With three league matches played this campaign, the Senior Women welcomed Cheltenham to Bronwydd Swimming Pool on Saturday after a lengthy fixture-free period. Cheltenham were the opposition of the Senior Women’s last fixture, which was 15 weeks ago. The Dragons travelled to South West England back in June and lost by a narrow score line of 13-11.
This fixture is one of three to play in the month of September as the Dragons will look to climb the league table. Before kick-off, the Dragons found themselves in fifth place after being awarded 2 points by the league following a discovery of Welsh Wanderers fielding an illegible player in our away match against them back in March.
First Quarter
From the early phases of the match, it was evident that this would be a tough encounter for the Dragons as the opposition started the match strongly with persistent pressing and swift play going forward. Our Senior Women were having to cope with the away side’s high tempo from the start, which made it difficult to create goal-scoring opportunities and then attack with aplomb and impetus. Cheltenham’s rapid counter-attacking play broke the Dragons’ resistance after three minutes when they put themselves in front. The Dragons have the first opportunity to play with an extra player advantage, however they could not make it count. The opposition continued to work tirelessly to intercept the Dragons at every opportunity with their high-pressure play, preventing our Senior Women from having any sight of the goal – all the chances came the way of Cheltenham as they sustained their pattern of constant pressure and quick offence. After testing our goalkeeper Meg Jones, the away side eventually doubled their lead with less than 90 seconds to go. Cwm Draig could not register a shot in the first quarter with Cheltenham dictating proceedings thus far.
Second Quarter
Cheltenham looked to maintain their strong start as they added another goal to their lead within the opening 40 seconds of the second quarter. Cwm Draig had another extra player advantage as Cheltenham received their second major foul of the match. The Senior Women made better use of the opportunity this time as they finally had an attempt on goal, only to be denied by the Cheltenham shot-stopper. This seemed to stimulate the Dragons as we began to attack more frequently, however the opposition were constantly looking to exploit by getting into dangerous positions to score – which paid dividends as they scored once more and then converted from a penalty, conceded by the Dragons. Our creativity, movement, ball retention and sharpness had improved compared to the first quarter – it looked like only a matter of time before we broke our deadlock. Another golden chance was presented for the Dragons with our third extra player advantage of the match, however we failed to test the goalkeeper. As the quarter ended, the Dragons had gradually improved but faced a 5-0 drought.
Third Quarter
The Senior Women begun this quarter brightly; defensively solid by neutralising threat from the opposition and propelled forward with drive and energy. The Dragons looked menacing and had were having their best spell of the match as they made the first attempt on goal of the quarter with an audacious shot around 8m from goal. The away side made advancements of their own and won their second penalty of the match - which was well converted and gave Cheltenham a 6-0 lead. Despite conceding, the Dragons did not let their momentum drop and replied instantly with a magnificent long-ranged effort from Erin Jones to put Cwm Draig on the scoreboard. Cheltenham reacted immediately and scored once again to restore their six-goal lead. As the Dragons venture forward with controlled, possession-retaining build-ups, the opposition would use their agility and speed to exploit the space in behind the Dragons with rapid, counter-attacking play – two contrasting style of water polo made it an intriguing spell. Cheltenham’s style of play was efficient as they created more opportunities to extend their lead. Meg Jones parried numerous shots, but Cheltenham were too insatiable and scored a double-salvo. It was evident that Cwm Draig had opted for shooting at the 5m mark and beyond, in attempt to catch the away team’s defence off-guard. In the remaining two minutes of the third quarter, Cheltenham had two extra player advantages. However, the Dragons prevented the opposition from taking full benefit of the opportunities as the score remained 9-1 to the South West side going into the final set of 7 minutes.
Fourth Quarter
Cwm Draig started on the front foot while the opposition took their foot off the pedal to a degree. The Dragons kept possession of the ball well and stringed together good passes to create goal-scoring opportunities. However, the team were denied by the Cheltenham goalkeeper and wayward shooting. Cheltenham had limited chances to score in this quarter but they exposed Cwm Draig’s inclination to advance forward to grab another goal on the counter-attack to put their tally into double figures. The Senior Women had their fourth extra player advantage of the match put could not capitalise on the opportunity. The least eventful quarter out of the four as the match ended as a 10-1 win for Cheltenham.
Match Summary
In the first quarter, the team struggled to play their style with Cheltenham being incredibly dominant. As the match went on, the team adapted to their opposition and could eventually match them. It was an interesting spectacle to watch, particularly how one style of water polo came up against another contrasting approach. A hard match against stubborn opposition – the attitude, work-rate and effort from the team cannot be faulted. The Senior Women deserves credit for their determination and perseverance.
Analysis
In terms of how both teams tactically set up to the match, Cheltenham opted for a high-pressing, quick-attacking approach while the Dragons were instructed to play with a gradual and patient build-up with ball retention. For the first and second quarters, Cwm Draig’s prime shot of choice was the Action Shot, where they would settle a structured formation, work the ball around and look for space to take a shot. With the Action Shot proving unsuccessful, they then elected for long-ranged shooting around the 5m mark and beyond in the third and fourth quarters, which was the source of their only goal. The opposition made it very difficult for our Senior Women to play their typical style. Cheltenham had a relentless work-rate and natural inclination to pressurise and dispossess, which would then give them opportunities to utilise their pace to score on the counter-attack. Once the Dragons’ adjusted to the tempo of the match, they could apply their strategy more successfully. In future practice, more composure and clinical finishing can lead on to an effective performance with this type of approach.
This chart signifies the amount of times Cwm Draig scored (solid bar) and failed to convert (striped bar) with each type of shot. In addition, the colour of the bar indicates which quarter each shot was taken in.
This chart signifies the amount of times Cheltenham scored (solid bar) and failed to convert (striped bar) with each type of shot. In addition, the colour of the bar indicates which quarter each shot was taken in.
This chart represents the whole of Cwm Draig's shooting during the match. For example, out of all the shots Cwm Draig executed (16 shots), 38% of those shots were Unconverted Action Shots and 6% consisted of Converted 5m Shots.
This chart represents the whole of Cheltenham's shooting during the match. For example, out of all the shots Cheltenham executed (24 shots), 8% of those shots were Unconverted EPA Shots and 4% consisted of Centre Shots.
Team: Meg Jones (1/GK), Zoe Kennerly (2), Breeanna Quinn Taylor (3), Seren Vaughan (4), Erin Jones (5), Chrissie Eveleigh (8), Jo-Jo Chesworth-Rickards (9), Emily Smith (11), S Clarke (12).
Goal scorers: Erin Jones (1).
Major foul receivers: Jo-Jo Chesworth-Rickards (2), Chrissie Eveleigh (1), Emily Smith (1).