A mixed week for Lincoln Ladies

Bristol Academy 2-0 Lincoln Ladies 

FA cup semi finals don't come around very often, and when they do you have to try and enjoy them. Although the fans had some tough news a couple of days before the game and the result didn't go our way, the support they gave the side was first class from start to finish, and if you look at the day overall i think most of the travelling support enjoyed it.

It was an early start for us as we huddled outside the Birchwood social club all set for the 8.30 am departure time. Even though i was quite disciplined and didn't go out the previous night (yes you did read that correctly i DIDN'T go out) i was still knackered. Today's match had quite rightly got the interest level up and we had booked a 28 seater for the trip. It was pretty much full which showed that the news received on the Friday hadn't put the fans off.

The Great Britain

Bristol had switched this game away from their normal home venue on the edge of the city to Ashton Gate home of rock bottom championship side Bristol City. I have visited their arch rivals Bristol Rovers' ground on a number of occasions over the years but this was my first visit to the red half of the city. Ashton Gate is in the heart of the City so we managed to get a look at the city as we passed through. I have had been out in the centre of Bristol once before way back in 1998 on a Taekwondo competition weekend, but i can honestly say that i cant remember anything about the place. On our trip through it seemed a very varied place. We passed the iconic steam ship the Great Britain, a rather large aquarium, and a large poster advertising a Lady boys of Bangkok show.  Other highlights included a few tramps who were looking worse for wear and a run down bar called "Bar excellence"  that looked anything but.

Like all inner city grounds Ashton Gate seems to appear out of nowhere as you approach it. As we had arrived mob handed on the coach, we were directed round to the far end of the ground which, given the width of some of the gateways, presented quite a challenge to the coach driver. Bristol had really pulled out the stops and we were positively welcomed as we got off the coach and we were told we could go and have a few drinks in the excutive bar before the match. As you can imagine i didn't really need asking twice and after purchasing the programme (which was a joint issue that covered both semi finals) I almost sprinted up the steps to the bar.

I always like seeing this side of football grounds because i am normally in the stands or the press area, so this is a side to clubs that i rarely see. The bar was very smart and you could tell you were at a Championship standard ground. The beer wasn't too expensive either with two pints coming in at the £7.20 mark. By the time we arrived in the bar we had an hour till kick off so it was plenty of time to wolf down three pints. The TV screens were showing the "Dead man walking" Derby between Reading and QPR. Thankfully there were plenty of great people in the bar to chat to without having to watch the dross on the TV screen. We were joined by the charming young ladies who run the Girls on the Ball website who informed me the day before that their pet rabbit Scotty had thoroughly enjoyed my interview on the BBC Lincolnshire sports show on the Friday evening. For me this is great news as although people from all walks of life read my drivel writing, i have yet to break into the lucrative rabbit market. Hopeful now more Rabbits will read and listen to me. As a way of thanks i presented Sophie and Rachel with a carrot for my new furry fan and i hear that he enjoyed it.

Thanks to Girls on the ball for the pic :-)

As enjoyable as the bar was, we had a football game to watch. So about 10 minutes before kick off we all piled out and into the stadium. I must say that i really like this ground. It's got a real old school feel to it. All four of the stands are different and with it being all red it gives it a quite imposing feel. I imagine that when its full it can be quite an intimidating place for away teams to come and play.

 No matter how fancy new grounds are, like those in Stoke, Reading, and Coventry, being built on the edge of town they will never have the charm or atmosphere as places like Ashton Gate, (or Carrow Road, or The City Ground etc). I am not normally bothered about revisiting grounds that are quite a distance from me (unless a team i support are playing) But i would certainly  like to do a Bristol City game at some point in the future. I imagine a Bristol derby at Ashton Gate is a pretty special event. Anyway enough cooing over the ground lets get onto the game.

Lincoln had a few selection problems for this game with both Hayley Bowden and Amy Turner; who had a very good game at Birmingham, being cup tied. Thankfully though Sophie Bradley had recovered from her injury to retake her place at the heart of the Lincoln defence.
And she had plenty of work to do. Bristol have had no problem finding the back of the net this season. They have recruited very well over the summer and have brought in players off real quality. There was a decent amount of noise from both sets of fans, and it looked like we were all set for a cracking cup semi final.

As you would expect that game was very tight, with much of the play being bogged down in the midfield. As the game went on though, Bristol saw more and more of the ball and it soon turned into a game of attack versus defence. Bristol's Spanish pair of Del Rio and Pablo Sanchon showed great movement, and although this did cause Lincoln some problems Karen Bardsley in the Imps goal didn't have too many shots to save. There wasn't really a huge amount of action to describe, but sadly one of the Bristol players Ann-Marie Heatherson was stretchered off with what looked a bad injury following a challenge in the box. Bristol did have a flurry of attacks just before halftime, but thankfully the whistle for halftime came just at the right moment for Lincoln. Not only was it a relief on the pitch but i was thankful of the break as my bladder was starting to feel the strain of the pre game refreshments.

In the second half i am afraid Bristol stepped it up. They took the lead they deserved on 59 minutes when Pablo Sanchon ran 40 yards with the ball before firing home. From an attacking point of view it was a great goal, but Lincoln will be dissapointed with the distance she was able to carry the ball. Lincoln did try to get back into the game but were still struggling to create clear chances. Jess Clarke did try to get something going but it was one of those days where the whole performance felt a little flat. Bristol put the game to bed in the 80th minute through Del Rio. I can't give you a description of the goal because i was again emptying my bladder. All i know was it was 2-0 and Lincoln were out of the cup.

After the final whistle Bristol celebrated their victory with the Lincoln players looking a little shell shocked. As they came over to us after their warm up and after the home side had left the field, you could tell how gutted they were with a couple of them close to tears; football can be a cruel game at times. This was knock out football at its cruelest. After the game we all headed up to the bar for a hour before our bus left at 5. It was great to have a couple of drinks with friends after the match and catch some of the Arsenal v Manchester United match. As the Lincoln players filtered in you could tell by the looks on their faces just how disappointed  they were, if we had won i would have been tempted to try and do a quick interview with one of them for the blog about the game, but today didn't really feel like the time for that. As we left to board our bus back, Karen Bardsley shook all our hands and thanked us for our support which was a nice touch. Onwards and upwards.

Lincoln Ladies 1-1 Arsenal Ladies

Quite often both in sport and in life its not the failures or mistakes you make, its how you bounce back from them that really counts. Lincoln knew that they would have to improve on their showing against Bristol at the weekend, and i am very pleased to say that they did. When you play against Arsenal you know that you can't afford to play below your best otherwise they will give you a good kicking. They are quality right the way through the team and have the strongest squad in the league by far. The fact that they can leave Rachel Yankee out of the squad and leave her in the stands in her tracksuit, tells you all you need to know about their team.

Lincoln rang the changes for this match both in personnel and formation. In front of Karen in goal we lined up with Casey Stoney and Sophie Bradley in the centre, with Martha Harris and Amy Turner as the full backs. This allowed us to push Sophie Walton into midfield along side Remi Allen. with Precious and Jess out wide. Carla Cantrell was the lone target girl with Hayley Bowden playing in the hole just behind her when Lincoln had the ball, but dropped back into midfield when Arsenal had the ball; so it was a mixture of 4-4-1-1 and 4-5-1. Whatever you want to call it it worked a treat.
 Arsenal did see much more of the ball as you would expect in the early stages, but Lincoln kept their shape well and didn't get dragged out of position. Arsenal were getting more efforts in on goal but Karen's positioning was spot on. Then on 23 minutes Lincoln put the cat amongst the pigeons but taking the lead in fine style.
Martha picked off a rare Arsenal misplaced pass and skipped past an Arsenal defender before crossing into the box. The ball totally caught out Gilly Flaherty, as Jess Clarke picked it up and calmly struck the ball through Emma Byrne's  legs to give Lincoln the lead. It was the third goal of the season for Jess and all three have now come in different competitions. (there's a good stat for you!)

My sketch of Jess Clarke's first half goal.

Arsenal stepped it up a bit but Lincoln held out till halftime. At halftime i ventured down to the bar and it was nice to meet a few people and put more names to faces.
I had to leave 15 minutes before the end of the game as i had to grab the last train home but from what i saw i would say that Lincoln played better than they did in the first half. This new formation really seemed to suit them, and i was very impressed with Hayley Bowden who looked much more settled than she has in her other games for the club. The other stand out player for me was Bardsley; who had more work to do in this game than all season long. I can't describe the Arsenal goal as it went in after i left the ground but i am not too disheartened with a draw against Arsenal. This is the first time that Arsenal have failed to win a domestic match and a point here means that a win and a draw from the two away group games should be enough to see us through to the semi finals. Its certainly all to play for.