A close defeat!

Aylesbury United Ladies went into their away game against Carterton Reserves hoping to keep their good form going but unfortunately were on the wrong end of an eight goal thriller.

Straight from the first whistle both teams started off strongly, however, it was the Aylesbury keeper being tested in the first minute, quickly followed by great defending and clearance from Casey Toovey. Aylesbury went straight up the other end and made a chance of their own as a corner taken by Sarah Jackson was headed just over the bar by Tiana Phillips-Maynard. Aylesbury had some defending to do as Carterton tried to get on the score sheet but they held their own until the 20th minute when Carterton managed to take the lead. Aylesbury kept going though and made a number of chances before getting their reward with just a minute to go before half time. Sara Maddon-Connor cleared the ball to Tiana in midfield who controlled the ball with a great first touch, turned the defender and beat the keeper.

In the second half, it was Carterton who came out stronger and scored two goals to go 3-1 up but Aylesbury's 'never give up' attitude showed again and they battled hard to make more chances with Clare Knowler getting a goal back as she battled past the Carterton defence. Unfortunately, Carterton extended their lead again shortly afterwards but the game was not over and as Aylesbury continued to push forward they scored again with Sarah Jackson crossing the ball to Tiana who scored her second and Aylesbury's third.

Unfortunately, Carterton scored again to make the final score 5-3. The second half was very stop start, due to a number of injuries to Carterton players, which made it difficult for Aylesbury to play the flowing football that they have over the last few weeks. It was a tight game with lots of chances but unfortunately Aylesbury were on the losing side for the first time since early January.