Derby County Women fell to a 2-0 defeat as goals from Heidi Logan and Saffron Jordan saw Stoke City Women take all three points at the Emerys Stadium on Wednesday night.
Despite a strong start from Derby, with Kira Rai, Amy Sims and Dolcie O’Connor all having golden chances at goal, the Potters’ two first-half strikes were enough to deny the Ewes.
The teams were separated by a single point coming into the match, with Derby sitting seventh and Stoke sitting eighth in the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division table.
This made for a fiery and physical contest in the Potteries, but Derby were unable to take their chances when they were presented early on.
Key Moments
Derby came out of the traps the quickest and looked particularly dangerous in the opening exchanges. Sims was played in by Rai just four minutes in and her low shot forced a strong save from Alice Ferguson.
Another chance came minutes later as Rai found herself clean through on goal and the winger forced an athletic stop from the goalkeeper.
Logan gave Stoke the lead with the home side's first chance of the game as her driven shot slipped between the legs of goalkeeper Sarah Morgan in the 11th minute.
Derby did continue to threaten after the first goal, though. Rai had another opportunity as she latched onto a low cross from Sims with a diving header, but she could not muster up enough power to trouble Ferguson.
Jordan got the Potters' second goal after half an hour with a deflected shot after she was played in by Alice Higginbottom.
Derby looked to threaten in the second half, as O’Connor struck a free-kick onto the post from 25 yards. A feat nearly replicated by Marli Rhodes-Andrews only a minute later, as her kick dipped just over the bar.
Substitute Isabel Sheridan struck the post for the Ewes once more, as momentum picked up in the 70th minute.
Roisin Kivel had a chance to kill the game in the 85th minute, as she was one-on-one and skipped over Morgan, but the Stoke winger overran the ball and the angle was too tight to convert.
A late scramble in the box saw Derby almost get a foothold into the game, as Sheridan and Charlotte Steggles had shots blocked in a packed box. Sarah Jackson’s boot met the deflection but the Ewes defender couldn’t steer the ball on target.
Derby will have to wait for their chance to bounce back from defeat, as they have a break this weekend, next playing against AFC Fylde at the Don Amott Arena on Sunday 24th March (2pm kick-off).
The Teams
Stoke City Women: Ferguson (GK); Thompson, McDonald, Suttie, Molinari; Holder, Murphy, Higginbottom, Kivel, Jordan (Stamps 66), Logan.
Unused Substitutes: Hobson (GK), Kelb, Tudor, Anderson.
Derby County Women: Morgan (GK); Ward, (Meadows 65); Steggles, Jackson, Jenkins; Wilson, Joyce, Sims; Rhodes-Andrews (Ashton 62), Rai (Sheridan 59), O’Connor.
Unused Substitutes: Draper (GK), Shepherd.
Words: Alfie Dickin
