The match was late kicking off by half an hour whilst a suitable match official was found, which disrupted the pre-match preparations of both teams. Eventually it was the home side who kicked off, with Newbury finding themselves playing into the sun in the first half. The opening period was fairly even and the only concern for Newbury at that stage, was a slight knock received to defender Sophie Self. She was able to continue following treatment on the side line and Newbury began to push forward with purpose, winning a corner on the left. Ellie Reed swung the corner in for Newbury and it resulted in a shot by Kirsty Parfett from the edge of the area, which the Stony keeper was able to gather.

Newbury were awarded a deep free kick on 11 minutes, which Self launched forward into the danger zone on the edge of the Stony box. Nicole Beesley, looking lively, did well to put the two defenders under pressure and was then able to latch onto the loose ball, but her shot went just wide of the upright. That must have sounded an alarm bell for the Stony players, as they started to exert some pressure of their own on the Newbury back line.

They worked two good openings down their left flank, with one cross sailing harmlessly behind the Newbury goal, but the second cross was much better and required Reed to cover and clear at the back post for Newbury. Stony were clearly boosted by these efforts and Newbury were finding it increasingly difficult to get out of their own half or to get any real service up to their front players. So it was the home side that were enjoying the greater spells of possession as the first half wore on.

Chloe Hunt in the Newbury goal, was called into action on several occasions. Once saving brilliantly just inside the area, after the Stony striker, Siobhaun Layne had burst through and was clear. But she was denied a shooting opportunity, by the alertness that Hunt had shown in coming quickly off her line to smother and deflect the ball away.

Stony’s movement in attack was causing Newbury all sorts of problems and when Layne burst into the Newbury penalty area again, defender Naomi Purvis was adjudged to have fouled the striker, with the contact bringing her down. A penalty was the right decision and Layne herself stepped up to take the spot-kick for Stony. Her first effort was well saved by Hunt down to her left, but Layne latched onto the parried ball before any Newbury player and she stabbed home to give her side a one nil lead.

As the first half drew to a close, anyone watching would have thought that it was the home side, not Newbury, who were top of the league. Hunt produced another superb save just before break, when she jumped high and was able to palm a long range shot just over the cross bar. Newbury survived the resulting corner and were relieved to hear the half time whistle being only one goal behind.

Immediately after the re-start, Newbury made a substitution, bringing on Laura Ainscough upfront and deploying Lorna Parr in defence, in place of Sophie Self. Newbury went on the attack straight away, with Beesley running down the left hand channel after just two minutes and earning her side a corner. A Stony defender met the ball first and headed the corner clear and out to safety on the right.

Newbury refused to let the pressure drop and after good work by Ainscough on the right, she won another corner. Taking it, Leanne Creese curled a cross into the six yard box, which wasn’t dealt with and before a clearance could be made, Reed pounced to equalise for Newbury from five yards. 1-1 now the score-line on 56 minutes.

The momentum in the game was now with Newbury and they were being driven on by Parfett, who was giving a sterling performance in midfield. Ainscough was also playing very well up front and the Stony defenders were finding her a real handful. After three Newbury corners in quick succession, which they weren’t quite able to convert, Gemma Burnett was introduced from the bench for Newbury, replacing Beesley in the 72nd minute.

This change paid immediate dividends, as Burnett linked up with Ainscough in the final third and the Stony defence was again under pressure. When it looked as if the defender would clear the bouncing ball from inside the area, she used her arm to help control it and this was seen by the Referee, who awarded the second penalty of the game. This time to Newbury. Up stepped Reed, scorer of the first Newbury goal and she made no mistake, coolly dispatching her shot low into the bottom left hand corner. Newbury had taken the lead with just 17 minutes of the match remaining.

Whilst Stony tried hard to find an equaliser, Newbury defended well in the last period and they held firm, protecting their one goal advantage. Stony were unable to get back in the game and it finished 2-1 to the visitors.

It had been a hard fought victory for Newbury Ladies FC, but they had managed to extend their winning run in the league to 10 consecutive games, whilst also maintaining their 12 point lead at the top of the Division One table. The victory also saw them seal one of the two guaranteed promotion spots and so next season, Newbury Ladies will be playing in the Premier Division of the Southern Region Women's League for the first time in their history, which is a fantastic achievement.

Newbury Ladies FC now require only two more points from their last two fixtures to clinch the league title. In their next match they will travel to MK City Ladies on Sunday 15th March, with a 2pm kick-off, for their penultimate game of the season.

Match report by Sue Hewett