Stockwood Ladies 2 - 1 Frome Women

Frome Women fell to their first league defeat of the season on a tough afternoon at Stockwood Lane in Whitchurch. On a bobbly pitch Frome started strongly, looking to build on their recent good form, and get early control of the game. With Hill making aggressive runs down the right and Wyatt finding a lot of space on the left wing, early through balls tested the home side, with Harris looking to pounce while Thorner-Atkinson looked to test the keeper from range, only for the home keeper to get straight behind the shot.

The home side broke out of their half minutes later, trying to hit long balls through Frome’s back line, particularly on their right wing where Didymus was tested by the pace of Stockwood’s number 5, and Restorick was needed to sweep up. As Stockwood muscled their way into the game, Frome’s early dominance on the game slipped away as the home side looked to play long balls onto their pacey wingers.

Frome kept pushing though and were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box when Thorner-Atkinson was chopped down, only for Underhill to send the dead ball over. Frome felt that they would be able to take the lead still and continued to feed the ball out to Wyatt on the left, where there was space. With Stockwood sending in heavy challenges to try and break Frome’s attack down, Frome were able to break the deadlock as Wyatt was played into the Stockwood box and floated a clever finish over the oncoming keeper. 1-0 to Frome.

Stockwood continued to pressure Frome from the restart, with Underhill and Bristow working hard in midfield to win back possession and get Frome moving forward. But it was the home side who got a lucky break when a high ball over the top deflected off Ratcliffe and rolled into the Frome net to level the scores. Lifted by the equaliser against the run of play Stockwood continued to pressure Frome, winning a dubious free-kick when their winger seemed to collide with Frome’s rightback. It was one of a series of free-kicks that seemed to go the way of the home team, building frustration for Frome.

As half-time approached, Frome switched their squad to bring some energy onto the pitch with Regler and Whisstock entering the fray. But Frome were not able to find another breakthrough and went in to the break all square.

The second half saw Frome lift their game, looking to get back to playing their strong passing game. And the pressure nearly paid off with Wyatt hitting the bar from inside the Stockwood box, while both Harris and Thorner-Atkinson were chopped down hard around the box but neither free kick troubled the Stockwood keeper. As Frome continued to push forward, it was the home side who got another lucky break as they pressed forward with a ball down the middle that stretched Frome’s defence and gave the home side an opening which they took to take the lead 2-1.

Frome were not able to settle into the strong game that has seen then take 7 points from their first three games, scoring nine goals, and they continued to be frustrated by the home side who looked to break down the play. At the back, Edwards, Perkins, Didymus and Whisstock battled hard to break down any further attacks and Frome pushed forward looking for the equaliser.

Despite the re-introduction of Hill and Bristow, and the addition of Starr and Peet bringing some fresh energy to Frome, the away side were not able to find a breakthrough, even after winning a series of corner kicks on both wings. The home side, meanwhile, managed to tough-out the end of the game despite taking heavy injuries in the last fifteen minutes and the score remained 2-1 to the home side at the final whistle.

Frome Women go again next Sunday in the County Cup away to Weston-Super-Mare.