Wolviston United Ladies continued preparations for their historic first season with an impressive 1-1 draw away to Hartlepool St Francis Ladies on Thursday evening.

With Wolviston United preparing for their first-ever competitive campaign, this represented another excellent test for the newly formed side. St Francis will compete in Durham County FA Division Two next season – one division above Wolvo’s current placement – but you certainly wouldn’t have known it from the performance. In fact, for long periods Wolvo were the side in control and the final score certainly didn’t tell the full story.

Wolvo controlled the game for long periods and started particularly brightly, creating four good opportunities inside the opening 15 minutes. The chances were coming, but the finishing touch needed to turn that early dominance into a lead proved elusive.

That finally changed in the 32nd minute – and it was worth the wait. Connie Robinson produced a brilliant piece of individual skill before finishing with a superb strike to give United the 1-0 advantage their performance deserved.

The pattern continued after the break. Wolvo remained on the front foot, creating another couple of good opportunities and trying their luck from distance on several occasions. Credit must go to the St Francis goalkeeper, who remained alert and dealt well with everything that came her way.

Perhaps the biggest positive of the evening, though, was the age of the Wolvo side producing the performance. For virtually the entire match, United’s team was made up of players aged just 16 to 18, with only a brief 15-minute spell featuring a substitute outside that age range. Coming up against an experienced ladies side, the youngsters showed tremendous composure, confidence and maturity.

They didn’t just compete – they controlled large parts of the game. Unfortunately, football sometimes has a habit of being cruel.

With just two minutes remaining, St Francis were awarded a free-kick from around 30 yards. The resulting effort was an excellent one, clipping the crossbar on its way into the net to make it 1-1 in the 88th minute. Remarkably, it was St Francis’ first shot of the match.

For Wolvo, that made the final whistle understandably frustrating. To restrict an experienced opposition to a single attempt while creating numerous chances at the other end and then not come away with the victory was tough to take. But pre-season is about performances, development and preparation rather than simply results – and there was plenty for this young Wolvo side to be proud of.

Another 90 minutes in the legs, another strong team performance and further evidence that this exciting young group is becoming increasingly comfortable playing senior ladies football.

Player of the Match – Isla Blake
Isla produced an outstanding performance at the back, sweeping up everything that came her way and showing composure well beyond her years. Her contribution wasn’t limited to defending either. Isla repeatedly drove forward with some brilliant mazy runs, carrying the ball out from the back and helping create opportunities at the other end of the pitch. Composed, confident and effective at both ends – a thoroughly deserved Player of the Match performance.

A frustrating way to finish the evening, but another very encouraging step forward for Wolviston United Ladies as the new season draws closer.