The return of the Women’s Western Tier 1, following the interruption of Covid-19, resulted in an intense contest as Bournemouth University sealed the title league title only two points clear. Buzz Media sat down with the woman of the moment Molly Butcher who delivered the all-important two goals in a 2-0 away victory to Marjon last Wednesday.
The return of the Women’s Western Tier 1, following the interruption of Covid-19, resulted in an intense contest as Bournemouth University sealed the title league title only two points clear. Nerve Sport sat down with the woman of the moment Molly Butcher who delivered the all-important two goals in a 2-0 away victory to Marjon last Wednesday.
Despite being comfortably beaten by their opponents 8-0 in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, the hosts had no intention of repeating history. Bournemouth were forced to put in a resilient and professional performance. The teams went into half-time 0-0 and with Bournemouth realising they had only 45 minutes left to define their season.
Butcher provided a glimpse into the half-time emotions and discussions:
“The first half went by with no goals and at the half-time team talk we were like right. We cannot let Solent win (the league). They are going to be sitting waiting for this result to come in.
“We went into the second half all guns blazing. It was slow but we kept telling each other ‘it’s coming, it’s coming’.
“When I got the breakthrough, there were BIG (emphasised strongly) celebrations.”
Winning a league title is as sweet as it gets, but it was made all the sweeter considering it was rivals Southampton Solent who were ultimately left devastated by the 2-0 result.
The week prior had seen a crucial match at Chapel Gate as Bournemouth hosted their rivals in what ended as a thrilling 4-4 contest. It was this result that then allowed Bournemouth to go into the final game with the opportunity to be the victors.
A clear path of development and improvement can be seen in the Bournemouth Women’s team if simply looking at their two results versus Solent. The first fixture saw Bournemouth come away deflated after a 5-1 thrashing, yet four months later they were the ones to stop and defeat Solent to the league.
It was clear to see in the performance and celebrations of the 4-4 result to Solent that this was a special group of women who had a passion and drive to succeed.
When asked what makes this team special and what has allowed them to succeed, Butcher stated:
“We are a really tight knit set of friends off the pitch as well as on. It is that chemistry that really helps us.
“Of course there is always the part when you’re shouting at people, but our massive thing is everything that happens on the pitch is left on the pitch. That is what makes us work so well.”
The team will now go into the regional play-offs as they hope to secure promotion. It is a young team with the majority of the cohort enjoying their first year at university, but nevertheless a squad with the capabilities to continue their success. As Butcher puts it, they will be ‘all guns blazing and ready to compete.’