Despite Stony winning the toss and electing to kick off the match, it was Newbury who attacked from the start, with Ellie Reed striking the first shot at goal inside one minute. A second positive move forward for Newbury followed, involving Sam Atkins, Leanne Creese and Rachel Panting. With Stony picking up their first phase of possession, Chloe Hunt in the Newbury goal, was quick off her line to gather and snuff out any threat.

Newbury then quickly turned defence into attack, when Hunt’s clearance accurately found Panting in space. She strode forward, set herself and then delivered a cross, which was met by Creese, but her shot was just over the bar. Newbury did not have to wait long however before finding the breakthrough. Reed swept a cross-field ball out to Creese on the right in the 8th minute. Her pace took her round the full back and this time she delivered a cross that was met by Panting at the back post, who finished well from 6 yards. It had been a great start for Newbury and the visitors were clearly shaken.

Looking to capitalise further, Newbury pressed high up the pitch, with Stony’s defence coming under real pressure. Two further chances fell to Reed, but she was unable to convert, with her first effort hit straight at the keeper and the second narrowly wide of the upright. In a similar sweeping move to the first goal, Newbury extended their lead when Atkins gained possession in midfield and played a delicate through ball to Gemma Burnett. She tore down the right hand channel and sent in a cross, which was again met by the advancing Panting. She scored her second and Newbury’s second goal of the afternoon. Two nil now to the home side, with only a quarter of an hour played.

Gradually, as the first half wore on, Stony began to compose themselves and start to show the sort of form that had seen them win six of their previous nine matches. They gained a corner, which defender Naomi Purvis headed clear for Newbury. They then won a direct free kick in a central position just outside the penalty area. The resulting shot crashed against the Newbury cross bar and was cleared for another corner. Newbury defended well and picked up possession again through the ever industrious Kirsty Parfett.

With Parfett driving Newbury on and Burnett winning the ball back up front, Panting and Reed again combined brilliantly to create another opening. With Panting crowded out almost on the Stony goal line, she was able to find a pass across goal and beyond the Stony keeper. With the last defender under real pressure from Creese, the ball was turned in, half by Creese and half by the unfortunate defender. Newbury Captain, Leanne Creese, wheeled away in celebration, under no doubt that this was her goal to claim.

Although Newbury had now amassed a three nil lead after 34 minutes, it still seemed as if there was an underlying threat in Stony’s play and so it proved just four minutes later. They had pressured well from the re-start with several corners and the Newbury back line was finally breached after the third corner in quick succession. A deep shot from beyond the back post was thundered in and it sailed high over the goalkeeper to give Stony a life line at 3 goals to 1.

With 39 minutes now on the clock, Newbury were stunned when Stony re-gained possession straight from the re-start and fed their main striker, who had drifted out wide. She attacked with pace, cut in and unleashed a venomous shot from the edge of the area. With the shot coming across her, Hunt dived to her right, reaching the ball with her right hand, but the shot was too strong for her to keep out. Stony Stratford were now right back in the game at 3-2.

Newbury were glad to reach the half time break with what was now only a narrow lead still intact. For the second week running, Newbury were forced to make a half time substitution due to injury. This week, the unlucky player that had to withdraw was Sam Atkins. She was replaced by Sam McConnon and Newbury boldly chose to make a second change at the interval, with Laura Ainscough introduced into the attack in place of Burnett.

The second half got underway, with Reed again involved high up the pitch for Newbury. However on 53 minutes, with their new look defence perhaps still adjusting to the changes in personnel, a through ball by Stony came in unchallenged and their striker eased through for a one on one chance. Although Hunt advanced to narrow the angle, the ball was poked to one side of her and she was unable to prevent an equaliser for Stony. 3-3 now the score-line.

Having seen a three nil lead evaporate against higher placed opponents, Newbury’s supporters could be forgiven for fearing the worst and expecting to now witness a complete collapse. That situation did not materialise however and Newbury showed plenty of steely resolve to regroup and regain their shape.

As the midway point of the second half approached, the contest was now very evenly matched and was proving to be a fast paced, enthralling encounter. But Newbury were just starting to edge the individual battles all over the park. Ainscough was holding the ball up well for Newbury and was always looking to bring her team mates into play. Panting continued to cover every blade of grass and was having an influential game. Reed and Creese were effective down both wings. Lorna Parr and Parfett had taken hold of the midfield and Purvis was marshalling Newbury’s defence superbly.

When the match entered its final stage and an extra gear was needed, it was Newbury who started to step up in their play. They were further helped with the introduction of Ruby Oliver in their final substitution on 69 minutes. She linked up well with Ainscough in attack and it was a move that saw Panting slot into a deeper midfield role, where she could orchestrate much of Newbury’s good attacking play. The momentum of the game was firmly in Newbury’s favour and whilst chance after chance was being created by the home side, they couldn’t quite find a really clear cut scoring opportunity.

As the clocked ticked down, Stony were definitely hanging on for a draw, but Newbury’s performance deserved more and they found the knock-out blow as late as the 89th minute. Oliver received a throw-in from the right just inside the Stony half. She flicked the ball onto strike partner, Ainscough, who again showed great strength to hold off the defender. Despite the challenge from her opponent, she turned and was able to play a pass out to Reed, who was in acres of space on the left. She took a touch to steady herself and then drilled a low left footed shot across the keeper and into the bottom right hand corner.

The home support exploded with excitement and joy, and Reed was mobbed by her team mates in celebration. It had taken so long for Newbury to regain the lead, but it was well worth the wait and Reed’s composed finish was a worthy winning strike. Newbury now had just one further minute of the match to see out, plus whatever additional time the Referee would allow. In the final three minutes, it was Reed herself who was back defending in her own penalty box for all she was worth. The match ended in a 4-3 victory for Newbury and they showed unbridled joy on the final whistle, which contrasted greatly with the deflation that their opponents felt, after scoring three goals away from home, but leaving empty handed.

This result surely sent out a message of intent to the rest of Division One, with Newbury closing the gap on the league’s leaders to just 4 points.

Match report by Sue Hewett