Bracknell

Women’s Southern Regional League Sunday 30th March 2008

Oxford City (0)3 (og 67, Steph Mobbs 88, Rachel Catling 90)
Bracknell Town (0)2

City stay top and keep up their unbeaten league record this season, but only thanks to a never-say-die performance after it looked like Bracknell would take all three points.

The game was played in blazing sunshine, which made a change from recent high winds. The first half saw both sides miss chances; twice Bracknell shot over when they only had Steph Kubat, City’s stand-in keeper once again, to beat. At the other end, Steph Mobbs missed the target from 6 yards out, Claire Bates shot just over and the keeper made excellent saves from Mobbs and Deanne Tomkins.

Tomkins and Olivia Rollings both failed to make the most of good chances in the second half before Bracknell took the lead in the 54th minute with a well-struck shot from the edge of the area. City were forced to introduce midfield dynamo Michelle Robinson from the bench, despite her not being fully fit, in an effort to chase the game; Rachel Catling also had to be introduced after top scorer Tomkins limped off. A period of sustained City pressure ended in the equaliser as a Bracknell defender headed in a Mobbs corner.

City went looking for the winner, but were caught on the break in the 77th minute as Bracknell took the lead again with a fierce shot. City continued to press, but spurned chance after chance, Mobbs in particular contriving to head the ball over the bar when standing on the goal-line. However, Mobbs atoned for this miss in the 88th minute with a neat turn and shot 8 yards out from a Rollings pass.

In the last minute of normal time, a superb turn from Catling left the defence for dead, and her shot into the corner left the keeper helpless. Bracknell threw players forward in injury time but City held on. This was not their most fluent performance of the season but showed great determination.

Team: Steph Kubat – Louise Craig (sub Amy Cranston 69 min), Carol Harwood, Heidi Hiscock – Olivia Rollings, Lauren Carnell (capt), Claire Bates, Hannah Smye – Steph Mobbs, Deanne Tomkins (sub Rachel Catling 65 min), Katie Totton (sub Michelle Robinson 57 min)

Slough

Posted by Hugh on March 23, 2008, 4:54 pm, in reply to "Oxford City Ladies 4 - Slough 1"

Woman’s Southern Region League Premier Division Sunday 23 March 2008

Oxford City Ladies (1)4 (Deanne Tomkins 2, 52, Steph Mobbs 76, Katie Totton 80)
Slough Ladies (1)1

City continued their unbeaten league run at home to Slough. They were made to work hard in the first half but won convincingly in the end.

City were missing key players – in particular, illness and unavailability meant that neither of the squad’s goalkeepers was able to play and young striker Steph Kubat was forced to take the gloves. She put in an excellent performance, making several brave saves in one-on-one situations and was only beaten from the penalty spot.

The penalty came as Slough’s equaliser on the half-hour mark, City having taken the lead in the 2nd minute when Deanne Tomkins scored from 12 yards after being set up by Steph Mobbs. Katie Totton saw her shot hit both post and bar before bouncing off the goal-line, but City certainly did not have it all their own way and Slough’s equaliser was just reward for an even first half.

Slough, who were certainly one of the best footballing sides City have played this season, continued to create chances in the second half, but City gained the upper hand and eventually killed the game off, scoring three more goals. Tomkins lobbed the keeper superbly into the top corner from 20 yards; Mobbs scored from 12 yards after a one-two with Abi Smith, and Totton flicked past the keeper beautifully from close range from a Tomkins cross.


Team: Steph Kubat – Lauren Carnell (capt), Carole Harwood, Heidi Hiscock – Rachel Millard (sub Amy Cranston 75 min), Claire Bates, Michelle Robinson (sub Abi Smith ht), Louise Craig – Katie Totton, Deanne Tomkins, Steph Mobbs.

Riverside Strikers

Women's Southern Regional Premier Division

Sunday 24th February 2008

Oxford City Ladies (3) 6 (Carnell pen 7, Totton 16, 29, Mobbs 71, 73, 90)

Riverside Strikers (0) 1

City turned in a convincing performance to maintain their unbeaten league record. City started the game in third place, three points behind top-of-the-table Riverside with four games in hand.

City took the game to their opponents from the kick-off and were soon a goal up. A fierce Rachel Catling shot hit the bar and Michelle Robinson was fouled as she attempted to turn in the rebound. Lauren Carnell coolly dispatched the penalty into the bottom corner. Katie Totton doubled the lead in the 16th minute, bundling home the rebound from close range after a Steph Mobbs cross had been deflected by a defender and tipped on to the bar by the keeper.

Totton, who put in an excellent, hard-working performance up front in the absence of top scorer Deanne Tomkins, hit an unstoppable free-kick into the top corner from 25 yards to send City in three up at half-time, after 45 minutes which they had dominated throughout.

Riverside tried to reduce the arrears after the break but their long-range shots gave a City defence marshalled by Carol Harwood little trouble. City seemed content to let Riverside have possession but still looked dangerous on the break, and went further ahead in the 71st minute. An excellent long pass from Carnell found Louise Craig, whose cross was deftly sidefooted home from 12 yards out by Mobbs.

Two minutes later Mobbs added her second after excellent interplay with Hannah Smye. Riverside pulled a goal back in the 79th minute when a right-wing cross was forced home from close range, but Mobbs completed the scoring, and her hat-trick, with a great run and shot.

This was an excellent performance by City who were well worth their win and move up to second in the table as a result, only one point behind the new leaders Shanklin, with 4 games in hand.

Team: Hannah Cox – Lauren Carnell (capt), Carol Harwood, Heidi Hiscock – Louise Craig, Claire Bates, Rachel Catling (sub Rachel Millard 72 min), Michelle Robinson, Hannah Smye – Steph Mobbs, Katie Totton.

Reading 0 - OCFC 19

Congrats to the women for another fab result! We are climbing steadily to the top of the table, and thanks to Claire Bates for supplying details.

The scorers were:
Deanne Tomkins 6
Rachel Catling 6
Steph Mobbs 3
Hannah Smye
Michelle Robinson
Katie Totton
Claire Bates

The 'A' team fixture away to Newport Pagnell was called off.

Oxford United

League Cup

Sunday 27th January 2008

Oxford United Ladies (0) 0
Oxford City Ladies (1) 8 (Deanne Tomkins 23, 50, 64, Claire Ostle 60, 86, Stephanie Mobbs 70, 81, Rachel Catling 89)

City notched up another convincing win against United.

United, desperate not to repeat the 14-0 defeat in the County Cup, packed their defence and were content to rely on breakaways. City enjoyed the majority of possession but seemed too eager at times, sacrificing width in attack for sheer numbers and were almost falling over each other in the area.

United held out until halfway through the first period, when Deanne Tomkins headed home a Hannah Smye cross. United, much more resilient than in the previous meeting, held out until the break only one down.

Perhaps United would have had more opportunities had they played more than one up front, but if anything they were more defensive after the break, and Tomkins doubled the lead with a well-struck shot before an excellent finish by Claire Ostle from a Tomkins pass finished the game as a contest on the hour mark.

Tomkins achieved her hat-trick with a cool finish after being set up by Claire Bates, before Steph Mobbs added two well-taken goals, Ostle saw a shot deflected in and Rachel Catling completed the scoring from close range.

United refused to give in and cleared two shots off the line in the closing stages, before having their own best chance in injury time when a free-kick cleared the bar.

City team: Hannah Cox (sub Amy Cranston 74 min) – Lauren Carnell (capt), Carol Harwood, Heidi Hiscock (sub Louise Craig 66 min) – Claire Ostle, Claire Bates, Deanne Tomkins, Michelle Robinson, Hannah Smye – Steph Mobbs, Katie Totton (sub Rachel Catling ht).