Loughborough Foxes were able to welcome fans back to their first home fixture of the 2020/21 season. With a great attendance, they were keen to put on a spectacle.
The starting 11 remained unchanged for Foxes with Cooper and Matthews coming onto the bench.
Foxes started quickly launching several attacks at the Stoke goal. The best of the first opportunities for Loughborough fell to Nicholls who hoped to add to her brace from last week. Walters slipped the ball through to Nicholls who’s shot looked like it was curling into the top corner. A brilliant save from Stoke keeper Kosinska denied the goal. Kosinska was crucial in keeping the score level in the first 15 minutes of the match for Stoke.
Foxes kept challenging the Stoke defence and Rebecca Knight was able to convert a well delivered Steele corner to take Foxes into the lead! Stoke grew into the half getting their own opportunities on goal but brilliant defensive challenges from Webb and Mcgrother kept Loughborough in the lead. Mcgrother not only was a key part of Foxes defence but also contributed to several key attacks for Foxes. Most notably being when she picked the ball up in her own half before charging into the Stoke box, only to be tripped by the Stoke defender and not awarded a penalty.
Stoke took this frustration held by Loughborough as their chance and converted at the other end quickly after a loose ball was buried into the net. The away side continued to build momentum as the half carried on putting Mayfield under pressure. Loughborough got another chance on goal just before the break with the front three linking up and Walters putting a great ball across the 6-yard box only to be just out of reach for Knight.
The teams went into the half time break level after great opportunities for both sides to get more goals.
The second half started similar to how the first did, with Foxes going very close and forcing Stoke to defend well. A freekick whipped into from Steele was just kept from crossing the line by the Stoke defenders to stop Loughborough from taking the lead. Both goalkeepers continued to impress with a strong 1v1 block from Mayfield and a good save from the Stoke keeper denying Miller her first Foxes goal.
With 30 minutes to go we saw the introduction of Charlotte Cooper after a long spell out with a knee injury, she was immediately into the action making great chances for Foxes. Mcgrother was called into action again making a strong tackle to break down a Stoke attacking move. The referee put Stoke’s midfielder into the book after a nasty tackle on Knight.
Another substitution for Foxes saw captain Young replaced by Lowe in midfield handing the armband to Knight. Foxes continued to battle hard to keep the score level with Knight and Mcgrother clashing heads whilst defending a corner. Foxes final substitution in the game came 10 minutes before the end of play with Knight coming off to be replaced by Ritchie making her Foxes competitive debut.
A lapse in concentration allowed Stoke to get a goal and pull into the lead with not long left of the match. Foxes kept their heads held up high and pushed in search of an equaliser. The equaliser came from a bit of magic from Laura Steele who whipped a corner straight into the net beating Kosinska at the front post.
Both teams kept fighting for the three points until the end with both teams having chances in the dying minutes. Mayfield was called into action late on in the game pulling off an amazing double save at the feet of the Stoke striker.
The referee blew for the final whistle and the teams shared the points. A game that could have ended with a higher scoreline with both teams having multiple chances. Foxes have now got two points from two testing fixtures. They next face West Brom in a mid-week fixture back at the Loughborough University Stadium. West Brom sit in second in the league after a strong 5-0 victory over Sheffield FC today. More information on how to watch Foxes mid-week will be released soon!