Regional Leagues round-up…
East Midlands League
Whilst the other teams were involved in County Cup action on Sunday, Sheffield FC took advantage by winning the only match played in the Premier Division, 2-0 against SJR Worksop to open up a lead of five points. After a goalless first half, Halima Essa gave Sheffield the lead within two minutes of the restart and Stacey Buxton wrapped up the win with the second goal.
In Division One North, Sherwood FC Women and Dronfield Town remain just behind the leading sides after their meeting finished in a 2-2 draw, Grace Adeyinka and Katie Fish scoring the goals for Sherwood.
Wellingborough Town have narrowed the gap on Division One South leaders New Bradwell St Peter to six points after a Lauren Adams double and Sophie Till fired them to a 3-1 win away to Cardea Ladies. Thrapston Town follow on in third, they ran out 6-2 winners over Bugbrooke St Michael thanks to Amelia Boddington and Steph Gale each hitting doubles, with one apiece from Katherine Ford and Georgia Fitzgibbon.
Eastern Region League
Luton Town are continuing to catch up ground on leaders Royston Town and are only three points behind them after beating Haringey Borough 7-1. Amber Leighton led the scoring for Luton with a hat-trick and she was joined on the scoresheet by Natasha Fensome, Jess McKay, Francesca Partridge and Eleanor Wade. Enfield Town and Wroxham battled out a 1-1 draw with goals from Lauren Cann and Chelsea Clarke respectively, whilst Rosie George and Kyla Langan accounted for the goals as Dussindale & Hellesdon Rovers beat Needham Market 2-1. Cambridge City meanwhile claimed their second league win of the season, Faith Harrison hitting a hat-trick and Tyeonae Smith the other as they defeated Bowers & Pitsea 4-1.
In Division One North, Harpenden Town’s lead was cut to five points by Histon who won 1-0 against AFC Dunstable with a goal from Evie Nicholls. Defeat for Dunstable means that Newmarket Town replace them in third place by beating Wootton Blue Cross Lionesses 7-1. Holly Corley, Millie Docking and Beth Seymour all netted twice for Newmarket, with Antonia Smith adding the other. Biggleswade Utd meanwhile claimed their first victory of the season, 4-2 away to Whittlesey Athletic courtesy of a Ruth Fox hat-trick and Harriet Smith.
Hutton produced an astonishing result in Division One South when they won 7-1 away to previously unbeaten Hertford Town. Daisy Canny netted twice along with Molly Bowness, Emily Clarke, Isobel Crichton, Hayley Critchell and Mia Lempriere to move Hutton into fourth place, one point behind Hertford.
London & South East League
Dartford have gone three points clear at the top of the Premier Division following a 1-0 victory against Dorking Wanderers, Brionne Fowle scoring the only goal of the game. One other match was played in the top division, a goal on the hour from Niamh Jestin earning Ebbsfleet Utd a 1-0 success away to Sutton Utd, a result which puts a gap of three points between the two teams.
The other action in the league took place in Division One South, where Welling Utd made up ground on the top two by winning 3-2 against Steyning Town Community, Amy Panayi netting two late goals to add to Amelia Bate’s strike. Aylesford are handily placed in fourth, they netted five times without reply away to Bexhill Utd, Kara Richardson and Alex Witham each bagging braces and Milly Penfold adding the other.
North East League
Alnwick Town trimmed the lead of Chester-le-Street Town to five points when they shared a 2-2 draw with York RI, who are now in a mid-table position. Chloe Young bagged a brace for Alnwick, with Georgia Marsden and Anna Whitehead replying. Aaliyah Nolan netted both goals during the first half as Bradford City moved up to third with a 2-0 success away to Wallsend Boys Club.
Annie Mitchell scored a first half equaliser for Northern Division leaders Norton & Stockton Ancients Res as they battled out a 1-1 draw with i2i International Soccer Academy, who had taken an early lead through Kelly Garcia. Thornaby Women defeated Washington FC Women 2-1 to narrow the gap on Norton to three points, Sophie Curle and Robyn Ingram netting their goals. Rachel Hepple bagged a four-goal haul and Maddie Blundell added the other as Wallsend BC Res climbed up to third by running out 5-1 winners over Hartlepool Utd.
Ossett Utd maintained their winning start to the season in the Southern Division with a 4-1 victory over Handsworth, which sees them open up a lead of six points. Debbie Hastings hit a hat-trick for Ossett for the second successive week and Jessica Carney was also on target. Nat Shaw went one better for Brunsmeer Athletic, scoring four times in all whilst Molly Waite and Bradie Wild both netted twice as they beat Altofts Ladies 9-1. Tiffany Clarke (2) and Regan Barnes put Kiveton Park three goals ahead at half time against Sheffield Wednesday, who battled back after the break to salvage a 3-3 draw thanks to Rachel Norsworthy, Nicole Shaw and Heidi O’Reilly. Oughtibridge WM won for only the second time this season, 4-1 away to Sheffield Utd Community Foundation courtesy of Laura Cain (2), Jennifer Pearson and Lily Scott.
North West League
Darwen FC Women took over as the new leaders of the Premier Division as they returned to winning ways with a 5-0 victory over West Didsbury & Chorlton. Georgia Parkinson netted twice along with Joanna Duckworth, Alicia Johnson and Loulou Newton as Darwen put two successive defeats behind them to head the table by two points from Curzon Ashton, who were 3-1 winners at Bury FC Women thanks to Danielle Young (2) and Hannah Forster. Tranmere Rovers meanwhile continued their improving form by beating Crewe Alexandra 3-0, Amy Shannon netting twice and Lorna Stratton the other. FC United of Manchester picked up their second victory of the season, with Ashley Tiripke, Kayleigh Mack and an own goal giving them a 3-2 success away to Salford City Lionesses.
Only one match was played in Division One North but it produced an astonishing twelve goals at Derwent Park, Atherton Laburnum Rovers winning an amazing match 7-5 against Workington Town to consolidate themselves in the top half of the table. Amy Huyton and Shannon Gill each bagged braces and were joined on the scoresheet by Natasha Greenhalgh, Mia Woods and Jasmine Ripley, whilst Beatrix Barber (2), Hayley Bracken (2) and Linzi Donaldson all netted for Workington but finished on the losing side.
In Division One South, FC St Helens narrowed the gap on leaders Poulton Vics to eight points after Bonnie Marshall and Elle Lloyd gave them a 2-0 victory away to MSB Woolton. The result took St Helens into second place, above Mossley Hill who, despite a goal from Olivia Ellinson, were held to a 1-1 draw by Macclesfield FC Women who scored through Tamia Forrester. After twelve consecutive defeats, Litherland Remyca registered their first league win of the season as they edged out Ellesmere Port Town by the odd goal in seven, courtesy of Ava McKenny (2), Alivia Hutchinson and Emma Owens.
South West League
Marine Academy Plymouth are back on top of the Premier Division following their 4-0 victory away to Ilminster Town, in which Kelsey Bright netted twice alogn with Clara Martin and Abbie Woodward. Torquay Utd meanwhile returned to a top three place by scoring five times without reply past Bishop’s Lydeard, Lucy Solloway bagging a brace with others from Ellie Bishop, Samantha Burnham and Lucy Palmer.
In the solitary match which took place in Division One North, St Vallier returned to winning ways with a 4-1 success away to Stockwood Wanderers. Evangeline Foster netted twice to help her side go back up to fourth place and she was joined on the scoresheet by Keziah Walsh and Charlotte Woodman, whilst the home side scored a first half consolation through Katie Whitmarsh.
Plympton Ladies have gone six points clear at the top of Division One South after goals from Bella Brown-Tunnell, Elsa Finnegan and Sam Metters took them to a 3-0 victory over Honiton Town. Yeovil Town meanwhile recaptured their winning form, beating Feniton with Abbie Carslake, Chloe Davenport, Laura Wensley and Becky Miles accounting for the goals and Eden Whalley replying. Ellie Burrows, Ruby Johnson, Laura Jones and Viiktoria Khandusenko were the markswomen forr Weston-super-Mare as they defeated Bideford 4-0.
Southern Region League
With leaders Ascot Utd on County Cup duty, their two nearest rivals met each other with top spot on offer for the winners and it was Oxford City who emerged as 2-1 winners over AFC Portchester. Isobel Bradley, along with an own goal, gave Oxford the result which sees them take over at the top after Portchester had taken an early lead through Gemma Hillier. City head the table by a single point from Woodley Utd, who moved up to second following their 3-2 success away to Badshot Lea, which came courtesy of strikes from Sarah Lawrence, Chloe Melton and Lauren Devlin. Wycombe Wanderers ran out 4-0 winners at Winchester City Flyers and are now only five points off the pace, Eman Kassem hitting a hat-trick and Jessica Watkins adding the other.
The two teams heading the chase after Division One North leaders Beaconsfield Town both recorded victories and trimmed their lead to five points. Second placed Ascot Utd Res came from behind to win 2-1 at Kidlington Youth, thanks to Bregje Geling and Danielle Kjaer, and a Charlotte Bigmore hat-trick plus an Iva Georgievska goal saw Abingdon Utd Development to a 4-2 success away to Tilehurst Panthers. Wycombe Wanderers U23 follow on in fourth after scoring six times without reply past Caversham Utd, Shannon Read on target twice along with Elena Mitchell, Ammara Qureshi, Emma Vaughan and Poppy Lloyd. At the other end of the table, Milton Utd notched up their second league win of the season, 2-0 against Chesham Utd Development thanks to April England and Grace Wiseman.
The top of the table clash in Division One South went the way of Fleet Town, who defeated leaders Havant & Waterlooville 3-1 to close the gap on them to a single point, with Elin Roberts, Olivia Cervino and Keira Simpson all scoring for Fleet. AFC Stoneham are also one point off the pace, they bounced back from defeat seven days previously to beat Bournemouth Sports Res 1-0 with a first half goals from Emma Simpson. In the other game, Kirby Anderson was on target as Bursledon won 1-0 against QK Southampton.
West Midlands League
Shifnal Town doubled their lead at the top of the Premier Division to six points, thanks to an impressive 5-2 victory away to Shrewsbury Town. Jenna Boddison bagged a brace for Shifnal and the others came from Rebecca-Lee Bown, Grace Field and Tayler Davies. Alvechurch meanwhile leapfrogged Burton Albion in the table after beating them 5-2 with goals from Alisha Sheridan (2), Anna Bebb, Beth Grady and Millie Papper. three points Kidderminster Harriers, who won 4-2 at Port Vale with doubles from Beth Gallagher and Millie Rogers. Lye Town follow on after beating Burton Albion 4-2, Chloe Handy, Caitlyn Walton, Britanee Lote and Lucy Davies were all on the scoresheet. Sophie Shale (2), Jessica Lundie and Natasha Miles accounted for the goals as Coundon Court edged out Knowle 4-3 whilst Madison Jones and Katie Doster were on target for Shrewsbury Town as they shared a 2-2 draw with Coventry Sphinx, who netted through Danielle Jackson and Anaya O’Brien. Solihull Sporting won for the first time and got off the mark by beating Leek Town 2-1 thanks to Zara Hussain and Atralee Deacon.
The points were shared in Division One South between unbeaten Redditch Borough and leaders Halesowen Town, the match finishing level at 2-2. Millie Connolly-Heath and Grace Murphy were on target for Redditch, with Halesowen netting through Jazmine Bourne and Kirsty Spencer. A win would therefore have seen Crusaders take over the leadership but they went down to a 3-1 defeat away to Worcester City Res, whose markswomen were Tilly Pearson (2) and Lauren Smith. Third placed Bromsgrove Sports are four points off the pace after a first half goal from Abigail Bourne gave them a 1-0 victory against Droitwich Spa.
