Allscott v Hereford Pegasus
Sunday 4th October 2009
Allscott started this game fired up to avenge their opponent’s victory against them in the FA Cup the week before and took the lead early on when Helen Constable latched brilliantly onto a long Bev Highfield goal kick to give the Pegasus keeper no chance. 1-0. When Jamie Phillips unlocked the Pegasus defence to unleash a shot from outside of the area it looked a goal all the way but the ball clipped the top of the bar and went over, within a minute Constable had the chance to extend her side’s lead but put the effort narrowly wide of the post. Had either of these chances gone in then the odds are that Allscott would have gone from strength to strength in the game but instead Pegasus were spurred on and a dangerous attack saw them flat foot the last Allscott defender to slip a shot just wide. Unbelievably Phillips and Allscott were denied a goal 5 minutes later when the winger made a carbon copy run on the right and was again denied by the ball bouncing off the cross bar.
If Allscott were pulling off the most spectacular efforts on goal then Pegasus were relying on their usual hard work ethic and began to fashion some clever breaking attacks and it was not much of a surprise, if a disappointment, to the Allscott fans when the visitors took advantage of some sloppy defending to fire themselves back into the game courtesy of Charlotte Criddle’s goal.1-1.
At last Phillips luck changed when one of her marauding runs was rewarded with the goal that put Allscott back ahead at 2-1. It was Allscott who finished the half stronger for all of Pegasus’ industry but chances went begging as Zara McIntosh flashed a shot wide and then a superb last ditch block by a defender denied Isha Alsadek a goal.
H –T 2-1
Just after the break Harriet Reilly made a crucial clearance in front of goal with Bev Highfield beaten by the striker, it was a let off for Allscott, but a short lived one as Pegasus equalised when Nina Emery slipped the defence and fired the shot home to make it 2-2.
Both sides went all out for the win after the equaliser, Emma Lowe saw a looping shot saved well by the keeper, and Alsadek’s follow up was somehow saved too. There was controversy when McIntosh beat the defence and the keeper , only for the Pegasus no.1 to appear to throw herself in front of the Allscott skipper in what looked like blatant obstruction , and a stone wall penalty, as she was about to fire the ball into the net. No penalty was awarded despite the protestations of the team and the supporters. It was a decision that undoubtedly changed the altered the outcome of the game.
The game was delayed just after this incident for several minutes as McIntosh and the Pegasus keeper clashed heads in a 50/50 challenge, both were ok to continue. With a minute on the clock and with Karen Hackley blazing over the bar for Pegasus it looked like the game was to end in a draw, but from nowhere with literally seconds on the clock Pegasus proved that you have to chase everything and push until the final whistle as Liz Ranft got that all important winning goal right at the death.
It was a difficult pill for Allscott to swallow as they did not deserve to lose this game but Pegasus are a battling side and persistence paid off for them on this occasion.
ALLSCOTT 2 – 3 HEREFORD PEGASUS
JC
