Sleaford Carres Grammar School
The Final of the Lincolnshire Ladies Umbro 5s tournament brought together rivals Grimsby Town and Lincoln City Reserves. The game began cautiously at a slow pace. Lincoln had the majority of possession but couldn’t convert it into a goal with many shots but few hitting the target. The breakthrough came for Lincoln with a shot from the left saved well by the Grimsby keeper but parried into the path of Tanya Dickinson who neatly tucked the ball away.
Lincoln continued to apply the pressure with more shots on goal with no result and were perhaps lucky not to concede but some quality defending from Charlotte Spencer and keeper Chanelle Swadling kept Grimsby’s ex Lincoln striker Gemma Hopkin from bringing the scores level. This continued throughout the match as Lincoln put the Grimsby goal under threat from several free kicks and corners being fired in and hitting the woodwork combined with more excellent saves from the young Grimsby keeper. But with no second goal, Lincoln couldn’t relax and were feeling the pressure as Grimsby always looked dangerous on the break.
The final minutes were the most eventful of the game with frustration increasing as Lincoln struggled to get a clear 2 goal gap and Grimsby looked to find an equaliser. The games 2nd goal went to Lincoln, finally converting one of many chances with Tanya Dickinson bagging again with a powerful strike finding the bottom corner. With time running out and Lincoln relaxing, it allowed Gemma Hopkins to break through and score a fine goal with 1 minute to go giving Grimsby a glimmer of hope. But straight from the kick off came one of Lincoln’s best moves. Quick passing, a long ball to Dickinson, superb control with her 1st touch to bring the ball down, and firing in a shot. A parry from the keeper prevented Tanya from getting her hat-trick but Lauren Hardern ran onto the loose ball and volleyed home to make Lincoln safe and take them through to the next round of the competition.