Birkdale United v Liverpool Feds
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010| Date:        | Sunday 18th April 2010 |
| Location:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | Bedford Park, Birkdale |
| Result:Â | Birkdale United Ladies (5) Liverpool Feds (2) |
After a longer break than anticipated, Birkdale United began the League Cup competition with a tough home tie against Liverpool Feds. Noel had made the arduous and dangerous journey back from his holiday in Iceland to lead the team, and there were a few changes in personnel. Granby, Waring, Gillingham, McEvoy and Reppion were not in the squad, while White, Parker, Griner and McKenna returned. Davidson failed a late fitness test on her ankle, so Griffiths deputised at right–back in impressive fashion.
The home side started well, put some good passing moves together and forced a few early corners. Unfortunately, it was from one of these early corners that the visitors took the lead. A swift break from Feds saw Griffiths and McKenna outnumbered at the back, and the forward ran free to finish neatly past the exposed Hesketh. The home side were undeterred, and drew level only a few minutes later. Good play in midfield involving Ferguson, Parker and Williams saw Cooper put clean through, and she finished with typical calmness.
The rest of the half saw the home side slightly in the ascendency, but Feds dangerous when they went forward. Just before half-time, Birkdale took the lead with a really well-worked goal. Griner was released down the right by Griffiths, and she found Cooper in the box with an inch-perfect pass. Her first effort was blocked, but she managed to fire her follow up into the top corner, giving the keeper no chance.
At half time, Noel, Dave and Dave told the Ladies that they had been pleased with their first half showing against a dangerous opponent, and they needed to push on from this point to secure the victory and progress to the semi-final.
The start of the second half saw a truly pulsating end-to-end cup tie between two really good sides. The next goal was going to prove crucial, and so it was. An excellent move on the break saw Williams, Tuakli and White combine to feed the ball into Cooper, who in turn laid the ball off to her left to the onrushing Ferguson. She took one touch before hitting an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net, giving the keeper no chance from fully twenty-five yards. To make things more memorable, this was her first goal for the club.
Shortly afterwards, the home side got what seemed to be a clinching goal, when Ferguson fed Cooper, whose low cross-shot just evaded Tuakli but not the on-rushing Jackson at the far post. Feds felt that the Birkdale midfielder had been offside in the build-up to the goal, and the home side has cause for the same complaint just a couple of minutes later when a seemingly off-side forward fired neatly past Hesketh, giving her no chance. Possibly things had been evened up, but it was 4-2 and a glimmer of hope for Feds in a game they had contributed much to.
They were understandably buoyed by this and threw everything at the Birkdale defence, but found Griffiths, Lloyd, McKenna and Coulter in particularly good form. With five minutes left, the home side finally sealed their passage to the last four, when Williams hit an excellent ball to Griner, who in term played a delicate flick to Cooper, who hit the ball on the volley past the keeper’s despairing dive to record a well-deserved hat-trick.
This had been an excellent team performance, with every member of the squad playing a full part in an excellent victory against a strong Feds side. The chance of finishing the season with silverware was a strong one, and the players should take confidence from a display such as this.
The Player of the Match, chosen by Liverpool Feds, went to A. Cooper.
The Manager’s Player of the Match went to A. Ferguson.
The team was Hesketh, Griffiths, Coulter (c), Lloyd, McKenna, Jackson, Parker, Williams, Ferguson, Tuakli, Cooper, White, Griner and Davidson.
