Cullompton Rangers LFC
Cully Share the Spoils with the Magpies
Sunday Feb 10th
As the saying goes..."it was a game of two halves"....with both teams dominating and scoring a brace in either half. Penzance were far the better team for the first 45 mins, seemingly unaffected by their long drive up from Cornwall. They dominated the game from the off and put the Cully defensive four, Kerry Powell-Tuckett, Sam Bell, Kaylee Symons and Karen 'Bucky' Buck, under intense pressure. Penzance deservedly took the lead after 15 minutes when Sam Bell was harshly penalised for a handball outside the box. Maxine Coupe could do nothing about the pin-point free kick that curled into the top right hand corner.
Cully's first chance fell to Emma Jones after an excellent run and cross from Rachel Javan on the left, but the keeper made a good save to stop Jones' shot. Rach continued to look dangerous and her pace caused the visitors defence problems. A Penzance defender was booked for a late tackle on Rach on the edge of the box. From the resultant free-kick Cully were unlucky not to equalise when a Josie Copp header clipped the top of the bar before going over.
It was Penzance who looked the more threatening though and played good passing football from defence to attack. It was this type of play that resulted in their second goal. A move from the back, through the midfield saw the right winger cross a ball and found her attacker just inside the box. She met the cross on a half volley and hit it goalwards, as Max dived to her right she smothered it but it squirmed under her body and over the line.
Having not really played a part in the first half Gaffer delivered a strong team talk and made two changes for the next 45. Bucky and Becky Maunder made way for Catherine 'Curly' Wright and Emma 'Redders' Redwood as Gaffer switched from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2. Redders joined Rach up front, Curly took her spot in the midfield with Josie and Jonesy covering at left back. This made an immediate impression and Cully started the half brightly knowing an early goal would crank up the pressure on the visitors. They didn't have to wait long when Rach, who looked the most dangerous Cully player, scored from an acute angle. Played through by Curly she struck a left foot shot across the keeper and into the corner of the net. This gave the home side the lift and momentum they needed, knowing if they lost the game it would be difficult to stay in the title race.
Cully looked more comfortable with their 4-4-2 formation, Josie and Curly linking up well in the middle and with more fire power up front. The girls went all out for the equaliser. Gabby Stoneman came on for the last 20 minutes in a straight swap for Kim Betlam on the right wing. As Cully attacked in numbers Penzance tried to take advantage on the counter. On several occasions the back 4 came to the rescue with last ditch tackles, in particular Emma Jones who adapted well in her defensive role.
Time was ebbing away but the girls didn't give up. Redders and Rach ran for every ball and it was Redders' persistance that won a free kick in the dying minutes of normal time. A great free kick from Curly was met by Rach, whose thunderous header flew into the back of the net. Both teams attacked in injury time searching for a winner but Cully were saved when Max punched clear from an inswinging free kick. A draw was the fairest result as each team dominated the game for 45 minutes, and they both remain firmly in contention for the league title. Next week Cully take a break from league action and host Totnes and Dartington in a repeat of last years semi-final in the Devon County Cup.