FA Women’s National League round-up
Northern Premier Division
After having lost their unbeaten record the previous Sunday, leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers returned to form with a 3-0 win away to Loughborough Lightning which keeps them three points clear at the top. Anna Morphet gave Wolves a first half lead from the penalty spot and they went on to add further goals either side of half time from Amber Hughes and Tammi George.
Derby Connty also bounced back from a defeat to record a 3-0 victory, the second placed Ewe Rams winning against Huddersfield Town. Sophie Domingo opened the scoring two minutes before half time and a second half brace from Ellie Gilliatt sealed a fine result for Derby.
Fylde Women kept themselves in the running by winning 1-0 at Brighouse Town. Faye McCoy scored the only goal of the game for the Coasters who remain five points off the pace.
Nottingham Forest are a further point adrift in fourth following their 2-0 victory over Stoke City. Both goals came inside the opening quarter of the game, Rosie Axten giving Forest the lead an Gianna Mitchell adding the second.
West Bromwich Albion made it two successive victories when they defeated Hull City 4-2. Shannon Stamps was on target twice for mid-Albion along with Hayley Crackle and Leigh Dugmore, whilst Hull's replies came from Rachael Ackroyd and Liberty Bott.
The Middlesbrough revival continues! A 2-1 win against Sheffield FC has now taken them out of the bottom three places at the expense of Loughborough Lightning. Armani Maxwell and Eve Marshall scored the goals for rejuvenated 'Boro, with Brooke Marsden replying.
Southern Premier Division
The title race took a huge twist on Sunday and it could hardly have been a better day for leaders Ipswich Town. Ahead of this week's Vitality Women's FA Cup quarter final, the Tractor Girls increased their lead to four points with a 3-0 victory away to Cardiff City Ladies thanks to a brace from Anna Grey, plus a Zoe Barratt goal.
Second placed Oxford Utd meanwhile received a huge blow to their title challenge when they went down to a surprise 1-0 defeat at Milton Keynes Dons, who continued their climb towards safety, The Dons have done well against the leading sides in previous meetings this season and a goal from Sofia Stovold gave them their best result of the season so far.
Southampton FC Women also lost ground as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Bridgwater Utd. Ella Pusey looked to have given the Saints another victory when she gave them the lead just before the hour mark but with minutes remaining, Chloe Gilroy grabbed an equaliser for Bridgwater.
Gillingham produced a strong performance as they scored eight times without reply against Keynsham Town. Melanie Espinosa gave a dominant display in the centre of midfield and topped this off with a hat-trick, with further goals being added by Amy Russ, Kara Fordjour, Megan Maslak, Phoebe Leitch and Breon Grant.
Crawley Wasps are back in the top six following their 7-1 victory away to Hounslow Women. The home side did register their first league goal of the season through Shazelle Pascall-Louis but this was a consolation as Iesha Swaby netted four times for Crawley along with a Natasha Stephens brace and Florence Jackson.
A first half hat-trick from Shannon Albuery carried Portsmouth on their way towards a 4-0 success at London Bees. Anaisa Harney added the fourth on the hour mark to help move Pompey to within a single point of the Bees, with both teams in mid-table.
Plymouth Argyle meanwhile recovered from an early setback to win 2-1 against Chichester & Selsey for a huge boost in their fight to stay up. Sophie Phelps put Chichester ahead with two minutes on the clock but Natasha Knapman equalised deep in first half injury time and Jemma Rose scored on the hour to hand Argyle a valuable victory.
Division One North
Liverpool Feds held on the leadership with a 4-0 victory against Alnwick Town. Paige Cole gave the Feds a first half lead and they went on to seal the points after the break, thanks to a Demi Devereaux double and Beth Donoghue.
Newcastle Utd stayed the Feds' heels and remain two points after also winning 4-0 against Norton & Stockton Ancients. Lauren Robson was on target twice for the Magpies along with Katie Barker and Georgia Gibson.
Leeds Utd cemented themselves in third place with a 2-1 success away to Durham Cestria. Jennifer Knowles had given the Wildcats a first half lead but after the break, Leeds hit back with a Laura Bartup brace to put a gap of four points between the teams.
Bradford City stretched their unbeaten league run to five matches and are only two points off fifth place following a 3-2 win at Stockport County. Charlotte Stuart netted a goal in each half for Bradford and Emma Elliot was also on target, after Stockport had led at the interval thanks to Jess Battle and Maria Figueiredo.
Barnsley and Chorley met for the second successive Sunday and this time the points were shared as they finished level at 3-3. Emily Pierrepoint, Eve Marshall and Courteney Csomor all scored to give Barnsley an important point whilst Chorley, who drew for the seventh time this season, netted through a Ellie Cleary double and a Laura Walker penalty.
Division One Midlands
Boldmere St Michaels maintained their lead at the top of the table by beating Leafield Athletic 5-0. Lois Jefferies, Jessica Lundie, Tanya Dickinson, Katie George and Lauren Da'Casto all scored for the Mikes.
Doncaster Rovers Belles had pulled level on points with the Mikes the day before after they also ran out 5-0 winners against Burton Albion at the Eco-Power Stadium. Lauren Breen was on target twice for the Belles along with Jessica Andrew, Nadia Khan and Jasmine Saxton.
Lincoln City are keeping up the chase in third, they won 3-2 away to Wem Town. Toni McHamilton and Sophie Williams both scored for Lincoln along with an own goal, whilst Wem's replies came from Laura Morris and Laura Pennington.
Peterborough Utd and Leek Town have both done well in their first season in the league and they shared the points with a 1-1 draw on Sunday. Cassie Hyde gave Leek the lead after ten minutes and they remained in front until eight minutes from time, when Kier Perkins scored an equaliser.
Solihull Moors are up into sixth place following their 3-0 victory against Bedworth Utd. Leah Sievwright bagged a brace for the second successive Sunday, whilst Jessica Lowe added the other goal.
Division One South East
Leaders Hashtag Utd did not play on Sunday and their advantage was trimmed to four points by Billericay Town, who defeated Actonians Ladies 3-1. Jay Blackie, Logan O'Shea and Zoe Rushen all scored for Billericay, with Meila D'Santos replying.
AFC Wimbledon kept their hopes alive by beating Enfield Town 1-0 at Plough Lane. Hannah Billingham scored the only goal of the game for the Dons, early in the second half.
Three second half goals saw Queen's Park Rangers to a 3-1 victory over Harlow Town. Melanie Hall, Laura Hennessy and Jessica Francis-Weir were all on target for Rangers, with Harlow's consolation coming from Billie Brooks.
Bronwyn Mulheron was on target for Cambridge City as they won 1-0 against Kent Football Utd, to move themselves back towards mid-table.
Stevenage Women completed a full set of home victories on the day, giving their survival hopes a boost with a 2-1 defeat of Norwich City. Amy Makewell netted both goals for Stevenage, whilst Millie Daviss replied for Norwich.
Division One South West
Cheltenham Town have taken an advantage in the title race after beating AFC Bournemouth 2-1 in their top of the table clash. Charlotte Criddle gave Cheltenham a first half lead and Tamzin Hayward added a second after the break, before Katie James netted an injury time consolation for the Cherries.
Chesham Utd remain in third place following their 4-1 victory over Larkhall Athletic. Rhian Robbins did give the Larks a first half lead but Gemma Fraser brought the teams level before the break and in the second half, goals from Emma Bebbington, Anneka Nuttall and Erin Price sealed the points for Chesham.
Exeter City continue to catch up their games and kept themselves in the hunt, thanks to a 3-0 success away to Maidenhead Utd. Anthea Kaptein and Connie Pengelly put Exeter two ahead inside the opening seven minutes and Sarah Stacey wrapped up the win with the third goal during the second half.
Midweek round-up...
Brighouse Town brought Burnley FC Women's recent good run to a halt in the Northern Premier Division when they defeated them 3-1. Isobel Dean, Cara Fields and Lucy Sowerby all scored for Brighouse before the Clarets grabbed a late consolation through Olivia Wilson.
Newcastle Utd went to the top of Division One North after they defeated Chester-le-Street Town 3-0. All of the goals came in the first half, Olivia Watt's early header being added to by Lauren Robson and Erin Nelson.
Boldmere St Michaels meanwhile came from a goal behind to win 2-1 at Sporting Khalsa and open up a lead of six points in Division One Midlands. Angelique Morley gave Khalsa the lead during the first half but Boldmere hit back for a crucial win thanks to Tanya Dickinson and Lois Jefferies.
Reserve Section round-up...
A 4-1 victory away to Hull City keeps Chorley five points clear at the top of the Northern Division. Taylor Howarth netted two of the goals for Chorley, with Leah Carlin and Leah Collins also on target. Laura Hulme (2), Sian Gibrill-Keating and Falone Sumaili netted the goals as Huddersfield Town won 4-2 at Durham Cestria to stay second, just ahead of Stockport County who also won 4-2 against Leeds Utd thanks to a Megan Bradley brace, Madi Hudson and Elle Turner. Liverpool Feds moved back into mid-table by scoring five times without reply away to Middlesbrough.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have clinched the Midland Division title following their 3-2 victory away to Stoke City. Harriett Wellings, Lauren Riley and Nyah Edwards were all on target for Wolves, whilst Stoke's replies came from Lily Jackson and Jessica Smith. Loughborough Lightning's hopes of a second place finish were not helped as they drew 3-3 with Leicester City. Ciara Albas-Martin and Mathilda Finburgh scored for Loughborough along with an own goal, while Leicester netted through a Monique Price brace and Tara Kirk. Minnie Cottrell and Jessica Hood gave West Bromwich Albion a 2-1 win against Lincoln City and Georgia Brannon scored to earn Doncaster Rovers Belles a 1-1 draw against Sporting Khalsa.
Just two points cover the top four in the South East Division, still headed by Hashtag Utd who did not play. A win would have taken West Ham Utd top but they were beaten 5-4 by Milton Keynes Dons who join the Hammers on 21 points as do Cambridge City after they won 3-2 against Norwich City with goals from Shannon Shaw (2) and Madelaine McInnes. Abbi Griffin netted twice and Niamh Day the other for Cambridge Utd in their 3-1 victory away to Watford.
Charlton Athletic have gone three points clear at the top of the South Central Division following their 2-0 victory away to London Bees, given to them by Amelia Montaque and Honor Norton. Chloe Gibney bagged a four-goal haul and Khyri McKenzie was also on target as AFC Wimbledon went third by beating London Seaward 5-2.
Southampton FC Women are on the brink of the South West Division title after a goal midway through the first half from Rebecca Quinn gave them a 1-0 win away to London City Lionesses. Bridgwater Utd replaced the Lionesses in second place by beating Chichester & Selsey 8-1 and they are the only team which can still mathematically catch Southampton. Niamh Nicholls and Maya Kendell each netted twice for Bridgwater along with Ellie-Mae Bell, Brooke Stirrup, Carmen Morison and Clarissa Jackson.
