Staffordshire women’s team fell at the first hurdle in their quarterfinal cup encounter, as they lose 12-1 against Birmingham.
Despite an improving defence, the constant pressure from the hosts was too much for them. Staffs only goal came in the last quarter from Anna Balonier, which takes her tally to three goals for the season.
Staffs first goal could have come as early as the second quarter but Sian Davies’ effort was disallowed as a controversial call for barging was given in the build up to the goal.
The opening quarter saw Birmingham jump to an early goal lead. This could have been a lot more if it was not for the heroic saves from keeper Isabel Wilding.
Quarter number two saw the Staffs defence show more resilience, as they seemed to become a fortress around their goal. Only one goal was conceded during the second quarter. Before half time Staffs had what seemed to be a goal to get them back in the game. A long individual run from Sian Davies saw her trying to get away from one of the Birmingham defenders. But as she got away, the referee said that she had used an elbow to get away from the defender as Davies was blasting the Birmingham net. This caused a bit of controversy as the Staffs team thought the Birmingham was doing a lot more barging then Davies was.
That disallowed goal seemed to push Birmingham up a gear going into the second half. They increased their five-goal lead to an eleven-goal lead.
But Staffs were still fighting till the end as they only conceded one goal in the final quarter. They also managed the get a goal back, as Balonier's attacking instinct was stronger then ever as they sprinted her way through the defence and blasted the ball past the helpless Birmingham keeper.
After this performance, it will give the women’s team lots to work on before their next encounter in seven days time.