First League game, first victory for City's Ladies

Exeter LFC 9-0 Exmouth Town Ladies 

Westward Development Devon Women's League Premier Division



A newly promoted Exeter City Ladies started their campaign in the Westward Development Devon Women's League Premier Division with a home fixture against Exmouth Town. The opposition had been tipped to be contenders for the league title this season and therefore this match would provide a good benchmark to enable both players and management staff to gauge how the team would fair this season.

     Manager Steve Tully chose to start with a 4-4-1-1 formation, which had suited the team well in the pre-season friendly fixtures.

This system paid dividends in the first ten minutes when the deadlock was broken. Siobhan Aslett's cross from the right wing was volleyed home by Kirsty Caunter. After twenty minutes striker Carla Staddon (a product of City's Centre of Excellence) made her debut at senior level. Staddon made an immediate impact lobbing Exmouth's keeper from just outside the box. She continued to net two further goals converting crosses from Sian Aslett and Zoe Kingdom respectively to make the score 4-0 at the half time whistle. The team remained unchanged to start the second half, with defenders Tamsin Braund, Kellie Hall, Jade Maryan and Siobhan Aslett determined to keep a clean sheet. A pass from Maryan was collected by Caunter, who then took a one-on-one with the keeper well to net City's fifth almost immediately. Staddon got her fourth goal shortly after, converting a through ball from left winger Gemma Ralph. City continued to apply pressure, pushing forward down the flanks. A ball down the left from Braund was run onto by Ralph, using her skills to cut inside and take the ball past three defenders before slotting it comfortably into the bottom corner. The set pieces that the ladies had been working on during pre- season training produced City's eighth goal of the game, when a corner from central midfielder Kerry Hurley was headed home by Naomi Wilkins. With twenty minutes to go, striker Hannah Cox was brought on to replace Staddon. She fired a through ball from Wilkins straight past the keeper to net City's final goal of the game and thus complete the scoring 9-0. The game proved to be a fantastic start to the new season for the ladies team and a very quiet afternoon for City's keeper Rosie Maguire!