Swansea City and Cardiff City played out a 1-1 draw at the Swansea.com Stadium, in what was an intense and physical affair.
With both knowing what a win could do for their season, there was no shock that this was a close game. Swansea did take the lead through Katy Hosford just after the break, but Phoebie Poole’s excellent finished restored parity, and the shares were spoiled.
The result keeps everything as it was in the Adran Prem. Cardiff stay top and Swansea a place behind them in second, with the gap remaining at five points.
From the first few minutes the tone for this clash was set. Tackles flying in from both sides as they tried to mark their territory for the next 80 or so minutes.
After the game settled down, it was Cardiff who had the better of the possession, switching the ball from one wing to the other, but no real clear chances being created.
That was until Seren Watkins robbed the ball on the edge of the box, before playing a one two with Phoebie Poole, but her curling effort was well saved by Skinner, who was at full stretch.
If the first twenty minutes were dominated by the Bluebirds, the Swans certainly bossed the next twenty.
Chances for Ellie Lake and Stacey John-Davies came and went, but nothing was troubling Ceryn Chamberlain in the Cardiff net.
The first half drew to a close with Hollie Smith heading over from a Ffion Price cross, but the first 45 was incredibly even, and anything could happen in the second half.
In order for Swansea to keep up any hopes of retaining the Adran Premier, they needed a quick start, and they were rewarded seven minutes into the second half.
After getting taken down by Watkins 30 seconds earlier, Katy Hosford dusted herself down and latched onto a lovely through ball by John-Davies. The forward bared down on Chamberlain’s goal and fired her effort into the bottom corner, to the delight of the home support.
The goal certainly seemed to have shocked Cardiff. There were loose ball and lapses in communication, a side we’ve rarely seen from the Bluebirds this season.
Swansea, meanwhile, were holding their shape well and were egging Cardiff to do something different.
The Bluebirds took on the challenge and got an equaliser 20 minutes before the end. Lily Billingham laid the ball back to Phoebie Poole on the edge of the box, and the striker delivered a sumptuous curling effort into the back of the net.
With the game finely poised, a goal for either side would surely seal the crucial three points, and Swansea almost had it.
A corner found the head of Jess Williams, but Chamberlain made a heroic save and grasped the ball on the line to keep the scores level.
The tension was palpable. Clearly both sides wanted to win, but perhaps more importantly, neither wanted to lose.
A draw, in the end, was a fair result on the day, and the gap remains five points at the top of the table.
Swansea’s next game will be on December 18th away to Pontypridd United, while Cardiff City will face Abergavenny Town in the FAW Cup next Sunday.
Player of the Match: Shaunna Jenkins
Ellie Lake and Siobhan Walsh deserve an honourable mention, but Jenkins was imperious today. For my money, she is the best defender in this league. Her positioning, but more impressively today, her distribution was superb. A real leader in this league.
Swansea City
Claire Skinner (GK), Shaunna Jenkins, Ellie Lake, Emma Beynon ©, Kelly Adams, Nieve Jenkins, Katy Hosford, Stacey John-Davies, Nia Rees (Monet Legall, 65’), Jess Williams, Rachel Cullen (Gwen Horgan, 86’)
Unused Subs: Chelsea Herbert (GK), Chloe Tiley, Emily Freeman
Goals: Katy Hosford (52’)
Yellow Cards: Nieve Jenkins (82’)
Cardiff City
Ceryn Chamberlain (GK), Ffion Price, Hannah Power, Siobhan Walsh ©, Rhianne Oakley, Seren Watkins, Danielle Broadhurst, Danielle Green, Phoebie Poole, Hollie Smith, Zoe Atkins (Lily Billingham, 63’)
Unused Subs: Emily Roberts (GK), Meg Bowen, Evie Hughes, Meg Saunders
Goals: Phoebie Poole (71’)
Yellow Cards: Seren Watkins (90’)
Following the game, we spoke to Ceri Phillips, Jess Williams and Ffion Price
Ceri Phillips: ‘I thought we were the better side. Particularly our defensive shape we put in, we stopped them in the build-up and what they wanted to do and given us credit of the work that we’ve put in across the week, the lessons that we’ve learnt over the season so far. All we can do is keep competing for games.’
Jess Williams: ‘After the first ten minutes we were a bit shaky but then for the rest of the first half we were dominating and creating more chances than they did. At half time, Ceri told us to keep going and I think it worked. We did go on the back foot twice in the second half, but football is like that, you can’t dominate for the full 90 minutes.’
Ffion Price: ‘Credit to the whole squad. We reflected at half time, and we knew we weren’t good enough, we weren’t playing our normal football, but we improved in the second half and thoroughly deserved our point.’
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