Weymouth 1,

KS Cougars 1

KS made the long journey to Weymouth last weekend, playing to hold position in the league, with the winner taking fifth place.

A strong start from the Cougars put Wey­mouth immediately on the defensive and was to set the tone for the majority of the match, with KS dominating the midfield play through Lou and Emily Read, who linked strongly across the middle.

Gemma Samuels, despite carrying a knee injury, put in several great spells and was again quick to layer up with some excellent work around the tackle.

Against the run of play Weymouth sneak­ed in front when a high, looping deflection spun back inside the post after a great fingertip save.

KS calmly took the opener in their stride, knowing that they held the better attacking play and set about redressing the balance.

Laura Kerly fired close on the angle from a diving effort and saw a few shots pinned under the ‘keeper from attempts in the fun zone.

Helen Symons ghosted through the Wey­mouth defence on to the ‘keeper in a lovely move but failed to break the backboard with her ballistic wind-up when a more traditional stick and ball finish would probably have worked...

Both strikers looked dangerous from short corners as Kerly saw blistering efforts stop­ped by the Weymouth ‘keeper and Symons flicked at pace to draw a great save on the line.

The Cougars were unrelenting in their press through the second half, with Rachel Roberts and Fi Wadey marking high on the halfway line to support the attacking play.

With Weymouth on­ly managing the occasional break, KS ‘keeper Claire Jones was on top form to spring into action and make a fine save under pressure.

With a high percentage of turnover thanks to the great workrate from the whole team in jumping back, KS Cougars were able to build their attacks through controlled possession.

Bex Darke at left half frequently led the transitions to open the opposite wings, where Sarah Budgen and Abi Bell found great space to attack the line.

The consistent, quality pressure was sure to pay off as Weymouth began to pack their D and it fell to captain Chloe Harvey to pop up and tap home an equaliser from a scramble in front of goal with 54 minutes gone.

Delivering all of the pressure the KS arrowhead of Kerly, Symons and Harvey were connecting well as the Cougars midfield calmly dictated the play and made great use of the width created by the wingers leading out into space.

As KS threw everything at Weymouth for the last five minutes Wadey surged forwards like a woman possessed, leading the charge as she exploded from the right side of midfield to leave Weymouth reeling.

KS peppered the opposition D with angled balls as Darke, Wadey and Lou Read prowled the Weymouth 25, with their quality deliveries seeing several close chances clip a post or sideboard just inches away from delivering three points.

With an excellent team performance to hold the majority of pressure throughout the game KS just couldn’t find the winner.

Despite sensational possession play and several clear-cut chan­ces, it was one of those days where every de­flection dribbled just outside of the post and every close-range attempt was swallowed by the melee in front of goal.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw which sees the Kingsbridge side still increasing their points tally and retaining league position with a definite eye on three points for the return fixture.

The woman-of-the-match award went jointly to Lou Read and Bex Darke after the game for their strong performances through the midfield, with both players also sharing the Most Vocal award.