Wymondham Ladies 5, Stalham 3

Wymondham Ladies turned in a top-drawer performance to get all three points against Stalham in their first home game of the season.

Wymondham went back to basics, but did them very well; the standard of play was exceptional with selection and execution of passes very positive. The hosts were told to start quickly, positively and play at a high tempo, which they did and dominated for long periods and were looking very dangerous in attack, particularly down the left-hand side through Mez, Louise and Parry, with Woody dominating the midfield and being the voice of the team, a combination which will be deadly this season.

Wymondham took the lead after heavy pressure through Louise, who picked the ball up 25 yards out, took a touch and curled it over the goalkeeper with a fantastic finish.

Up to this point, Stalham hadn’t really offered any pressure as the defense had quickly dealt with their play with Sophie, Emma Chambers, Emma Williams and Mez playing tightly together. Naomi was a constant outlet down the right and had several high-quality touches.

Helen’s work rate and hold up play was high as usual, with Georgie looking lively. As strong as Wymondham were, Stalham got a foothold in the game after the ball flew over the defence and the forward was able to finish past Christine. Half time score: 1-1.

The second half started even better than the first, with Georgie, Elle and Kerrie starting and it was summer signing Georgie Bowden who scored twice within the first five minutes to put Wymondham 3-1 up with two good finishes, but once again, Stalham came back with 2 goals in 10 minutes to make the score 3-3.

Wymondham’s determination and desire to get three points were clear to see and this was rewarded when the teams captain Woody stepped up and curled a free kick in from 30 yards to put Wymondham ahead, and they were not going to let Stalham come back for a third time and the result was made safe when Elle popped up in the penalty area to slot the ball home confidently. Full time 5-3.

POM: Natalie Woods. She carried out her duties as captain, leading by example, running the game, winning the battle in the air and playing some great football.

The attitude of the squad was fantastic and there is a lot of pressure on starting positions for next weeks away game against Hethersett.