Birmingham displayed a commanding performance against Edinburgh 1’s earning the Lionesses their first victory of the season, winning 3-2. The game showed an intense and highly skilled display by both teams, but ultimately UoB’s strength on the pitch proved too much for Edinburgh as Birmingham’s strong attack weaved through Edinburgh’s defence, whilst the Lionessess’ defence managed to clinically peg back Edinburgh in their tracks to take the lead at any point.
It was Birmingham who took the lead initially, when they scored in the 10th minute off their 3rd short corner in a row. Their perseverance paid off when their 3rd goal attempt found the back of the net from an expertly timed and accurate shot. Birmingham had been pushing for the goal and could feel it coming as they had minimised Edinburgh’s possession in the first stages of the game and kept pushing forward to their attacking end.
The Lionesses’ lucky strike suffered in the 25th minute: a missed a penalty meant a missed opportunity to double their lead.
Edinburgh continued to be pegged back by UoB, although on the brink of half time some good play by Edinburgh, showing skill to tackle Birmingham’s rigid defence emerged as a goal for them to equalise and bring the score to 1-1 going into half time. What looked a controlled half for Birmingham ended with them slightly losing their way, allowing Edinburgh through to goal.
In the second half, Edinburgh came out looking stronger as the first stages of the second half were a very close affair with both teams showcasing incredible defence, tackles and clinical attacks.
Birmingham turned the game in their favour 15 minutes in with two amazing goals in quick succession. The first, originally a missed attempt at goal, was cleverly picked up with the follow up attempt being slotted into the back of the net. Then in the coming minutes a superb tackle by UoB meant Edinburgh lost possession and Lionesses’ capitalized on the error to extend their lead to 3-1.
Credit must be paid to the resilient Edinburgh side who didn’t give up: with 5 minutes left they scored a great goal off a short corner which the Lionsess’ could do little to stop, taking the score to 3-2.
With only minutes left, Edinburgh couldn’t get past Birmingham’s solid defence to try and equalise as the match finished 3-2 to Birmingham.
What originally may have looked a tough game for Birmingham resulted in a well fought win as they contested against a strong Edinburgh side who sat second in the league. Birmingham had lost all three of games so far this season so they will be thrilled to get this win under their belt. They displayed a strong performance in all areas such as attack and defence and have a positive outlook on forthcoming games.
