Ladies return to winning ways

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Harriers Ladies returned to winning ways on Sunday with a dramatic late victory over Stourbridge Ladies.

Following last week’s disappointing 4-2 defeat to Solihull United, which saw  Harriers lose their unbeaten record in the league this season, Harriers knew that this encounter would be difficult against a strong Stourbridge side.

The game began very evenly, both defences holding strong to limit the number of chances, but Harriers eventually broke the deadlock for Harriers with a rare effort on goal – Kirsty Roberts beating her marker and feeding Amber Lawrence, who knocked the ball into some space and fired past the keeper.

With Harriers narrowly ahead at the break, it was Stourbridge that drew level during the start of the second period.

Molly Maguire brought down a Stourbridge player inside the area – the spot kick was dispatched to make it 1-1.

Soon after, Stourbridge hit the front with a lob from 25 yards, which sailed over the head of Harriers’ keeper, Hannah Tromans, dropping into the net.

With Harriers already having used all of their substitutes, and numerous players carrying knocks, Harriers battled and found a way back into the game.

A good passing move exploited some space left by the Stourbridge defence- Lawrence playing in Alex Nicklin, who fired past the keeper.

Both teams continued to attack to look for a winner, but with the clock ticking down, Harriers found a lifeline deep into stoppage time at the end of the game.

A foul on Nicklin just outside the box resulted in a free kick – it was delivered expertly by Lawrence to captain, Anne Johnson, who powerfully headed it into the net to make it 3-2 and seal three vital points for her team, which keep the pressure high on the two teams above Harriers in the league table.

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