Saturday 26th
March 2016
Widnes Wild Women’s
Team 3 – Swindon Topcats 3
Period
Scores: 1-1, 1-2, 1-0
Shots
on goal: Widnes 35 – Swindon 30
Penalties
In Minutes Widnes 4- Swindon 6
Scoring:
Widnes - Abigail Culshaw 2+0, Leen de Decker 1+0, Katie Hills, 0+1, Catherine
Bowen Fell 0+1
Swindon
– Rebecca Inker 1+1, Rebecca Da Cova 1+1, Rebecca Osman 1+0, Sarah –Jane Fletcher 0+1
MVPs: Widnes – Stephanie Drinkwater / Swindon –
Rebecca Inker
Referee:
Samuel Campbell
Linesmen:
Jack Pearce / Josh Humphreys
Report:
The
Widnes Wild women’s team picked up a well-deserved point against league leaders
Swindon Topcats in an entertaining and highly competitive 3-3 draw at Silver
Blades Widnes on Saturday.
The
table topping Topcats arrived on Merseyside with an unbeaten record so far this
season – having only dropped one point in their 8 games – in a 2-2 draw away at
Nottingham Vipers.
The
Wild women took the game to the visitors from the off but, once again, it was
the away side who found the back of the net first – with the opening goal from
Topcats’ top scorer Rebecca Da Cova (assist Rebecca Inker) coming after just
2.43 of the match.
Widnes
outshot Swindon 11 to 8 in the first period but it was another 10 minutes
before former Belgian international Leen De Decker scored the equaliser for the
Wild (12.46 - unassisted). The score remained the same at the end of the first
period. The match was finely poised and, with the confident way that the Wild
women were playing, an upset was possibly on the cards.
The
Wild women took the lead right at the start of the second period with an
excellent strike from Abigail Culshaw (20.54 - asst Catherine Bowen Fell)
scoring her first goal for Widnes.
The
lead lasted less than 3 minutes as Captain Rebecca Inker pulled the Topcats
back level on 23.43 with an unassisted goal and then Swindon retook the lead on
the halfway mark with a goal from player coach Rebecca Osman (30.41 – assts
Sarah-Jane Fletcher & Rebecca Da Cova).
To
their credit, however, the Widnes women dug deep and that was the last time
that the visitors hit the back of the net.
The
final period was extremely close and you couldn’t get a proverbial cigarette
paper between the two teams. Then Abigail Culshaw broke through and lifted the
puck over the Topcats’ netminder to put Widnes back on level terms.
Neither
team sat back settling for the draw and both teams had countless chances to win
the game. A slashing call on Widnes’ Abigail Hayes in the dying minutes kept
hearts in mouths and the Wild on the back foot as they managed to keep the
Topcats out shorthanded for almost two minutes and claim a well-earned point.
The
result means that the Widnes Wild women’s team closes up to within 2 points of
Slough Phantoms who are in 4th place but have played 3 games more.
They
are away at second from bottom Chelmsford Cobras next Sunday – 3rd April – and
then at home to the same opposition on Sunday 10th April in a 7.30pm face
off.