Gavin Levey felt Aberdeen Women didn’t deserve to leave Balmoral Stadium with nothing as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Spartans in SWPL 1.
Aberdeen broke the deadlock in the first minute through a long-range Eilidh Shore strike, but two quickfire goals from Amelia Birse and Caley Gibb in the second half secured all three points for Spartans.
It was a contentious goal which got the Edinburgh side back in the game, as it looked unclear whether the ball crossed the line, while Levey felt play should have been stopped in the build-up of Spartans’ second for a foul on Nadine Hanssen,
The Dons interim boss said: “From where I was standing, it looked like Annalisa (McCann) made a wonderful save, but then a few seconds later it’s given as a goal.
“I’ve not seen it back so I can’t comment on it – if the linesman has seen it and thinks it’s a goal, then that’s fair enough.
“But for the second goal, there was a blatant push on Nadine then play continues. They get down the side of us and score the winner.
“When they equalised, do I think we did enough to come away with three points? No, but we don’t deserve to leave with nothing.
“That’s the sore bit for the girls. We weren’t harsh after the game – we do have to bounce back and have more resilience – but as I keep saying, we’re a young side and that all comes with experience.
“It was a tough game in tough conditions, but it’s really disappointing to not be coming away with anything at all.”
Shore gives Aberdeen quick lead before Spartans second-half double
It was the perfect start for the Dons as Shore unleashed a strike from 30 yards – with just 45 seconds on the clock – which soared beyond Alicia Yates in the Spartans goal.
Spartans responded well after going behind, with their captain Alana Marshall registering their best chance from a free kick which Annalisa McCann turned past her far post.
Nadine Hanssen had a chance to double Aberdeen’s lead as she got on the end of Mya Christie’s corner, but it was well blocked by the Spartans defender.
The away side were plugging away to find an equaliser with McCann making another good stop to deny Marshall, before Jess Broadrick blocked Hannah Jordan’s effort.
In the second half, Hanssen made a last ditch block to deny substitute Mya Bates after Gibb was awarded acres of space to run then play the young forward through in the box.
Bailley Collins and Francesca Ogilvie entered the fray for the Dons, replacing Hannah Stewart and Christie, on the hour mark as Aberdeen looked to consolidate their lead.
Spartans substitute Birse looked a threat when she came on as she beat Maddie Finnie and was one v one with McCann, who did well to sweep the ball away from the forward’s feet.
It was 1-1 on 75 minutes as Birse directed the ball towards the goal at the back post from a Marshall corner which looked like it been saved by McCann, but referee Duncan Nicolson adjudged the ball had crossed the line.
And it was 2-1 less than three minutes later as Gibb hit a clean strike across the face of goal from the right side of the box which slotted into the bottom corner.
Aberdeen had a chance to pull level as Urquhart sent in a good cross from the byline which was met by the head of Bayley Hutchison, but she directed it straight at the goalkeeper.
The Dons now have a fortnight break in SWPL 1 due to international fixtures, with Hamilton Accies their next opponents at Balmoral Stadium on April 16.
Levey added: “I wish we had a game on Wednesday because it would be a chance to put the Spartans game to bed, but that one will eat at us for a while now.
“But the Hamilton game is going to be good and it’s one we’ll all look forward to. If we can start against Hamilton like we did against Spartans and build on it, then we should be good.”
The other north results
In the SWF Championship, Caley Thistle Women secured their third consecutive win – the first time they have done so all season – with a 4-2 victory over Dryburgh Athletic.
Karen Mason’s side had gone 1-0 down at home, but Kayleigh Mackenzie levelled in the 36th minute, before grabbing her second of the day with a long-range free kick in the second half.
Iona MacArthur added a third for Inverness just before Dryburgh pulled one back to make it 3-2, but Rhea Hossack scored in the dying minutes of the game to restore Caley’s two-goal advantage.
CHAMP TABLE | GW 2️⃣6️⃣
Inverness Caledonian Thistle have narrowed the gap with the top half of the table to just three points with the split fast approaching. #BeTheDifference pic.twitter.com/woAcWtUA3A
— SWF Championship (@SWFChampionship) April 2, 2023
In SWF League One, Grampian Ladies dropped to seventh following their 4-1 loss to Edinburgh Caledonia, which means the Torry side will play out the rest of the season in the bottom half following the league split.
In the Biffa SWFL North, Dyce hit East Fife for 10 with no reply to move up to fourth, while Inverurie Locos remain in second after beating Glenrothes Strollers 2-0.
Stonehaven beat north rivals Buchan 6-2, while Westdyke Thistle got their second win of the season as they defeated Huntly 3-1.
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