Match 1: City Vs Salisbury
Winchester City 0 - 10 Salisbury City
Winchester City Women's season did not get off to the best of starts against a well organsised Salisbury City side. City produced an uncharacteristicly disjointed display and Salisbury took full advantage of any hesitancy. The score could have been much worse had it not been for some great saves by Lee Thubron and defending by centrebacks Sarah Lewis and debutant Charlie Ashman. The less said about this match the better.
Team:- L. Thubron; V. Horner, C. Ashman, S. Lewis, L. Thubron; H. Barker, S. Gilbert, B. Cleary, N. Matthews (E. Langston, 60); H. Parton, E. Bradshaw
Match 2: Christchurch Vs City
Christchurch LFC 3 - 3 Winchester City
With a depleted team due to early season injuries and work commitmants, City produced a battling display to score two late goals and rescue a point against a strong Christchurch Ladies team.
City, experimenting with a new attacking formation, took an early lead when Charlie Ashman's pace was too much for the Christchurch defence and she produced a cool finish despite being under pressure. This goal seemed to motivate Christchurch and they produced wave after wave of attack on the City goal but the team as a whole defended well with nobody forgetting their defensive responsibility. Sarah Lewis was organising the defence well with Nicky Matthews and Laura MacLaughlan expertly marshalling their players. With wide midfielders Sara Gilbert and Hannah Barker providing defensive cover as well as an attacking threat, central midfielder Bex Cleary covering infront and behind the defence and the returning Emily Langstone providing a link between attack and defence, City were pressurising Christchurch all over the pitch. However, City did find themselves behind at the break after two quick goals - the first a deflected header that looped over Lee Thubron and the second on the breakaway with a shot that squirmed under the advancing Thubron.
The second half started badly for City when Christchurch scored a third within five minutes of the restart after City had failed to clear their lines. However, heads did not drop and with the threat of returning striker Holly Parton up front, City still beleived they could salvage something. City managed to contain Christchurch for the rest of the half with a combination of pressuring Christchurch into bad finishing and good defensive work and, as the half wore on, City started to create chances of their own. Matthews, on a rare occassion advancing out of defence, played a great ball to Barker whose cross caused enough panic in the Christchurch defence to allow Parton to expertly loop the ball over the advancing keeper. With only a couple of minutes left, City started another attack on the opposite side with MacLaughlan earning a free kick, Cleary playing it up to Ashman who played in Parton to again apply the finish over the keeper. The timing of the goals gave Christchurch no chance to respond and earned both teams their first points of the season.
Team: L. Thubron; L. MacLaughlan, S. Lewis, N. Matthews; B. Cleary; S. Gilbert, E. Langstone, Lauren, H. Barker; C. Ashman, H. Parton
Match 3:- Saints Vs City
Southampton Saints 6 - 0 Winchester City
Winchester City Women suffered their second big defeat of the season against an impressive Southampton Saints team but City could be proud of the effort put into this performance. Individual errors throughout the team let Saints though onto goal on numerous occassions and they produce some well taken finishes to give Saints an assaiable 5-0 lead at the break. City produced some attacking threat with Nicky Matthews proving dangerous on the left and Holly Parton providing some neat touches to link up with strike partner Charlie Ashman. Ashman had the first chance for City when a Matthews cross could only be shot wide by Ashman. Near the end of the half, Bex Cleary had a long range shot tipped over the bar by the keeper but that proved to be as close as City got. Some rather relaxed refereeing led to some robust challenges flying in.
City produced a good defensive display in the second half and an already depleted team were restricted to only 10 fit players after one crude challenge left Cleary hobbling for the rest of the match but Ashman covered well and held the midfield with Hannah Barker. The returning central defensive pair of Cathy MacDonald and Sorcha Hagger refused to let Saints through without a fight and Laura MacLaughlan was having another impressive game at leftback producing some good tackles as well as starting off some rare City attacks. The second half only produced one goal for Saints and a battling performance such as this would surley bring some much needed points to the City cause in the near future.
Team:- L. Thubron; V. Horner, S. Hagger, C. MacDonald, L. McLaughlan; S. Gilbert, H. Barker, B. Cleary, N. Matthews; H. Parton, C. Ashman
Match 5:- New Street Vs City
Andover New Street 2 - 1 Winchester City
Winchester City Women again came away from their latest match with no points but a much improved performance does at least give City hope of a brighter future. City started brightly and forced two quick corners straight from kick off but then spent the majority of the half on the defence. The City backline did an impressive job of keeping Andover New Street's quick fowards away from Lee Thubron in goal and restricted New Street to speculative long range efforts. Sara Gilbert's tireless running up front gave City a good outlet and it was from a freekick after a foul on Gilbert that City took the lead on the stroke of halftime when Holly Parton forced the ball home from close range after the keeper could only parry.
New Street came out strongly for the second half but, on another day, City would have put the game beyond them as Gilbert continued to terrorise the defenders but just could not find the finish and Parton was unlucky to see her shot beat the keeper but rebound off the post and away to safety. New Street continued to put City under ever increasing pressure and for the first time in the match City failed to clear the ball in the box and New Street capatalised. The winning strike was worthy of winning any game but even with the power of the strike from outside of the box ws nearly kept out by Thubron who managed to deflect it onto the post but it then bounced over the line. City did not give up and continued to press but just could not find the finish that would have salvaged some much needed points.
Team:- L. Thubron; V. Horner, S. Lewis, C. MacDonald, L. McLaughlan; C. Ashman, Lauren (S. Hagger, 65), B. Cleary, N. Matthews; S. Gilbert, H. Parton
Match Six: City Vs Christchurch
Winchester City 1 - 1 Christchurch
Winchester City Women gave their most lacklustre performance of the season so far but came away with a point. Christchurch took an early lead when a long range shot looped over Emily McInnes in goal and into the net. City quickly pulled back onto level terms when a corner was glanced into their own net by a Christchurch defender with Nicky Matthews following up. This goal though did little to settle City and it was Christchurch who looked the more accomplished team, passing the ball around with ease and only being prevented from scoring more by some great saves by McInnes and great covering defending by Laura McLaughlan.
City started the second half slightly brighter and were starting to win the first ball but still did not create any real goal scoring oppurtunities. A good shout for a City penalty was waved away when a Christchurch defender clearly handled within the box but the referee ruled it was accidental and City were also let off the hook when Christchurch's only chance of the second half crashed off the crossbar and to safety. The introduction of Martina O'Flynn inevitably livened the game up and City were the dominant team for the last ten minutes but it all proved to little to late.
Team:- E. McInnes; V. Horner, S. Lewis (S. Hagger, 60) C. MacDonald, L. McLaughlan; C. Ashman, Lauren, B. Cleary, N. Matthews; H. Parton (M. O'Flynn, 80), S. Gilbert
Hants Cup:- Portsmouth Uni Vs City
Portsmouth University 5 - 3 Winchester City
A makeshift Winchester City team battled back against a strong Portsmouth University side but were ultimatly knocked out of their first cup competition of the season. With only only one regular defender and a striker with a broken toe, City knew they would be up against it from the start. An early goal was conceded when three City defenders lost the ball in the sun allowing the Uni striker an easy header at the far post. City replied strongly with an impressive finish from Holly Parton after a long ball from the back. City conceded three more goals before the break and Lee Thubron produced a good safe to prevent anymore before the interval.
The first half had allowed everyone to become accustomed to their unusual positions and, despite conceding early in the second half, City refused to beleive that the game was over. Sorcha Hagger was controlling the defence with Nicky Matthews being impressive at leftback. Martina O'Flynn was winning every available ball in midfield whilst her midfield partner Emily Langstone was showing some nice touches to play in the attacking players. It was Langstone who pulled a goal back with a long range shot over the keeper and then the ever dangerous Sara Gilbert scored City's third from a tight angle after rounding the keeper. City were now dominating the game and had Pompey on the backfoot but were just unable to find the breakthrough they required. In the end, City had to be content with playing well and winning the second half against strong opponants and hope that they can keep this level of performance up in the future.
Team:- L. Thubron; H. Barker, S. Hagger, B. Cleary, N. Matthews; C. Ashman, M. O'Flynn, E. Langstone, Lauren; H. Parton, S. Gilbert
League Cup:- Gosport Vs City
Gosport 1 - 3 Winchester City
Hopes for some silverware this season were kept alive as Winchester City saw off lower league rivals Gosport. City controlled the game from start to finish but could not convert chances into goals. Emily Langstone was again impressive in central midfield and it was her through ball that found Holly Parton who cooly finished past the onrushing keeper. The lead was soon doubled when a defender handled in the box and the resulting penalty was converted by Bex Cleary. Chances to extend the lead before the break were not taken with Langstone's longrange efforts being superbly saved by the keeper.
Gosport came out strongly in the second half and were clearly determined not to be knocked out of the Cup without putting up a fight and there were some strong tackles right from the start with central defender Sorcha Hagger the recipiant of the most. The next goal was crucial and it was City who scored, again courtesy of the composure of Parton in front of goal. Gosport did score a goal towards the end when lack of communication in the defence at a free kick led to an easy finish for Gosport but ultimatly it was too little too late and it was City who will advance.
Team:- L. Thubron; H. Barker, S. Hagger, B. Cleary, N. Matthews; C. Ashman (S. Lewis, 70), M. O'Flynn, E. Langstone (E. Bradshaw, 70), Lauren; H. Parton, S. Gilbert
Match Seven:- City Vs Red Star
Winchester City 3 - 1 Red Star
After a very nervous opening, Winchester City Women picked up their first three points of the season against old rivals Red Star. City rode their luck early on and Red Star were unlucky to see a thunderous strike canon off the crossbar and out to safety within the first minute. City took a while to settle and their nerves could be seen by the amount of silly freekicks given away. Emily Langstone tested the keeper from long range and then had a fine freekick saved with Sarah Lewis unable to convert the rebound. It was from another freekkick that City took the lead with Bex Cleary curling the ball over the wall and between keeper and near post with Holly Parton following in to make sure the ball was over the line. There were few goal scoring oppurtunities in the first half with Lee Thubron being well protected by the City defence with the returning Laura McLaughlan being paticularly impressive and Martina O'Flynn keeping the midfield tight.
City continued their dominance in the second half but could not find the way through to increase the scoreline. Red Star's attempt to use their pace on the counter attack was being well marshalled by Sorcha Hagger and Cleary in defence, restricting Red Star to only one shot in the second half. It took a couple of inspired substitutions to turn the game. First substitute Vicky Horner wrestled the ball away from two Red Star attackers before confidently playing in Langstone in midfield who in turn cooly slotted the ball foward to Parton to score. It was then the turn of second substitute Sara Gilbert to make an instant impression by scoring with her first touch after Parton's shot had been half blocked. City were now comfortably in control of the game and it was only the conceding of a very scrappy goal at the end that took the shine off this game. However, City are showing marked signs of improvement and will need to continue to improve if they want to get anything against Salisbury in their next match.
Team:- L. Thubron; H. Barker, S. Hagger, B. Cleary, L. McLaughlan; Lauren (C. MacDonald, 78), E. Langstone, M. O'Flynn, S. Lewis (V. Horner, 65); C. Ashman (S. Gilbert, 70), H. Parton
Match Eight:- Salisbury Vs City
Salisbury City 2 - 0 Winchester City
If there is such a thing, this match was a 'moralising' defeat for Winchester City against arguably one of the strongest teams in the league, Salisbury City. City have always found the Salisbury games difficult and had been on the wrong end of a heavy scoreline in all the previous encounters but this game proved to be different.
Salisbury ultimatly took all three points with a goal early in each half. The first goal came when City failed to clear the ball from the box after a freekick, leaving the Salisbury striker with an easy finish. Their second came courtesy of a rather generous penalty decision by the referee after he deemed the ball to have been handled in the box and Lee Thubron was unlucky not to save the resulting kick. However, Thubron had no saves to make during the game, being well protected by the back four and City were causing Salisbury problems. Winchester nearly took an early lead when first Bex Cleary and then Lauren shot into the side netting within the first couple of minutes. Lauren and Laura McLauglan were creating plenty of chances down the left while Sara Gilbert was providing good defensive cover down the right. The clearest cut chance for City came when Emily Langstone played Cleary in down the right with the resulting cross falling to Holly Parton but she could not find enough contact with the ball allowing the defence to scramble it away for a corner. Gilbert and Lauren produced some good runs in the second half but the crosses would just not fall kindly for City whos only oppurtunity in the second half fell to debutant Aneaka Reay. Again, it was Langstone and Cleary who combined, this time down the left, to set up Reay with the resulting shot being just the wrong side of the post. City could take many positives from this performance but will need to play just as well against Saints in their next game.
Team:- L. Thubron; H. Barker, S. Hagger, C. MacDonald, L. MacLaughlan (N. Matthews, 80); S. Gilbert, E. Langstone, M. O'Flynn (S. Lewis, 80), Lauren; H. Parton (A. Reay, 55), B. Cleary
Match 9:- City Vs Saints
Winchester City 1 - 1 Southampton Saints
After being comprehensivly beaten 6-0 in the corresponding fixture earlier this season, Winchester City faced a tough battle against league leaders Southampton Saints. City started nervously but the game was evenly matched in the first half with Aneeka Reay proving to be a handful upfront and was unlucky not to open the scoring after catching the keeper in possession. It was Saints who eventually took the lead when a long ball foward found a Saints striker whos powerful shot was brilliantly tipped onto the bar by Lee Thubron, however the rebound richoched unkindly off a covering defender and into the net. City managed to contain Saints for the rest of the half but were unable to find opportunities themselves.
The second half started brighter for City as the midfield started to take a grip of the game, Martina O'Flynn being her usual dynamo self of driving on attacks while also being back to defend. The pressure that City were now putting onto the Saints backline was now being to tell as corners were being won as defenders were forced into errors. It was from one such error that City took the lead when Lauren charged down a hurried clearance and the ball fell kindly to Bex Cleary in the box who finished powerfully past the keeper. The game now opened up and both sides had chances to score the winning goal - Thubron denying Saints with some spectacular saves and Hannah Barker clearing off the line at a crucial time. City also had oppurtunities to score but Cleary, Reay and Lauren all failed to trouble the keeper when well placed. However, a point in this game shows just how far City have come this year and it will hopefully not be long before performances like this convert into three deserved points.
Team:- L. Thubron; H. Barker, S. Hagger, C. MacDonald, L. MacLaughlan(C. Ashman, 75); S. Gilbert, M. O'Flynn, B. Cleary, E. Langstone; H. Parton (Lauren, 60), A. Raey
North Hants Cup:- Basingstoke Vs City
Basingstoke Town 5 -1 Winchester City
Winchester City's last chance of any real success was lost after their defeat to Basingstoke Town. The scoreline did not reflect the play with City creating double the chances to score than their rivals who had five shots and scored five goals. It was only in the second minute that City found themself behind after a corner curled all the way despite Laura Thubron's desperate attempt to keep it out and it was not long before another was added after a long ball over the top. However, City were creating plenty of chances of their own with Sara Gilbert and Aneeka Raey both having oppurtunitites to score but failed to really trouble the keeper.
After going into the break four goals down, City did manage to have the consolation of at least drawing the second half of the game and putting Basingstoke under constant pressure. Raey and Gilbert again had chances to score and it was Gilbert who managed to pull a goal back with a neat finish round the advancing keeper after good work from Martina O'Flynn in midfield. City could take the positive out the game that they created numerous chances to score - well into double figures. The next step is converting them.
Team:- L. Thubron; H. Barker, S. Hagger, C. Ashman, L. MacLaughlan: M. O'Flynn, E. Langstone, B. Cleary; H. Parton, A. Raey, S. Gilbert
Match 13: City Vs New Street
Winchester City 4 - 1 Andover New Street
An Aneeka Raey hat-trick against her old team provided Winchester City Women with their best result of the season against old rivals Andover New Street. Reduced to only 10 fit players after a tough season, City played their most impressive football of the season and at times it looked as though they had the extra player as New Street struggled to get a touch of the ball. Where Andover were able to let their greater number count was at corners and it was from one such set piece that they took the lead as the ball was shot through a crowd of players, unsighting both goal keeper Lee Thubron and Charlie Ashman on the line.
However, this early set back did not put City out of their stride and it was not long before Raey was troubling the defence with the support of Emily Langstone and Emma Bradshaw from midfield. Sara Gilbert was providing a good outlet wide on the right and Laura McLaughlan was providing good defensive cover down the left as well as producing good and effective runs foward. It was from two slick moves involving quick interchanging of passing between these players that resulted in City getting two quick goals, the first from Raey and the second from Bradshaw who found herself with time and space on the edge of the box but kept her composure to finish low and hard past the keeper. Reduced to nine players for the end of the half as Langstone was forced off after a hefty kick to the knee, City continued to play their football and even scored a third when Raey rounded defence and keeper before forcing the ball home from what looked like an impossible angle.
After the break, City looked for an early goal to kill the game off but, despite having all the possession and pressure, City could not find the finish. Both the returning Langstone and Bex Cleary had long range efforts but failed to trouble the keeper and even Raey goal scoring touch deserted her when finding herself in a good position. As the game wore on, New Street were able to produce more pressure without really troubling Thubron, who swept up behind her defence brilliantly. Sorcha Hagger and Cathy MacDonald were marshalling the defence well and giving the New Street attack no space to work in and were helped in their cause by the hardworking fullbacks and midfield. As the game neared its conclusion, Raey got the hattrick that her hard work playing alone upfront deserved when she dispossessed the last defender and cooly finished past the keeper to cap a fine footballing display from City.
Team:- L. Thubron; C. Ashman, S. Hagger, C. MacDonald, L. MacLaughlan; S. Gilbert, E. Langstone, B. Cleary, E. Bradshaw; A. Raey