Wasps FC Ladies suffered their 5th defeat of the season in this afternoon’s game versus Loughborough Lightning.
Their previous encounter saw Wasps victorious with a 40 point lead, however today, they fell 6 point shy of the win in a close game- both teams running in four tries. Katie Trevarthen, Carys Williams and Natasha Jones all put points on the board for Loughborough Lightning. From Wasps, Hannah West, Kany Afilaka and Sarah Mitchelson all crossed the white wash securing the team a losing bonus point.
The game kicked off to an even start – Loughborough Lightning making threatening use of their backs out wide and Wasps FC Ladies’s matching standards in defence, not least Wasps FC Ladies’ full back, Alex Clay, making a good impression on her debut. The first try of the game came at 20 minutes. Proving the phrase “three times a charm” Wasps earned themselves three line outs in Loughborough’s half, Sarah Michelson taking the glory on the third.
The next 15 minutes saw solid defensive structure from Wasps, denying Loughborough of ground, forcing them to kick and hand back possession. With 2 minutes to play of the first half, Wasps found themselves a man down after being awarded a yellow card for discipline at the break down. Loughborough Lightning, looking to capitalise, looked for an opportunity before the 40 minute whistle and found it off a Scrum in Wasps’ 5m, their no. 13 finding ground and leaving the scoreboard even at 5-5.
It was a quick start to the second half with Loughborough securing a penalty try in the first 2 minutes. An early penalty against Wasps gave Loughborough a line out on the 5m. With Wasps penalised for discipline in a driving maul, Loughborough saw themselves 7 points ahead and Wasps 2 men down. Looking to keep hold of the game, Wasps managed to take the play back into Loughborough’s half and things looked promising in the 22. But despite good structure from their backs and patience from their forwards on the 5m, Wasps were held up on the line.
The next 20 minutes saw Loughborough in an attacking streak and run in two tries. The first from their No. 1, the second from their No. 10. With two clean conversions, this set Loughborough 21 points ahead with 19 minutes left to play.
With a lot of work to do, Wasps found fire in the final ten minutes of the game starting with a forward’s try from no. 2 Hannah West. With a new lease of life, the black and gold army turned up the aggression in attack earning them two tries and making for a tense close to the game. The first from front row Kany Afilaka and the second from hooker Hannah West running over her second try of the game on the wing.
The final 10 minutes of the game saw Wasps FC Ladies display what they are capable of, but left it just too late to put themselves ahead of a persistent opportunistic side losing by 26-20.
Report courtesy of Wasps FC Ladies
