Today we continue our month of cup competitions with a semi final In the divisional cup against Gravesham Ladies, a team that we have beaten quite comfortably in the league on both occasions, however after our exploits against Gillingham during midweek, motivation for this game very difficult indeed! The ladies knew it didn't matter what the score was as long as we win and get into our second final of the season! For the second time this year we played at Winch's Field and played up the slope first half!

The game started off slowly and it continued to be a slow game, unlike the gills game which was high tempo for the majority of the match, the ladies had more time on the ball and in some cases had to much time on the ball and tried forcing the play. It didn't take too long for the first goal to be scored though, a great ball through from Lesley Kay to Vicky Holness who calmly passed round the goal keeper! We continued to press forward to find the next goal but it was Gravesham who had the next best chance of the game, a ball found the left Wing player who drove into the box only for her shot to be saved by Emily Johnson who pushes it round the post! From this only scare in the first half, Herne Bay ladies continued to look and test the back four of Gravesham and it didn't take long before the second goal was scored, this time it was Kiya Mills who got the goal! We could have had a few more goals however, some good defending and lucky goalkeeping kept the score to 2 0 into the break!

At half time the ladies all agreed it was difficult to get into the game, however, knowing that just a win would do, we continued to look for the third goal at the beginning of the second half!

The second half started just as slowly but the football that was played at time was as good as we have seen in recent games, chances galore in the second half but just could not convert them! It took about 20 minutes to score the next goal courtesy once again from Vicky Holness. It didn't take long for Vicky to score her hat trick with another through ball from the midfield! Chances continued to flow with many players going close, Shona Clark, Chantelle Bleau, Lesley Kay all having chances but the final and fifth goal came from captain and player of the match, Rachel Tracy.

Although motivation was not as good as previous matches, Herne Bay Ladies did the job in hand and reached their second final in a matter of weeks, adding to what has been a fantastic season so far! One thing that im pleased about today is, not conceding a goal! Although at times some players were lethargic we still managed to defend properly even when they pushed extra players forward. Each player is beginning to believe in their own ability and relish the tougher matches ahead knowing that they can't relax between now and the end of the season to achieve success in their first season as a team!

Our next game is in the league against Swale next Sunday at Bell Meadow with a 2:00pm kick off!

Team: Emily Johnson, Chantelle Bleau, Rachel Tracy, Enya Lynch, Charlie Hayes, Emma Brown, Natalie Lewis, Lauren Wiltshire, Lesley Kay, Vicky Holness, Kiya Mills, Shona Clark, Jo Franks, Alice Franks, Lauren Orton

Player of Match: Rachel Tracy