Leafield Athletic Ladies 1 (Hughes 81)
Wolves Women 0
Leafield got their revenge after Wolves knocked them out of the Birmingham County Cup in last week's semi-final, this time taking the league points from a single goal scored from a disputed penalty late in the game.
The Midland Combination contest got off to a flying start, with Wolves' keeper Becky Thomas, pictured, having to make a finger-tip save in the third minute, pushing the ball onto the bar from a Leafield shot.
Wolves too had their chances, with Anna Perks, Hayley Packer and Sophie Richards all coming close, while Leafield had another good opportunity just before the break.
The second half saw Wolves piling on the pressure to find that elusive goal, Dani Selmes shooting over the bar and Natalie Morris putting the ball just wide from a Packer corner.
In the 58th minute Packer latched onto a poor goal kick from the Leafield keeper, but her shot skimmed the post. There was also some defending for Wolves to do, with the back line coping well.
With 20 minutes to go Manager James Astle made some changes to push on for the winning goal, and Wolves almost scored when a cross from Selmes rolled across the goalmouth and hit the far post before bouncing out.
Then Wolves were thwarted at the other end when the referee awarded a penalty to the home side, and Amber Hughes stepped up to convert from the spot.
Wolves fought on, now looking for an equaliser, and just a minute later were awarded a free kick. Packer's ball went into the mix, coming out to the feet of substitute Lynsey Longhurst, whose powerful shot was fired into the penalty area but bounced off a Leafield defender.
Despite Wolves battling to the end, this time it wasn't their day.
Manager James Astle said: "It started very much like last week, and in fairness the game overall was not of high quality or tempo, or even skill.
"The second half was definitely ours, and we thought it was just a question of when that goal was going to go in.
"The girls are really disappointed with themselves. I didn't need to say anything to them at the end, as they know they never performed today to their normal ability.
"We may have lost to a poor refereeing decision, but at the end of the day we should have put three or four chances away."
* Next Sunday 21st March sees Wolves travel to league leaders Coventry City Ladies.
TEAM: Thomas, Widdal (Longhurst 67), Coley (Durnall 67), Perks Salter, Morris (Bavington 70), Large, Quick, Selmes, Richards, Packer. SUB NOT USED: Bradford.
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