Thursday June 30th
FA WSL 2
Oxford United 2-2 Yeovil Town (Att: 276)
The hosts took the lead after just 3 minutes when Ini Umotong raced onto Ella Franklin-Fraiture’s speculative clipped ball forward, poking it past the onrushing Charlotte Haynes in the Yeovil goal.
At the other end, Atlanta Primus saw her header cleared off the line from a Yeovil corner, while goalkeeper Hannah Cox was forced to palm away Sarah Wiltshire’s curling effort.
Umotong got the second goal she had been threatening midway through the half, twisting through two challenges before rolling past the helpless goalkeeper and in off the base of the post.
The two-goal advantage lasted just a minute as the visitors immediately struck back from a corner. Sarah Wiltshire’s header rebounded off the post to be flicked on to Hannah Short to nod in at the back post.
United responded well, with Holly Pickett seeing her powerful strike tipped over the bar by the keeper’s fingertips. And the Yeovil stopper was on hand to keep out Georgia Timms just moments later, the substitute striking from edge of the area.
Yeovil threatened an equaliser in the closing stages of the half and had the ball in the back of the net when Ellis Hillman volleyed home Wiltshire’s cross, only to be denied by the offside flag. And just moments before half-time, Wiltshire found herself unmarked at the back post, heading back across goal and narrowly wide.
It was one-way traffic after the break as the visitors sought an equaliser and they finally got it 12 minutes after the restart. Ellie Curson swung in an effort from wide on the right-hand side, catching goalkeeper Hannah Cox off her line and she could only watch it sail over her head and into the far corner of the net.
Short was denied a second goal by a last-ditch deflection which carried her back-post volley safely over the bar. Cox did well to stop substitute Kelly Aldridge at her near post after the winger had found herself unmarked in front of goal.
Laura Rafferty thought she had given Oxford the winner late on, nodding in from close range after a long ball forward had been headed back by Umotong. However, the United striker was adjudged to have been offside and Rafferty’s celebrations were cut short.
In the final moments, a nasty collision between Umotong and Yeovil’s Haynes resulted in a lengthy stoppage which saw the Glovers stopper stretchered off and taken to hospital for a precautionary x-ray.
The 2-2 tie saw Yeovil move 3 points clear of Bristol City, while Oxford go level on ponts with seventh-placed Millwall Lionesses.
Source – oxfordunitedwfc.co.uk
