YFS
Central Girls FA recovered from a slow start to win the Under 15’s SWF West Region League Cup final, beating Glasgow City 5-2 in a pulsating encounter at Toryglen.
A crazy opening six minutes which saw three goals set the tone for an open, entertaining and action-packed final in which both sides showcased some fine football.
Glasgow City made the perfect start, taking the lead almost immediately from kick-off. They worked their way intricately down the left flank and when they were into the final third, Chloe Muir sent a stunning cross across the face of goal which found Leah Robinson at the back post who prodded the ball home from an acute angle with barely a minute on the clock.
They were causing havoc again moments later when Muir delivered another dangerous cross but it was dealt with. Central Girls then had an attack of their own when Megan Gallagher fired over from the edge of the box. Soon after the game was level; some excellent link-up play involving Kirstie McIntosh and Morgan Cross resulted in Chelsea McEachran using her pace to get on the end of a through-ball and with only the keeper to beat she coolly slotted the ball beyond the reach of Sophie Allison.
The goal should have settled the match down but it continued to flow from end to end. Glasgow attacked again with Muir involved once more, her cross was not cleared convincingly and the ball fell kindly to Robinson whose drive was cleverly diverted into the bottom corner by Aimee Headland to restore their advantage.
Central continued to press and had the better of the rest of the first half, showing more control and patience while also carving out some opportunities. Cross headed just wide from a corner and McIntosh tried her luck from distance but Allison was equal to the effort. Their best chance fell to Kim McAlpine, who managed to get on the end of a McIntosh cut-back but Allison denied her with a point-blank stop. The half ended with Central Girls pressurising more but they could not find an equaliser before the interval.
