Stone Dominoes Ladies 0 – Stoke City Reserves 1: The latest pre-season friendly saw Stone give a Stoke City reserve side a run for their money.
Stoke stepped in as last-minute opponents as the Dominoes were let down by another team. Stoke City are leagues above Stone, so the Dominoes were massive underdog. However, they rose to the occasion and were certainly not overawed.
Playing three thirds again as both teams had large squads, the Dominoes battled from the start, frustrating the Stoke side. Stoke were given no time on the ball and for the first third both teams had equal possession and a couple of chances each.
The second third saw a few changes in all areas on the pitch, giving the Dominoes a much more attacking side, with Mollie Prime working hard off the ball up front chasing any long balls and putting pressure on the Stoke City back four.
The breakthrough for Stoke came with a decent finish but minutes later Tammi Bennett was one-on-one with the Stoke keeper, but failed to net. Another chance came seconds later with Mollie Prime hitting the crossbar after lofting the ball over the keeper.
The final third came and Stone had more chances in front of goal, especially on set pieces. Hayley Mason was proving untouchable to Stoke defenders in the air. Tammi Bennett, Kerry McCourt and Jules Kendrick all came close to equalising with long-range efforts.
Stone manager Ash Thompson was happy with the performance and felt a draw would have been a fair result – “All the players showed real determination and worked hard on and off the ball. If the girls play like that all year, we’ll be in for another successful season.”
