A determined second half effort was enough to see Leeds come from behind to earn a point in a scrappy 1-1 home draw with Barnet.

The visitors flew out of the blocks as with only 4 minutes on the clock, forward Holly Sandow capitalised on some hesitant Leeds defending to smash a ferocious left foot finish past the advancing Kay Hawke.

Despite the early setback Leeds stuck to their task and slowly began to play their way back into the game. Whilst neither side was able to dominate a very competitive midfield area the Whites always looked the more likely to find the next goal but despite some promising attacks found clear cut chances difficult to come by.

Trailing at the break manager Gemma Grainger brought on striker Tanya Rich and the forward made an immediate impact as she played a key part in Leeds 48th minute equaliser. Following some neat work from fullback Faye Birkby and a probing through ball from winger Jade Pennock, the newly introduced striker found herself in a foot race to the ball with Barnet keeper Cherie Rowlands. Despite just missing out the forward was able to place Rowlands under enough pressure to force the mistake as the Barnet keeper was only able to deflect the ball across goal leaving Chloe Foster the easiest of finishes.

With momentum behind them the Whites continued to push forward in search of the winner but some resolute Barnet defending and some wasted opportunities kept the game level. The closest Leeds came to snatching all three points was on 86 minutes when a speculative 30 yard shot from Rich clipped the top of the crossbar.

Commenting after the game Grainger was happy with her side’s performance, “The squad’s blending together nicely. We’ve only had four weeks together and we’re learning a lot every time we play. I’m extremely encouraged by the attitude the girls have shown so far this season.”

Match report by Jamie Gilham.