Julian Barker reports that the Doncaster Rovers Belles were defeated at Norton & Stockton Ancients in their FA Women’s National League Plate preliminary round tie.
In a high-scoring match in the northeast, Ciaran Toner’s team lost 5-3 in overtime. Following a goalless first half, Belles took the lead three times, but the home team rallied back to tie the score each time and force an additional half-hour, during which they scored two more goals.
Recently signed from Derby, Ruby Barnes opened the score. Later goals for the Belles were added by Jess Tugby-Andrew and Jasmine Saxton.
Bianca Owens of the hosts, who scored four goals, was Belles’ archenemy and will undoubtedly require cautious marking when the two face in the league at the Eco-Power Stadium next month.
In honor of captain Tugby-Andrew’s 100 games, Belles’ focus will now shift back to Division One North with a home game against Stockport County at the Eco-Power this Sunday at 2 p.m. Admission is only £1.
Last Saturday was a day the Rovers under-18 team will never forget. Grimsby proved to be too much for Paul Green’s children, as they fell 7-1.
The sole silver lining came from another goal for Sam Straughan-Brown, whose penalty provided the merest comfort. When the under-18 team travels to Shrewsbury this coming Saturday morning, they should do much better.
Mariners comeback
In related news, Rovers have declared that they have sold out of their first batch of tickets for the trip to Grimsby to play their local rivals next month.
Due to live transmission on Sky Sports Plus, the Saturday, October 5th Blundell Park match will begin at 12.30 p.m.
Rovers were flooded with inquiries about the possibility of more when they sold out so rapidly. To set the record straight, the team confirmed on X that their request was turned down by the Mariners in a further social media statement that was shared on Monday.
He continued: “We can confirm that a request for further tickets was made to Grimsby Town following the sell out of the initial allocation but we have been informed that no additional tickets will be made available.”
An additional nomination
Luke Molyneux, who had an outstanding first month of the season, was duly crowned League Two player of the month for August last week.
And now it’s time to give a gong to another of his coworkers. Jordan Gibson’s incredible goal on the first day of the match against Accrington has placed him on the four-man shortlist for August’s goal of the month. He faces Will Wright of Swindon, Chesterfield’s James Berry, and Grimsby’s Charles Vernam. This Friday, the winner will be declared.
Leave a Reply