Despite having been to a game on Wednesday evening, the lure of a Thursday cup final was just too much. This is when having an understanding wife pays dividends. So, after a quick bite to eat, I set off down the A34 for the North Hants Divisional Football Association Sunday Women's Cup Final between Fleet Town of the Southern Region Division One South and Hampshire County League Division Two side, Andover New Street. The game was to be played at Whitchurch United's Longmeadow ground, a stadium that I last visited way back in August 2016 when I saw the local team beaten by an Amesbury side containing a few former Whitchurch players (Old Boys Return To Haunt Jam Boys).
Despite the fact that there were two divisions between the sides, in favour of Fleet, Andover had the pedigree in this competition. They won the first two competitions back in 2006 and 2007, and were hoping to make it a third this evening. That would equal the record of Winchester City Flyers, who Andover had knocked out on penalties to reach this final. That in itself was a great achievement for New Street because Winchester are currently members of the Southern Region Premier Division, three steps higher. Fleet, who have not had a great time in the league this season and are yet to pick up a point, appear to be a different proposition in cup games. They progressed to the final with a 2-1 defeat of fellow Southern Region team Rushmoor. BotP recently saw Fleet lose a league game at Stoneham (3-Star Marshall Leads Six-Shooters) a game where they were eventually beaten but showed enough to demonstrate their abilities against a side pushing for promotion.
A big thank you to match referee Anne-Marie Godfrey who kindly shared the team sheets with me prior to kick-off. Very much appreciated.
Despite the fact that there were two divisions between the sides, in favour of Fleet, Andover had the pedigree in this competition. They won the first two competitions back in 2006 and 2007, and were hoping to make it a third this evening. That would equal the record of Winchester City Flyers, who Andover had knocked out on penalties to reach this final. That in itself was a great achievement for New Street because Winchester are currently members of the Southern Region Premier Division, three steps higher. Fleet, who have not had a great time in the league this season and are yet to pick up a point, appear to be a different proposition in cup games. They progressed to the final with a 2-1 defeat of fellow Southern Region team Rushmoor. BotP recently saw Fleet lose a league game at Stoneham (3-Star Marshall Leads Six-Shooters) a game where they were eventually beaten but showed enough to demonstrate their abilities against a side pushing for promotion.
A big thank you to match referee Anne-Marie Godfrey who kindly shared the team sheets with me prior to kick-off. Very much appreciated.
New Street pressing Fleet had the advantage of the slight slope in the first half, something that they almost used to their advantage as early as the 4th minute when leading scorer Dot Usher got in behind the defence to slot home, only to find the assistant's flag already raised. The offside flag was to become something of a feature later in the first half, but it was a warning to Andover that Fleet had willing runners who posed a threat of getting in behind their defence.
Fleet continued to look threatening in the opening minutes. After 7 minutes Kira Barker's right-wing corner almost dipped in under Gemma Hough's bar before the keeper did well to palm it away, riding her luck a little that it didn't fall to a striker. However, a minute later, Town did take the lead and again it came from a right-wing corner. This time the ball went towards the back post where Emily White did really well to see Dot Usher on the edge of the box. The striker took aim and slotted it past Hough from 20 yards out. 1-0.
Fleet immediately upped the pace of their game and looked to be establishing themselves as the dominant side. A goal can really boost a team's confidence. However, Andover are no shrinking violets, and they steadied their ship after a few rocky minutes, before starting to push forward themselves.
Just past the quarter-hour mark came an Andover attack that culminated in one of the best saves I have seen for a long time. Raiding down the right flank, the ball was delivered high toward the far post where Freya Twigg rose to power a header downwards towards the bottom right-hand corner of Ellie James' goal. Somehow the Fleet stopper threw herself to her right, getting a strong hand to the ball and diverting over the bar. If you've ever seen the famous Banks save from Pele's header in 1970, it was not dissimilar. What a save!
Unfortunately for White, the euphoria of the save only lasted a matter of seconds. When the ensuing corner was delivered from the left, it was swung in towards the goal, deceiving goalkeeper and defenders alike. The ball was hacked away but not before the assistant had signalled that it had crossed the line. 1-1. There is some confusion (on my part) about the goal scorer for New Street. I originally thought it was number 14 who scored. However, on the official programme this number is given to Charlotte Graves. On the team sheet I had seen from the referee, it was Kiera Seabrook. However, the New Street Facebook page lists the scorer as Amelia, which still didn't clear it up, as there were two Amelia's on the team sheet, Payne and Riley. I'll be more than happy to edit this part when I find out more. Whatever the case, they were back on level terms.
As the opening goal had boosted Fleet, the equaliser did the same for Andover. Suddenly they looked the more dangerous of the teams. Although, having said that, the next notable strike did come from Fleet when Emma Hamer struck a long-range effort that Hough collected comfortably. It felt that every time Fleet did get a breakaway in this period, they were caught offside. There were at least six flags that went against them towards the latter part of the half.
Chloe Sheffield, Andover's number 9, then had a couple of half chances, the first going just wide of the mark and the second even close, hitting the side netting. In between Dot Usher did well to beat two players before firing her shot well wide, but neither side could muster another goal before the break.
HT Fleet Town 1 Andover New Street 1. A really good, competitive game between two fully committed sides. Fleet started very well and, for a few minutes looked as if they might run away with it. However, Andover came back at them well, scoring a deserved equaliser. From that point onwards, although it was reasonably even, New Street were probably just ahead on points.
Fleet continued to look threatening in the opening minutes. After 7 minutes Kira Barker's right-wing corner almost dipped in under Gemma Hough's bar before the keeper did well to palm it away, riding her luck a little that it didn't fall to a striker. However, a minute later, Town did take the lead and again it came from a right-wing corner. This time the ball went towards the back post where Emily White did really well to see Dot Usher on the edge of the box. The striker took aim and slotted it past Hough from 20 yards out. 1-0.
Fleet immediately upped the pace of their game and looked to be establishing themselves as the dominant side. A goal can really boost a team's confidence. However, Andover are no shrinking violets, and they steadied their ship after a few rocky minutes, before starting to push forward themselves.
Just past the quarter-hour mark came an Andover attack that culminated in one of the best saves I have seen for a long time. Raiding down the right flank, the ball was delivered high toward the far post where Freya Twigg rose to power a header downwards towards the bottom right-hand corner of Ellie James' goal. Somehow the Fleet stopper threw herself to her right, getting a strong hand to the ball and diverting over the bar. If you've ever seen the famous Banks save from Pele's header in 1970, it was not dissimilar. What a save!
Unfortunately for White, the euphoria of the save only lasted a matter of seconds. When the ensuing corner was delivered from the left, it was swung in towards the goal, deceiving goalkeeper and defenders alike. The ball was hacked away but not before the assistant had signalled that it had crossed the line. 1-1. There is some confusion (on my part) about the goal scorer for New Street. I originally thought it was number 14 who scored. However, on the official programme this number is given to Charlotte Graves. On the team sheet I had seen from the referee, it was Kiera Seabrook. However, the New Street Facebook page lists the scorer as Amelia, which still didn't clear it up, as there were two Amelia's on the team sheet, Payne and Riley. I'll be more than happy to edit this part when I find out more. Whatever the case, they were back on level terms.
As the opening goal had boosted Fleet, the equaliser did the same for Andover. Suddenly they looked the more dangerous of the teams. Although, having said that, the next notable strike did come from Fleet when Emma Hamer struck a long-range effort that Hough collected comfortably. It felt that every time Fleet did get a breakaway in this period, they were caught offside. There were at least six flags that went against them towards the latter part of the half.
Chloe Sheffield, Andover's number 9, then had a couple of half chances, the first going just wide of the mark and the second even close, hitting the side netting. In between Dot Usher did well to beat two players before firing her shot well wide, but neither side could muster another goal before the break.
HT Fleet Town 1 Andover New Street 1. A really good, competitive game between two fully committed sides. Fleet started very well and, for a few minutes looked as if they might run away with it. However, Andover came back at them well, scoring a deserved equaliser. From that point onwards, although it was reasonably even, New Street were probably just ahead on points.
Fleet go close The start of the second half was somewhat cagey with neither side wanting to make a mistake that would gift their opponents the lead. The first real chance after the break took around 10 minutes to arrive. That was when Fleet substitute Molly Greenaway burst through on the right hand side before blasting her shot wide of Hough's goal. A few minutes later, as the game began to open up again, Freya Twigg did really well on the left, before sending over a tempting ball that Chloe Sheffield, stretching, steered just past the far post. A few minutes after that, Twigg was at it again, this time cutting inside onto her right and letting fly, only for James to be well positioned to make the save.
A bouncing back pass under pressure on 65 minutes, gave Hough little choice than to handle, giving Fleet an indirect free-kick inside the New Street box. The resulting kick, blocked initially, found its way to Barker, but her effort was off target and New Street survived. That was for another four minutes. Then a piece of individual brilliance undid them. Dot Usher took it on herself to drive up the right before chopping back inside onto her left and then curling a delightful shot from the right-hand edge of the penalty area into the far corner. Not a hope for Hough as the ball sailed past her. A superb finish. 2-1
The goal sparked a response from Andover and in particular captain Nikki Barnes, who had buzzed around midfield all game, and striker Chloe Sheffield, who had also looked sharp all game. It was Sheffield who got in a 72nd minute snapshot that James did well to keep out. The New Street striker and the Fleet stopper had been having something of a duel most of the game. With 9 minutes to go they were both at it again, James once again coming to Fleet's rescue by foiling Sheffield.
With 5 minutes of normal time remaining New Street came close again, Naomi France-Sargeant's deflected strike causing James to scramble across her goal thankful to see the ball just go wide of the mark. There were a lot of tired legs out there now. Neither team had left anything out on the pitch. There was one final throw of the dice when Seagrave put a free-kick over the Fleet bar, before the referee signalled the end of the game.
FT Fleet Town 2 Andover New Street 1. This was as close as the final score suggests. I have been following the Southern Region League all season so, although I always try to remain impartial, I was pleased for the Fleet team at the final whistle. It's been a tough season and it was good to see them get some success. On the other hand, I was very impressed by New Street. There was no indication that they were two divisions below their opponents and, aside from clinical finishing and impressive goalkeeping from Fleet, the result could easily have gone the other way. The Andover team can hold their heads high. Best of luck to both teams in their remaining games.
If you want to catch them in action, both have games this coming Sunday. Fleet have a very difficult looking task as they welcome title favourites AFC Portchester to Crookham Road. Meanwhile, Andover New Street make the journey to second-from-bottom Wilbrook United.
Fleet Town: 1.James, 15.Benton, 2.Simpson, 10.White(c), 5.Fitzgerald, 6.Burrows, 18.Parry, 17.Lake, 14.Barker, 12.Usher, 11.Graves. Subs: 8.Greenaway, 16.Hamer
Andover New Street: 1.Hough, 2.Payne, 3.Groves, 4.Villiers, 5.Riley, 6.Williams, 7.Twigg, 8.Pearce, 9.Sheffield, 10.Barnes(c), 11.Holman. Subs: 12.France-Sargent, 14.Seabrook, 15.Ball, 16.Marsh, 17.Hill
Ground Number: Re-Visit
Attendance:
Entrance: £5.00
Programe: Included
A bouncing back pass under pressure on 65 minutes, gave Hough little choice than to handle, giving Fleet an indirect free-kick inside the New Street box. The resulting kick, blocked initially, found its way to Barker, but her effort was off target and New Street survived. That was for another four minutes. Then a piece of individual brilliance undid them. Dot Usher took it on herself to drive up the right before chopping back inside onto her left and then curling a delightful shot from the right-hand edge of the penalty area into the far corner. Not a hope for Hough as the ball sailed past her. A superb finish. 2-1
The goal sparked a response from Andover and in particular captain Nikki Barnes, who had buzzed around midfield all game, and striker Chloe Sheffield, who had also looked sharp all game. It was Sheffield who got in a 72nd minute snapshot that James did well to keep out. The New Street striker and the Fleet stopper had been having something of a duel most of the game. With 9 minutes to go they were both at it again, James once again coming to Fleet's rescue by foiling Sheffield.
With 5 minutes of normal time remaining New Street came close again, Naomi France-Sargeant's deflected strike causing James to scramble across her goal thankful to see the ball just go wide of the mark. There were a lot of tired legs out there now. Neither team had left anything out on the pitch. There was one final throw of the dice when Seagrave put a free-kick over the Fleet bar, before the referee signalled the end of the game.
FT Fleet Town 2 Andover New Street 1. This was as close as the final score suggests. I have been following the Southern Region League all season so, although I always try to remain impartial, I was pleased for the Fleet team at the final whistle. It's been a tough season and it was good to see them get some success. On the other hand, I was very impressed by New Street. There was no indication that they were two divisions below their opponents and, aside from clinical finishing and impressive goalkeeping from Fleet, the result could easily have gone the other way. The Andover team can hold their heads high. Best of luck to both teams in their remaining games.
If you want to catch them in action, both have games this coming Sunday. Fleet have a very difficult looking task as they welcome title favourites AFC Portchester to Crookham Road. Meanwhile, Andover New Street make the journey to second-from-bottom Wilbrook United.
Fleet Town: 1.James, 15.Benton, 2.Simpson, 10.White(c), 5.Fitzgerald, 6.Burrows, 18.Parry, 17.Lake, 14.Barker, 12.Usher, 11.Graves. Subs: 8.Greenaway, 16.Hamer
Andover New Street: 1.Hough, 2.Payne, 3.Groves, 4.Villiers, 5.Riley, 6.Williams, 7.Twigg, 8.Pearce, 9.Sheffield, 10.Barnes(c), 11.Holman. Subs: 12.France-Sargent, 14.Seabrook, 15.Ball, 16.Marsh, 17.Hill
Ground Number: Re-Visit
Attendance:
Entrance: £5.00
Programe: Included
One last free-kick for New Street
RSS Feed