Battled hard against Hereford

This week, Sidmouth faced Hereford in their furthest away game. After a run of defeats Sidmouth were looking for their first win of the season and to make the travelling a bit easier, the side hired a minibus. On the journey up a faint burning smell in the air helped us get fired up for the match.

Sidmouth felt confident going into the first half, with Chris Lewis making his seasonal debut for Sidmouth. Unfortunately confidence was not shown on the pitch and Hereford capitalised on a slow Sidmouth start to snatch a quick goal.

Sidmouth were pushed back, but managed to keep Hereford at bay until they found a gap in the defence and converted to make it 2-0. Hereford continued to keep the pressure on and Sidmouth remained on the back foot when they went down to 10 men after Charlie Plowden received a yellow card.

Goalkeeper Jon Hill - Man of the Match - was kept busy and worked hard to make some good saves. With half time approaching, Sidmouth began to play with more composure and the forwards made some good runs.

George Powell got on the end of a Scott Rowson ball which resulted in a short corner. Sid kept hold of the ball and managed to break through their defence, but it ended in a Hereford counter-attack where they scored again.

At the start of the second half Sidmouth came out with renewed vigour and were matching the opposition.

Graham Pidgeon and Andrew Mapson kept the left side busy, allowing Plowden to make his way up the pitch and supply the forwards with some good passes. Defence remained solid with Ian Brown and Ben Dormand making a strong partnership in the centre. Following an unfortunate event Nick Wade received a yellow card and Sidmouth were down to 10 men again. Soon after that, Hereford scored once more but it was time for super- sub Chris Lewis to make his mark.

After a short time of play he found himself in the opposition’s D and, once he was clear of all players took a shot which just went wide. In the end, it was a poor performance which resulted in a 6-0 defeat.

On the journey home, the same burning smell which had fired the players up, led to our minibus breaking down on the Second Severn Crossing.

Standing for several hours in the cold on the hard shoulder of the motorway bridge, whilst waiting for the RAC and taxis to ferry players home, left plenty of time to dwell on the performance.

It gave them determination to perform better against Plymouth University next weekend at home.

?Sidmouth Ladies started the match with a desire to get their first win of the season. In the first half the play was even between Sidmouth and Tiverton White Eagles and both teams had shots on goal but Jan Jones kept Sidmouth in the game and saved a goal on the line.

There was strong passing through the middle with Lea Pidgeon and Chrissie Mitchell but, unfortunately, the goals just didn’t come and the first half ended 0-0.

Eagles scored two early goals in the second half with some quick passing and direct attack but Sidmouth came back to make it 2-1 from a short corner with the push out from Jodie Lane and a direct strike from Taryn Beuthin.

With the score line so close, Sidmouth carried on fighting to get the second goal to equalise. Sara Roberts never gave up and put everything into getting the ball off the Eagles. There were some strong runs down the sides from Karen Cann and Lauren McMahon but, unfortunately, Eagles’ defence was strong and the goals did not come. Eagles went on to score again, twice despite a strong Sidmouth defence consisting of Lucy Broad, Chloe Munn, Sarah Hutchings, Jan Jones and Hayley Delasalle, who played well together throughout the match.

Sidmouth worked well together as a team, reflected in the numerous Man of the Match nominations but, overall it went to Jan Jones.

?Ladies’ 2nds - After last week’s strong team performance, Sidmouth were buoyed with confidence ahead of this game on home turf. With the additional comfort of having two subs on the sideline, the team were hopeful of securing a more balanced result.

Honiton were quick to put the pressure on and soon went one goal up.

Sid secured some quick runs into the Honiton D but failed to achieve any strong shots on goal.

Honiton deservedly ended the first half two goals up after scoring a superb goal crossed into the net from an almost impossible angle.

After some half-time formation changes, Sidmouth returned with determination.

Molly Adkins had a brilliant game, breaking down further attempts from Honiton’s forwards and showing off her own attacking abilities, making runs up the centre beating Honiton’s midfield.

Player of the Match, Charlotte Hill, also had an exceptional game, making perfectly timed interceptions as the Honiton forwards attempted to enter Sidmouth’s half.

The loss of key midfielder Chrissie Mitchell to the first team has seen the team struggle to make links from defence to attack, however, Hill stood in to fill this position, stepping up to support the midfield and making some great passes through to the forwards.

Half way through the second half, Sidmouth finally managed to secure a well deserved short corner.

Sarah Dean ensured a strong accurate push out, the first hit was unsuccessful but rebounded and Susie Bedford managed to get a stick to it, showing skills reminiscent of past cricketing days!

This tap saw the ball loop into the back of the goal and, with Sidmouth’s first goal of the season, team spirits were lifted.

Sidmouth attempted to level the score. Honiton however managed to keep it together and held the score to a 2-1 defeat for the home team.

Thanks again go to Dukes for their generous sponsorship of the team.