Sheffield Wednesday Ladies left fans entertained this weekend but ultimately had nothing to show for it as they lost out 6-4 at home to Ripon City.

Another pair of goals from club top scorer Amy Broomhead plus strikes from Brooke Swann and winger Eleanor Vessey gave the Owls a good chance at claiming all three points, but it wasn’t to be for Mick Bigley’s team.

Wednesday were slow out of the blocks and were made to pay by Chloe Bethell as Ripon quickly went a goal up. It didn’t take long for the Owls to get back on level terms at 1-1 however, but the visitors would then take control to move into a 4-1 lead with 35 minutes on the clock.

SWLFC refused to let the game go and got their reward following a strike just before the half time break, but trailing 4-2 the contest still required significant work in order to provide a positive result.

That exactly what Wednesday would provide though, crafting the opportunities needed to tie the game up at 4-4 and put themselves in the box seats to kick on and take all three points.

Bethell would then capitalise on a mistake by the hosts to seal her hattrick before adding a fourth close to the full time whistle, leaving the Owls empty handed after they’d done so much hard work in the second half.

Speaking after the match, manager Mick Bigley said: “Not for the first time we’ve played some brilliant football in sections of a game and not really got any reward for it.

“We know if we keep going and keep working, those rewards will come but right now it’s still a tough one to take on the chin.

“Still, I was pleased to see how well the girls did in the first game back, and we know we have loads of positives to build on.”

The Seniors are away next Sunday, taking a trip to second placed Barnsley FC Ladies who won 8-1 when the teams last met in October.

Elsewhere this weekend, a number of our junior sides were involved in league or cup clashes on Saturday morning.

The U18s lost 7-2 away to Barnsley FC Ladies in the Cup, falling to a heavy defeat despite initially being in the game at 1-1. Eve Bamford and Cody Harrison scored the goals in that one for SWLFC.

The U16s also went down to a defeat, losing 9-1 in the County Cup away to Wickersley Youth, but there were positives further down the age groups.

The U15s put 10 past Thorncliffe Villa with no reply in the Cup, with six goals from Kelsey Spink-Robinson, whilst the U14s put in a battling performance in a 2-0 defeat to Doncaster Belles.

In the younger age groups, there were some brilliant performances from the U11 Whites against Eckington Belles, the U11 Blues against Millmoor Juniors and the U9s against Barnsley Women. Well done to all three sides!

For more information on this story, please contact Dave Higgins, chairman@swlfc.co.uk