Preston North End Women started the season with an entertaining 1-1 draw against Bradford City Women at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Alison Taberner’s fantastic second half strike cancelled out Zoe Roberts’ opener as the two sides shared the points on the opening day of the FA Women’s Premier League.
Manager Luke Podmore handed a competitive debut to new signing Jade Parker and she was involved in the action early on.
Melissa Ball was denied by Bradford goalkeeper Carrie Simpson before Parker fired the rebound just over the crossbar.
The former FC United striker then created space for herself to get a shot away after some nifty footwork on the edge of the area, only to see her shot hit the side netting and out for a goal kick.
After the early PNE pressure, Bradford responded well and striker Sarah Danby hit the bar in the 20th minute from 25 yards out.
Danielle Brown was called into action two minutes later as she reacted well to tip over Roberts’ shot from the edge of the area.
Brown was tested again ten minutes after her first save to pluck Abigail Lee’s header out of the air as it made its way towards the top corner.
The ex-Manchester City goalkeeper was finally beaten in the 40th minute after a long ball dissected the PNE defence and Roberts smashed an effort into the back of the net to give Bradford the lead.
Into the second half and the lively Parker continued to cause the Bradford defence problems, only the post denied her an early goal of the season contender when she unleashed a curling effort from 35 yards out.
Natasha Charlesworth was brought on to replace Emily Hutton in the 62nd minute and it didn’t take her long to create a chance for herself.
The ball fell kindly to her on the edge of the area and she hit a dipping half volley towards goal but Paige Crosby was there to block and clear the danger.
The next phase of attacking play from PNE resulted in an equaliser from right back Taberner.
She burst forward from her defensive position and timed her run superbly to meet a loose ball and hit an unstoppable shot that went in off the underside of the bar.
The linesman ruled that it crossed the line and a goal was awarded, much to the annoyance of Bradford goalkeeper Simpson who was booked for her protests.
Bradford had one final chance to steal all three points but midfielder Olivia Thackray hit the post with three minutes left to play.
The result means that Bradford haven’t beaten PNE in three FAWPL meetings and provides a good base for the Lilywhites to move on from, starting next week against Mossley Hill in the FAWPL Cup.
Manager Luke Podmore handed a competitive debut to new signing Jade Parker and she was involved in the action early on.
Melissa Ball was denied by Bradford goalkeeper Carrie Simpson before Parker fired the rebound just over the crossbar.
The former FC United striker then created space for herself to get a shot away after some nifty footwork on the edge of the area, only to see her shot hit the side netting and out for a goal kick.
After the early PNE pressure, Bradford responded well and striker Sarah Danby hit the bar in the 20th minute from 25 yards out.
Danielle Brown was called into action two minutes later as she reacted well to tip over Roberts’ shot from the edge of the area.
Brown was tested again ten minutes after her first save to pluck Abigail Lee’s header out of the air as it made its way towards the top corner.
The ex-Manchester City goalkeeper was finally beaten in the 40th minute after a long ball dissected the PNE defence and Roberts smashed an effort into the back of the net to give Bradford the lead.
Into the second half and the lively Parker continued to cause the Bradford defence problems, only the post denied her an early goal of the season contender when she unleashed a curling effort from 35 yards out.
Natasha Charlesworth was brought on to replace Emily Hutton in the 62nd minute and it didn’t take her long to create a chance for herself.
The ball fell kindly to her on the edge of the area and she hit a dipping half volley towards goal but Paige Crosby was there to block and clear the danger.
The next phase of attacking play from PNE resulted in an equaliser from right back Taberner.
She burst forward from her defensive position and timed her run superbly to meet a loose ball and hit an unstoppable shot that went in off the underside of the bar.
The linesman ruled that it crossed the line and a goal was awarded, much to the annoyance of Bradford goalkeeper Simpson who was booked for her protests.
Bradford had one final chance to steal all three points but midfielder Olivia Thackray hit the post with three minutes left to play.
The result means that Bradford haven’t beaten PNE in three FAWPL meetings and provides a good base for the Lilywhites to move on from, starting next week against Mossley Hill in the FAWPL Cup.