Weekend Highlights: Hardworking Huddersfield, Lightning Storm Ahead, Dulwich In Dreamland and Bournemouth Sports' survival boost

Photography by @vi_shooter

Division 1 North : Huddersfield Town Women 2 - 1 Leeds United Women

In a tensely fought occasion at the Stafflex Arena, it was 4th placed Huddersfield Town Women who triumphed over 5th placed Leeds United Women thanks to a Katie Astle Brace.

The game started off relatively calmly with neither team having any notable opportunities in the opening 15 minutes. It was Huddersfield who struck first in this fixture, with the first attempt on goal resulting in a goal courtesy of a Katie Astle long-range effort. Leeds did not let this dampen their spirits however and after a period of good pressing, Leeds pulled themselves level after Amy Woodruff finished tidily following a brilliant ball from Olivia Smart.

Despite Leeds having some chances, it was Huddersfield who scored again 10 minutes later after Katie Astle converted a penalty into the bottom right corner following some excellent play from Charlotte Stuart in the box.

As we moved into the second half, both teams had to rely on set pieces with the play becoming very end to end. One of the first clear cut chances came in the 62nd minute when Amy Woodruff found some space before narrowly firing over the bar. The second half however saw very little clear cut chances and Huddersfield did well to shut down most of the potential Leeds attacks. Even with Leeds bringing on forward Jess Rousseau, they simply could not find their way through Hudderfield’s resolute defence and the game ended 2-1.

Division 1 Midlands : Loughborough Lightning Women 3 - 0 Solihull Moors Women

An impressive 3-0 victory from Loughborough Lightning Women FC saw them march one step closer towards the Division One Midlands title.

The game started quickly with Solihull Moor’s keeper Zoe Millington being called into action in the opening 5 minutes to deny Loughborough from a freekick. Claudia Jones however put the hosts ahead just two minutes following an excellent finish directly from a corner. Lightning’s lead was doubled just 2 minutes later when Lydia Tilbury-Henry finished well following an Alice Higginbottom cut back.

As we moved closer towards half-time, Lightning continued on top with Zynia Delglyn looking dangerous as she was getting forward. Despite their sustained pressure however, Moors stood firm and the score at half time was 2-0 to the home side. At the break, Loughborough made three changes and substitute Jessica Collyer made an instant impact and scored after running through the Moors defence.

In the 57th minute, Moors looked to get one back but their freekick from Lexi Blaxland was just off target. As the second half dragged on, the goals dried up and despite some excellent attacking promise, especially from Collyer, Lightning could not put another past the Moors defence. The game ended 3-0 putting Lightning 2 points clear at the top with 6 league games remaining.

Division 1 South East : Ashford Town Women 1 - 5 Dulwich Hamlet Women

In this Division 1 South East clash, Dulwich Hamlet Women managed 5 goals in order to beat Ashford Town Women. With this victory, Dulwich moved two places up the table going from 9th place into 7th.

This fixture at Rectory park commenced quickly with Ashford’s keeper Emma Vigolo being immediately called into action to deny a Dulwich attack. In the 13th minute, Martha Godard opened the scoring for the away side following a crafty ball into the box. The next chance however fell for Ashford’s Riya Kantamaneni whose effort within the box was well-deflected for a corner. Less than 10 minutes later, Ashford thought they’d found an equaliser courtesy of Chloe Melton - her effort was judged to be offside however.

After some promising chances from Ashford, it was Dulwich who furthered their advantage following a long-range screamer. This goal meant that the score was 2-0 as we finished the first half. Vigolo was again called into action early in the second half and made some good saves to keep her side in the match. The 51st and 57th minute however saw Dulwich grab two quick goals with the first being a header from close range.

Ashford continued to get forward despite the score and these efforts paid off when Tanique Cole made an excellent run and grabbed a consolation goal for her side. After this goal, the game calmed down a little and there were few chances until Dulwich grabbed their 5th in the 79th minute when Angie Dunbar-Bonnie fired home following a long ball over the top.

With this being the final goal of the game the fixture finished 5-1 at Rectory Park.

Division 1 South West: Portishead Town Ladies 0 - 1 Bournemouth Sports Women FC

A 1-0 victory by Bournemouth Sports Women FC saw them leapfrog Portishead Town Ladies FC to move out of the relegation zone into 10th place in the Division One South West. This fixture between 10th and 11th place was always going to be an exciting fixture and it lived up to the hype!

With the sun shining, the game began brightly with Portishead Town having some chances in the early minutes with Bournemouth’s keeper Chloe Traves being called into action. Katie Kingshott was behind many of the early chances for Bournemouth Sports with her high-intensity pressing yielding a few opportunities.

The only goal of the game came in the 37th minute Rosie Eden floated a ball into the box which found Hollie Shaw who finished clinically. As we moved closer towards the break, Kingshott and Liane Folkenstern were combining well to create some clear-cut chances for Bournemouth Sports.

After the half time break in this six pointer, it was Portishead Town who came out strongly creating some chances and even hitting the bar. They continued to pile on the pressure in the second half and Traves in goal was frequently called into action in order to prevent Portishead from getting a goal in this crucial fixture.

Despite the tense nature of this game, both teams displayed excellent sportsmanship with Sports putting the ball out so a Portishead player might receive treatment and Portishead returning the ball upon the game’s restart. In this tightly contested fixture, it was ultimately Bournemouth who triumphed and with only a few games remaining, only 2 points separate these two teams.

The fight for survival in the Division 1 South West continues!