National League round-up
League Plate
Alnwick Town went through to the quarter finals of the League Plate with something of a surprise 2-0 victory over Leeds Utd. Michelle Stewart gave Alnwick the lead midway through the first half, with Lucy McConnell adding the second after the break. Alnwick will be at home to Nottingham Forest in the last eight.
Northern Premier Division
Fylde Women held on to the leadership of the Northern Premier Division after Derby County were beaten 3-2 by Wolverhampton Wanderers. The result means that the Coasters stay top on goal difference whilst Wolves stepped up their title challenge against one of their main rivals. Amber Hughes, Tammi George and Anna Morphet were all on target for Wolves, whilst the Ewe Rams' replies came from Emelia Wilson and Sherry McCue.
Huddersfield Town meanwhile climbed up to third after second half goals from Laura Elford and Ria Montgomery gave them a 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough.
Nottingham Forest returned to winning ways with a 1-0 success away to Stoke City, Rachel Brown scoring the only goal of the game early in the second half.
Brighouse Town continue to have a good season and they enhanced their hopes of a top half place by running out 5-0 winners over Hull City. Leah Embley led the scoring with a hat-trick and she was joined on the scoresheet by Cara Fields and Darcie Greene.
Sheffield FC and Loughborough Lightning met in an important clash at the other end of the table and the honours were shared with a 1-1 draw. Olivia Harness was on target for Sheffield, whilst Loughborough netted through Nicola Russell.
Southern Premier Division
Ipswich Town stayed six points clear at the top of the Southern Premier Division after they won 5-2 away to Keynsham Town. Lucy O'Brien had a good day in front of goal for the Tractor Girls as she scored a hat-trick, with Paige Peake and Anna Grey also on target, whilst Keynsham's replies came from Justine Lorton and Laura Williams.
Oxford Utd maintained the chase in second with a 3-0 victory over Chichester & Selsey. Sarah King and Carly Johns ensured that the U's were two goals ahead at half time, with Beth Lumsden adding the third after the break.
Bridgwater Utd narrowed the gap on the top three, thanks to a 2-0 success against Milton Keynes Dons. Substitute Chloe Gilroy was the heroine on the day for Bridgwater as she scored both goals during the last twenty minutes.
A 3-0 win away to Hounslow Women keeps Gillingham in fifth place, one point behind Bridgwater. The Gills led by two goals at the break thanks to Vicky Ashton-Jones and Amy Russ, before Mary Bashford rounded off the scoring early in the second half.
London Bees leapfrogged Crawley Wasps in the table after winning their meeting 2-1. Jo Wilson and Courtnay Ward-Chambers were on target for the Bees with first half strikes, with Ellie Russell replying.
Plymouth Argyle kept up their revival with a third victory in a row, 2-1against Cardiff City Ladies. All of the goals came late in the game, Chloe Lloyd giving Cardiff the lead from the penalty spot before Argyle hit back to take the points with strikes from Kayley Lane and Mari Ward.
Division One North
Newcastle Utd have taken over at the top of the table following their 6-1 victory away to Bradford City. Katie Barker led the scoring with a hat-trick while Beth Guy, Lauren Robson and Rebecca Ferguson accounted for the others.
Durham Cestria returned from Barnsley with a 3-0 win under their belts. Jordan Atkinson bagged a brace inside the opening twenty minutes, with Amy Hargrave adding the third goal on the hour.
Sacha Millward scored a goal in each half to earn Norton & Stockton Ancients a 2-1 success at Stockport County, whose consolation came from Emily Bradshaw.
Division One Midlands
Doncaster Rovers Belles further extended their lead to eight points as they stormed to a 9-2 victory away to Leek Town. Jasmine Saxton kept up her good form in front of goal by netting four times and she was joined on the scoresheet by Sophie Bell, Jessica Price, Lindsey Tugby, Lauren Breen and Nadia Khan. Katie Maya and Naomi Sale-Hancock scored consolations for Leek.
Second placed Long Eaton Utd suffered a setback as they went down to a 1-0 defeat at home to Peterborough Utd, Jessica Driscoll scoring the only goal of the game.
Boldmere St Michaels moved above Lincoln City into third place after winning their meeting 2-1. Chloe Bickley and Lois Jefferies were on target for the Mikes, whilst the home side's reply came from Toni McHamilton.
Sporting Khalsa meanwhile won 2-1 away to Bedworth Utd, to lift themselves up to sixth place in the table. Sarah Hazell and Olivia Woolston netted the goals for Khalsa, with Milly Miller responding.
Honours were even at Wem Town where the home side's clash with Solihull Moors ended goalless, which means that both sides remain outside of the bottom three places.
Burton Albion picked up three valuable points when beating Leafield Athletic 2-1. Ella Ritchie and Milly Wortley were both on target for the Lady Brewers, with Daisy-Mai Clements replying.
Division One South East
The title race took another twist on the weekend as leaders Hashtag Utd went down to their second defeat of the season, beaten 2-1 by AFC Wimbledon. Ashlee Hincks and Rebecca Carter were on target for the Dons, whilst the Tags' consolation came from Sasha Adamson.
Defeat for Hashtag means that Billericay Town have narrowed the gap on them to a single point, courtesy of a 2-0 success away to London Seaward. Shannah Drewe and Rebecca May netted the goals to get Billericay's challenge back on course.
Actonians Ladies came off the back of a bad week to run out 6-0 winners over Norwich City and maintain their hold on third place. Beatriz Pinto Correia gave Actonians an eleventh minute lead and after half time, Maria Ledezma-Viso hit a hat-trick and Sharon Odofin added the other two goals.
Queen's Park Rangers made it four wins out of five with a 4-0 victory at Cambridge Utd. Vicky Grieve opened the scoring for Rangers, with Demi Edwards netting a goal in each half and Melanie Hall wrapped up the win with seventeen minutes remaining.
Enfield Town were another team to notch up a 4-0 win away from home, at the expense of Stevenage Women. Leah Littlechild was on target twice, to add to further goals from Katie O'Leary and Che Thomas.
The win keeps Enfield ahead on goal difference from Harlow Town, who also picked up a vital result on a day when five of the six results were away wins. Olivia Bilson scored the only goal of the game for Harlow with ten minutes remaining.
Division One South West
In the only match to be played in the league on the weekend, Cheltenham Town opened up a lead of eight points at the top of the table by winning 4-0 away to Larkhall Athletic. Amy Wathan opened the scoring for Cheltenham six minutes before half time and after the break, Lacy-Jai Liggett doubled their lead and they went on to add further goals through Jade Grove and Emily Owen.
Midweek round-up...
On Wednesday night, Derby County went two points ahead in the Northern Premier Division with a 5-0 victory over Stoke City. Precious Hamilton hit a hat-trick with further goals from Jade Formaston and Ellie Gilliatt. Fylde Women twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Burnley FC Women, who went ahead through Millie Ravening and Evie Priestley, with Amy Hughes and Faye McCoy scoring equalisers. Amber Hughes, Tammi George and Jade Cross kept up Wolverhampton Wanderers’ challenge by winning 3-0 at West Bromwich Albion and Brighouse Town beat Huddersfield Town 1-0 with an own goal dividing the teams on the night.
Southern Premier Division leaders Ipswich Town were held to a goalless draw by fifth placed Gillingham, who once again proved a tough nut to crack for the top sides. Southampton FC Women meanwhile stepped up their challenge with an eight goal blast against Chichester & Selsey including a hat-trick from Sophia Pharoah. Lucia Kendall, Georgie Freeland, Shannon Sievwright, Katie Rood and Ciara Watling weighed in with the other goals. London Bees kept up their good form by beating Hounslow Women 5-0 with goals from Jo Wilson (2), Courtnay Ward-Chambers, Ashleigh Goddard and Flo Gamby.
Meanwhile in Division One South West, Chesham Utd returned to the top half of the table with a 4-1 victory in their local derby away to Maidenhead Utd, although it wasn’t quite enough to take them above their opponents on goal difference. Maidenhead did take a third minute lead through Simone O’Brien but Kim Farrow quickly levelled and after Natasha Smith had put Chesham ahead, Gemma Fraser went on to seal the points for her side with two further goals.
Reserve Section round-up...
Huddersfield Town emerged as narrow 3-2 winners over Chorley to book their place in the semi finals of the Reserves Cup. Tara Duce and Alice Linsell scored injury time goals to turn the match in Town's favour and added to an earlier strike from Sian Gibrill-Keating, whilst Chorley netted through Millie Edwards and Taylor Howarth. Wolverhampton Wanderers meanwhile defeated West Bromwich Albion by the same scoreline, Daisy Wickett, Chantelle Teare and Harriett Wellings all scoring for Wolves whilst Albion's replies came from Natasha Bailey and Olivia Stubbs. Southampton FC Women kept up their winning run by beating AFC Wimbledon 5-0, with Hannah Jeffrey and Kaylee Buckingham each netting twice along with an own goal. Enfield Town complete the semi final after they won on penalties against Crystal Palace, Claire Huggins having scored Enfield's goal as the match finished level at 1-1.
Stockport County edged through to the last four in the Reserves Plate, thanks to a 2-1 success away to Leeds Utd. Megan Bradley and Lucy Unwin accounted for Stockport's goals, whilst the home side's consolation came from Abbie Langstaff. Loughborough Lightning meanwhile got past Sporting Khalsa on a penalty shootout, after the teams had battled out a 1-1 draw. Molly Thompson had netted for Khalsa, whilst Loughborough scored through Millie Quaintance. Adenya Henry and Neave Wilson were the markswomen for Watford in their 2-1 victory over Cambridge City, whose reply came from Jessica Wood.
Brighouse Town ran out 4-1 winners over Bradford City in the only match played in the Northern Division on Sunday. Imogen Porteous-Williams spearheaded the win by hitting a hat-trick and Cara Mahoney was also on target, with Valeria Martin replying.
There was also one game in the Midland Division, at Lincoln City where the home side battled out a 1-1 draw with Doncaster Rovers Belles, whose goal was scored by Jessica Woods.
London Bees have climbed up into second place in the South Central Division, after they raced to a 5-1 victory away to London Seaward.
