Raheny suffer second narrow defeat

• Extratime Team
• Sat, Aug 10 2013




Raheny United suffered a second narrow defeat in the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Saturday when they were beaten 2-1 by Ukrainian champions WFC Kharkiv at Seaview in Belfast.

 

The Bus Éireann Women’s National League champions had got off to a solid start with Noelle Murray opening the deadlock in the 16th minute after Olha Ovdiychuk had fouled Katherine Flood.

 

Rebecca Creagh had earlier for a save from goalkeeper Iryna Sanina with a tenth minute free-kick and Katie McCabe also had a free-kick stopped by the Kharkiv goalkeeper in the 19^th minute.

 

Clare Shine, making her first competitive start for Raheny, had a shot blocked in the 24^th minute as United pushed for their second.

 

Unfortunately the Ukrainians levelled through Ovdiychuk in the 39^th minute and to compound matters they took the lead from the penalty spot just four minutes later.

 

Ovdiychuk was again instrumental in the decisive goal. She was taken down in the penalty area by Flood and Mariya Tykhonova stepped up to convert the spot-kick.

 

Raheny started well after the break with McCabe forcing a save in the 48^th minute while goalkeeper Sanina made another stop from Creagh after a Shine corner three minutes later.

 

United keeper Niamh Reid-Burke was called into action once more in the 67^th minute after Yelizaveta Kostyuchenko had a strike on goal from a free-kick.

 

Reid-Burke also stopped a free-kick from Khrystyna Ieromenko as the Ukrainians looked to kill the game off but six minutes into injury-time Raheny might have nicked a dramatic equaliser when substitute Kerry Ryan had a chance but just missed the target.

 

Raheny United: Niamh Reid-Burke, Ciara Grant, Caroline Thorpe (Kerry Ryan 81), Seana Cooke, Rebecca Creagh, Rachel Graham, Katie McCabe, Noelle Murray, Clare Shine (Siobhan Killeen 56), Katherine Flood, Pearl Slattery.

 

WFC Kharkiv: Iryna Sanina, Valentyna Kotyk, Mariya Tykhonova, Tetyana Apollonina, Taisiia Nesterenko, Ganna Mozolska, Yelizaveta Kostyuchenko, Oksana Znaidenova, Olha Ovdiychuk, Anna Denisenko, Khrystyna Ieromenko.