Wednesday, July 7th 1976
Huntly Thistle Lose to Ladybirds
At home against AFFCO Ladybirds on Sunday, Huntly were defeated by three goals to 1, but having only 10 players in the first half were not really outclassed. Indeed being one player short seemed to act as a spur to all the girls who threw everything into their play and must be considered very unlucky not to be leading at half time.
A depleted forward line consistently surged forward and seemed determined to tear the opposition defence to shreds which they did on many occasions, but having to try and cover the gap in midfield while trying to keep pressure on the opposition, inevitably led to breakdowns which saw AFFCO in front 2-1 at half time.
Julie Topp and Donna Hepburn were always on the lookout for attacking chances in this period but only Donna was able to find the back of the net to keep Huntly in the game.
In the second half with 11 players, Huntly were assured that AFFCO did not have an easy road to victory, and with all the girls doing their utmost to pull back AFFCO’s lead. Jeannie Daley, Lynda Topp, Sheila Wakeman and Debra Barnett must have nearly run themselves into complete exhaustion trying to feed the ball to an attacking midfield and forward group who never gave up trying.
In such a dedicated team the player of the day award once again had to be shared, this time between Donna Hepburn for her consistent attacking play, and Karen Ruston for a fine display in defence.
Congratulations to Ladybirds for a good win and also to Huntly for proving once again that no other team can take them lightly, even if they should be one short to start with.