Aberdeen
1 – Forfar 1
It was stalemate at Lochside Park last night as Forfar
Farmington and Aberdeen shared the spoils in a rearranged SWPL match.
With overhead conditions less than ideal, both sides traded early blows with
little gained. The first real chance came to Forfar after Caren Webster was
felled on the edge of the box. Farmington skipper Nicola Davidson stepped up
and curled an effort off the Aberdeen cross bar, with Gourlay unfortunate
not to divert the rebound goalwards. Davidson was the architect again 5
minutes later as a flighted corner from the right was nodded just wide by
Gemma Collier.
Aberdeen pushed their way back into the game however and took the lead on
the quarter of the hour mark, ghosting in behind the Forfar backline, with
McNicoll helpless to prevent the effort which was squeezed in at her near
post.
Forfar hit back ten minutes later however, Caroline Heron bundling home a
Caren Webster cross to notch her 2nd goal in as many games. Aberdeen
attempted to hit back immediately however, Rachel Small putting her effort
just over the bar. Gemma Collier saw another headed effort sneak past the
Aberdeen post, and Small almost earned herself a goal just before half time
– jinking to create space before putting her effort past McNicoll’s right
hand post.
The weather improved in the 2nd half, with the Sun even breaking through the
lightening Aberdeen cloud cover. Two minutes in Tracy Brogan put a half
chance wide, with Joanna Collier blazing an effort well over the bar a
couple of minutes later after the hosts had failed to clear their lines.
Three minutes later Aberdeen pulled a shot wide after the ball had bumbled
about the Forfar box from a corner. Small nearly put Aberdeen ahead in the
55th minute, deftly heading an effort goalwards only to see it smack off the
Forfar crossbar. Forfar however refused to be rattled and looked to press
home any advantage possible. Equally Aberdeen were not holding back and the
final half hour was very much end to end. Forfar Coach Mark Nisbet shuffled
his pack in the 66th minute, introducing the returning Kim Thomson for
Heron. The homeside hit the woodwork again, with Small also putting an
effort wide when it looked easier to score. At the other end some good work
on the right by Bruce saw a crossed ball miss the advancing Caren Webster by
inches. Hamill could have sealed the points for her side in the dying
minutes, but bulleted her header past the post.
Overall a draw was probably a fair result, although Aberdeen certainly had a
few chances to secure full points. From Forfar’s point of view it was a
point secured on the road, and there was certainly no doubting the effort
levels on the park. With Dundee United’s surprise loss to Raith, all the
ingredients are in place for a cracking match on Sunday as Tayside’s two
SWPL sides meet at Downfield Park.
