The Cobblers Ladies secured another three points with a tough, gritty performance on a pitch which had suffered heavily with the amount of rain which had fallen during the morning. The strong wind hindered both teams but Dons couldn't take advantage of having the wind behind them in the first half and were restricted to half chances.
The Cobblers started well and had two good early chances one of which was a long high ball from Hayley Gallacchi which caught the wind and clipped the post, much to the relief of the Dons keeper. The Cobblers started the game with Steph Gale and Lisa Porter in attack but after fifteen minutes were forced into a change by a controversial decision from the referee. With the ball played over the Cobblers defence, Hannah Cave turned to give chase with the Dons pacey striker, but Cave lost her footing on the boggy pitch resulting in a collision with the two players ending up on the floor. To everyones amazement, the ref deemed this as a professional foul and brandished a red card, when it seemed even a yellow card would have been harsh bearing in mind the conditions and Cobblers keeper Serena Milenkovic would have collected the ball.
However, the Cobblers had to re-group which saw Lisa move back into defence and Steph reverting to the lone striker role which she is getting used to. The Dons sensed their opportunity and looked for the killer ball over the defence to utilise their pace and were nearly rewarded when a rebound struck their striker but rolled just past the Cobblers goal.
The Cobblers were forced to play on the break against the strong wind and both Sam Christie and Lizzy Clarke found opportunites on the wings as they both created chances to score but the finish was lacking. Leanne Keen also had opportunities to venture forward but time and again the Cobblers were unable to add that final clinical finish when at time it seemed easier to score.
With just ten players on the pitch the Cobblers worked hard to reduce the space and both Nicki Robson and Lucy Bateman showed their fitness levels with their support play for both defence and attack. At times the tackles were vital as the Dons extra player advantage threatened to expose the visitors but solid defending and the safe hands of Milenkovic ensured the half stayed goalless.
With the wind behind the Cobblers in the second half it was important that the advantage was gained as quickly as possible and with two goals in ten minutes of the re-start, the game was as good as won. The first came after a long weaving run from Keen which saw her ride several tackles to release Steph who beat the Dons keeper at her near post with a low shot. Before they had time to recover, Nicki sent a thirty yard lob back over the keeper after her clearance from the edge of the area had sent an open invitation for the chance, which Robson executed to perfection.
Further chances were created but over elaboration denied more goals for the Cobblers as shooting opportunities were spurned in favour of trying to walk the ball into the net.
The Dons continued to press for a response but Porter was in no mood for charity as she dominated the defence and with Natalie Smith consistently strong alonside Gallachi and Keen, Dons chances were few and far between.
The Cobblers gave further opportunities to the younger members of the squad to show their abilities, seeing Jess Parver replace Lizzy and Sophie Capell come on for Leanne. Both were straight into the action and played their part in ensuring that Cobblers held out for another clean sheet and maintain the pressure on the teams above them in the league.
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