Cambridgeshire Ladies Division 1 League - Cardea ladies v Histon Ladies

They say that football is a ‘funny old game’ and this week would prove that to be the case for the Cardea squad.
After losing our first game of the season only a few nights ago to a resilient Ketton side, we went into this tabletop clash possibly on the back foot and licking our wounds.
The Ketton loss meant that the slight advantage of having a game in hand in the title race was now gone, and the game against Histon would now be even more important in who will eventually be crowned league champions.
With third place Eaton Socon now 10 points adrift, the race for the title is now firmly between us and Histon ladies. With both teams being level on 37 points and a further 3 games to play each, it’s no wonder both teams had hyped up the match as a must win game.
With the sun shining and a nervous crowd (mostly the Cardea faithful), it would be Cardea who would get this tense encounter started as they took the kick off to get us under way.
Histon got the better start as they won the ball from a loose early pass, sending the ball wide to their quick winger who could only send her cross over onto the roof of the Cardea goal.
The visitors, who looked quick and strong, followed up their early attack by winning the first corner of the game with only 3 minutes on the clock. The resulting cross was cleared to the edge of the box and luckily for Cardea the final shot was sent wide of the goal.
Histon had shown already that their clear intention was to attack and to look for the win and they were definitely the first of the two teams to settle on the ball, with Cardea looking a bit shell shocked in the early minutes.
It would be 8 minutes before the home side would even venture into the Histon half. Georgie collected the ball in the centre of the pitch and found Ruddy running forward. A neat through ball found Pollard, but with two defenders closing her down she was forced to shoot early and the Histon keeper took an easy save.
It was clear that Histon were going to play a man-to-man marker on Pollard as wherever she went her opponent was only inches from her shoulder.
Only two minutes later we would gain an early Cardea goal from some great team play.
A good kick from Poppy found Brooke, who was closed down quickly and could only send the ball back to Laura in defence. The ball was sent up field where Helen helped it on its way to Ruddy, who was just outside the Histon area.
Again, Histon were quick to get players around the ball but they hadn’t counted on the strength and determination of Ruddy, who literally bullied her way between two red shirts to set up Pollard. Despite being under pressure from her ‘minder’, made no mistake in beating the keeper to give us the dream start we so badly needed, 1-0.
From the restart Histon showed that they are a class team with some great passing to attack the Cardea defence, who for the next 10 minutes would be subjected to relentless pressure as the visitors looked for a quick response.
On 12 minutes Poppy made a good save as she rose to take the ball amongst a crowd of players from a Histon corner.
Only a minute later and we would see Histon unleash their secret weapon in the form of their number 20 (Popeye) and her huge, long throws into the Cardea box. The first long throw caught Cardea defenders totally by surprise as it sailed over their heads, luckily the striker could only send the resulting shot just wide.
On 16 minutes, another huge throw would again cause chaos in the Cardea box as the ball bounced wildly around until it was eventually scrambled clear by a home boot.
Histon were having a good spell, but on 20 minutes Cardea would hit back with a quick counterattack of our own, that would see us extend our lead against the run of play.
Sof headed a Histon pass clear and Georgie was first to pounce on the loose ball. Driving forward the midfielder sent the ball forward to Ruddy who found Pollard with a flick pass through, Pollard was quicker to react than her ‘new best friend’, turning the defender before rounding the keeper to slot home and make it 2-0 and send the Cardea supporters into loud celebrations.
From the restart Histon attacked with vengeance and appeared unhappy that for all their effort they found themselves 2 goals down.
On 23 minutes, Histon would see some reward for some great pressure and it would be a goal that would come from their number 20 and one of her huge throws. The ball was launched over the home defence, only this time it found the away striker in space, who made no mistake beating Poppy from close range, 2-1.
Histon were very quick and were proving good at breaking up the Cardea play, surrounding our players whenever we were on the ball and forcing us to release quickly, not always finding our own players.
The army of Red shirts were quick to win the ball back and on 26 minutes they looked to exploit ‘Popeye’ and her long throw again in the same way as before. Luckily for Cardea, on this occasion the final shot was sent just over the bar.
Histon were certainly having most of the possession, but when Cardea did get hold of the ball we were playing some great football. Our passing and movement was looking good as we began to settle into our own game as the 30-minute mark passed.
On 33 minutes it would be some more great play that would see us rewarded with another goal. Great passing between our strong midfield of Leah, Helen and Georgie drove the ball up the field and forced the home defence to send the ball out for a throw.
The quick throw found Ruddy, who turned and sent the ball across the Histon box, where Leah was on hand to send the ball beyond the Histon keepers reach, to score her first goal in a Cardea shirt and what a game to score it in.
Cardea were now entering a great spell and we were looking confident on the ball. We had finally settled. Our passing was good, our movement was excellent and our commitment to win every ball was passionate.
On 37 minutes that confidence showed when we were treated to a piece of ‘Maradona’ magic from Georgie, who received a pass from Maisie and performed a cheeky flick on the run over the head of the defender, before bringing the ball down again as the away player looked on in disbelief.
Both teams continued to attack each other in what was a quality game of football between two well matched sides.
It would be Histon who would finish the first half well and were unlucky not to score again before the whistle.
On 39 minutes a Histon corner passed through a crowd of players and bounced along the Cardea goal line and out to safety. The first of two lucky escapes for us.
The second came on 44 minutes, again from a Histon corner which Poppy could only punch clear. The resulting shot saw Pollard clearing from her own goal line just before the whistle blew.
After our loss to Ketton, few would have believed we would lead Histon, our title challengers, 3-1 after 45 minutes. What we all knew for sure though was that it would need another great Cardea performance for the second 45 minutes to win the vital 3 points.
Histon resumed where they had left off, attacking Cardea and looking for an early goal to get back into the tie. A good shot after only 2 minutes required Poppy to dive low to save.
On 50 minutes, we played Histon at their own game as we introduced them to our own long throw specialist Titch, who launched a long delivery to Georgie. The midfielder turned well to set up Pollard but the shot was blocked by a sea of red shirts.
The next 10 minutes saw both sides relentlessly attacking each other.
A Georgie cross was headed just wide by Ruddy.
A long ball forward by Histon needed poppy to come out and save on the edge of her box.
Another quick attack by Histon down the wing needed a great header by Sof to clear.
A long throw from ‘Popeye’ saw Histon shoot just over the Cardea goal.
Good work by Titch set up a long shot from Brooke to force a save from which Georgie could only send the rebound over the bar.
A free kick, following a foul on Pollard, saw the Histon keeper again save well from a Sof shot.
On 60 minutes, we were treated to a fourth Cardea goal that really gave us some breathing space. Another free kick, this time from Pollard, was saved but the Histon keeper couldn’t hold the ball that fell to Georgie. A neat pass across goal was finished by Ruddy, who only had to tap in from close range, 4-1.
Most teams would have been finished off by this score, but this was Histon, a strong and skilful side, who could not be allowed space as we knew they were capable of scoring goals.
The action continued, it was fast and furious from both teams, there was no let up as any lack of concentration would be punished by the other side.
On 64 minutes Poppy saved bravely at the feet of the Histon striker who had got behind the home defence.
On 69 minutes Cardea scrambled clear a good free kick from Histon.
On 72 minutes a good shot from Annie was tipped over the Histon bar.
Titch latched onto a good pass from Ruddy on 76 minutes but could only shoot wide.
On 80 minutes Poppy made a fingertip save over her bar from a good Histon cross and shot.
As the game headed towards the end Histon were still playing with as much aggression as they had at the start and were rewarded with a late goal on 89 minutes. Some great work down the right side from the quick Histon winger lead to a cross into the Cardea box. The first shot was saved brilliantly by Poppy but she stood no chance as the rebound was slammed into the Cardea net to make it 4-2.
The final whistle started celebrations equivalent to those after our cup win against St Ives. The team knew this had been a MASSIVE win, a huge step towards possibly winning the league and a huge psychological advantage with the league cup final against Histon now only a few weeks away.
This had been an incredible Cardea performance from every player and we now sit 3 points clear on TOP of the league.
There is no time for complacency, we need to stay focused and look to take all 9 remaining points that would see us crowned Division 1 champions after such an incredible season.
We know Histon will also be looking to take 9 points from their remaining fixtures so any slip ups could cost us dearly.
But for now, its advantage Cardea…