FA Women’s National League
Northern Premier Division
Halifax FC Women and Derby County both edged another point ahead of the bottom two after their meeting finish in a 2-2 draw. Olivia Edwards got the Ewes off to a great start by putting them ahead after six minutes and after Halifax staged a second half comeback and goals from Phoebe Hollin and Madison Norton looked to have given them the points, an equaliser from Georgia Stevens deep into injury time ensured that the points were shared.
Derby followed this up on Wednesday night by picking up another important point from a 1-1 draw with fourth placed Stoke City. Evie Priestley put Stoke ahead after fourteen minutes but, early in the second half, Georgia Stevens scored another vital equaliser for the Ewes.
Rugby Borough's remaining title hopes, as well as those of a top two place, took a huge blow when they went down to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of West Bromwich Albion. Ruby took a tenth minute lead through Malika Apindia Gille but after the break, Albion struck twice to keep up their improving form with Zoe Creaney and Riya Mannu giving them victory.
Wolverhampton Wanderers narrowed the gap on leaders Burnley FC Women to four points with a 3-0 local derby success against Sporting Khalsa. Amber Hughes netted a goal in each half, either side of a strike on the hour from Charlotte Greengrass, but the match was overshadowed by a serious injury to her achilles tendon sustained by Khalsa goalkeeper Natalie Hall.
On Thursday night, Middlesbrough further cemented themselves in the top half of the table when they won 3-2 away to Halifax FC Women. Becky Ferguson gave 'Boro the lead with only 27 seconds on the clock and Armani Maxwell made it two ahead of half time. Phoebe Hollin pulled one back for Halifax from the penalty spot but an Ellen Turnbull goal secured victory for the visitors, despite Halifax once again reducing the arrears through Daneille Whitham.
Southern Premier Division
The Devon derby match went the way of Plymouth Argyle, who defeated Exeter City 2-0 at Home Park on Wednesday night to narrow the gap on leaders Watford to a single point. In front of superb attendance of 6,500, the first half finished goalless but Phoebe Hampson gave Argyle the lead midway through the second half and Tianna Teisar added the second in injury time to seal a result which keeps Argyle firmly in the title race.
Plymouth were further boosted by the news that fellow challengers AFC Bournemouth went down to their first defeat, 1-0 away to Oxford Utd. Holly Manders scored the only goal of the game to earn the U's their most notable result of the season to date in the league and leave the Cherries five points off the pace, but with two games in hand.
AFC Wimbledon gave their survival chances a huge shot in the arm with a 2-1 victory over Lewes. The Dons remain in the bottom two but a second half double from Ashlee Hincks gave them a crucial win, despite Kayla Ginger pulling one back for the Rookettes late on.
Honor Newton led the scoring with a four-goal haul as Hashtag Utd inflicted a heavy 10-1 defeat on Billericay Town, whose season long torture continues. Soraya Walsh weighed in with a brace and there were further goals from Elicia Mulvaney, Isabelle Tomlin, Meleri Mullan and Emma Samways to help the Tags move further towards safety.
Gwalia Utd also picked up a very useful point when sharing a 2-2 draw with Cheltenham Town, thanks to a comeback after the break. Georgia Galley and Indie Power both scored as Cheltenham raced into a two-goal first half lead, but Georgia Walters halved the deficit just after the hour mark and Keira O'Keefe completed the fightback with the equaliser.
Division One North
Chorley brought an end of a run of seven league matches without a win when they defeated Blackburn Rovers 5-1 on Wednesday night. The Magpies had also lost each of their last four games but after Nicola Worthington gave them the lead early in the second half, they never looked back and Worthington went on to complete a double, with further goals from Taylor Gunn, Olivia Ellinson and Molly Wood.
In the other game, York City secured an important point from a 1-1 draw against Norton & Stockton Ancients. Louise Atkinson put Norton in front midway through the first half and Niamh Doody equalised eighteen minutes from time for a result which means that York are now two points above the bottom two.
Division One Midlands
Peterborough Utd end the week as leaders once again after defeating Northampton Town 3-0 on Wednesday night. The visitors had gone into the match in good form but found themselves two down at the break with Kira Rai and Kier Perkins on target, with Jessica Rousseau adding a third for the Posh Women on the hour.
Boldmere St Michaels had temporarily returned to the top a day earlier when they won their local derby 3-0 against Sutton Coldfield Town. Grace Gregory gave the Mikes a first half lead and they went on to crown the win with further strikes from Jannelle Straker and Mia Lawson-Spencer.
Leafield Athletic kept up the chase in third place by beating Stourbridge 4-0. Leonie Joyce gave Leafield a first half lead and they went on to add further goals after the break, Steph Weston netting a brace on her return from injury and Evie Gallop rounding off the scoring late on.
Notts County moved back up into a mid-table position with a 4-0 victory over Lincoln Utd. Leah Hardy and Shoniqua Barnes ensured that the Magpies were two ahead at the break and they went on to add further second half goals through Emily Brett and Grace Jones.
On Thursday night, sixth placed Worcester City made the short trip to Kidderminster Harriers and returned with a 2-0 victory under their belts. Maia Clark opened the scoring in first half injury time and Annie Sime grabbed the second with sixteen minutes remaining.
Division One South East
Fulham kept hold of their one point lead at the top with a narrow 1-0 win against Queen's Park Rangers. In front of a crowd of 1,643 at Craven Cottage, Anna Grey kept Fulham on course for the title when she scored the only goal of the game, midway through the second half.
Norwich City stayed hard on Fulham's heels in second place when they beat AFC Sudbury 3-1. Holly Kennard, Grace Riglar and Natasha Snelling were all on the scoresheet for the Canaries.
Luton Town moved into a mid-table position on the back of a 3-0 victory over Chesham Utd. Luton took the lead through a first half strike from Natasha Fensome, before Amy McLean contributed a second half double.
Milton Keynes Dons meanwhile extended the gap between themselves an the bottom two to nine points when they won 3-0 away to Cambridge Utd. Giuseppina Carnevale opened the scoring with three minutes played and Molly Lemon quickly added the second, before Lemon completed her brace with the final goal, midway through the second half.
Division One South West
Moneyfields hold on to the leadership by a single point following their 3-1 victory away to Bournemouth Sports. Kiera Heslam gave the Moneys a first half lead via a long range free kick, with Emily Phillips equalising for Sports a couple of minutes later, but Ali Hall restored Moneys' advantage moments afterwards and Skye-Louise Granger wrapped up the win with the third on the hour.
Second placed Swindon Town stepped up their challenge by beating Bristol Rovers 3-1. After Rovers took the lead on 12 minutes through Amelie Gould, Swindon hit back to equalise through Sarah King just ahead of half time. Libby Davies then put the Wiltshire ahead four minutes into the second half and Annabelle Colston put the seal on the victory with the third goal.
Portishead Town rekindled their survival chances on Thursday night with a 2-1 local derby win against Keynsham Town. Chelsea Heal and Natascha Bevan scored the goals to give Posset their first home league victory of the season, despite Ciera Lundy pulling one back for Keynsham late on. Portishead saw the game out without any further scares to halve the gap between themselves and Keynsham to three points.
Reserve Section round-up...
The only action in the Reserve Section on Sunday took place in the Championship Division, where Rugby Borough defeated Moneyfields 4-1. Isabel Mawby (2), Poppy Johnston-Smith and Eva Buckley scored the goals which leave Rugby in third place, one point behind joint leaders Cheltenham Town and Moneyfields.
