On a wet and windy Sunday, Clitheroe FC Women played their first home game of the season at Roefield 3G.

It took the ladies a few minutes to settle into the game, with the action being very box-to-box for the first ten. There were a few nervy moments, but Livesey stepped up to the mark and made some beautiful saves to keep them in it.

After a brief pause due to a head injury, the team demonstrated their tactical awareness. They started creating more chances by exploiting space down the wings, firing balls into the box and putting the opposition under pressure. Notably, a great switch of play from Wilton found its way through to Honeyman before their keeper snatched the ball off her toes just before she could pull the trigger.

In the 23rd minute, Sutcliffe-Young pounced on a miskick from the Stanwix keeper before deftly lofting the ball into the back of the net from outside the penalty area.

For the rest of the game, possession and attacking opportunities largely fell Clitheoe's way, with our defence holding firm to stop any real threat from breaking through.

Holden came onto the pitch just after half-time, and the young attacking combination of Holden, Honeyman, Lynn and Sutcliffe-Young was too much for the Stanwix defence to handle. There were another 8 or 9 shots on target, with the Stanwix keeper making some fantastic saves to deny Clitheroe a second.

The game ended 1-0 in favour of Clitheroe FC Women, but it could easily have been 6 or 7.

POTM: Mia Sutcliffe-Young

Words from Manager Joe Blackburn:

"Couldn't be any prouder of the squad today. We showed great resilience in keeping a clean sheet and taking all three points. It was a great showing, and we would have scored a couple more on another day. All in all, it was a fantastic win, and it was great to see Mia get her first goal for the club after an impressive pre-season display coming in from the U16s. We needed today after a tough pre-season, but a new squad is now coming together nicely. I'm sure there's plenty more to come."