Huddersfield Town women defeated at home by Derby County
Picture by Simon Mooney
- Town Women’s four game winning streak ended
- Brittany Sanderson continues scoring form
- Town Women return for cup action next week
It was a day to forget for Town Women on Sunday as they were defeated against an organised Derby County side.
With both teams pushing towards the promotion places before play, the visitors found their stride as they beat Town Women 3-1 at the Stafflex Arena.
Emily Joyce, unexpectantly, opened the scoring before Jade Formaston doubled Derby’s lead early into the second half.
Brittany Sanderson (pictured above) was on the scoresheet with 20 minutes to go with a direct freekick however Derby scored their third from the penalty spot when Sherry McCue converted.
Fresh from international duty with Northern Ireland, Becky Flaherty returned to Town between the sticks and was forced into making a number of great saves in the opening moments. Derby maintained the pressure and limited Huddersfield on the ball however, both Sanderson and Laura Elford were allowed shots on goal that came close but were denied by Charlotte Clarke.
Derby opened the scoring following a freekick around the halfway mark in the first half. The low driven shot passing through the legs of those standing in the box and seemingly into the hands of Flaherty in goal, however the ball found the back of the net after taking a slight deflection. Joyce claiming her fifth goal of the season.
The rest of the first half would follow a similar pattern with Flaherty making fantastic diving stops and Clarke denying any close chances for Town.
An unbelievable save by Flaherty kickstarted the second half following a low-driven cross towards the far post. However, the ‘Ewe Rams’ doubled their lead just five minutes later after a cross hit the post and was seemingly cleared before the linesman determined that the ball had crossed the line.
A double change for Town, that introduced Serena Fletcher and Ria Montgomery around the hour mark, seemed to bring life back to the game as Huddersfield created a series of chances to get back into the game. Just ten minutes later, Town would gain a freekick from around 25 yards. Sanderson scoring her tenth goal of the season with a low driven shot towards the left post.
Town looked like they would find the equaliser when Elford broke past the Derby defence, however some good goalkeeping stopped Elford converting - forcing a corner. A number of close chances would come without any serious threat on goal and Derby’s goal within the last five minutes killed off any hope of a Terriers’ comeback. McCue scoring from the penalty spot.
The full-time whistle sounded just as the heavens opened. A miserable day for the home side who return to action on Sunday 7 November against Middlesbrough in the League Cup.
Charley Evans saw positives from the game:
“It wasn’t our best performance; I think all the girls would agree with me when I say we know we can produce more than we did today. But we created some really good chances especially in the second half and we never gave up. Looking to next week, we need to take the positives from today and learn from any mistakes as a team.”
Off the field, the charity bake sale for Candlelighters raised over £600!
