Well-deserved Victory !  Stroud 2nd XI 2 : 1 Leominster

It looked a daunting prospect before the start of this League fixture with Stroud fielding many new players in a team unused to playing together.  To make matters worse, Leominster are a tough, well-organised team whose attacking play proved relentless.  Stroud's defence, however, were more than a match for this, soaking up the barrage thrown at them.  Several goal-line clearances indicated that Leominster should have been ahead at half-time ... but it was all square at the break, no goals being scored at either end.
Shortly after the restart Leominster took the lead but Stroud fought back into what had looked like becoming a rather one-sided game, with continued excellent defensive work by Mel Clarke, Catherine Willoughby and Andrea Preston.  The midfield, too, came into play with some well-worked moves involving experienced Kathy Williams and Pippa Williams.  Before long Anne-Marie Kent battled her way through to score the equaliser.  Spurred on by this, Stroud made several more exciting attacks before Anne-Marie Kent beat a defender and slipped the ball across the goal to newcomer Kate Leighton-Boyce who was perfectly positioned to put Stroud ahead.
With only a few minutes to go, Stroud tightened their grip, forcing Leominster to lose their composure altogether.  As the final whistle went, Stroud's team gave a unanimous cheer for what was a thoroughly deserved victory.