Argyle Community Trust DAVE Leonard’s reign as Argyle Ladies manager got off to a losing start at a freezing Gosport on the weekend, losing 6-0 to Portsmouth FC Ladies.
The game started quietly with both sides failing to take control of the game on a terrible, bumpy pitch but that all changed in the 17th minute when a cross from the right bounced across the Argyle penalty box, with the ball finally falling to Bloomfield on the left, she took one touch and then saw her shot deflected of Chubb and past Kyle.
Almost immediately, Argyle had a chance to draw level when Summer Taylor one the ball half way in the Pompey half and raced clear. Unfortunately, as she was about to get her shot in, the Portsmouth right-back got across and managed to clear the ball for a corner.
Argyle fell further behind in the 25th minute when the defence failed to clear the ball and it fell to Kempson who coolly lobbed the ball over Kyle and into the far corner.
Undeterred, Argyle’s young side battled back and created chances to get back in the game. The first of which came in the 29th minute when Brown played the ball behind the Pompey defence for Wells to race on to. She took a touch then shot across the goalkeeper, but agonizingly for Argyle the ball bounced off the foot of the post and back in to the grateful arms of the keeper.
Ten minutes later, Atkins played a lovely ball over the top of the Pompey defence to Wells, her shot was blocked and the ball fell nicely to Brown whose first time shot went narrowly over the bar.
Eleven minutes into the second half, Argyle’s best chance saw Summer Taylor’s shot from 18 yards rattle the crossbar with the keeper well beaten.
The game then took a turn for the worse for Argyle as the home side scored four goals in nine minutes. The first came in the 61st minute when Chubb was penalised for bringing down Hillier, with Kempson putting away the penalty kick.
Pompey were awarded a second penalty in the 64th minute. Pollock was adjudged to have tripped Quinn, which was a very soft decision, especially as a minute earlier Argyle had a legitimate claim for a penalty turned down by the referee. Kempson comprehensively despatched the penalty high into the roof of the net to complete her hat-trick.
Three minutes later, Pompey scored a fifth when Clark clipped the ball past the advancing keeper. The scoring was completed in the 70th minute when a cross to the near post from the right caused hesitation between Kyle and Chubb which allowed Stevens to nip in and head the ball into the net.
Argyle’s misery was compounded in the 89th minute when Chubb received a red card for a second bookable offence. Although the score line suggests a comprehensive defeat, the score line flattered Portsmouth somewhat.
There were plenty of positives for Dave Leonard to take from Argyle’s performance, he said after the game: “I have told the ladies we have a six-game season and I need everybody to pull together on and off the field to give us a chance of staying up. From what I have seen technically, we have good players in the team, but there is a lot of hard work needed to be done between now and the end of the season.”
