Argyle Ladies 2 Coventry United 5
A HARSH result for Plymouth Argyle Ladies, who created as many chances as their visitors, but Coventry United showed why they are champions after producing a display of clinical finishing.
The first chance of an eventful game came from the penalty spot but Coventry’s Chenise Austin thundered her effort over the bar. The visitors next hit the bar and finally broke through with a goal from Amber Hughes.
Argyle responded well and Katie Middleton hit the post before a sweeping move involving Jessica Jones, Natasha Knapman and Helen Bleazard ended with a foul on Jones in the box. Middleton stepped up to convert the penalty with the last kick of the first period.
Coventry restored their lead immediately after the restart with a goal from Amy Wathan but the Pilgrims continued to create chances at the other end, and were a little unfortunate to fall further behind when Hughes scored from close range.
Bleazard got her reward for a fine display, reducing the arears with a low drive on 76 minutes but Coventry found an extra gear to secure all three points with further goals from Rosie McDonnell and Hughes completing her hat-trick.
Argyle joint manager Dave Leonard summed up the match by saying: “Although they (Coventry) won the league and are league champions, I felt they weren't that much better than us, it’s just that they made less mistakes than we did, which enabled them to win the game.
“I can't fault our hard work and commitment, we matched them. We were as good as them but we made more mistakes than they did, and their finishing was more clinical than ours.”