Match Preview: Bootle FC Women vs Sefton Park Rangers

By Dylan Jones

Photos: Kate Tencza

Bootle FC Women return to LWYFL Open Age Cup action on Sunday when they take on Sefton Park Rangers at the Berry Street Garage Stadium.

After a run of postponed games, the girls returned home last week and ran out 2-0 winners against St Helens Rovers in the same competition.

The scoreline shows little of the performance however, as The Bucks dominated throughout the game. Caitlyn Rogers and Poppie O’Neill were both denied on multiple occasions by a spirited goalkeeper as they entered half time at 0-0.

Afterwards the girls came out more compact and got their reward for the performance, as Poppie O’Neill scored a header five minutes into the second half before her cross was knocked in by a St Helens player twenty minutes later for 2-0.

The girls defended exceptionally well towards the end of the game to shut out St Helens and leave home with a win and clean sheet.

Sefton Park Rangers currently find themselves 9th in the LWYFL Division 2 with seven points after twelve games. Their last game was a thrilling 3-3 draw with Hesketh Colts in a battle of the bottom two teams.

The last time these two sides met back in October, Bootle were able to run out 5-3 winners away from home, which included a second half comeback from 2-0 down.

After a rough first half which saw them losing 2-0, the girls came out the gates flying in the second as Amber Boussemart and two from Ellie Roberts put bootle ahead after just 15 minutes of the half beginning.

Abbi Fowler then managed two goals in three minutes, the first reacting to confusion in the Sefton box to slot into an empty net and the second a nice finish into the bottom left from a one on one, making it 5-2 within 20 minutes of the restart.

Sefton did pull one back in the 70th minute but it was too little too late, as Bootle took home a 5-3 win from a second half performance they’d like to mirror this weekend.