Oxford United Women lost to Plymouth Argyle for the second successive game as the Pilgrims won 1-0 at the MGroup Stadium on Sunday.
In a fairly even game, a first-half goal by Arabella Suttie was enough for Plymouth to take home the three points to keep on the tails of AFC Bournemouth and Watford, while United now find themselves just three points above the relegation zone.
The game started with United looking to gain revenge for their League Cup defeat at Home Park last Sunday, but without troubling Hermione Cull in the Plymouth goal, while her opposite number Beth Wookey remained similarly unoccupied.
The match was threatening to get bogged down in a midfield battle, but a foul on Layla Proctor in the 37th minute offered the visitors a chance for Ellie Noble to repeat her scoring free-kick from the cup game.
Instead, Wookey pushed the ball up and onto the bar, but with no covering defender to clear, Suttie had a relatively simple chance to put the rebound into the net, and she made no mistake.
In the second half, the Greens were quick to close down the Oxford defence, preventing United from getting the ball upfield and frustrating the U’s with their game management.
Maisy Barker went closest, her header coming back off the top of the Plymouth crossbar but, try as they might, United couldn’t find a route to goal. Plymouth almost added a second to wrap up the game as Noble’s shot came back off the far post but in the end her solitary first-half strike was enough for the visitors.
After the game, coach Shaun Green said, “It was very tough to take. There were a lot of positives out there but unfortunately, one moment cost us.
“We were much stronger in the second half, trying to put things right. We came out fighting and there were good signs, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”
United: Wookey, Provan (Trinder 68), Wiseman (Legg 88), Bedeau (Jenkins 63), Casley, Barrett (Gibson 78), Thompson, Sealey (Lindbaek 68), Palmer, Barker, Manders
