Holness Heads to a Hundred as Three Hat-tricks Secure Final Place.

Herne Bay Ladies (7) 14
Chapman 4, Holness 4, Farrow 3, Holmes, Foster, o.g.

West Kent Ladies (0) 1

Kent FA Women’s Plate Semi Final
Sunday 16th February 2014

(Sarah Holmes nets her first of the season - photo copyright: Peter Guise)

by Anthony Deer

With perfect weather conditions, today was the chance to reach the final of the KCFA Kent Women’s Plate, one of the pieces of silverware we won last year! On paper this should have been a closer game than score line suggests. West Kent are sitting third in the division below. But Herne Bay Ladies proved to be the stronger side in this contest. Credit is due to West Kent as one of their cars broke down on the way to the game meaning that only eight players were available at the start of the game. The referee decided that the game should start knowing that a couple more players were on their way. The message to the girls was to take full advantage of the numeric difference to ensure we reach the final of the Kent Plate.

After speaking to other managers and players who have played against West Kent I knew that they were going to be a physical side but I didn’t realise how physical!

So many chances were created today, unfortunately not all went in! It didn’t take too long before the first goal went in, the in-form Harriett Chapman toe poked the final touch from a good run from Kate Foster, the next goal came shortly after when Vicky Holness headed her 100th goal for Herne Bay Ladies. For the next 20 minutes no more goals were scored, that’s not to say that we didn’t create chances, just the final touch and finish let us down. West Kent did not test the resounding back four or Breeze in goal and struggled to keep up with the speed of play and most of the time fouled and disrupted our play with some questionable tackling which the referee dealt with professionally booking no more than four of their players! It was only a matter of time before the next goal was scored and it wasn’t until the 25th minute when the third and killer goal went in. A great through ball from Sarah Holmes connected with the timed run of Kate Foster who casually put the ball past the goalkeeper. Frustration crept in for Herne Bay as West Kent continued to foul stopping any real flow of football. But a period of ten minutes saw us score four goals to cement our place in the final of the Kent Plate. Chapman and Holness both scored their second goals of the match with Carly Farrow scoring and Sarah Holmes scoring her first goal of the season saw Herne Bay ladies take a convincing lead at half time of 7-0.

The problem when you are in such a controlling lead is losing focus and getting into bad habits. But with Herne Bay Ladies, when they are in the mood there is no stopping them. Within a minute of the restart Chapman scored her third goal completing her third hat trick in the space of three weeks and Carly Farrow her second, extending the lead with two well worked goals. The goal we conceded was from the penalty spot when a misplaced pass lead to a mistimed tackle resulting in a penalty kick. The only blip on what was a good performance.

From here though we didn’t stop attacking West Kent but our finishing let us down at times although it didn’t cost us today. Harriet scored her fourth on 64th minute with Holness completing her hat trick in the 69th minute. The scoring didn’t stop there Carly Farrow completed her hat trick in the 80th minute and a corner from Kate Foster found the back of the net via the goalkeepers hand. Vicky Holness score the last goal of the game to complete a very one sided semi-final.

As much as I feel sorry for West Kent, today was good to see all the forward players getting on the score sheet with three players scoring hat tricks. Many chances were missed, however, confidence is high within this team knowing that not one player will let the rest of the team down when it comes to their specific roles and responsibilities. It was also a good opportunity for the players who have been patient on the bench to get a run out.

All in all, a good performance with an opportunity to retain the KCFA Kent Women’s Plate. Our opponents in the final are Bromley Ladies who after extra time beat Swale Ladies 6-3. The date for the Final is Wednesday 2nd April 2014 with the venue to be confirmed.

Up next for Herne Bay Ladies is a tough fixture in the league away against Prince of Wales next Sunday.

Herne Bay Ladies Match Squad: Breeze Handley, Emma Brown, Rachel Tracy, Beth Nugent, Debbie Blackmore, Lesley Kay, Kate Foster, Sarah Holmes, Carly Farrow, Vicky Holness, Harriet Chapman, Lauren Wiltshire, Charlie Hayes, Bella Smith, Emily Hayward, Elizabeth Lehan.

Player of Match: Kate Foster