Pat Sowden Trophy First Round

WEYMOUTH LADIES 1 TAUNTON LADIES 0

WEYMOUTH Ladies upset the odds to dump Taunton Ladies out of the Pat Sowden Trophy.

The Terras went into the game as underdogs against their South West Women’s League Premier Division opponents but soon got used to the wet conditions, creating a host of chances in the opening exchanges yet unable to find the back of the net due to a combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping.

Weymouth kept pressing forward with all the play concentrated in Taunton’s half.

Rosie Sharpe, Kim Cheffey and Georgia Rogers all came close to breaking the deadlock with long-range efforts while wingers Natalie Batchelor and Jenny Hastie were a constant thorn in the Taunton defendce.

In the 40th minute Hastie won the ball on the halfway, passed down the line to Sharpe who drove into the box before delivering a quality ball across goal into the feet of Steph Ashton who finished clinically past the Taunton keeper.

Weymouth came out for the second half expecting a Taunton backlash but the back three of Jess Turk, Lisa Youd, and Maxine Hodder were solid and thwarted every attack.

Indeed, such was Weymouth’s domination that Naomi Dixon in the home goal never had a shot to save.

On the hour, Terras’ manager Tim Davis made three changes bringing on Naomi Smith, Carla Garth and Corrine Parker in order to give the team fresh legs.

Within five minutes Caroline Hill, who was having a storming game on the left wing, dislocated her ankle after a robust challenge and had to go off for treatment.

She had her ankle put back into place and bravely returned to the field. Weymouth finished the game firmly in control and on another day would have won by a far greater margin.

The Terras now go on to face Bishop’s Lydeard in the next round in two weeks’ time.

Captain Kim Cheffey said: “I’m very proud of the girls, we played well, and hopefully we will keep on improving and keep on winning.”