Bay Ladies blast 10 past Swale Ladies

Herne Bay Ladies vs. Swale Ladies
League 3rd March 2013
Result: Herne Bay Ladies 10 – Swale Ladies 0

After a month of cup games galore it was back to league action today and back at our home ground at Bell Meadow. Our opponents were Swale Ladies who we played in our very first match of the season and came through comfortable winners 10 - 1. The league now has come down to two teams, Long Lane Res and us, both lost the same amount of games however Long Lane have played one more game than us. The season could come down on goal difference although there are still some hard games for both teams to play! So to make sure we are successful we need to outscore Long Lane in every game from now to the end of the season! I gave the ladies a target today and they came up with the goods!

The game started off slowly as it always does but it was clear from the start that there was only going to be one team going to win this match. Swale was on the back foot for most of the game, with a barrage of chances for Herne Bay Ladies. I could count the chances on one hand for Swale in the whole game, Emily Johnson was a spectator for most of it but dealt with everything calmly and confidently that came her way.

It only took about 10 minutes to score our first goal and that was put away by new signing Kate Foster, from here it was one way traffic. Out of the number of goals scored this season I don’t think we have scored a bad goal, all the goals have come from hard work, great play and some confident finishing! The second goal came from Vicky Holness with some great work by Kiya Mills down the right side put in a deep cross to see Vicky head it in from close range. The third goal was a 25 yard strike from Lesley Kay and as soon as she hit everyone on the side knew it was in the back of the net! The fourth came from an unlikely source but the play up to it was top draw, it was from a corner, the ball was played short and Amy Warner then whipped in a great ball for Enya Lynch to guide the ball past the keeper with her head. The fifth and final goal of the half was scored by Vicky Holness.

We were half way to the target set and the second half kicked off and once again all the play was in the Swale half with only long balls over the top to trouble our defence and goalkeeper. The confident is evident in the way that we have now started to relax and trust each other with the ball and are very capable of playing football from the back. The goals continued throughout the half with Vicky Holness finishing her hat trick. Kate Foster got her second of the game moments later.

Like I said before we don’t really score bad goals, the eighth goal was scored by Shona Clark, a great delivery from a corner from Lesley Kay was volleyed home by Shona, although it was a great strike her movement before the ball was delivered was fantastic, losing her defender before sweetly striking the ball in to the goal. The ninth goal was scored by another new signing Lauren Orton, some may say it was a cross, some may say it was a long attempt at goal, regardless of what people may say, it was a goal from distance that sailed over the goalkeepers head. The tenth and final goal of the game came from the spot which Enya Lynch calmly placed the ball past the keeper!

Another excellent performance by all, the defence of Chantelle Bleau, Enya Lynch, Rachel Tracy and Amy Warner looked solid and are gaining more confidence with each other in each game. The pairing of Lesley Kay and Lauren Wiltshire are working together to produce some great football and creating chances for the team. Vicky Holness and Kiya Mills working hard to score goals and defending from the front and the wide players Shona Clark and Kate Foster showed that we can use the width effectively.

The substitutes all played their part as well making sure we didn’t concede and help create more opportunities in front of the goal. A pleasing win, with a top performance to match. Seven league games to go with some difficult games but confidence is high and the never say die attitude is there to be seen, we have lost games and we all hate that feeling. We have the grit between our teeth to succeed all the way to the end of the season!

Team: Emily Johnson, Chantelle Bleau, Rachel Tracy, Enya Lynch, Amy Warner, Shona Clark, Kate Foster, Lesley Kay, Lauren Wiltshire, Vicky Holness, Kiya Mills, Charlie Hayes, Natalie Lewis, Clare Brown, Lauren Orton
Player of Match: Emily Johnson