Abergavenny Women 2-2 Port Talbot Town Ladies: Steelwomen strike late to earn point
Abergavenny Women and Port Talbot Town couldn’t be separated as they played out a 2-2 draw at Pen-y-Pound Stadium.
Lyndsey Davies gave the home side the lead, only for Port Talbot to level just before the break though Lauren Amor.
Amy Thrupp restored the lead for Abergavenny with a fine effort, but the Steelwomen left it late again to rescue a point, as Jodie Passmore was on the end of a goal mouth scramble to earn the visitors a point.
With difficult weather conditions playing a part, both sides had spells of dominance in tight, competitive contest.
Abergavenny looked to play the ball behind the Port Talbot defence, with Amy Williams and Davies running in-behind.
Port Talbot made use of the wide areas, with Jessie Taylor impressing and posing a threat on the right hand side.
Both sides had chances with Abergavenny missing opportunities and Port Talbot forcing a great performance from goalkeeper Zara Pernalete.
Port Talbot remain in fourth place, a point ahead of Abergavenny. The Pennies can still finish above Town but will need at least a draw in their final league game against Swansea City.
The first action of the game came as Abergavenny looked to play in Davies early-on with a ball over the Port Talbot defence, only for the striker to be caught offside.
Port Talbot hit the home side on the counter-attack, as Passmore broke down the right and tried to play the ball into the box for Coryn Sexton, but the home side defended the danger well.
In a spell of chances for both sides, the ball fell to Abergavenny’s Thrupp on the edge of the area, who tried her luck and forced a save out of Victoria Beddows.
Abergavenny tried to play the ball behind the Port Talbot defence, as Williams was almost through, before a good tackle from captain Chelsey Harris.
The Steelwomen’s Taylor’s good work on the right earned the visitors a free kick just inside the Abergavenny half, which resulted in Laura-may Walkley forcing a save out of Pernalete.
Abergavenny thought they had taken the lead after 17 minutes, only for the Pennies’ attack to be ruled out for offside.
In a positive spell for the hosts, Abergavenny applied pressure, as Lauren Boyd struck a tame through a crowd of players, which Beddows claimed comfortably.
The Pennies weren’t to be denied however, as they took the lead in the 33rd minute, with Sian Bull delivering across the box for Davies to tap home to open the scoring.
Port Talbot responded excellently and applied pressure on the hosts, with Jessica Denscombe finding space in the box to cut-back, but Pernalete was on-hand to save well.
The Steelwomen’s persistence paid off, as they found an equaliser in the 44th minute.
Lauren Amor found a pocket of space on the edge of the box and fired home for her seventh goal in all competitions this season.
Port Talbot started the second-half on the front foot and went close to edging ahead, as Walkley’s effort was saved by Pernalete, with Denscombe firing into the side-netting with the rebound.
Abergavenny then grew into the second period and applied pressure themselves, as Williams was twice stopped from getting free in the box by Terri Beddows.
After a positive spell for the Pennies, Port Talbot came back into the game with Walkley having an effort blocked, before Hammett fired wide of the post.
Williams then managed to get past Beddows for a chance for Abergavenny, but the attacker fired narrowly wide.
The Pennies had a huge opportunity with Williams again involved. Her driving run into the box saw her through on goal but put her effort wide.
The pressure paid off for Abergavenny, as they regained the lead in the 61st minute.
Some excellent work from Thrupp saw her get the wrong side of Beddows and fire home to give the hosts the advantage.
Port Talbot responded well once again and looked for a swift equaliser, with Hammett going close with a lofted effort outside the box, but Pernalete turned over the bar.
Abergavenny had a great chance to put themselves in a commanding position, as Thrupp was put clear and one-on-one with Beddows, only to fire over.
Like they did last week against Cyncoed, Port Talbot found a dramatic late equaliser.
In the 89th minute, a goalmouth scramble saw the ball drop to Passmore, who got the vital touch to level the game.
Abergavenny Women: Zara Mujica Pernalete (G), Sian Bull (Megan Jones 61), Elena Scrivens, Mali Summers, Jessica Bennett, Olivia Barnes, Amy Thrupp, Ceri Hudson (C), Lyndsey Davies, Amy Williams (Eliza Atkins 64), Lauren Boyd
Goals: Lyndsey Davies 33′, Amy Thrupp 61′
Port Talbot Town: Vicky Beddows, Laura-May Walkley, Terri Beddows, Chelsey Harris (C), Coryn Sexton (Jodie Passmore 80′), Jessie Taylor, Rachael Ball, Jess Hammett, Lauren Amor (Courteney Thomas 79′), Nia Probert (Jess Denscombe 26′), Maisie Miller
Goals: Lauren Amor 44′ Jodie Passmore 89′
Yellow Cards: Vicky Beddows 61′
Re-live the action from Pen-y-Pound Stadium with our blog:
(Featured Image: Will Cheshire)
