Carrick Ladies let two-goal lead slip against Grosvenor

Carrick opened the match in sparkling form and were deservedly 2-0 up after only 10 minutes with goals from Lyndsey McClurg and Amy Cross. It may not have been entirely surprising when free-scoring Grosvenor managed to pull one back shortly after Cross’s goal, but nobody could have anticipated Carrick’s defensive collapse over the remainder of the first half when the visitors crossed their goal line no less than three more times to go into the interval with a 4-2 lead.

And none of the Grosvenor goals were anything like the quality of Carrick’s two early strikes as it was mainly the home side’s failure to clear their lines from flimsy fifty-fifty balls that allowed the Grosvenor attackers sufficient time and space to bundle the ball across the line.

Thankfully for Carrick, the second half turned out to be a rather different affair as they denied the visitors any more goal-scoring opportunities while easing themselves back into contention.

The balance of play remained mostly in the home half with Carrick goalkeeper Kerrie Moore deservedly earning herself her team’s Player of the Match award.

But with the clock starting to run down, a long ball out of defence found Christine Waide deep and wide on the Grosvenor left. Waide skilfully rounded the Grosvenor left-back and somehow managed to squeeze the ball into the net at the narrowest of angles between the goalkeeper and the near post.

With their tails now well and truly up, Carrick pressed forward in numbers for an equalising goal and in the final minute of the game were awarded a short corner. However, not for the first time this season, the Carrick attack failed to loose a telling shot on the defending goal and the final whistle blew on a hugely disappointing 4-3 defeat for the home side after a highly encouraging start to the game. This weekend Carrick Ladies are away to Rainey in the league.

n Bottom club Greenisland closed the gap to one point on rivals Carrick thanks to Ruth Creany’s solitary strike in the 1-0 win away to Kilkeel.