Game 26

This game had the fastest goal of the season with the home team scoring after just 22 seconds, which includes the taking of a throw in!

A trip to Leeds saw me and my Assistants, Jaycee and Shak arrive in plenty of time for this First Round Tie in the FA Women's Cup. The game had been scheduled for last week but was postponed when the groundsman for the facility where the game was being played, refused permission to use his field. So to this week, after 30 minutes of trying to find a home club official who seemed remotely interested in us, I asked the bar staff to let the third team in to get changed.

The away team arrived late and their manager, who had all the game related documentation, had phoned ahead to say that he would not arrive in time for the 1 o'clock kick off and asked for a delay until 1:15. As matters transpired we didn't get away until 1:20 which wasn't good. From kick off the home team pushed the ball wide to their left and it was touched out by a defender for a throw in. The home captain stepped up and launched a huge throw which dropped into the away team's goal area where it was touched past the goalkeeper and into the goal - 1-0 after 22 seconds.

Two further goals were added in the first half and I had occasion to speak to a couple of the home players and one of the away players about their conduct. I spotted a home player with a plaster over part of her ear and on being questioned she admitted it concealed an earring. I asked her to leave the field to remove it and wait for me to get her back into the game. With that an a short injury assessment the only stoppages, we had one minute of added time and reached half time at 3-0 to the home team.

The second half saw the sun dip, the air get noticeably colder and as with yesterday's game, the tempo went up a notch or two. The tackles became a little crisper and claims became a little louder but the game was compressed in the middle third. The home team seemed to resist the away team's attempts to run at them downhill, as they had done in the first half. After around 20 minutes, the away team ran out of steam and when the home team hit their 4th goal and introduced all three substitutes, the game was up.

The last incident of note was the 4th foul challenge by one of the home players I had spoken to in the first half. She collected the game's one and only caution and it was for persistent infringement. The game finished soon afterwards with the score at 4-0. Calories burned 1268 (very, very low) max hr 87%, average 67% (almost embarrassing).