Not long after, Newbury switched off from a disputed throw-in and Winchester extended their lead to two nil. The contest appeared to be over after the half hour mark, when Ainscough wasn’t able to collect a shot cleanly and the on-rushing Winchester striker was able to steal in and prod home the loose ball.

A slight change of formation followed for Newbury and they started to show some signs of improvement, clawing a goal back after good work from Hannah Bryne in defence and then a terrific cross field ball from Amy McNab, which released striker, Lou Williamson. She had timed her run perfectly and she took full advantage when through one-on-one to lob the goalkeeper for her side’s first goal of the afternoon. As the half time whistle blew eight minutes later, Newbury were 3-1 down.

The home side resumed control in the second half, with only sporadic Newbury attacks and so Winchester were able to take a 4-1 lead. Newbury didn’t cave in however and showed good character to stay in touch and find a second goal. This came after some neat interplay between Caz Harkness, Maria Rodrigues and Lou Williamson, whose cross was met by McNab on the edge of the area to slot the ball into the top corner.

4-2 now the score-line. However, Newbury were unable to threaten further and five minutes before the end of the match, Winchester nicked a fifth goal to record a convincing 5-2 win.

Report by Sue Hewett