Regional Leagues round-up…
East Midlands League
With league leaders Northampton Town not in action, Mansfield Town took the opportunity to narrow the gap on them to a single point with a 2-1 victory away to Rise Park. Chesterfield are a further two points adrift in third, they defeated Leicester City Ladies 7-1 thanks to a Georgia Willson hat-trick, Gina Camfield double, Hannah Baker and Kelly Fidler.
Natasha Leach netted twice and Eve Shaw the other as Division One North table toppers Arnold Eagles won 3-1 against St Josephs Rockware of Worksop, whose reply came from Ellie Sims. Grimsby Town remain a single point behind in second after they beat Sherwood FC Women 5-2, and Nottingham Trent University completed a good day for the top three in the division with a 5-0 victory over Notts County Development, Elizabeth Stocks bagging a brace with Alice Rogers, Grace Miller and Julia Kings adding the others.
Derby County Academy power on at the top of Division One South, increasing their lead over second placed Anstey Nomads after beating them 4-2. Marli Rhodes-Andrews (2), Holly Otter and Kelsey Wragg netted the goals for Derby. Isabella Hodson (2), Olivia Standeven, Molly Towers and Jessica Abdy accounted for the goals as Nottingham Forest Development won 5-2 away to Loughborough Foxes Vixens to stay third, just ahead of Oadby & Wigston who defeated Leicester Road 3-0 thanks to an Emma Aspinall brace and Samantha Hargrave. Thrapston Town and Ilkeston Town battled out a goalless draw and Kettering Town ran out 3-0 winners over Peterborough Utd Res.
Eastern Region League
One match was played in the league over the weekend, in Division One South where Hutton defeated Herts Vipers Women 3-1 to move to within three points of the leadership. A win would have taken the Vipers level on points with leaders Leigh Ramblers but a double from Lauren Knight, along with an own goal, saw Hutton to victory despite a reply from Gracie Manning.
London & South East League
Ashford Town (Middlesex) are back on top of the Premier Division following their 1-1 draw with Fulham FC Women. Ellie Olds gave Fulham the lead early in the second half, with Alissa Down equalising ten minutes later to preserve their unbeaten record and move above Dartford on goal difference. New London Lionesses suffered a setback as they were beaten 3-1 by Dulwich Hamlet, courtesy of a Sophie Manzi brace and Asia Brown. Katie Cooper, Shawna Harvey, Sophie Humphrey, Emily Linscer and Rebecca Simmons accounted for the goals as Worthing FC Women defeated Whyteleafe 5-0 and Denham Utd are off the bottom of the table at the expense of Saltdean Utd by winning their meeting 4-3, Lauren Cox netting twice along with Millie Congerton and Annie Hewitt.
In Division One South, Ashford Ladies closed the gap on leaders AFC Acorns to two points following their 9-2 success away to Maidstone Utd. Rebecca Wyatt was on target five times along with Katie Hardaker (2), Yasmin Howard and Jade Steadman. Herne Bay are a point behind in third, they also won 9-2 against Meridian Ladies. Gemma Shepherd bagged a four-goal haul, Elena Brock hit a hat-trick while Lauren Williams and an own goal completed the tally. Newhaven meanwhile ran out 4-1 winners away to Parkwood Rangers with a goal apiece from Katie Franks, Charlotte Markham, Tara Reid and Lauren Smith.
North East League
Wallsend Boys Club have moved into fifth place in the Premier Division after winning 3-2 against Farsley Celtic in the only match to be played. Jessica Ellison, Eleanor Regan and Mia Darling were all on target for Wallsend, with Jessica Heald and Rachael White replying.
Blyth Town have edged further clear at the top of the Northern Division following their 2-2 draw with Wallsend BC Res. Steph Ord scored both goals for Blyth, who now have a lead of four points, whilst Wallsend netted through Rachel Hepple and Shaunie McFall. Third placed West Allotment Celtic received a setback when they were beaten 3-1 by Washington Association, for whom Abbey Howarth netted twice along with Hannah Dixon.
North West League
Tranmere Rovers moved to within two points of the leadership in the Premier Division following their 3-1 victory away to AFC Darwen. Fleetwood Town Wrens replaced Crewe Alexandra in third place, albeit ten points adrift, after winning their meeting 3-2. At the other end of the table, Mossley Hill picked up three valuable points via a 3-2 success away to Wigan Athletic.
Blackpool remain as leaders in Division One North, now on goal difference, after they battled out a 2-2 draw with Penrith AFC. Chloe Warbrick and Molly Kelly scored the goals for Blackpool who head the table from Blackburn Community SC, who were 1-0 winners away to Penwortham Town. Blackburn were the only team in the top half of the table to win on Sunday, third placed Workington Reds becoming the first team to take points off Haslingden by holding them to a 1-1 draw with Hayley Bracken scoring their goal. The point take Haslingden above Chorley Women Development who were beaten 1-0 by Accrington Stanley. Morecambe Res and Preston North End also finished level at 1-1 and Sir Tom Finney won 5-1 away to Carlisle Utd, Rhiannon Davies hitting a hat-trick with Scarlett Dawson and Katie Green adding the others.
One match was played in Division One South, Wythenshawe Amateurs lifting themselves into a mid-table position after beating Hindley Juniors Women 3-1.
South West League
Torquay Utd have pushed themselves firmly into the title race in recent weeks and they are now only three points off the pace after winning 6-1 away to Middlezoy Rovers on Sunday. Esme Kilburn-Thompson and Ellie Bishop each scored twice for the Gulls along with Beth Everson and Roisin Payne, whilst the home side's consolation came from Chloe Snook. Wootton Bassett Town suffered a blow to their challenge though as they were beaten 3-1 by Forest Green Rovers who are up to sixth. Zoe Boyd, Charlie Rowlands and Hattie Jones were all on target for Forest Green, with Lani Dickinson replying. Bishop's Lydeard meanwhile scored five times without reply past Bideford, Caitlin Berry hitting a hat-trick with Holly Meakins and Shelby Overington adding the others.
Oldland Abbotonians became the first team to beat Bristol Rovers in a league game when they defeated them 1-0 on Sunday. Amy Street scored the only goal of the game to give Oldland a fine victory against the runaway Northern Division leaders. Defeat is highly unlikely to affect Rovers in the long term as they remain five points away from winning the title. Almondsbury did trim their advantage to twelve points, the second placed side winning 1-0 away to Weston-super-Mare with Amy Jefferies on target. Bristol Ladies Union meanwhile leapfrogged Frampton Rangers into third with a 1-0 victory in a closely fought match between the two sides, which was settled by a second half goal from Hannah Price.
In the solitary game to be played in the Eastern Division, Swindon Town Development narrowed the gap on leaders Keynsham Town to six points by winning 4-0 away to Chipping Sodbury Town. Amelia Dudding was on target twice for Swindon along with Phoebe McGouran and Victoria Taylor.
Plymouth Argyle U23 hold on to the leadership of the Western Division following their 1-1 draw against Liskeard Athletic. Jasmine Allen was on target for Plymouth, whilst Samantha Reid scored Liskeard's goal from the penalty spot. Feniton have gone level on points with Argyle after a Brittany Harris double and Megan Williams gave them a 3-1 win away to Saltash Utd, whose consolation came from Dee Newman. Helston Athletic remain in third but are just one point off the pace, they ran out 4-1 victors at Liverton Utd thanks to Sasha Sparkes (2), Eve-Charlotte Moore and Beth Prouse.
Southern Region League
Katie Shorter and Charley Wilson both scored hat-tricks as Moneyfields stormed to an emphatic victory away to Oxford City. Sophie Kingsley-Cabell, Roxanne Lee-Stewart, Kirsty Pearce and Kim Whitcombe weighed in with the other goals for the Moneys as they preserved their lead of two points from Abingdon Utd, who won their local derby 4-0 against Abingdon Town. Charlotte Deeney netted twice for United, with Molly Lygo-Jackson and Abbie Smith also on target. Alix Todd (2) and Laura Spark netted the goals as fourth placed Ascot Utd won 3-1 at Winchester City Flyers, to keep themselves just in front of Eastleigh who beat Wycombe Wanderers 5-1 thanks to a Gabrielle Ewing hat-trick, Lauren Hill and Kau'Inohea Taylor.
AFC Bournemouth Development have surged further clear in Division One, opening up a lead of nine points after Hannah Hughes scored the only goal of the game in their 1-0 win away to New Milton Town. Bournemouth Sports replaced AFC Stoneham in second place by winning their meeting 2-0 thanks to Becky Miles and Sian Tilly. Rebekah Pantony netted the goal as Eversley & California beat Chichester City 1-0 and Southampton Women Res defeated Milton Utd 4-1 with strikes from Siena Millen, Manisha Kaur, Phoebe Hamilton and Amanda Jones.
West Midlands League
Lichfield City are on top of the Premier Division after scoring ten times without reply against Coventry Sphinx. Courtney Dilger hit a hat-trick whilst Shelbie Cartwright, Natasha Lawrence and Lyndsey Ross-Baker all scored twice and Alicia Bailes was also on target. Rhiannon Bate and Katie Priest netted the goals as Lye Town beat Coundon Court 2-1 whilst Redditch Utd were 4-1 winners over City of Stoke, Nieve Newman bagging a brace along with Aimee Ballantyne and Naeve Foy.
Shifnal Town remain in front in Division One North following their 3-1 success at Coventry City, given to them by a Rebecca-Lee Bown hat-trick. Shrewsbury Town made sure of staying on their heels by beating Wyrley Ladies 4-1, courtesy of a goal apiece from Zoe Child, Madison Jones, Shannon McShane and Paris Schofield. AFC Telford Utd lost ground on the top two when they went down 2-0 to Darlaston Town, whose goals came from Kelly Shirley and Emily Smith. Macy Isherwood scored twice as Port Vale defeated Sandwell Ladies 4-1, Hollie Edwards and Tara Harrison joining her on the scoresheet.
In the only match to be played in Division One South, Rugby Borough climbed up to sixth place in the table on the back of a 4-1 victory away to Droitwich Spa. Megan Board (2), Sydnee Lowe and Cammie Tarrant netted their goals, with Mia Bowen replying.
