SOLIHULL Blossomfield ladies were made to settle for a draw following an entertaining 1-1 draw at home league leaders Leek.
Bloss were determined to make amends for a series of recent lacklustre displays in recent weeks but they knew they had it all to do against an in-form Leek side.
Both teams started strongly and chances opened up at either end of the pitch but it was the visitors who broke the deadlock in open play mid-way through the first half to take a narrow one-goal lead into half-time.
The hosts gained confidence from their possession and passing and created a number of chances despite going down to ten players periodically during the game with Bloss’s discipline slipping at times.
They created the breakthrough from a Leek aerial ball brought down in the middle of pitch by Kate Digby who laid off to Sarah Rickey who drove in the D and slotted to Rachel Gibson who made no mistake in finding the back of the net.
Bloss Captain Laura Dickson conceded a penalty flick, and was given a yellow card for a tackle in the D when the game was poised evenly but Leek failed to take the initiative with a sublime save by keeper Nell Rodrigues – firmly establishing her as a superb shot stopper.
This save was critical and the game remained 1-1, resulting in Leek’s second draw of the season having won 14 of their previous 16 games.
Up next for Bloss is their final game of the season away to Worcester this Saturday.
