Southampton kicked off the match and as expected, went onto the attack straight away, forcing three quick corners in succession in the opening ten minutes. Newbury dealt with each of these well however, and when the next attack saw a lofted ball played over the top of the Newbury defence, Lauren Hanson recovered well to make a terrific tackle and put the ball out for a Southampton throw.

Newbury had come through the opening quarter of hour unscathed, but then Jo Walsh-Perks picked up an injury, not long after she too, had made a brilliant tackle inside her own penalty area, to deny the Southampton winger a shot at goal. Before Newbury could make the required substitution, Southampton opened the scoring, winning the ball high up the pitch and then smashing the ball home for one nil. Walsh-Perks was replaced before the re-start, with Lorna Kinder-Parr entering the fray.

As the half hour mark approached, Newbury were continuing to defend resolutely and the score remained at one nil to the visitors. Then in a rare foray into the Southampton half of the pitch, Newbury’s Gemma Burnett did well to put their back-line and goalkeeper under pressure. Molly Baker latched onto the less than confident clearance, and she shot from distance, but her effort for Newbury was just wide. The Southampton goalkeeper appeared a little shaken and her next clearance fell invitingly for Nicole Beesley, who also elected to have a long range shot before the visiting keeper could retreat back to her goal. Again, the shot was off target, but these were encouraging signs for Newbury.

But within moments of those two Newbury half chances, Southampton broke away to score their second goal. And just two minutes later they were able to add a third, which really put them in control. When the Referee blew for half time, Newbury’s players were reminded that in the reverse fixture they had been 7-0 down at the break and so they took the positive that in this first 45 they had only conceded three times.

With Newbury in possession at the start of the second half, they won their first corner, but were unable to convert the set play. Southampton then attacked and they did have the ball in the Newbury net again, only for the effort to be correctly ruled out for offside. Newbury’s goalkeeper, Kat Brown, then made a terrific low save down to her right, with her defenders in front of her reacting well to clear the loose ball after Brown had parried. Southampton’s right winger then had a cross/shot, which crashed on top of the Newbury cross bar, but fell away to safety.

The pressure from Southampton now was almost relentless and although the hour mark was edging closer, Newbury just couldn’t hold out. Southampton scoring a fourth goal in the 57th minute. Again, Newbury’s players re-grouped after the re-start and they refused to lie down and accept defeat. They were showing tremendous spirit and a real team togetherness, sticking to their task well, which was pleasing to see for Newbury’s Manager, Sue Hewett.

Newbury’s captain, Ellie Reed, had a free kick from 25 yards that was just too high. But from the goal kick, Southampton were now showing a real ruthless streak and they started to put Newbury’s tiring players to the sword, breaking quickly at every opportunity and to devasting effect. They scored goal numbers five and six within three minutes of each other and then added a further three goals in the last 20, to take a final score-line of 9-0. There was no doubt at any stage that all three points would be heading back with the visitors to the South Coast. But Newbury’s players should take plenty of heart from their determined display against an excellent Southampton side, who will have far too much quality for every team in the division this season.

Match Report by Sue Hewett