Crystal Palace 1 Blackburn Rovers 0 - Molly Sharpe first half strike sees Palace to all three points at Hayes Lane

Barclays Women's Championship, Sunday 26th March

The final Sunday in March saw me over at Hayes Lane, Bromley, for a Barclays Women’s Championship contest and saw a first half goal from Molly Sharpe help Crystal Palace to a hard-fought win over Blackburn Rovers.

Palace came into this contest smack bang in mid table in sixth spot having picked up twenty-four points in their seventeen league outings, whereas their opponents Blackburn were eight points worse off down in tenth, third bottom in other words, having only won three league games all season, but they did have a ten-point buffer to bottom side Coventry United so relegation should not be an issue.

In fact, neither Palace, who were miles behind top spot, and Blackburn, who were miles ahead of bottom spot, had much to play for really, both sides had five and six games left respectively so it was really all about how well could each side end the season and head into the summer break with some positiveness to head into the following season at the same level.

Palace had the much better form over the last five games, three wins and two losses, as opposed to Blackburn who hadn’t won in their last five (and as you will see in next paragraph, they haven’t won for some time) and had only taken two points from a possible fifteen in that period, so form certainly suggested that Palace would prevail in this contest, but would they?

When the two met back in September at The Sir Tom Finney Stadium, Palace netted a 3-1 success thanks to a Hughes hat-trick, so would history repeat itself, or would Blackburn net a first win since November 6^th when they beat Sunderland 1-0 at home, Palace had come into this contest having lost to Birmingham City at St Andrews in midweek, whereas Rovers were actually unbeaten in two coming into this, as those two points picked up in those last five were their last two contests.

So, you could read form in two ways, but enough about that, let’s see what actually happened in the contest.

This game was part of ‘Women’s Football Weekend 2023’ and as part of that the hosts had handed out 1,000 tickets for this game to try and get a bumper crowd in to support the Ladies, and despite the miserable weather around 1,700 turned up to cheer on the home side, and the first half saw them see their side have most of the ball but only really tested visiting keeper Alex Brooks seriously on one occasion, the visitors had fleeting attacks themselves but spent most of the half defending against the hosts, but they remained solid enough.

That was until three minutes before half time when Palace finally managed to break through that tough Rovers back line as good work down the right from Hollie Olding saw her cross find an unmarked Sharpe who smashed home a brilliant effort past Brooks and saw Palace go into the break a goal to the good.

Could Palace press home their advantage after the break? Well, as it turned out it was Rovers who took the game to their opponents in the early exchanges of the second period and looked far more threatening as a result, and Palace had to really dig deep to keep their opponents out who probably should have levelled in that period of pressure they had on the hosts goal, one such moment saw an effort just about tipped wide by hosts keeper Fran Kitching who almost let it slip underneath her grasp, although the resulting award of a goal kick did surprise most.

Palace though after weathering that initial burst from Blackburn begin to threaten again and chances to seal the deal and double their lead on more than one occasion, Brooks made a terrific double save on one such occasion, first saving an effort from Rianna Dean before Paige Bailey-Gayle’s follow up was also stopped superbly by the Rovers Number One, meaning the game remained in the balance.

Could Rovers pinch a point and make it three draws in a row? They so nearly did in the 88^th minute when Lauren Thomas found herself driving into the box to try and get on the end of a pass, hosts keeper Kitching rushed out to try and block any effort, and saw the ball come off her and onto Thomas right leg before flying inches wide of the post, you kind of felt at that moment it wasn’t going to be the visitors day and Palace would hold on.

And that is how it turned out after five or so additional minutes, meaning the home side get back to winning ways and the visitors fall to another loss, Palace definitely were the better side in the first period but they were made to work very hard by a much improved Rovers in the second half and could have easily got something from the game in the end, a very enjoyable battle though in terrible conditions at times, and most of the fans left for home happy indeed.

Also what a fine venue Hayes Lane is, the stand behind the goal is fantastic as is the views from the main stand where I plonked myself, also the Broomfields Bar is a delightful place to go and chill out before and after the game, and seeing the kids having photos taken with the players afterwards as well as getting autographs with big smiles on their faces is really what it is all about, it was wonderful to see!!!

Full time Crystal Palace 1 Blackburn Rovers 0

 

Let’s see what else went on in the Barclays Women’s Championship on Sunday:-

Sheffield United 2 Lewes 3 (A Mason brace helped Lewes to an entertaining win at Bramall Lane, Sweetman Kirk gave The Blades the lead just past the midpoint of the first half but Barton levelled just past the half hour before Mason gave the visitors the lead two minutes after the break. Hartley levelled the game up in the 53^rd minute but Mason netted what proved to be the winner just past the hour mark)

Durham 3 London City Lionesses 0 (Durham stunned title/promotion chasing Lionesses with a thumping win at Maiden Castle Sports Park, Hardy gave the hosts a 20^th minute lead before Hepple doubled that advantage eight minutes later, and the scoring was completed two minutes before half time when Robson made it three)

Charlton Athletic 2 Sunderland 2 (McCatty netted a 93^rd minute equaliser to salvage a point for visitors Sunderland at The Oakwood, after a goalless opening forty-five minutes the visitors took the lead through Brown’s goal in the 62^nd minute, however a quickfire double from Johnson looked to have given Charlton all three points until McCatty’s late late leveller)

Southampton FC 0 Bristol City 1 (League leaders Bristol City saw an 18^th minute goal from Morgan enough for them to take all the spoils against Southampton FC at St Mary’s)

Coventry United 0 Birmingham City 1 (Birmingham City netted all three points at bottom side Coventry United after Harris scored mid-way through the first period at Butts Park Arena)

 

Let’s see how those results affect the Championship table:-

It's one up and one down in the Championship, and Bristol City took a giant step towards the title and promotion to the WSL after they won and London City Lionesses lost, the latter’s shocker of a defeat at Durham means they now trail the former by six points with only four games remaining, so definitely advantage Bristol City now.  

Down at the bottom and only a miracle will keep Coventry United up, in fact their relegation to the Third Tier will be sealed if they lose their next game at Lewes next weekend, and even if they did the unthinkable and won their remaining four games, it still probably won’t be enough, so sadly for Coventry United relegation is pretty much nailed on.

Anyway that’s all for now, thanks for taking the time to read my blog, it is very much appreciated!!!

  

Billericay Town 1 Carshalton Athletic 1 - Stevenson leveller cancels out first half strike from Ilic as points shared at New Lodge

Isthmian League Premier, Saturday 25th March

Non-League Day 2023 saw me over at New Lodge for a mid-table battle in the Isthmian Premier and saw the points shared after Bradley Stevenson’s lovely strike in the 79^th minute meant Billericay Town picked up a point at home to Carshalton Athletic, this after the visitors saw Stefan Ilic curl them ahead just before the break.

It’s been a fairly disappointing season for Billericay since they dropped out of the Vanarama National South last season, sitting 12^th in the Isthmian Premier and kind of in no mans land now with very little to no chance of claiming a play off spot as they sat twelve points off with only seven games to go.

Their opponents Carshalton were only two places above the Blues in tenth, but they were seven points better off and only five off the play off places with six games to go, so they still had a good chance of reaching them, even if it would still be a tall order, and with the visitors form a rather missed bag of late, going on that they would not make it.

Having said that though the last month has seen them play four games, defeating ninth placed Hastings United and relegation threatened Corinthian Casuals and then holding third placed Aveley, but losing last time out to fourth bottom Herne Bay, which was a very disappointing loss. That is seven points from twelve since the end of February though, so not to bad, but they are going to need some wins and hope others above lose some too if they are to squeeze into those top five spots.

The Blues are just trying to finish the season strongly as they have little to no chance of getting a top five spot now, they had been on a three match unbeaten run themselves in the last month or so before they fell to struggling Wingate & Finchley last time out, wins over 15^th placed Haringey Borough and relegation threatened Herne Bay plus a draw at play off chasing Lewes proceeded that, so seven points from twelve is also what Billericay come into this one with too, so in terms of form, these two are very similar.

A hard one to call then? Billericay would point to there home form as a possible victory as they have won two thirds of their eighteen league games at New Lodge this campaign, whereas Carshalton have only won five away from home in eighteen themselves, although when these two met back in November at the War Memorial Sports Ground, Carshalton won 2-0, although it has to be said The Blues away form this season has been dire, so this would be a different proposition for sure at New Lodge.

A bumper crowd of 1,228 were in attendance on Non-League Day at New Lodge, the biggest crowd in the division on the day and a fitting reward for the half price entry the club had laid on for all, would their team follow suit and give the majority of those fans something to cheer, well they went close on three or four occasions but poor finishing or visiting keeper Danny Bracken thwarted them in what was a pretty subdued opening half of football.

The visitors had not really threatened much themselves but came to life late on in the half and curled themselves ahead five minutes before the break through Iilic, who drove at the box and sent an unstoppable effort beyond Harry Seaden in the Blues net, and they nearly netted again moments later but Seaden got down well to save, but the hosts went into the break a goal down and staring a second straight home loss in the face.

It had not been the prettiest half of football, both sides saw many passes go astray, and as the second half went on although Billericay were doing a lot of the attacking, they could not find a finishing product and the majority of the crowd were starting to get restless, however, with eleven minutes to go they found a leveller when Stevenson drove at the penalty area and unleashed a low shot across goal and into the far corner which the brilliant Bracken could not get near, and now the hosts were given a boost and now you felt their may well be only one winner in this contest.

Carshalton to their credit tried themselves to get their noses back in front but found the Billericay back line more than a match for them, but the final moments of the contest saw the visitors clinging on in what was a frantic end to a contest that for the majority had been subdued as said before, and it also had its controversies too.

Just before the game ticked into the stoppage time period Stevenson again drove at the penalty box, he was fouled, but the ball ricocheted into the path of I think Kareem Isiaka who slotted past Bracken, but, the whistle had already gone for the free kick, which did not please the home players of fans.

Stevenson then duly blasted that free kick powerfully into the top corner, but, just before he did, the referee blew his whistle to stop play, meaning that goal did not stand either, and that really infuriated the home fans and players once again, and in fact skipper Michael Chambers was booked for his protests, and the game remained level.

Stevenson then fired another brilliant free kick at goal but this time Bracken was equal to it, palming over a swerving effort, and soon after deep into stoppage time Chambers somehow headed over after beating his marker, and alas the hosts would not find that winner and had to settle for a share of the spoils, Carshalton were just relieved to hear that full time whistle and head back to Surrey with something to show. It’s a point that doesn’t really help either side though as the play off’s for both seem a pretty difficult task now, in The Blues case almost an impossible one.

Full time Billericay Town 1 Carshalton Athletic 1

 

Let’s have a look to see what else went on in the division today:-

Aveley 1 Brightlingsea Regent 1 (Kelly’s 83^rd minute goal saw hosts Aveley rescue a point at home to Regent, this after Russell had given the visitors a 54^th minute lead)

Bishop’s Stortford 2 Bognor Regis Town 0 (Goals from Merrifield and Olufemi helped promotion and title chasing Stortford to all three points at home to Bognor Regis Town)

Bowers & Pitsea 3 Folkestone Invicta 1 (Bowers & PItsea grabbed a huge win in their battle against the drop after a brace from Vale-Aviero and one from Benedict helped them to all three points at home to Invictia who were level at the break thanks to Olutade’s strike right on half time)

Canvey Island 3 Hastings United 1 (Promotion chasing Canvey netted all three points at home to Hastings courtesy of second half goals from Sach, Albon and a Hubble penalty, this after they were behind at the break thanks to Stone’s goal for the visitors just past the half hour mark)

Corinthian Casuals 1 Wingate & Finchley 0 (A 90^th minute goal from Hyman gave hosts Corinthian Casuals a huge win in their battle against the drop)

Cray Wanderers 5 Horsham 3 (Cray won an eight goal thriller against Horsham thanks a brace from Clunis plus further goals from Sodje, Carter and Golding. Harding, Day and Ajakaiye netted for the visitors who stayed in touch with their opponents throughout but finally lost out)

Herne Bay 1 Enfield Town 3 (A brace from Cass and one from Cunnington helped Enfield Town to the points, Barrington did bring the hosts level from the spot in the 27^th minute but two late goals saw the visitors to all three points)

Hornchurch 2 Margate 3 (League leaders Hornchurch saw goals from Wraight and Higgins put them 2-0 up at the break, but the visitors mounted an unlikely comeback to win thanks to a second half brace from Greenhalgh and one from Blackman)

Kingstonian 0 Haringey Borough 3 (Borough took all three points against Kingstonian thanks to a brace from Allen and one from Philppou)

Lewes 2 Potters Bar Town 1 (First half goals from Champion and Taylor were enough for Lewes to take all the points at home to Potters Bar who saw a late Evans goal as a mere consolation)

 

And how does that affect the Isthmian Premier table:-

It’s tight at the top isn’t it, only two points separate the top four after leaders Hornchurch dramatic defeat and the sides below all picking up points, and with anyone possibly down to tenth still in with a chance of the play offs too, it’s going to be one hell of a finish to the Isthmian Premier in terms of promotion to the Vanarama National South.

Down at the bottom and three of the bottom four all picked up points, Regent and Casuals still look likely to be relegated even though they got decent results today, but for Herne Bay, who were the only ones in the bottom four who lost today, and Bowers & PItsea, they are only a win away from getting out of the relegation zone, Wingate & Finchley are eight clear of the drop zone so should be ok, so likely to be between Kingstonian, Herne Bay and Bowers for the two remaining spots in the drop zone, that will be tight too and nerve racking no doubt!!!

An exciting end, and both ends, of the table then for the final weeks of the Isthmian Premier season, that concludes my blog for today, thanks as ever for reading. 

Braintree Town 2 Concord Rangers 0 - Iron take BBC Essex Senior Cup glory for first time in 27 years

BBC Essex Senior Cup Final, Tuesday 21st March

I was over at the Jobserve Community Stadium for the showpiece final in the county of Essex on Tuesday night and saw goals from Matt Rush and Alfie Pavey help Braintree Town to BBC Essex Senior Cup glory for the first time in 27 years after a dominant win over Concord Rangers.

These two come from the same division, the Vanarama National South, but both have had very differing seasons it has to be said, Braintree are currently inside the play-off spots in fifth position and are unbeaten at home all season in the league, whereas Concord sit bottom of the same division having won only eight of their thirty-three games and are thirty-three points behind tonight’s opponents.

And in the league games this campaign Braintree have won both, 3-1 at The Aspect Arena and then 1-0 at Cressing Road, so Braintree have the upper hand with all the stats leading into this one between the sides at least.

Town’s form has been pretty good too, they were thirteen unbeaten in the league until Saturday when they were turned over by struggling Hungerford Town who are battling the drop along with Concord so that was a rare blip of late for the North Essex side, so they were hoping to bounce back and pick up only a second Essex Senior Cup triumph in their history.

Concord themselves have used this competition as a welcome distraction from their league struggles, although it has been a far from convincing run in the competition and one they did actually get knocked out in before being reinstated, more on that later, but there form of late has been, well, not to great which is not surprising considering they are at the foot of the table.

They have only two wins and two draws since the start of February although they have had a week to prepare for this contest after Saturday’s league game was postponed due to the weather, but could they possibly finish off what had been a very fortuitous campaign in this competition, some say you need a lot of luck to win cup competitions, well Concord have certainly had their fair share but credit to them for making it all the way to this game.

Let’s see how both sides made it to Colchester then shall we:-

Braintree Town

Third Round - Maldon & Tiptree (a) W4-2

Fourth Round – Southend United (a) A-W

Quarter Final – Colchester United (a) W3-2

Semi Final – Chelmsford City (a) W1-0 

After seeing off Isthmian North Maldon & Tiptree Town then were handed a walkover win after Southend United pulled out following two postponements and the Blues saying fixture congestion meant they had no choice, and then they won a thriller at tonight’s venue when they came from behind to net two late late goals to see of The Us, and then netted a first win over bitter rivals Chelmsford City in thirteen years, so a very decent run to the final it has to be said, and not one home game either!!!

Concord Rangers

Third Round – Aveley (a) D1-1 (won 4-2 on penalties)

Fourth Round – Grays Athletic (H) L1-3 (Concord were subsequently handed walkover win after Grays thrown out)

Quarter Final – Canvey Island (a) D0-0 (won 3-2 on penalties)

Semi Final – Hornchurch (H) D1-1 (won 5-4 on penalties)

After seeing off Isthmian North Aveley on penalties, they were then dumped out in convincing fashion by another Isthmian North side Grays Athletic, only to then see them thrown out of the competition for an administrative error, giving Concord another chance to continue their journey, and they then saw off Island rivals Isthmian Premier Canvey Island, again on penalties, before guess what, they needed penalties again to edge past another Isthmian Premier side Hornchurch in the semi-finals to make it to the final this evening. As said, a lot of luck was needed!!!

I did attend both semi-finals so here is my blog on that if you wanted to check that out before seeing what happened this evening in the finale of the competition for this season 

http://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2023/03/bbc-essex-senior-cup-semi-finals-review.html

Right to tonight’s events, and it was evident from the off who was having a good season and who was not as Braintree dominated the opening exchanges so it came as no surprise when they got their noses in front in the 11th minute when Rush broke the Concord offside trap to bare down on goal and send a confident finish beyond Mitch Beeney into the far corner and send the large Iron contingent at that end of the ground into raptures.

Those fans probably should have had more goals to cheer before the break too as Braintree squandered several decent openings to increase their lead, and even saw another effort ruled out for offside after Rush's ball to the back post was touched home by Pavey, but the striker had strayed ahead of his teammate so the flag went up, so even though the Iron had a lead at the break and were dominant, it was just 1-0.

Could Concord fight back at all in the second period, well they had their spells in a second half which was a little more competitive, but if truth be told you always felt Braintree had them at arms length, especially after they went two goals to the good eleven minutes after the break although how it came about was contentious.

After Braintree had missed from point blank range, the ball ran loose and after Pavey had fallen to the ground whilst been challenged inside the box a penalty was awarded to The Iron, which saw Concord go mad with the decision and surround the referee, and also saw boss Rob Small throw his jacket into his dugout, he was incensed, and if I am honest the penalty looked soft at best, but it had been given, and Pavey picked himself up to fire home the spot kick and Concord now had a mountain to climb.

Concord tried their best to get back into the contest but found a Braintree side who just looked like they would deal with anything the Yellows could muster, and they just managed the game there on in to take the crown and win this seasons BBC Essex Senior Cup, avenging the 2013-14 final loss to Concord in the process, and take their first crown since the 1995-96 season.

Full time Braintree Town 2 Concord Rangers 0

My final word goes to the crowd who made the atmosphere a good one, almost 2,500 were in attendance which was a superb effort, and also thank you to those who gave me the opportunity to experience the hospitality section, Barry Fitzgerald for organising me a ticket, Rob Parker for giving me a lift there, and to Kevin Curran for the lift home afterwards, it is all very much appreciated and nice to get the opportunity to have these experiences too, so many thanks!!!

Anyway that concludes the BBC Essex Senior Cup for 2022-23, congratulations to Braintree Town, and that also concludes this blog too, many thanks for reading as always!!! 

 

Hashtag United 1 Felixstowe & Walton United 0

Isthmian One North, Saturday 18th March

I was over at The Len Salmon Stadium to see if runaway Isthmian North leaders Hashtag United could continue their charge towards the title, and thanks to an 84^th minute winner from Jermaine Francis they made it TWENTY ONE straight wins after a very hard fought contest against Felixstowe & Walton United, taking them three points closer to promotion in the process.

It’s been an incredible season the The Tags that’s for sure, they sit nine points clear at the summit of the Isthmian North table and require thirteen more points from their remaining seven games to confirm promotion to the Isthmian Premier, and their form has been unbelievable too, they have won TWENTY, YES TWENTY games in a row, which is an incredible run at any level of football.

The last time they tasted defeat, apart from a penalty shoot out defeat to Canvey Island in the County Cup at the end of November was back on Tuesday November 8^th when they lost to their closest rivals AFC Sudbury 4-2, so it’s been a while you could say, and they have since beaten them at home in their incredible winning run stretching over the last four months.

Their home form is pretty much perfect, they have only dropped two points in the entire campaign at The Len Salmon, that’s fourteen wins and a draw in their fifteen games at home, but they have had to work very hard in some of those games for sure and today’s contest was sure to be tough as they welcomed a Felixstowe & Walton United side to their shores who had handed Hashtag a 4-0 defeat back in October, one of only three defeats in the league for The Tags all season.

Felixstowe are currently embroiled in a tussle for a play off spot, they sit in fourth spot but with only five points between themselves and seventh placed Heybridge Swifts, the last two play off spots were certainly up for grabs amongst those four sides (Stowmarket Town and Grays Athletic being the other two) as realistically the top three were well clear of the rest, so this was an very important game for the visitors too in their quest for promotion.

Their form of late has been mixed though, February & March saw them defeat struggling Hullbridge, Great Wakering Rovers and mid table Maldon & Tiptree, however defeats against fellow promotion rivals AFC Sudbury & Lowestoft Town plus defeat against New Salamis saw their play off spot under threat, but a huge win over Grays Athletic last time out certainly got them back on track and heading into this contest with some renewed confidence.

This was going to be a tough one though against a Hashtag side who are a mammoth twenty-four points ahead of their opponents, but as said before, the visitors can draw on that match back in October when they handed out The Tags their heaviest defeat of the entire campaign, although that was over four months ago now!!! Could The Tags make it twenty-one straight wins and take themselves three points closer to the title, or could Felixstowe grab a season double over their opponents and strengthen their play off chances at the same time. Let’s find out…..

The Tags began quickly and wanted to stamp their authority on this contest as quickly as they could, and the trio of Wyan Reid, Francis and Toby Aromolaran down the right hand side were certainly keeping the visiting defence on their toes, but they stood firm against the early pressure from the league leaders and began to settle into the contest.

Their was a decent tempo to the contest too, and although Hashtag had the majority of the ball in the first period they were not really able to test visiting keeper Callum Robinson as much as they would have liked, and in fact the visitors defended really well and made it very tough for their opponents, and you could sense the tension, and frustration amongst the players as the half went on, it felt like a very big game towards the end of a season, with both sides knowing how big a win would be.

The second period saw the Tags again have more of the ball, and they did see an effort clip off the bar and another chance blocked on route to goal as they desperately searched for a breakthrough, the visitors in turn did have a good spell in the second period themselves and were also very resolute in defence, and did at time put some dangerous crosses into the box which The Tags had to deal with, although keeper James Philp didn’t have much to do.

The Seasiders, backed by a healthy contingent from Suffolk, continued to frustrate their opponents and defend very well and really put in a shift for their side, but as the game headed into the final quarter, they began to slow the game down as a point was more than acceptable in their eyes, especially against a side who had been winning for the last four months.

This ‘time wasting’ came to a head though in the 83^rd minute when visiting full back Stuart Ainsley was shown a second yellow for taking too long to take a throw on right in front of his bench, which really angered the visitors who surrounded the referee as they thought it was more than harsh, but the referee’s decision had been made, could Hashtag take advantage of this extra man for the remaining minutes in the contest?

Well, with the visitors still reeling from that red card, Hashtag burst down the other end barely a minute later and saw MOTM Reid square a ball in from the right and found Francis who thumped home from close range to send the Tags fans behind the goal wild, it was a big goal, a goal that never looked like coming in what was fast becoming one of those days for The Tags until that moment.

Things seemed to be unravelling for the visitors as well as after the goal and before kick off Callum Harrison was also shown a second yellow after he was obviously still angry with the sending off of his teammate, meaning the visitors were now down to nine men, not how they wanted to end this contest that was for sure.

And with The Tags comfortably seeing out the remaining minutes of the contest, they picked up win number TWENTY ONE in a row and brought themselves three points closer to that league title and automatic promotion to Step Three of the non-league pyramid, they were given a big round of applause off the pitch by their fans, it had not been a vintage performance but three points was all that mattered at the end of the day,

The visitors were also given a big hand by their supporters too, they had given their all in this one but sadly for them they could not complete the job and they are very much in a battle for those play off places heading into the final few weeks of the season.

Full time Hashtag United 1 Felixstowe & Walton United 0

 

Let’s have a look to see what else went on in the division on Saturday…..

AFC Sudbury 5 Basildon United 0 (Second placed AFC Sudbury netted four in the final half hour as the visitors crumbled in the final part of the contest. Nwachuku’s early penalty was the difference for a good hour until he netted twice in three minutes midway through the second half, and then late goals from Hassan and Mayhew completed the rout)

Gorleston 1 East Thurrock United 0 (Keys 8^th minute goal was enough to hand Norfolk side Gorleston all three points at home to East Thurrock United)

Grays Athletic 2 Lowestoft Town 1 (Play off chasing Grays netted a huge home victory over third placed Lowestoft Town, Osei-babie’s 18^th minute goal had the hosts ahead at the break and then Bantick’s 77^th minute goal doubled their lead, and although a late Hipperson penalty brought the visitors back into it, Grays held on for a big win)

Great Wakering Rovers 1 Stowmarket Town 4 (Suffolk side Stowmarket netted four at Burroughs Park to see of Great Wakering Rovers. Jefford gave the visitors the lead just past the half hour mark before they doubled their lead right on half time through Ainsley. Moriarty gave the hosts hope in the 58^th minute but Sayer and Sloots netted in the final twenty minutes to see the visitors take a comfortable win)

Hullbridge Sports P-P Bury Town (The match at Lower Road was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch)

Maldon & Tiptree 1 Coggeshall Town 1 (The spoils were shared at Park Lane, Finneran had given Maldon the lead six minutes after the break, but the visitors grabbed a point when Kithambo levelled with just over twenty minutes to go)

Tilbury 0 Heybridge Swifts 1 (Price’s first minute goal ended up being enough to see Heybridge keep their charge for the play offs well and truly going with victory over Tilbury at Chadfields)

Witham Town P-P Brentwood Town (The match at Spa Road was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch)

Wroxham P-P New Salamis (The match at Trafford Park was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch)

 

And let’s see how all those results affect the table…..

Hashtag’s late win over Felixstowe saw them remain nine clear of second placed AFC Sudbury, meaning the Essex side need just ten more points from their remaining six games to clinch the title and promotion, whereas Sudbury now have an eight point cushion to third after they won and Lowestoft lost, although both sides should be in the play offs whatever happens now until the end of the season.

Felixstowe’s late loss at the league leaders has seen their play-off chances take a hit as they dropped two places and outside the top five after both Stowmarket and Gray’s leapfrogged them after wins today, and with Heybridge also winning it wasn’t a great day for the Seasiders, with them now really in a battle to grab one of those final two top five positions.

Down at the bottom and Hullbridge sunk to the bottom on goal difference after their game was postponed and Coggeshall grabbed a point, in fact Coggeshall were the only bottom four side to pick up any points after both Tilbury and Great Wakering Rovers both lost, giving the bottom two hope they can still get themselves out of the automatic relegation spots, there is only four points between them all so that should be tight.

Gorleston’s win took themselves nine clear of the bottom four places in what was  big win for them, they can breathe easier now, as can Maldon who picked up a point too to go eight clear, Witham Town are still five clear even though they were not in action today.

 

Anyway that completes my blog for today, thanks as ever for reading, it’s always appreciated….. 

Gillingham 0 Watford 2

FA Women's National League Southern Premier, Sunday 12th March

Sunday saw me over at The Sports Ground, home of Chatham Town, for a FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division contest, and it saw second half goals from Bianca Baptiste and Poppy Wilson hand visitors Watford a dominant win over Gillingham on a blustery day in Kent.

The Gills came into this contest seventh out of twelve sides in this division having picked up twenty points from their fifteen games so far and were only seven points ahead of second bottom Bridgwater United, and there opponents today were Watford who were nine points better off and in fourth spot and attempting to chase down Portsmouth, Ipswich Town and leaders Oxford United above them.

The hosts form had been mixed since the start of February, netting three wins and two losses, in fact they seem to win one week and then lose the next, that has been the pattern recently, so if that was anything to go by then Watford should win this one, but it doesn’t work like that does it, although The Hornets have been in decent form lately, their only defeat in the last month was at second placed Ipswich Town, but they have won three of the other four they played, including a win over third placed Portsmouth.

These two did met in the league on the opening day back in August, and Watford ran out 3-2 winners, so would we get another entertaining contest, and also would we get the same outcome?

Well, the visitors dominated the contest from the off, and did everything but score in the first period which saw them have the majority of the ball, and they had plenty of efforts at goal too, including hitting the woodwork twice, but whatever they tried they could not bust that door down and some of them looked frustrated as the half time whistle sounded with the game still goalless, although their coaches were keen for them to remain patient and the goals would come.

The Gills battled hard and certainly came out with more purpose for the opening exchanges of the second period, but Watford were soon back to dominating possession and looking the most likely to break the deadlock, and with just over twenty minutes remaining won a penalty after a shot had been charged down with an arm, and although Wilson, on as a second half substitute, saw her spot kick well saved by Gills keeper Cara Davies, Baptiste, who had been superb down the right hand side all game, thumped home the rebound to give The Hornets a more than deserved lead.

The visitors then managed the game whilst trying to find a second to clinch this one, The Gills continued to battle but found it hard to get near their opponents for the majority, and their only attempt on target was a clearance that was blocked back at goal but straight into the arms of the grateful Jacqueline-Anne Goldsmid who comfortably held it, it had been a quiet afternoon for the visiting keeper that was for sure.

And the visitors did manage to grab a second goal deep into stoppage time when after shouts for a penalty fell on deaf ears, the ball ran into the path of Sophie McLean and she squared across goal for Wilson to tap home and make amends for her earlier miss from the spot and cap a pretty dominant win for the visiting side.

Full time Gillingham 0 Watford 2

 

 

Shall we have a look at the rest of Sunday’s action in the division? Ok go on then…..

Billericay Town 4 Bridgwater United 1 (A brace from Jess King plus further goals from Zoe Rushden and Lucy Jones helped hosts Billericay to all three points against struggling Bridgwater United at New Lodge, Ellie Sara had brought the visitors level at 1-1 three minutes before the break after a Jess volley had given the Blues the lead, but a Jess spot kick right on half time restored the hosts lead and then further goals from Rushden and Jones saw the Blues to an emphatic win)

Ipswich Town 3 London Bees 0 (League leaders Ipswich Town made it five wins on the bounce after seeing off London Bees at the AGL Arena. Freya Godfrey gave the hosts a tenth minute lead before she doubled their lead nine minutes after the break, and the hosts sealed another win with seven minutes remaining when Sarah Brasero-Carreira fired home)

Milton Keynes Dons 3 Crawley Wasps 1 (A record crowd of 1,186 were in attendance to see hosts MK Dons take victory over Crawley Wasps, the visitors did actually take an early lead in the fourth minute though Tish Nicholls but were pegged back in the seventh minute after Mollie Coupar scored. The Dons then led after nineteen minutes when Angelina Nixon headed home a corner, and the points were sealed early in the second period when Laura Mitchell finished from inside the box)

Portsmouth 1 Plymouth Argyle 0 (Pompey got back to winning ways after Jazmin Younger’s 82^nd minute goal was enough to see of Argyle at the PMC Stadium. The winning moment came when a Danielle Rowe corner caused chaos in the penalty area and Younger was on hand to poke the ball home)

 

And let’s now look at how that affects the table after all those results…..

Ipswich Town still lead the way and are in that promotion spot for the Championship, it’s still only a point lead though over Portsmouth and then another point back to Oxford United who were not in action today. Watford are six points off the leaders but with two games in hand in them can still dream of an instant return to the second tier, it’s looking likely that promotion and title battle will be between those sides in the top four.

Down at the bottom and both Crawley Wasps and Bridgwater United lost, Wasps are seven points from safety with only five games to go, so it looks bleak for them now, however for the other sides in the relegation battle it looks tense as only two points separate Plymouth Argyle in ninth and Bridgewater Town in that other relegation spot in 11^th, it looks like a tense finish at both ends of the table!!!

 

That concludes my blog, many thanks for reading and for taking the time to do so, it really is appreciated.