Southampton 2 Fareham 2 - The Verdict !

Southampton goalscorer Lou Hopkins [Chris Moorhouse]

The spoils were shared 2-2 when Southampton and Fareham Ladies met in a South Women’s League Division 3B derby at the Sports Centre.
The verdicts of the respective clubs follow the match facts –
Southampton 2 Fareham 2 (Half-time 2-2)
Southampton (Match form order): 6 Lauren Carter, 1 Linda Dunham, 38 Devon Greenhaigh, 39 Louise Hopkins, 43 Bernie Jones, 34 Rachel Maunder, 10 Sue Merry, 88 Olivia O'Mahony, 2 Natalie Romain, 3 Zoe Stride, 99 Ros Wellington, 4 Emma White, 12 Abi Woodcock
Fareham (3-4-1-2): Ange Cryne; Lydia Rowswell, Laura Pendleton, Georgia Collins; Hannah Oldham, Siân Edwards, Jo Faulkner, Lydia Jackson; Rebecca Reavell; Rachael Clark, Vicky Field  Subs: Sophie Raymond, Gracie Coleman.  Unused Sub: Tara Lemon
Goalscorers:
10 mins Fareham Vicky Field F 0-1
12 mins Southampton Louise Hopkins F 1-1
20 mins Southampton Zoe Stride F 2-1
34 mins Fareham Rebecca Reavell F 2-2
Fareham viewpoint –
Everyone worked incredibly hard and it was a great effort. Both teams had the upper hand for spells in the first half but after half-time we had the majority of clear cut chances and Southampton probably only looked like they might steal it in the last two or three minutes when tiredness finally became a factor.
There is an argument for the draw being a fair enough outcome but we finished the match frustrated that we hadn't scored a winner whilst Southampton looked relieved to have escaped with a draw.
We certainly scored the two best goals of the match. A nice interchange of passes between Rachael and Vicky ended with Vicky running onto Rachael's through ball, rounding the keeper and, after steadying herself, opening the scoring with a composed finish. The two Southampton goals were a little disappointing for us as they were probably preventable and at 2-1 down the game could have got out of our grasp, like at Teddington. However we regrouped and started playing the way that has brought us success in previous games. The equalizer was a very good goal with great work by Hannah in the corner followed by a perfect cross and an excellent finish by Revs.
I think you would have got long odds against the 2nd half being goalless but it isn't the first game at Southampton where we have had the best of the game after the break but just couldn't get the goals our play deserved.
All in all the disappointment of not managing to win was more than matched by the performance and the effort.
Southampton verdict –
After playing two great games the previous weekend, Southampton Ladies were hoping to continue our performance into the Fareham derby – but it did not start as intended.
Mid-way through the first half following an opposition break away we went 1-0 down against the run of play as Southampton had been dominant in attack up to this point. A quick resurgence enabled us to hit straight back. A ball through from Emma at the back on the right to Zoe Stride, who then gave a brilliantly guided long ball into Lou Hopkins, who took it round the keeper and shot it straight into the goal.
Not long after we were on another successful attack when their defender got hold of the ball and was nice enough to pass it straight to Lou Hopkins, who was on top of the D. She skilfully lifted it over a couple of sticks before putting it behind the defenders for Zoe Stride, who ran onto it and confidently put it into the goal.
Unfortunately, the good work by the team to go 2-1 up was undone just before half time when Fareham made another break away lifting the ball across goal just out of reach of Dev and the player in behind her scored.
After an inspirational team talk from Sue Merry at half time we tried hard to get our performance back on track but we appeared to have lost some of our enthusiasm and couldn’t quite get the winning goal despite our best efforts. In the end it was through grit and determination that we managed to hold Fareham to a 2 all draw.