Yeovil Town Women were defeated by step four outfit Keynsham Town in the final of the Somerset Cup on Thursday evening. It was four goals from set-pieces which undid Yeovil on the day, following a spirited performance against higher level opposition.
Paul Knight once again named an unchanged starting eleven as the same lineup played together for the third consecutive match.
The first chance of the final came to Niamh Nicholls in the early exchanges, as she forced a strong save out of the Keynsham goalkeeper within the first ten minutes.
Following this, Keynsham dealt the first blow as an unlucky own goal punished the Glovers. The ball cannoned off the crossbar and deflected off a Yeovil body into the back of the net after a Keynsham corner to give the Ks an early lead.
Keynsham doubled their lead in the 17th minute courtesy of another scramble in the box following a corner, placing them in firm control of the tie, just over a quarter of the way through.
As half-time approached Keynsham had their third via a penalty kick in the 38th minute. After an unlucky tangling of legs on the edge of the box, the referee pointed to the spot to rub salt in Yeovil wounds. The penalty was confidently converted into the bottom left corner to give Keynsham a three goal lead going into the half-time break.
As the second half progressed Yeovil grew into the game and exerted some dominance over Keynsham, however were unable to make the most of the chances they made.
A competitive second half finished with Keynsham scoring their fourth of the match from a free-kick, which turned out to be the last kick of the final and of the Somerset Cup, a performance and campaign which Yeovil can be proud of.
The player of the match was awarded to Abbie Vernon for a fighting performance in Yeovil’s backline.
After the match Yeovil Town Women manager Paul Knight reflected on his side’s performance:
“I’m so proud of the players, their mental and physical state was tested and as a coach I needed to see how far they can be pushed. The players’ mileage covered last night was a testament to their ability. We conceded from three very unlucky set-pieces and a penalty, the girls have done exactly what I have asked; if we lose we ensure we come off the pitch having played our best football.”
Yeovil Town Women return to action this Sunday 28th April as they travel to Portishead Reserves in the league 14:00 KO.
