Glentoran Women lost both their unbeaten start to the season and also their long-standing hold on the Toals Bet Cup tonight with this unexpected and underwhelming defeat to Crusaders at home, just three days after easily dispatching the same opposition in a league fixture.
The Glens made five changes to Friday night’s team, mostly to give minutes to squad members, with a very welcome first start of the season for Kelly Bailie. But it was still a very strong starting line up by any standards.
Crusaders were ahead after three minutes through Faith Johnston. While they never looked like increasing the lead, neither did the Glens look like equalising as the Crues held their lead until the break.
If Glens supporters at Ashfield expected a strong fightback as at Solitude ten days ago, it wasn’t forthcoming immediately after the break, despite the half time introductions of skipper Jess Foy and top scorer Kerry Beattie. In fact two minutes in, the deficit was doubled through an Amy McGivern header.
Further substitutions were made as the Glens chased the breakthrough but it didn’t come until seventeen minutes before time. Not surprisingly it came through Kerry Beattie’s sixteenth goal of the season. But the Glens weren’t able to kick on as the game finished 1-2 Crues.
So a wake-up call for Glentoran Women and one that has ruled out a repetition of 2021’s domestic treble.
The team is back in cup action on Saturday when the visitors are Wexford Women FC in the very first round of games in the newly launched Island of Ireland Cup.
Glentoran Women: Ashleigh McKinnon, Annie Timoney, Sarah Tweedie, Demi Vance, Kelly Bailie, Nadene Caldwell (c), Chloe McCarron, Jenna McKearney, Caragh Hamilton, Rachel Rogan, Emily Wilson
Subs: Ellie Scott, Jess Foy (for Tweedie 46), Emma McMaster (for Bailie 60), Kascie Weir (for Rogan 82), Megan Neill, Rachel McIntyre, Kerry Beattie (for McKearney 46)
Photography by Johnny Caldwell
