Normally at this stage of the season a match between the fourth and fifth placed teams in a league of twelve would simply be regarded as a mid-table clash with not much at stake. However, with a minimum of five sides relegated, neither team has the luxury yet of resting on their laurels – every point still needs to be fought for.
The game started cautiously although the visitors showed more early promise – buoyed by the fact that they’d won the return fixture on Teeside comfortably by four clear goals. It also became quickly apparent that the single biggest determinant of the match’s outcome was to be the glare of the sun.
As a result, the usually solid Morpeth defence found themselves constantly blinded and struggling to clear their lines effectively. An element of panic set in and Rose found herself exposed on a couple of occasions. Eventually, the inevitable happened and Roseberry broke the deadline. By overloading their attack on the left, their striker was put through on goal, Watkins and Rose combined to block the shot but the ball broke back to the attacker only a few yards from goal. She didn’t blow the gilt edged opening.
Morpeth did manage to generate one or two breaks as the half wore on but just failed to make the final clinical pass that would create a clear goal scoring opportunity. The frustration was beginning to show so the half time whistle brought a welcome chance to regroup.
The home side came out in the second half a different team – Cockburn’s half team chat galvanizing their collective desire to play to their ability. Encamped in the opposition’s half, the chances started to flow. All three forwards went close with O’Brien particularly unfortunate to see a reverse stick shot slide just passed the post.
She made amends shortly afterwards by feeding a defence-splitting pass through to Dixon. The keeper dived to block the winger’s run toward goal but Dixon is renowned for her perseverance and she picked the ball up again and bundled it over the line from a couple of yards out. Not the prettiest strike but they all count!
Morpeth continued to press forward and it was Roseberry who started to lose their rag – the sun playing its part in making defending difficult. The game became a bit scratchy with both the flow and the discipline becoming frayed. Roseberry thought they had pinched a winner with a crisp shot into the roof of the net. However, with the ball whistling past Pattison’s ear the umpire quite rightly disallowed it as dangerous.
The last few minutes proved to be rather tense with both teams now desperate to take something from the match. The final whistle came as a relief with a draw probably a fair reflection of the play over the seventy minutes.

Man of the Match – Sarah Henderson
Team: Janice Rose (GK), Karen Hindmarch, Jenny Pattison, Lynn Watkins, Sarah Henderson, Emma Cockburn (capt), Nikki Bowler, Charlotte O’Brien, Lucy Dixon, Fiona Grant, Arran O’Mahoney, Carrie MacDonald.