Newbury Ladies Football
Match Report -- Season 2011-12
Southern Region Women's Football League
Jubilee Cup Group C
Sunday 25th March 2012
Newbury Ladies 5 Reading Ladies 1
Newbury Ladies hosted Reading Ladies looking to continue their unbeaten run in the Jubilee Cup group competition. Newbury kicked off and went on the offensive straight away, with Ruby Oliver playing a good pass out to skipper, Leanne Creese on the right wing. She drove forward and delivered a delightful cross into the Reading penalty area. Unfortunately there was no Newbury player advanced enough to meet it and the early chance slipped away.

Newbury kept up the pressure and forced a corner after 5 minutes. This time Oliver got on the end of the cross and directed a header goal wards. A Reading defender on the near post cleared the ball off the line. With Newbury well on top, midfielder Anna Risdale connected with their second corner, but this time her effort was narrowly wide of the upright.

On the quarter hour mark, the Reading goalkeeper punched out another Newbury corner, but the ball fell straight to striker, Lily Chubb. She rifled in a shot from 15 yards that flew into the bottom corner and gave Newbury a deserved 1 nil lead. Reading responded well from the re-start and they earned a free kick on the edge of the area just 5 minutes later. Fortunately for Newbury, the direct shot from the free kick cannoned off the cross bar, with the keeper helpless.

After that warning, Newbury got their passing game going again, with scorer Chubb causing the Reading back line all sorts of problems with her tireless running. So it was a cruel blow for Newbury when Chubb sustained an ankle injury after half an hour and had to be replaced. This meant a reshuffle with Ellie Reed pushed up into a striking role and substitute Kelly Stokes coming into left midfield for her first appearance of the season.

Stokes herself had the next Newbury chance on 40 minutes, when she connected with a corner at the back post. The Reading goalkeeper getting down well to her left to parry her shot. But Newbury were able to double their advantage on the stroke of half time, when top scorer Ruby Oliver was upended 25 yards from goal. She got up to take the resulting free kick and found the top left hand corner with a beautiful strike that bent over the Reading wall. 2 nil the half time score line.

Within four minutes of the half time break, Newbury took full control of the match by claiming a third goal. This time the break came down the left, with Ellie Reed in full flow. Her cross found Oliver in a central position, and although her first shot was saved, she was first to react to the rebound and slotted home the ball from a tight angle. 3 nil to Newbury, who were now putting in one of their best displays of the season.

It was nearly a surprise scorer on 55 minutes when Newbury defender, Gemma Povey, had gone up for a corner. She showed great technique to produce a swivel volley that was only inches over the bar. Just two minutes later and Newbury Captain, Creese sprang the offside trap and ran through on goal from almost the half way line. With the defenders trailing in her wake, she had just the Reading keeper to beat as she tore into the penalty area. Although her shot was too high for the goalkeeper to save, it was also too high for the crossbar and another chance passed by.

Newbury were outplaying their opponents all over the park, with their central midfielder pairing of Risdale and Lorna Parr totally dominant. Newbury’s fourth goal came in the 75th minute, when Creese played a pass down the line to striker, Oliver. She skipped past one defender with her first touch and then lobbed the advancing goalkeeper with her second, to claim her third and Newbury’s fourth goal of the afternoon. It was a sublime finish to round-off her first hat-trick of the season.

But Newbury were not done yet and on 80 minutes, Risdale won the ball in midfield and sent Creese away again down the right flank. With the full back beaten for pace, Creese had the confidence to shoot from 30 yards and her effort sailed into the roof of the net for 5 nil.

With just 4 minutes left on the clock, the Newbury defence for the first time in the match, failed to clear their lines, allowing a Reading striker to run though on goal. Although she was one on one with Newbury goalkeeper, Chloe Hunt, it was Hunt who came on top, coming off her line to save well.

Reading did grab a consolation goal however, when Newbury conceded a free kick for hand ball in injury time and the resulting Reading shot flew into the top corner. That blemish aside, it was a near perfect performance from Newbury Ladies and they remain top of their Jubilee Cup group with 8 points and just two further group matches to play.

Players: Chloe Hunt, Leanne Saunders (replaced by Lauren Hanson 65 mins), Sophie Self, Gemma Povey, Naomi Purvis, Lorna Parr, Anna Risdale, Leanne Crease (Capt), Ellie Reed, Ruby Oliver, Lily Chubb (replaced by Kelly Stokes 30 mins).
Referee: Mike Hall
Goal scorers
Ruby Oliver 3,
Lily Chubb,
Leanne Creese
Player of the match
Next fixture

Southern Region Premier

League season closed
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