Finally a home game for the Ladies 2's against one of the few teams below us in the league. With only 10 players Swanage & Wareham came determined to get a result and played aggressively from the start.

We started well with some good play down the wings where Abby and Lottie found themselves in space and used their speed to get some good runs into the last third of the pitch. Katie and Sofia battled well up front and were able to latch on to balls from midfield but unfortunately weren't able to test the goalkeeper and get past some 'solid' defenders!!!

Despite all our pressure and Ellise working tirelessly in midfield winning back possession the other team got a lucky break and scored, this buoyed them up even more and they were determined to hold onto their lead. We managed to equalise and at half time it was 1-1 and we felt we could get more as we had been creating a few chances, just missing that final shot at goal in the D.

'Dave the save' (back from retirement again... and signed up for another 7 matches!!) and Ruby had some good clearances from defence visibly frustrating the opposition who were becoming more agitated as the game went on. Ellie also came off her line a few times to clear the ball, denying them the chance to shoot at goal and helping us keep things level.

Annabel and Millie were able to push up with some good runs into midfield allowing Lottie and Abby to work hard on the wings and get some balls into the D, where Sofia and Katie were offering great support, the opposition were fighting for every ball. Unfortunately Swanage got a lucky break and were able to capitalise on a quick pass into the D slipping the ball past Ellie,which despite her lunge went into the goal.

We didn't give up and kept battling but despite Dave's shouts of encouragement (and several expletives!!!) from defence we were unable to finish the second half with a goal.

It was great to see Karen back on the pitch for a short period, we've really missed her calm head and timely interceptions at the back. We are also hoping Flora will be back soon after some recent awesome performances in defence which unfortunately lead to a painful injury. Was great to have her and Team Manager Zoe on the sidelines with her valuable organisational and admin skills!!

I felt the need to write a match report as every week the score line doesn't reflect the great performances on the pitch from a young (mostly young!!) team! We have some exciting players who are finding their feet and growing in confidence each game and are a great asset to our club. Their dedication to training, support for each other - both on and off the pitch - is great to see and we should all be really proud of the way we play and what we have achieved - even if the score doesn't reflect that!! Be proud of yourselves and excited at how much more you can achieve!

We will be ready for the return game with Swanage that's for sure!!! Bring it on!!