Regional Leagues round-up…
East Midlands League
Chesterfield have opened up a lead of three points after goals from Millie Standen, Georgia Willson and Emily Mapley-Sims gave them a 3-0 victory over Notts County. Lincoln Utd kept themselves in the running with an 11-1 win away to Rise Park, in which Abigail Murrell was on target five times along with Lauren Churcher (2), Olivia Smith (2), Lucy Farrow and an own goal. Millie Kenyon hit a hat-trick, with Amber Zakria and Emily Fowler adding the others, as Oughtibridge WM ran out 5-1 winners over Loughborough Students and Rotherham Utd beat Leicester City Ladies 6-2 thanks to a Leanne Carter hat-trick, Amelia Beckett double and Dina Sarayreh.
Grimsby Town have climbed up to second place in Division One North and narrowed the gap on leaders Arnold Eagles to four points after beating Nottingham Trent University 7-2. Beth Wharton was on target four times for Grimsby along with Emily Blyth (2) and Amber Sharp. The two teams at the foot of the table met each other and the points were shared as Cleethorpes Town and Sherwood FC Women finished level at 1-1, Mikaela Noriega scoring for Sherwood.
In Division One South, Anstey Nomads moved to within three points of leaders Derby County Academy with a 2-1 win away to Thrapston Town, Carmelina Colangelo and Danielle Tannahill scoring their goals. Jessica Shaw bagged a brace for Nottingham Forest Development as they beat Ilkeston Town 2-1 and Kettering Town edged out Loughborough Foxes Vixens by the odd goal in seven, courtesy of Jo Brandon, Amy Findlay, Samantha Redfern-Christie and Sophie Till. Coalville Town Ravenettes meanwhile climbed off the bottom of the table after a goal from Aleksandra Wawrzycka gave them a 1-0 victory at Peterborough Utd Res.
Eastern Region League
Newly crowned Champions Wymondham Town finished off their successful league campaign by sharing a goalless draw with AFC Dunstable. Royston Town are still in the driving seat for the runners-up spot but as many as five other teams are still in contention, including Bedford Ladies who were 3-0 winners at Wroxham thanks to Jasmine Ajayi, Natasha Fensome and Ella Meadowcroft. Luton Town hosted Bowers & Pitsea at Kenilworth Road and won 3-0 with goals from Leyah Maddix, Lil Sanders and Olivia Abraham, and Colney Heath remained in the running with a 7-1 victory away to King's Lynn Town.
One other match was played in the league on Sunday, in Division One South where Wodson Park leapfrogged East Bergholt Utd.in the table after winning their meeting 3-2.
London & South East League
Ashford Town (Middlesex) were four points away from lifting the title following their 2-0 victory against Dulwich Hamlet. Lavana Neufville and Ashley Cheatley scored the goals to keep Ashford on top of the table on goal difference from Dartford, who were 1-0 winners at Fulham FC Women thanks to Emily Vaughan. Alex Witham scored the goal for Aylesford which earned them a 1-1 draw against third placed Worthing FC Women, for whom Rebecca Bell was on target. Saltdean Utd meanwhile climbed off the bottom of the table by beating New London Lionesses 5-0, Georgia Bridges was on target twice along with Niamh Andersson, Billie Phillpot and Chloe Winchester.
Things remain extremely close in Division One North and the top three are now level on points, still headed by Dulwich Hamlet Res on goal difference but now joined by Dorking Wanderers after they won 4-1 against Sutton Utd, courtesy of a goal apiece from Xayla-Rae Alberts, Charlotte Blunt, Alice Bowles and Charlotte Keenan. Hackney meanwhile kept themselves in the running by beating Walton Casuals 4-0, with Kea Felix, Amy Nicholson and Helen King all scoring along with an own goal.
AFC Acorns stay five points clear at the top of Division One South after scoring nine times without reply past Newhaven. Eleanor Killick-Bird led the scoring with a hat-trick and there were doubles from Sami Phillips, Samantha Rowland and Lauren Tyler. Second placed Hastings Utd, who have two games in hand, stepped up their challenge by beating Parkwood Rangers 3-0 with a Georgia Tibble hat-trick. Rebecca Wyatt meanwhile scored for Ashford Ladies as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Welling Utd, who netted through Grace Laverick.
North East League
Leaders York City did not play on Sunday but stay seven points clear after Harrogate Town were beaten 2-0 by Ossett Utd, who scored through Eleanor Betteridge and Chelsea Schofield. Redcar Town lost ground when they went down 4-1 to South Shields and they sit one point ahead of Wakefield Trinity who powered to a 10-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday. Neve Renwick bagged a four-goal haul, Chelsea Pilmer and Shirley Murphy each netted twice and the tally was completed by Emily Heckler and Danielle Biglin. Sunderland West End were 2-1 winners over Wallsend Boys Club and Farsley Celtic beat Hartlepool Utd 2-1 thansk to Rachael White and Hannah Brierley.
Northern Division leaders Blyth Town shared a 1-1 draw with Chester-le-Street Utd and saw their advantage trimmed to three points. Ailsa Swinburne scored an equaliser for Blyth with nine minutes remaining, after Sarah Hutchieson had put the home side in front. Second placed Boro Rangers meanwhile defeated Bishop Auckland 2-0 with a first half brace from Eve Jackson. Rachel Hepple scored the only goal of the game for Wallsend BC Res in their 1-0 win away to Norton & Stockton Ancients Res and Washington Association beat Spennymoor Town by the same scoreline, courtesy of a goal from Freya Martin. Guisborough Town continue to improve and they shared a 3-3 draw with West Allotment Celtic, whose scorers were Hannah Dodds, Chloe Flannaghan and Megan Hindmarsh.
Hull Utd are the Champions of the Southern Division, putting themselves beyond the reach of their rivals with a 2-1 at York RI. Tonya Wild-Storr and Lauren Tate scored the all-important goals for Hull, with Jodie Langstaff replying. Defeat for York RI means that Altofts Ladies have replaced them in second place after Emily Scott, Nadine Bates, Emma Dobson, Naomi Malcolm and Nicola Smith gave them a 5-1 victory over Wakefield Trinity U23.
North West League
Merseyrail Ladies' dominant season in the Premier Division came to a winning end on Sunday as they completed their fixtures by beating AFC Darwen 4-0. Salford City Lionesses greatly boosted their chances of a top three finish when they won 2-0 against West Didsbury & Chorlton, a result which takes them above Cheadle Town Stingers and Fleetwood Town Wrens who battled out a 2-2 draw.
Blackburn Community SC moved themselves three points closer towards the Division One North title by beating Preston North End 3-0. Blackpool are not giving up the chase in second, they won 7-0 against Carlisle Utd with a goal apiece from Milly Hadfield, Cloe Warbrick, Molly Kelly, Alice Earnshaw, Emily Cardwell and Charlotte Hartley as well as an own goal. Haslingden are the other team still in the running and they are up to third - their highest position of the season to date - after defeating Accrington Stanley CT 2-0. Eleanor McDonald and Hannah Green were the markswomen for Workington Reds in their 2-1 success at Penwortham Town and this moves them back up to fifth, just ahead of Penrith AFC who were 3-0 winners away to Chorley Women Development. Morecambe Res completed their campaign with a second straight win, 3-0 against Sir Tom Finney and this has, for the time being at least, taken them out of the bottom two places.
First met third in Division One South and the spoils were shared as Curzon Ashton and Warrington Wolves Foundation battled out a goalless draw and Curzon's lead has been trimmed to four points by Chester FC Women, who were 1-0 winners away to Hindley Juniors Women. Mersey Valley and Runcorn Linnets meanwhile exchanged victories in a double header which means that Runcorn remain one point ahead of their opponents, and Didsbury Ladies ran out 3-1 winners over West Kirby.
South West League
The only match played in the Premier Division on Sunday produced what could yet be a highly significant result come the end of the season. The division's two unbeaten teams met each other with leaders Ilminster Town travelling to AFC St Austell and it was the Cornish side who ran out 3-0 winners. Kaitlyn Harris, Elizabeth Overton and Lucy Solloway scored the goals to give St Austell a victory which leaves them in fourth place, five points behind Ilminster but with two games in hand.
In the Northern Division, Bristol Ladies Union signed off with a 3-2 victory over Downend Flyers which means they will finish in fourth place, one above their opponents. Hannah Price netted two and Beth Poore added the other, while Downend's replies came from Ellie Brockton and Faith Flynn. Cheltenham Town Development and Oldland Abbotonians meanwhile shared a 1-1 draw, goals coming from Hannah Galpin and Anneka Hawkins-Hoare respectively.
Swindon Town Development and Warminster Town met in an Eastern Division top of the table clash for the second week running and this time it was Warminster who were to run out 5-2 winners. Mia Blazey netted twice for Warminster along with Maddie Brown, Rebecca Snelling and Millie Spratt, whilst Kathryn Bacha and Madeleine Hines replied for Swindon. This leaves Swindon with a five point lead over Warminster, who have two matches in hand and the teams will meet again once more before the end of the season.
Liskeard Athletic stepped up their title challenge in the Western Division with a 3-2 victory away to Saltash Utd. Gemma Farley scored twice and Grace O'Leary the other for Liskeard, whilst Saltash netted through Bethany-Ann Mitchell and Hayley Ranachan.
Southern Region League
The only match played in the Premier Division on Sunday saw Oxford City climb out of the bottom two places with a 4-1 victory over Woodley Utd, whose consolation goal came from Ellen Surtees.
Bournemouth Sports are all but assured of the runners-up spot in Division One after they defeated Eversley & California 8-1. Becky Miles and Stacey Lewis each scored twice, being joined on the scoresheet by Liane Folkenstern, Abbie Vernon, Ayuma Asira and Lauren Brewer. New Milton Town are now the only remaining team which can still catch them following their 3-1 win at Chichester City in which Dominique Carrington, Pearl Mortimer and Victoria Wardle were all on target. Zoe Barnes, Natalie Evans and Edie Stilwell-Garrett were the markswomen for Milton Utd in their 3-2 victory over AFC Stoneham.
West Midlands League
The Premier Division title battle continued to hot up as the three protagonists once again recorded victories. Natasha Lawrence scored the only goal of the game as leaders Lichfield City won 1-0 away to Coventry Sphinx and this keeps them three points ahead of Sutton Coldfield Town who scored six times without reply past Coundon Court, Niamh Deasy hitting a hat-trick with Sophie Levick (2) and Charlotte Cresswell adding the others. Stourbridge also won 6-0 against City of Stoke, Ruby Meeson netting twice along with Alex Nicklin, Carly Aldred, Cheryl Edwards and Amber Ireson-Lawrence. Alysha Stanley was another hat-trick scorer, for Worcester City as they beat Tamworth 8-0. Kerstin Ballard, Emma Collins, Lauren D'oyen-Fitchett and Katie Heath also got on the scoresheet. Paige Leonard, Kirsty Spencer and Hannah Vincent all scored for Crusaders in their 3-1 victory over Kidderminster Harriers, whose consolation came from Dani Selmes.
In Division One North, Darlaston Town won 1-0 against Walsall Ladies to increase the gap between the two teams to four points, thanks to a goal from Jodie Barber.
Jenna Boddison scored twice, with Rebecca-Lee Bown and Amelia Higgs adding the others, as Shifnal Town progressed in the Division One North Cup with a 4-1 win away to Port Vale. Also through are Walsall Wood who edged out Sandwell Ladies by the odd goal in seven. Rosie Hargreaves (2), Natasha Baptiste and Tayler Davies all netted for Wood, with Phoebe Hopwood (2) and Rachel Green.
Two of the ties in the Division One South Cup had to be settled on penalties, with Leamington Lions and Cookley Sports being the teams who went through on spot kicks after their matches with Rugby Borough and Westfields Women respectively both finished in 1-1 draws. Knowle were the other team to make it through, they ran out 4-0 winners over Kingfisher thanks to Robyn Bamber, Jessica Barlow, Alice Belcher and Michelle McCormack.
