Newbury kicked off and were the first to register a goal attempt after a strong run from Kelly Killick, saw her cross met well by Gemma Burnett, but she could only find the side netting. Two further efforts came through Newbury captain, Kendall Gilmour and all the early pressure was Newbury’s. So it was totally against the run of play when Flackwell Heath opened the scoring in the 20th minute. An initial shot from distance was parried by Carly Passfield in the Newbury goal, but the ball was then stabbed home before the Newbury defence reacted.

It was now a more even encounter, but Newbury were able to pull a goal back on 34 minutes after Nicole Beesley won the ball back well for her side. She found Gilmour and then her precise long range pass released Burnett, who provided a deft finish to side foot the ball over the advancing keeper for 1-1. And after Passfield was forced to make one further save for Newbury just prior to the end of the first half, so that 1-1 score-line remained at the half time break, with the match very finely poised.

Passfield was again the keeper first called into action as the second half got underway. She pulled off another excellent save to deny the Flackwell striker. The home side’s left winger fared better in the 64th minute however, when she unleashed an unstoppable shot that no keeper could have saved and so Flackwell took a 2-1 lead. Newbury were starting to fade a little and they then fell further behind just nine minutes later. Within just two minutes of play being re-started, Flackwell Heath scored a fourth goal, but a 4-1 score-line was definitely flattering to the hosts. With just 13 minutes of the 90 remaining on the clock, Newbury’s team summoned up huge strength to stage a late rally and they managed to pull a goal back through Beesley, who was found in space on the edge of the area by Alice Hill. Her low shot snuck under the dive of the despairing keeper and this made it 4-2.

In the 89th minute Newbury had their hosts pegged back to 4-3 after Hill went on a storming run through the heart of the Flackwell defence and struck a strong shot that flew into the net. Panic had well truly set in now for the Flackwell players and they were mightily relieved to hear the final whistle, with their slender one goal advantage still intact. So Flackwell had hung on for all 3 points, but it had been a truly valiant effort for Newbury in their first outing of the new season and certainly bodes well for the rest of the campaign. With the opening goal and an assist for Newbury, Gemma Burnett was their Player of the Match.

Match report by Sue Hewett