Carrickfergus Advertiser - Sports - Carrick slip up at Derg Valley

Sports

Carrick slip up at Derg Valley

Thursday, 19 January 2012

Derg Valley 2, Carrick Ladies 1st XI 1: CARRICK Ladies 1st XI, sponsored by Holmes Builders, found their opponents Derg Valley just too hot to handle on Saturday afternoon when they went down 2-1 in a game which they could and should have at least drawn if they had stuck to their normal pattern of play.
When the two sides met earlier in the season, Carrick struggled at times to handle Derg Valley's un-orthodox long ball style of play but, having come from behind twice, Carrick eventually managed to edge a 3-2 win with a late goal.
On Saturday, Carrick again went behind from an early Derg Valley strike but when the home keeper only just prevented a well struck Julie Oliver short corner from crossing the goal line, Melissa Taylor was on hand to slip the rebound into the net. In the second half Derg Valley concentrated on their long ball game putting the visiting defence under serious pressure. Some excellent play from Carrick centre back Lois Passmore and their goalkeeper Sarah Beattie kept the game level until late into the match but eventually Derg Valley scored again to edge ahead 2-1. Lois Passmore almost levelled the scores when her shot hit the post but Carrick's chances were few and far between as the home side ran out eventual winners.
“We've really only got ourselves to blame for today's result," said Carrick captain Trish Neill after the match. "We were all up for this contest and we knew what to expect from Derg Valley as they played exactly the same sort of long ball game when we met them earlier in the season. It's not pretty but I have to admit they do it well.
“We were holding up ok until well into the second half but the constant succession of big hits up field eventually got us rattled.
“And instead of responding with our usual game where we would normally bring the ball up through the middle or down the wings in a controlled manner, we started to do the same as Derg Valley by playing long balls up front. It just didn't work for us as it's simply not our style. If we'd stuck to our normal pattern of play as we did when we beat them earlier in Carrick, I think we could have at least managed a draw today.
“But it's not the end of the world of course," continued Trish, "as we're still in a position to take our targeted six points from our January league matches if we beat Raphoe on 28 January when we meet them in Carrick.
“But we do need to win that game to stay on track for a top-four finish and I'm sure the girls will quickly put today's result behind them to concentrate on beating Raphoe," concluded Trish.