Ben Rhydding Women 3 - Sutton Coldfield 0
Report by Charlotte Smith

A perfect start to the new season as Ben Rhydding opened their campaign with a convincing 3–0 victory over Sutton Coldfield!

Strong winds made for challenging conditions throughout, but Rhydding stayed composed and continued to create opportunities.

The breakthrough came on 30 minutes, with a well-worked short corner variation finished by skipper Kirsty Goodbold to give Rhydding a 1–0 lead going into half time.

The second half saw the wind really ramp up but Rhydding continue to apply pressure, and prevent any attack Sutton Coldfield attempted to pose. The second goal came on 54 minutes from another short corner that saw Rachelle Draper Le Bourdon strike brilliantly from the top of the circle with the perfect dip.

Just two minutes later, Rhydding added a third as Jess Triffit found Gwen Veitch, who, with a clever first time effort to put the game beyond doubt at 3–0.

With the wind continuing to pick up, Sutton resorted to sending crash balls into the Rhydding half in an attempt to get themselves back into the game. However, Rhydding defended strongly and saw out the final stages to secure a clean sheet and all three points.

A special mention to our three debutants — Gwen Veitch, Natalie Griffith and Sophie Stewart — and a brilliant welcome back to Kate Wood, returning to action after time away!

A fantastic start to the season. 3 points, 3 goals and a clean sheet!