CARDIFF CITY LFC
Sunday 5th March 2023 | KO 14:00
Ocean Park, Cardiff
Vs AFC Bournemouth
A very warm welcome to our guests today and all the players, staff and supporters from AFC Bournemouth and of course our own friends and supporters for this FAWNL game.
I think this is the first time that we have hosted our visitors who are up there in the league table with us as we sit second behind Exeter City and Bournemouth are in the third spot. Today, I know it's going to be an enjoyable but hard fought and competitive game as the result will impact on both sides for chasing that one promotion spot.
We are in the middle of a tough two weeks of fixtures. As I write, we are recovering from a late night return from our Keynsham fixture getting home at 2am on Thursday night that was delayed due to the Prince of Wales Bridge being closed after a nasty road traffic accident, but the only good thing from the night was that we picked up a 4 nil win and three precious points.
I am only going to touch on our Vitality FA Cup run as you can read more about that later in the programme but that has now been put away in a box as we try and concentrate on the remaining league games of the season. But, I have to take this opportunity to thank our magnificent supporters. Those who made the trip up to Lewes with us, also those who sent us good luck messages and followed us from home. Thank you all very much it really means a lot to the girls and to club as a whole. You have all been magnificent in your support this year and we hope that we have done you proud so far.
We have our second charity day of the season today as we welcome our friends and staff from Ymchwil Canser Cymru, Cancer Research Wales. This was a very important decision we took at the start of the season to support our local charities, and you will see that the girls are wearing pink today as recognition of the fantastic work this charity does in the research of a disease that I’m sure has affected everyone at today’s game at some point through-out their lives. We will be doing a bucket collection during the game and you will see bucket collection points at the ground for people who want to donate to this fantastic charity.
Our mascots today are our little friends from the Swansea RCT talent ID Centre Under 6’s. We have hosted boys teams as our mascots in the past but the connection with this centre is that our captain Cori is one of their coaches. When I spoke to Ian one of their coaches he said ‘the boys can’t wait to come along as they love Cor’ and we agree boys as we love Cor too! We are sure that these little lads will all have a great day and go home with fantastic memories of their day with us.
Our next home game is Sunday April 2nd against Selsey, so we have a quite a few weeks where we are out on the road for away games. We hope to see some of you whilst we are on our travels and once again thank you for the fantastic support that you give us.
Sit back and enjoy the game.
Karen Jones MBE Club Secretary
www.cancerresearch.wales
www.cancerresearch.wales
Since 1966, our pioneering research has been saving lives, right here in Wales. Almost 60 years of research has contributed to vast improvements in cancer services and better outcomes for countless people. We are working to make sure the people of Wales do not have to accept cancer as a life-threatening disease. We do this by supporting the best cancer researchers and clinicians to make discoveries which will transform lives, because research is in our DNA.
Cancer Research Wales is the only charity wholly dedicated to funding cancer research in Wales, for Wales.
For more than 50 years, we’ve worked with the government and key decision makers to revolutionise cancer research and make the right policy changes for the people of Wales.
Our work has never been more important
By 2030, it’s estimated that 230,000 people across Wales will have cancer
One in two of us will get cancer, which means we will all be affected by cancer in one way or another. To tackle this, our research is happening all over Wales, in our communities, our hospitals, our GP surgeries. It’s making Wales a healthier, and better place to live.
Thanks to the work we’ve already done, we know more about cancer than ever before. Every day, we’re turning this knowledge into better treatments and outcomes for cancer patients. And we’ll keep on learning.
We’ll continue to work towards even better treatments, tests, and drugs for those with cancer, so they can lead better lives with those they love. The work we’re doing is universal – our research is for all cancers, for all people, and for all of Wales.
With research, we can change the narrative of what a cancer diagnosis means. Because hope remains at the core of our DNA. Hope for the next generation of cancer patients, for our children, and for Wales.
We have been busy during the international and FA Cup break and have brought in three new players; Nadia Lawrence, Kaitlyn MorganHemmens and Elianna Chavez, welcome to all three!
Congratulations to our number one Laura O'Sullivan on her clean sheet for Wales against Iceland. Wales played 3 games in the Pinatar Cup and our number 1 played the full 90 minutes in the second game following Gemma Grainger's decision to allow all three keeper's to have a match each. Our number one was rarely troubled in the match and had a great camp with the Welsh team out in Spain.
The game began and Lewes piled on the pressure as instructed. Within a minute, Cardiff had forced an offside from the Rooks who were keen to set the tone. With only four minutes on the clock, McKenna danced down the right wing, evading Piggott and Gauvain and fed Ellie Mason who converted the opportunity 1-0 to the hosts. The home fans were jubilant, but the away side kept their heads held high. They absorbed threats in their waves on the south coast, and the game settled into a different tone Cardiff were unable to fashion much of note going forward, but in the midfield and defence were excellent at forcing errors from Lewes. Commentary described the defending as ‘stubborn’, and it was clear to see that this was frustrating the Lewes attack, who no doubt hoped to have played the match out with a goal every five minutes
The battle was intense between Northern Ireland international, Rebecca McKenna, and Cardiff’s Libby Piggott who has WSL experience. Following the initial run that led to the goal, a hard challenge from Piggott seemed to have reminded McKenna that the Dragons she wasn’t to be trifled with and saw a reduction in runs forward and an increase in passes backward.
Lewes seemed content to settle the game down slightly after the first few minutes, passing the ball around the back and looking to see where the gaps opened up in the sea of red With barely half an hour gone, Cori Williams fell uncharacteristically, seeming to be in quite some pain. The referee did not blow his whistle, however, and Lewes stormed forward, capitalising on a momentary break in concentration and finding the net for the second time through Ellie Mason.
The Dragons’ spirit did not waver, and those in attendance at The Dripping Pan were stunned by an incredible goal from Ingrid Ådland from 25 yards out The goal was almost an exact replica of the Norwegian’s goal against Burnley which won the FA Cup ‘Moment of the round’
The amateur side from Wales went into the changing room at halftime only 2-1 down against a fully professional team two divisions above them. The game, it seemed, was on.…. Continued
After a first half largely devoid of action for the Lewes keeper and defence, the second half started off with much for the travelling supporters to cheer. The Cardiff attack created some wonderful link-ups moving forward, with one and two-touch football cutting through the Lewes midfield and breaking into the final third with ease Lewes supporters were roused by a drum and calls for ‘Come on you Rooks’, but the Welsh contingent matched this with ‘Come on you Reds’.
While the cheers continued, the waves of attack from Cardiff grew less frequent The game became more physical, to the point where Ruby Scahill was ushered off the pitch with blood gushing from her mouth after an elbow to the face
From this point, the game continued to descend into a more physical battle. Ellie Mason achieved her hat-trick in the 61st minute Both sides made changes and brought on substitutes, with midweek matches in their respective leagues looming. The game became frenetic and more end-toend. Tempo increased, as did the number of goals scored by Lewes. Ellie Mason showed off some incredible individual aerial skill in the box to smash home a fourth, and the last five minutes of play also saw goals by Kenzie Weir and Aqsa Mushtaq, their first in Lewes shirts.
The final score finished at 6-1 to a deserving Lewes, who will host Manchester United in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. The Rooks made history, reaching the quarters for the first time. Ellie Mason would be the architect of Cardiff’s exit from the FA Cup.
There were undeniable positives for the reds to take back to Wales, however. The only unpaid side left in the FA Cup maintained a 2-1 scoreline for an hour on the road against a professional team Nadia Lawrence made her first appearance of the season, and impressed with her incredible technical ability, and cheers rose from the away fans when Ellie Sargent got her first few minutes back on the pitch after being stretchered off with an ankle injury in December
Cardiff’s rebrand couldn’t have gone much better this season, but it says everything about the team that they were disappointed with the end result The quality, and the belief, is there, and their attentions will turn, without distraction, to the FAWNL where they will continue to pressure for promotion back into Tier 3.
On behalf of everyone at our Club, I would like to thank everyone who has supported us in our great FA cup run this season.
We are the biggest kept secret in Welsh Women's Football, but this season with our league results and also with our fabulous cup run we have started to build our support more and more every week.
Our players “staff' and volunteers are all amateur, and to receive such lovely notes of good luck and the media visits leading up to every match along our cup run has made this season very special for all of our dedicated people.
Our season isn't over yet, we are in the middle of a very busy league programme and in the mix with a number of other talented clubs fighting for promotion, so please keep supporting us either via our media sites or by attending our games!
Today wasn't our day and Lewes deserved their win, and we wish them well in the next round. But we can hold or heads up high, and to a Cardiff City LFC player, coach, medic and travelling supporter today (some of whom travelled as far away as Norway), a big thankyou and we are 'oh so proud of you all'.
Sunday 12th March - Southampton v Cardiff City League, 2pm, Snows Stadium, Southampton
Wednesday 15th March - Larkhall v Cardiff City
League, 745pm, Larkhall Sports Club, Larkhall
Sunday 26th March - Portishead v Cardiff City
League, 2pm, Portishead Football Club, Portishead
Sunday 2nd April - Cardiff City v Selsey
Another tough league game against Sully Pinks and after our last game we had against them we knew we had a hard game ahead of us. With illness and injuries we had depleted numbers for this game, so knew we would need to dig deep and be patient in our play as we had to ask a few players to play in new or unfamiliar positions for the first time With a few changes in place, it took a time to get some rhythm to our play, but we soon settled and attacked the opposition end with some nice flowing moves. Savanna picked up a lovely ball in midfield, did a back heel trick to beat the advancing players, turned them and then took on 3 defenders to slot the ball past the advancing keeper to make in 1-0. Once this goal went in you could see the players relax a bit more and start dictating play as they had been in other games. The pressure we started to apply to the game was telling with numerous attacks and shots on goal coming thick and fast. The continued pressure forced a corner, which was delivered with precision by Nevaeh that went to Savanna who did a little flick ball in the penalty area that then went to Evan who struck the ball cleanly into the bottom corner of the goal to make it 2-0.
There was some lovely flowing football from both teams and during Sully’s movement they took advantage of some missed tackles from us to mount an attack and score a goal of their own to make it 2-1 at half time.
The second half started off at a cracking pace with quick through balls and determination to win every ball was great to see When Sully did get through, our new defence with defenders Lexi and Renee playing in different positions more than stood up to the challenge thrown at them. With Nevaeh, Lexi and Renee in defence so many passages of play started from them as they played out from the back. We had many a good run and shots from our midfield of Seren and Sienna (Captain for the day) to keep the pressure on the opposition. From outwide, Grace ran from our own half, down the right wing, cut inside and passed a ball through our midfield that went to Meg. Meg picked it up and played an inch perfect ball back to Grace, who had run into the opposition penalty area and slotted the ball home to make the score 3-1 at the end
Todays game was a different challenge but in a strange way, a welcome one too, as it allowed us to play a few players in different positions that they may not of had to play before. That can only be a good experience for us going forward during this season. Each of them fitted in so well to the point, you would not have known they had never played in those positions before as they looked so comfortable and enjoyed their new roles. Well done all, you all dug deep today to get through the game with fantastic teamwork.
Scorers : Savanna ⚽, Evan ⚽, Grace ⚽
POTM : Lexi and Seren
Monk’s Photography
Harriet Lambe
Laura O'Sullivan Libby Piggott
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Ellie Sargent
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Emily Poole
Kelly Isaac
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Emily Richards
Cori Williams Grace Seren
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Kaitlyn Morgan-Hemmens
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Nadia Lawrence
Elianna Chavez
