COLERAINE Women Reserves played out a competitive encounter against Carryduff Ladies at the University last night…
Coleraine Women Reserves started the game brightly and were on the front foot from the opening whistle. An excellent through ball from Kyla McGivern in the middle of the park picked out Lindsay Norton, giving the home side an early attacking opportunity.
The pressure continued as Katie Miskimmon delivered a dangerous ball across the box to Norah McCullough, whose effort was well saved by the Carryduff goalkeeper. Coleraine looked lively in the opening stages and were moving the ball well.
Carryduff responded with some excellent football through the middle of the park, playing a well-weighted through ball behind the Coleraine defence. However, goalkeeper Meabh Hickey reacted quickly, racing off her line to gather the ball before any danger developed.
Both teams then enjoyed spells of possession, with Carryduff forcing a shot on target. Hickey was equal to it once again, producing a fine save to push the ball behind for a corner. The resulting set-piece was dealt with confidently by the Coleraine defence.
Great pressure from Miskimmon on the Carryduff back line won Coleraine their first free-kick of the game. Emma Diamond stepped up and delivered an excellent ball over the top, but Carryduff managed to clear their lines.
Coleraine continued to build with some impressive passing football. Rose Crocker found Miskimmon, who turned her defender brilliantly before slipping a through ball to Norton. Norton returned the pass to Miskimmon, who produced another dangerous delivery into the box, but unfortunately no one could apply the finishing touch. It was excellent link-up play between the two forwards.
The pressure kept coming as Coleraine won their first corner of the match. Diamond once again delivered a superb ball into the area, finding Miskimmon, whose volley was unfortunate to fly just over the crossbar.
Despite Coleraine dominating much of the opening 30 minutes, Carryduff remained a threat. A well-worked move sent their striker through on goal, but Hickey produced another excellent save to concede only a corner. Once again, the Coleraine defence of Diamond, Vanessa Somerville, Niya McIntyre, and Crocker stood strong and cleared the danger.
A Coleraine goal kick found Kelly Bolton in midfield, who picked out another excellent pass to Miskimmon. She threaded the ball through for Norton, whose intelligent run behind the defence almost created an opening, but the Carryduff goalkeeper was quick off her line to clear.
Just before the break, Coleraine conceded a soft free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. The Carryduff player curled an excellent effort around the defensive wall and beyond Hickey to give the visitors a 1-0 lead going into half-time.
Coleraine came out for the second half with renewed determination and were rewarded early. Substitute Suzanne O’Hara played the ball back to Diamond, who produced another superb pass over the top of the Carryduff defence. Miskimmon timed her run perfectly before calmly finishing to make it 1-1, a goal that was thoroughly deserved for the home side.
The game remained open, but Carryduff responded quickly and regained the lead to make it 2-1, with Coleraine unfortunate in the build-up to the goal.
Coleraine freshened things up with Bolton and Crocker making way for Lindsay McNabb and Niamh Redpath, with the latter making her senior debut for the reserve side.
Both teams continued to play good football, with both goalkeepers making important saves. Coleraine continued to press, and Norton showed great composure to bring the ball under control before finding Katie Morrison, whose inviting cross was cleared by the resilient Carryduff defence.
Still searching for another equaliser, McNabb found McCullough, who used her pace brilliantly to beat the Carryduff right-back. However, the covering centre-back recovered well to put the ball behind for a corner.
Diamond once again delivered an excellent corner into the danger area, this time finding McNabb at the near post, but she was unable to direct her effort on target.
Carryduff continued to pose a threat on the counter-attack, and with five minutes remaining their striker broke through before finishing to make it 3-1 to the visitors.
Coleraine made one final substitution as Somerville came off after another solid performance, with Chloe Campbell entering the game. Campbell made an immediate impact, winning important challenges in midfield and playing several positive balls forward into the two strikers.
Both teams battled right until the final whistle, but Coleraine were unfortunate to finish on the wrong side of a 3-1 scoreline, which certainly did not reflect their overall performance or effort throughout the match.
Congratulations to Carryduff on the victory, and we wish them all the best for the remainder of the campaign.