Lady Devils earn points and pride

22 Jun, 2010 09:58 AM

TWO second-half goals from Beth Taylor earned Ballarat Lady Devils a point in their top-of-the-table clash in Football Federation Victoria’s women’s state league one.

Taylor’s goals helped the Blockbuster Lady Devils fight back from a 2-0 deficit at half-time and pinch a valuable draw against Doncaster Rovers.

Doncaster beat the Ballarat offside trap twice within 10 minutes and then with 15 minutes left in the half to score goals.

But the Lady Devils dug deep and lifted their defensive intensity and pushed tired legs to cover Doncaster players, often putting their bodies on the line to cut out

passes or shots on goal.

The second half saw Ballarat make some defensive adjustments to try to wrestle the game back from the Rovers.

Within the first few minutes Doncaster knew the game was still alive as Clare Duck, Beth Taylor and Tessa Curtain started to dominate the midfield with clever

movement, slick passing and tough body work.

Twelve minutes into the half Beth Taylor stepped up and started to dictate the play.

After recovering from a jarring tackle, Taylor took one of her long free kicks, and when the ball was cleared back out into the park, she recovered it, steadied and slammed in under the cross bar from 30 metres out.

This goal fired up the Lady Devils, who found extra energy in tired and battered bodies and lifted their work rate.

During the next 20 minutes Gentle and Benoit both had shots cleared, Curtain shot high and King pushed a ball wide of the upright.

But the equaliser came after a clearance from Doncaster was pressured by Ballarat and Taylor dispossessed a Rovers midfielder, stepped into a space created by

Ballarat dummy runs and slotted her second from 20 metres.

The arm wrestle continued with both teams unable to break the deadlock.

‘‘It was an effort that every player should be proud of,’’ Ballarat coach David Broadbent said.

‘‘This Ballarat team has a reputation for playing games out right to the finish, and it showed in the way they played themselves back into the game during the second

half. Our endeavour, skills and the outcome show just how good this team is.’’

http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/local/sport/football-soccer/lady-devils-earn-points-and-pride/1864915.aspx