Adran Premier champions Cardiff City had to come from behind to defeat Cardiff Met 3-1 in Leckwith.
After India Shanahan scored early on, City responded with Fiona Barry’s first goal for the club, before Ffion Price bagged a brace, as the Bluebirds made it two wins from two.
As we take a look back at the game, here are the three stars who shined in today’s fixture.
Ffion Price
‘My free kick secret? I just look at the net and say take the kick, Cristiano.’
The words of Portuguese maestro Cristiano Ronaldo, renowned for being one of the best dead ball specialists ever. Ffion Price is fast becoming one of the best in the country at doing what she does. It’s no secret that Price is fantastic at doing what she’s doing, everyone knows it, and yet, no one is capable of stopping it.
Aside from set pieces, Price was all over the field today. When City weren’t quite themselves in the first half, Price vacated her natural role out on the wing to come and strengthen the midfield, and that added an important balance to the team. While in the second half, she gave her opposite number, Sally Grimm, a torrid time.
With three goals so far this season, Price tops the Adran Premier scoring charts, and while it’s something to smile about, the wing-back doesn’t pay much attention to it.
“I can’t take all the glory for the goals! The penalty came from a fantastic run by Lisa Owen, and it’s the players around me that get me into good positions. I’m grateful that I’m able to play in a talented squad. I’m not focusing on the goals, because the main job is to win trophies, and we’ll take things one game at a time.”
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Lily Billingham
Billingham spent last year away from Cardiff City Stadium, but she’s come back a different player.
We knew about her technical ability. The smart touches, the little flicks, the skills, and those attributes are still very much there. But what the Wales youth international has now is a physicality. The way she was able to shrug off defenders and bully her way into opposition territory today was impressive.
Along with that, Billingham wasn’t afraid to get forward. In her first stint at City, she was used more as a box-to-box midfielder, but that’s changed. She’s now more of an attacking midfielder, someone who has a licence to string the midfield and attack together, and she was able to do that impeccably.
This is a new Cardiff City midfield with Billingham partnering Kerry Walklett in the first two games, but with performances like this one, it’s a midfield that can still be incredibly dominant.
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Lisa Owen
Owen has been waiting patiently for an opportunity to have regular game time with the Bluebirds, but now she’s got it, it’s an opportunity she’s grabbing with both hands.
We saw at the end of last season just what Owen was capable of, but we saw all of that and more today. Firstly, there’s her crossing ability. It felt like every time she put a ball into the danger zone, someone was always on the end of it. Owen’s ability to pick someone out every time is remarkable.
Secondly, Owen never stops running. Up against Faith Mulenga, Owen was able to press high up the field and pin her opponent back, but when she needed to track back and complete her defensive duties, she can did that just as well.
Ffion Price knows what Owen is capable of in this system, and praised her for the consistent performances that she’s been putting in.
“Lisa is a phenomenal player. She is displaying her qualities week in and week out and she deserves to be out there on that pitch. She’s probably one of the most important players that we have, and it’s so nice to see her doing well. There’s more to come from her, and she’s definitely one to watch this season.”
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