PNE Women have been involved in three games recently but failed to win any of them to leave them ninth in the FA Women’s Premier League Northern Division.
On Sunday 31st August PNEWFC were eliminated from the FA Women’s Premier League Cup in the preliminary round against Northern Division One side Mossley Hill.
The opening stages of the game were dominated by North End but they couldn’t find a way past Mossley goalkeeper Kate Foster.
Jade Parker had an effort cleared off the line before Beth Stanfield’s shot was tipped onto the post by Foster.
Mossley Hill took the lead in the 29th minute through a fantastic strike from forward Carla Lee.
She brought the ball down on her thigh and spotted Danielle Brown off her line before lifting the ball over her from around 30 yards to hand the Division One side a shock lead.
The Lilywhites responded well to going behind and equalised just nine minutes later after some fantastic footwork by Yasmine Swarbrick in the corner.
The former Liverpool midfielder skipped past two defenders and squared to Parker for an easy finish from three yards out.
The second half was completely dominated by PNE, but they couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.
Melissa Ball was denied by Foster, Carly Bayley fired over from six yards and Swarbrick hit the crossbar in a matter of minutes.
Mossley Hill punished the missed chances with seven minutes to go after breaking the offside trap.
As their striker was about to get a shot away, Alison Taberner clipped her ankles to send her flying in the box and a penalty was awarded.
Shelley James took the penalty and made no mistake from 12 yards to send them into the next round whilst PNE were eliminated from the main competition.
The following Thursday the team made the short trip to Blackburn Rovers for a league game and were once again left frustrated.
Former PNE midfielder Sophie Jones forced Brown in to a good save early on before firing over the bar from the edge of the area.
Preston’s first half chance of the game came in the 19th minute when Swarbrick attempted to catch their goalkeeper off her line from 30 yards but she recovered well and caught her shot with ease.
Katie Anderton, who left PNE in the summer to re-join Rovers, was denied by a smart save by Brown before Sophie Flynn hit the outside of the post in the 37th minute.
However there was nothing Brown could do to prevent Rovers’ goal just before the half-time whistle.
Danielle Sheen’s shot was parried into the path of Anderton and she tapped in to give the home side the advantage before the interval.
The second half was much the same with Rovers dominating the majority of possession.
Anderton and Flynn had chances to add a second but were denied by Brown and the post.
Anderton was a thorn in the side of the PNE defence for most of the game and wasted the best chance of the second half in the 75th minute.
The ball fell kindly to her on the six yard area but she couldn’t react quick enough to divert it goalwards.
PNE pushed for an equaliser in the final ten minutes but were unable to pull a goal back, Swarbrick coming closest with an effort that skimmed the post.
The third game of the week took place on Sunday against Southern Champions Coventry City at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium.
Preston had a heavily depleted squad with seven players missing and were on the back foot inside 13 minutes.
A long ball evaded the defence and Maz Gauntlett applied the finish to give Coventry the lead.
Gauntlett could have had a second six minutes later but her shot clipped the bar before going out for a goal kick.
However it wasn’t long until the Sky Blues extended their lead through top goalscorer Katie Lowder.
Callan Barber whipped in a free kick and Lowder was on hand to tap in from a few yards out to make it 2-0.
PNE pulled a goal back in the 38th minute with Swarbrick scoring her first goal for the Club after her summer move from Liverpool.
A counter attack saw Alice Forshaw pick out Swarbrick in the box and she fired past Susan Wood to reduce the deficit.
The team suffered a blow three minutes before half-time as Gauntlett added her second of the game to regain a two goal lead.
Helen Dermody rolled a free kick to Gauntlett and she fired a low shot into the bottom corner from 30 yards.
Fifteen minutes into the second half Coventry added a fourth through winger Ashleigh Neville.
Gauntlett floated a corner to the back post and Neville smashed in from close range despite appeals for a foul on Brown in the build-up.
Coventry added their fifth and final goal in the 70th minute with Barber getting on the scoresheet.
Lowder rolled the ball back to her on the edge of the area and she curled the ball into the far corner.
The result capped off a poor week for PNEWFC but they will be hoping to get their first win of the season on Sunday against Bradford City at AFC Thackley.
The opening stages of the game were dominated by North End but they couldn’t find a way past Mossley goalkeeper Kate Foster.
Jade Parker had an effort cleared off the line before Beth Stanfield’s shot was tipped onto the post by Foster.
Mossley Hill took the lead in the 29th minute through a fantastic strike from forward Carla Lee.
She brought the ball down on her thigh and spotted Danielle Brown off her line before lifting the ball over her from around 30 yards to hand the Division One side a shock lead.
The Lilywhites responded well to going behind and equalised just nine minutes later after some fantastic footwork by Yasmine Swarbrick in the corner.
The former Liverpool midfielder skipped past two defenders and squared to Parker for an easy finish from three yards out.
The second half was completely dominated by PNE, but they couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.
Melissa Ball was denied by Foster, Carly Bayley fired over from six yards and Swarbrick hit the crossbar in a matter of minutes.
Mossley Hill punished the missed chances with seven minutes to go after breaking the offside trap.
As their striker was about to get a shot away, Alison Taberner clipped her ankles to send her flying in the box and a penalty was awarded.
Shelley James took the penalty and made no mistake from 12 yards to send them into the next round whilst PNE were eliminated from the main competition.
The following Thursday the team made the short trip to Blackburn Rovers for a league game and were once again left frustrated.
Former PNE midfielder Sophie Jones forced Brown in to a good save early on before firing over the bar from the edge of the area.
Preston’s first half chance of the game came in the 19th minute when Swarbrick attempted to catch their goalkeeper off her line from 30 yards but she recovered well and caught her shot with ease.
Katie Anderton, who left PNE in the summer to re-join Rovers, was denied by a smart save by Brown before Sophie Flynn hit the outside of the post in the 37th minute.
However there was nothing Brown could do to prevent Rovers’ goal just before the half-time whistle.
Danielle Sheen’s shot was parried into the path of Anderton and she tapped in to give the home side the advantage before the interval.
The second half was much the same with Rovers dominating the majority of possession.
Anderton and Flynn had chances to add a second but were denied by Brown and the post.
Anderton was a thorn in the side of the PNE defence for most of the game and wasted the best chance of the second half in the 75th minute.
The ball fell kindly to her on the six yard area but she couldn’t react quick enough to divert it goalwards.
PNE pushed for an equaliser in the final ten minutes but were unable to pull a goal back, Swarbrick coming closest with an effort that skimmed the post.
The third game of the week took place on Sunday against Southern Champions Coventry City at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium.
Preston had a heavily depleted squad with seven players missing and were on the back foot inside 13 minutes.
A long ball evaded the defence and Maz Gauntlett applied the finish to give Coventry the lead.
Gauntlett could have had a second six minutes later but her shot clipped the bar before going out for a goal kick.
However it wasn’t long until the Sky Blues extended their lead through top goalscorer Katie Lowder.
Callan Barber whipped in a free kick and Lowder was on hand to tap in from a few yards out to make it 2-0.
PNE pulled a goal back in the 38th minute with Swarbrick scoring her first goal for the Club after her summer move from Liverpool.
A counter attack saw Alice Forshaw pick out Swarbrick in the box and she fired past Susan Wood to reduce the deficit.
The team suffered a blow three minutes before half-time as Gauntlett added her second of the game to regain a two goal lead.
Helen Dermody rolled a free kick to Gauntlett and she fired a low shot into the bottom corner from 30 yards.
Fifteen minutes into the second half Coventry added a fourth through winger Ashleigh Neville.
Gauntlett floated a corner to the back post and Neville smashed in from close range despite appeals for a foul on Brown in the build-up.
Coventry added their fifth and final goal in the 70th minute with Barber getting on the scoresheet.
Lowder rolled the ball back to her on the edge of the area and she curled the ball into the far corner.
The result capped off a poor week for PNEWFC but they will be hoping to get their first win of the season on Sunday against Bradford City at AFC Thackley.