But gradually Newbury began to assert themselves a little more in the Marlow half and two half chances fell to Gemma Burnett in consecutive minutes. On each occasion she shot early, when still quite far out from goal and the Marlow goalkeeper was able to watch both efforts edge safely past the posts. The match was fairly even as the half wore on, with only a couple of goal attempts for each side. Chloe Hunt making one very good save from a Marlow midfielder, as she tipped the shot up and over the bar to keep the score-line at nil, nil.

Then in the last six minutes of the half, Newbury had two great chances to open the scoring. First, a Leanne Creese free kick from wide right fell to the feet of midfielder, Lorna Parr, inside the Marlow 6-yard box, but her shot sailed high over the bar. Then on the stroke of half time, Burnett combined well with Creese and Rachel Panting and the cross from the right found Parr again unmarked at the far post, but she headed agonisingly wide.

Newbury made a change at the break, with Ellie Reed replaced by Ruby Oliver, as they looked to find the breakthrough and Oliver was involved straight away, shooting with her first touch. Unfortunately the effort was straight at the Marlow keeper, who was able to gather comfortably. Newbury regained possession shortly after through Panting, who was working hard in midfield. Her pass sent Creese storming forward and she evaded the challenge of the Marlow defender, to then race through into the area. She unleashed an early shot that proved unstoppable and it thundered above the goalkeeper and into the roof of the net.

It was just the start that Newbury needed and taking the lead gave them a surge in confidence and they stepped their performance up a gear. The home defence and goalkeeper were performing solidly and they were working well as a unit to keep the Marlow attack well shackled. Burnett had run her heart out for Newbury up front and she was replaced by the fresh legs of Laura Ainscough on 66 minutes.

Special mention must go to full back Lauren Sheldon, who was making her first appearance for Newbury Ladies in nearly three months, but she gave an outstanding performance, winning countless challenges, taking knocks and bruises, and she was intelligent with her distribution going forward. Kirsty Parfett too, was immense for Newbury in midfield, holding everything together and covering a huge amount of ground. Having got themselves in front, Newbury showed a total refusal to give up their lead and although they went in search of a second goal to kill the game off, they were successful in restricting any Marlow threat at the other end.

The clock continued to tick down, but Newbury had to endure one final scare in the 82nd minute. Marlow had forced a corner, but the cross sailed over everyone to the far side of the area. A Marlow midfielder advanced and she collected the loose ball. As she was closed down by Sheldon, the goal-bound shot deflected off Sheldon’s knee, causing Hunt in the Newbury goal to have re-adjust her body position and change the direction of her dive. She was alert and agile enough to do so, and caught the ball well, gathering it into herself. It proved to be a match winning save for her team, keeping their one nil lead intact.

Newbury saw out the final eight minutes, plus six minutes of injury time very well. Katharina Reichardt came on for her debut on 88 minutes and she forced the Marlow keeper into a final save, which was to be the last action of the match. Whilst it hadn’t been their most comprehensive victory of the season, it was certainly well fought and well deserved. Newbury’s winning run now stretches to 8 league games and they sit 10 points clear at the top of the Southern Region Women’s Division One table.

Match report by Sue Hewett