BURTON Albion continued their impressive form at the Pirelli 3G with a convincing 2-0 victory over Crusaders.
With just one more home game to go, the Brewers have only suffered defeat on their home patch once this season, recording six wins in the process.
The first few minutes of this game saw chances for both sides. First, a Crusaders free kick from Amelia Hart rattled the crossbar, with Danielle Selmes unable to make anything of the rebound. Then, almost straight from the restart, an excellent through ball from Katie Jubb released Shanae Thomas on goal, but she fired her shot straight at the Crusaders goalkeeper, Izzy Clarke.
The next chance fell to Crusaders. A long ball in behind the defence saw a foot race between Brewers goalkeeper Olena Tatarczuk and the Crusaders attacker, Malika Higgins. Higgins got there first, playing the ball beyond Tatarczuk, but a recovering run from Beth Naqwi enabled her to clear the danger with the goal gaping. The Brewers countered immediately and won a corner. Dannie Oxley’s ball into the box was half-cleared to Jubb who struck from distance, but it was comfortable for Clarke.
Manager Joe Kirkland wasn’t happy with the balance of play and switched formation to get a hold in the game. As a result, the Brewers started to dominate possession but still found it difficult to break down a resolute Crusaders side.
Chances started to come for the Brewers. Another impressive through ball from Jubb found Farrah Hoyle, who took the ball past her marker, only to fire wide of the goal. This was followed by long range shots from Naqwi and Thomas, with none of them troubling Clarke in goal.
The breakthrough came in the 35th minute. Oxley was fouled around eight yards outside the penalty area. The resulting free-kick was taken by OXLEY and she fired the ball over the wall, and over the ‘keeper into the roof of the net for her first goal of the season.
The Brewers doubled their lead a few minutes later. A Crusaders attack was broken up by Naqwi’s interception and she played the ball forwards to Hoyle, who dribbled the ball from her own half all the way into the Crusaders penalty area. Hoyle then beat a defender and rolled the ball across to THOMAS, whose first time shot whistled past Clarke into the top corner.
There were two further chances for the Brewers before half-time and both fell to Hoyle. First, she won the ball and went past two defenders before firing her shot straight at Clarke. The second came from a Thomas through ball. The Crusaders defender diverted the ball into the air and it fell to Hoyle who was through on goal. However, an attempt to lift the ball over Clarke failed to get enough height and the ‘keeper saved easily.
HALF-TIME: BURTON ALBION 2-0 CRUSADERS WOMEN
Early in the second half, a long ball from a Crusaders player went all the way through to Higgins who seemed to be there before Tatarczuk, but everybody missed the ball and the two players collided. Crusaders’ players and coaching staff appealed for a penalty but the referee waved them away, much to the relief of the Brewers.
Crusaders had another chance soon afterwards as they looked to find a way back into the match. A pass from Selmes saw Higgins get to the ball just before Charlotte Jarvis and she fired a shot past Tatarczuk, only to see the ball strike the post. The rebound was picked up by Selmes, whose turn and shot was comfortably dealt with by the Brewers ‘keeper.
The game settled after this point and the Brewers kept the ball well, dominating possession, but struggled to break down the Crusaders back line. Shots from distance from Oxley, Jarvis and Thomas all missing the target.
Crusaders were working hard to hit the Brewers on the counter and, following an interception from a throw-in, Higgins raced through towards goal. Her effort was well blocked by the body of Jarvis, who was expertly marshalling the Brewers defence to limit any Crusaders opportunities.
Brewers’ final chance came when Hoyle played a well-weighted ball through to substitute Louise Price, who ran towards the goal but was unable to generate enough power on her shot under pressure from defender Nikki Brazil.
FULL-TIME: BURTON ALBION 2-0 CRUSADERS WOMEN
Overall, Brewers’ manager Joe Kirkland was pleased with the performance. He said: “In games like these you just need to get over the line and we managed that comfortably. They were sat in a low block for most of the game and that made it tough to break them down, particularly in the second half, and that meant we had to manage the game well.
"We have an opportunity now to really finish the season strong. We need to grasp a hold of it and do just that in our final two games.”
Albion: Tatarczuk, Naqwi, Richards, Jarvis (c), Mahmood, Thomas (Lakin-Wright 77), Jubb, Gourlay, Gillott, Oxley (Price 77), Hoyle (Dann 83)
Goals: Albion – Oxley (35), Thomas (42)
