Aberdeen Women 1 Motherwell Women 0 SWPL 1 Balmoral Stadium Sunday 15th November
Aberdeen Women claimed a huge first win of the season, Briana Salvetti's early second half goal proving the difference against a Motherwell side who defeated Celtic last weekend.
Both teams started well despite neither goalkeeper being properly tested, with the visitors having the slightly larger share of possession, Mya Christie made a great challenge to deny Lucy Sinclair a certain goal early on.
Motherwell started to take more control as the first half went on but still couldn't find a way to test O'Hanlon.
The Dons came close as Selin Cemal broke into a 3 versus 2 and played in Holly Daniel, but the ball in was held by Rowena Armitage.
HALF TIME: Aberdeen 0-0 Motherwell
The Dons came out flying, taking the lead early on in the second half as a corner from Mya Christie was headed in by Briana Salvetti at the far post, her first goal for the club.
They almost doubled the lead in similar fashion just a few minutes later, but it was held by Armitage.
The Dons came close again as Holly Daniels effort had Armitage beaten but it was just wide and Soraya Walsh managed to get through 1 on 1 but her strike was well held by the Motherwell goalkeeper.
Motherwell were applying pressure at the other end, with Louisa Boyes and Shannon Leishman both forcing fantastic saves from O'Hanlon in quick succession.
Daniel almost doubled the lead right at the death with a great strike that was headed for the top corner of the net but it was well saved, it wouldn't matter in the end as the Dons would hold on to claim their first win of the season.
Aberdeen: 1.Katie O'Hanlon, 2. Briana Salvetti, 5. Aimee Black, 8. Piper Lea (Carrol 75'), 10. Soraya Walsh, 11. Holly Daniel, 14. Mya Christie, 15. Maddie Finnie (C), 28. Olivia Reid (Selbie 61'), 32. Piper Mayhew, 43. Selin Cemal
Subs Not Used: 12. Amber Signorini (GK), 4. Lola Nesbeth, 17. Melissa Regmi, 21. Millie Buchan, 22. Iona Watt, 24. Emily Simpson, 26. Emily Skinner
Goals: Salvetti 50'
Bookings: Black 58'
Motherwell: 41. Rowena Armitage (GK), 2. Shannon Leishman, 4. Chelsie Watson, 5. Tegan Browning, 6. Lucy Ronald, 9. Carla Jane Boyce (Anderson 65'), 11. Louisa Boyes, 15. Ellie Macdonald, 16. Mason Clark (Hay 71'), 18. Eva Thomson (Stanic-Floody 65'), 30. Lucy Sinclair (Morrow 71')
Subs Not Used: 1.Rebecca Cameron (GK), 25. Kayla Scott (GK), 8. Mia McArthur, 17. Sophie Rutherford, 21. Olivia Mcstay
Bookings: Lucy Sinclair 45'
Reaction from Nathan Flight:
"Delighted is the only word you can really use to describe it. We've been working so hard over the last few months, and the players have done so well to keep improving and building on their performances. We've got what we deserve over the piece so far. It was a great performance, a great result and a clean sheet. I'm just delighted to get the first three points on the board.
"We've been trying to address the defensive side of things, as we've been a little bit open at times in games. We wanted to make sure we took that possibility away from Motherwell, and I think we did that really well. Katie made a few good saves, especially towards the beginning of the second half, but the team dug in, worked hard and fought for each other and the club. It was a great three points for us today.
"I was relatively calm because I have full trust and belief in the players. We'd done so well for the first 80 to 85 minutes, and I knew we'd be okay seeing out another five or six. Thankfully, that was the case.
"I think that's the first time we've gone ahead in a game so far this year, and to do it so early in the second half, it would have been easy to let the nerves and pressure get to us. But I thought we managed that really well in the last 10 or 15 minutes. We limited Motherwell to very little and saw the game out relatively comfortably in the end.
"We've got players in those wide areas who have pace and can cause problems. When we're leading in a game, there's no need for us to start playing short passes in our own half. We want to get the opposition defenders turning towards their own goal. Olivia, Mia, Soraya and Holly as a striker all did really well to create problems, and we were maybe unlucky not to grab another goal or two towards the end of the game.
"Finally getting that first win is important, and hopefully it closes the gap to the teams above us. Now we go into the Scottish Cup next week looking to win that game against Dryburgh before facing Montrose before Christmas. We'll take that belief into the next couple of games against Dryburgh, Celtic and Montrose and go looking for three points and victories in those matches.
"Dryburgh are a very well-run club. They've got some good players and are a very well-coached team, so we're not going into this thinking we're just going to turn up and walk our way to victory. It's going to be a tough game, and if we're not at it, then of course they could get a result. But if we play to the level we know we're capable of, we should be in a good position to go through."
