carried wide by the wind, which did not ease up.

So, a 1-0 win and the first cup for Rovers this season.  The cup is displayed in the Bar for those who did not see it.

Womans League