The home team kicked off the encounter and they went straight on the attack, getting in two good crosses from the right wing into Newbury’s penalty area, which needed to be dealt with and cleared. Fleetlands also forced the game’s first corner after four minutes, which Newbury keeper, Chloe Hunt, came out well to claim. In the first attack that Newbury were able to launch, they did test the home keeper, but she too caught comfortably from Ellie Reed’s long range shot, after she had cut in from the left.

The next 15 minutes of the match saw Fleetlands dominating and all of the play was in the Newbury half. The visitors were well organised and committed however, and so Fleetlands were kept at bay. In the 23rd minute Reed was back in her half defending and she regained possession for Newbury and played a lovely ball down the line. Nicole Beesley, who was ever willing to run the channels for Newbury, latched onto the pass and drove into the space behind the defence, before weaving her way into the penalty area. She crossed to the far post, where Newbury Captain, Leanne Creese had sprinted fully 60 yards to meet the cross and stab home. One nil to Newbury.

This stung the home side, who were furious to have conceded from Newbury’s first real foray into the box. Again, it was Newbury’s back line who were to come under heavy pressure. When the half hour mark passed, Newbury were looking to reach half time with their one nil lead intact, but it wasn’t to be, when they failed to fully clear a Fleetlands corner. The ball was crossed back in from the right and an unmarked attacker was able to tap in at the far post to give Fleetlands an equaliser. And so it was one goal apiece when the half time whistle blew.

With Newbury in possession at the start of the second half, they gained a free kick 30 yards from the Fleetlands goal to the right of centre, but Creese was unable to add to her goal tally, with the goalkeeper saving comfortably. Newbury then faced a Fleetlands onslaught in the following quarter of an hour. Hunt was twice called upon in the Newbury goal to make last ditch saves from attackers who had burst through the defence for one-on-one chances. Hunt was showing real alertness and speed of thought, coming off her line well to narrow the angle and spread herself on both occasions. She was by far the busier of the two keepers after the re-start, but she was having a fine game.

Both Newbury centre halves, Sophie Self and Gemma Povey, were also defending solidly in front of Hunt. With Povey holding up the Fleetlands number 10 in the next attack, allowing Self to intercept and clear the attempted pass into the box. One of the big moments in the match came on 66 minutes, when Hunt again raced out to the edge of the area to clear a through ball. She connected well, but her kick cannoned back off the Fleetlands striker and the ball was heading goal-wards. When everyone around seemed to momentarily stop and hold their breath, Povey reacted superbly and she sprinted back towards her goal, chasing the ball down. It was desperate defending, but she just managed to miraculously reach the ball and poke it clear from right on the goal line.

The frustration for Fleetlands was doubled just two minutes later, as Newbury went straight down the other end and scored. Leanne Saunders played a good ball over the top of the defence, which Rachel Panting was able to charge after and put the last defender and goalkeeper under real pressure inside the area. They suffered a terrible misunderstanding, with both Fleetlands players colliding, but allowing the ball to trickle into the path of Panting and she was able to tap-in from 5 yards to regain the lead for Newbury. 2-1 now the score-line.

The visitors from Berkshire were brimming with confidence and it showed in their astute play. Newbury’s midfield pairing of Sami Atkins and Kirsty Parfett were now well in control, with Atkins so effective in marking the Fleetlands skipper out of the game. Fleetlands heads began to drop with every passing minute. The victory was sealed in the 80th minute when Parfett played a lovely ball out to the right flank, completely cutting out the full back. Creese collected the pass and strode towards the corner flag. Her cross-shot from the by-line sailed over the head of the goalkeeper at the near post and floated high into the far corner of the net to give her side a very well deserved 3-1 lead.

With a two goal cushion for Newbury, there was now no way back for Fleetlands and Newbury saw the game out comfortably, taking all 3 points back to Berkshire. It had been the perfect away performance from Newbury Ladies, with every player producing a display to be proud of, but it was Sami Atkins who marginally took the player of the match vote for her sheer tenacity and determination in the middle of the park. With the division’s top two teams both losing on the same day, Newbury’s excellent win saw them storm to the top of Division One North of the Southern Region Women’s League with 20 points after 10 games played.

Match report by Sue Hewett