 |
|
Tuesday, October 2 With the end of the World Cup the domestic season now begins in earnest and last seasons' all conquering Arsenal side wasted no time laying down their marker for the coming season. Last week saw them travel to Watford where they recorded a 6-2 victory and then on Sunday they won 4-1 at Liverpool. These victories were not quite so emphatic as many of last seasons' but considering they were not at full strength in either fixture they are obviously still the team to beat. Lianne Sanderson recorded a hat trick at Watford and had to settle for a mere couple at Liverpool. People will continue to wonder why she is not given her chance for England while she scores so heavily and surely now Hope Powell can delay the inevitable no longer. Still, you never know. Mention of another goalscorer is needed here. Watford's Helen Lander got both her sides goals in the defeat to Arsenal and confirmed that she is good enough to score against the best. The other Premier League sides in action were involved in League Cup fixtures and there were some resounding successes for the top flight clubs. Chelsea won at Crewe Alexandra 9-1 and had eight different scorers. Danielle Buet was the greedy girl who wasn't happy with just one. Everton, meanwhile, put six unanswered goals past Barnet as well as hitting the woodwork as many times again. Kelly McDougall hit a hat trick in this one while Emily Westwood got a couple. These two teams seem to have skimmed the cream of the talent from Charlton Athletic and will be hoping to run Arsenal much closer this time around. Everton have been needing to strengthen in the attacking areas and the arrival of Jo Potter and Natasha Dowie will certainly give Mo Marley more options whereas Chelsea will be improved at both ends by the arrival of Casey Stoney and Eni Aluko. Of the two clubs Everton still look best equipped to mount a challenge. Speaking of Charlton they have been given the go ahead to compete this season after sponsorship was secured but they were unable to fulfil their cup tie at Sunderland at the weekend and are therefore out of the League Cup without taking the field. Obviously a situation to keep an eye on. Stacey Daniel hit four for Blackburn Rovers as they trounced Brighton 8-0 while Bristol Academy and Watford enjoyed comfortable wins over Newcastle United and Manchester City respectively. It took late goals from Sophie Hopper and Sarah Owen to give Doncaster Belles a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, however, and Birmingham City had to come from behind to defeat neighbours Aston Villa 4-1. Star of the show in this one was the returning Danni Bird, a genuine talent, who scored twice and created a string of chances for her colleagues. City will be hoping that Bird can inspire an improvement in league form after a disappointing start to the campaign. At Football England we always like to keep an eye out for teams and players in the lower leagues who have made an impression before and the FA Cup brought a reminder of last season at the weekend. Whitley Bay, who enjoyed a fine run last time around, are back on the cup trail after securing a hard fought 2-0 win over Team Northumbria. The scorer of both goals was a name familiar from last seasons' exploits as well. Laura Darmody provided assured finishes to see Bay through although her second didn't arrive until the very last minute and was tough on opponents who had done most of the pressing in the second half. Darmody and her Whitley Bay teammates now face a trip to Darlington FA in the 3rd qualifying round.
Tuesday, October 9 There was never any real prospect of a side emerging to challenge Arsenal for the Premier League title this season but it might have been expected that the pretenders could have maintained a semblance of a challenge rather than instantly capitulate. Everton and Chelsea were the teams expected to get closer to the Gunners this time around but both these teams have dropped points immediately which is generally fatal when it comes to taking on Arsenal. Chelsea had the misfortune to take on Arsenal in their opening league game last week and they went down at home 3-0 to a Julie Fleeting hat trick. Then on Sunday a 1-1 draw at Doncaster Belles made it a disappointing start to the campaign for the Londoners. Things could have been worse in Yorkshire as Chelsea trailed for much of the game. The Belles were particualrly bright in the first half and deserved their half time lead which came from Liz Hansen's rising drive from a narrow angle. The Belles continued to press after half time but could not find a killer second goal and Chelsea belatedly came to life in the last half hour. Having found their feet, however, they had the Belles' goal under severe pressure and ended up earning their late equaliser scored by the substitute Emma Whitter. Everton got their league programme under way with a narrow victory over neighbours Liverpool but then needed an injury time goal to salvage a draw at Birmingham City. Jo Traynor had the Reds ahead in the Merseyside derby and Everton were grateful to Rachel Brown for keeping the first half deficit to one. After half time, however, Everton upped the pace significantly and grabbed victory with goals in quick succession from Jody Handley and Fara Williams. Everton found themselves in a similarly tightly fought game at Birmingham on the Sunday and were in trouble shortly after half time when a wonderful through ball from Heather Scheuber sent Dani Bird racing clear to shoot low past Brown. Again Everton were stung into action by going behind but their efforts foundered on a combination of Sue Wood's goalkeeping and the woodwork until deep into stoppage time when Fara Williams connected perfectly with one of her speculative 30 yarders and Everton had rescued a point. Charlton Athletic played their first game of the season and their hastily assembled young side was no match for Bristol Academy, going down to a 7-0 defeat. There is no question that Paul Mortimer had a valid point with his assertion that the lack of any real pre-season or competitive action placed his side at a huge disadvantage but the game also demonstrated that his players will have to learn and adapt extremely quickly if they are not to follow the path of Fulham last season who suffered a massively comprehensive relegation. Both Kerry Bartlett and Nicky Watts grabbed a couple apiece as Bristol put their opponents to the sword. The other Premier League fixture of the weekend saw Blackburn Rovers run out 4-2 winners over Watford in an entertaining fixture. Karen Burke and Helen Lander traded early goals before Natalie Preston and Katie Anderton put Rovers in command either side of the interval. Emma Beckett set up a potentially exciting finish by pulling one back with six minutes remaining but Blackburn restored their two goal cushion immediately through Stacey Daniel and that was that. While their rivals were slipping up Lincoln City enjoyed a good win in the Northern section with Jodie Snelson hitting two in their 3-0 win over Stockport County. In the South, Millwall Lionesses have taken over top spot from Portsmouth after defeating them 3-2 and WFC Fulham's good form continued as they ran out winners by the same scoreline against West Ham United, Anne-Marie Heatherson providing their late winner. There were a couple of League Cup ties to be sorted out and there was no surprise about Arsenal's 4-0 win at Cardiff City and the holders now travel to face Newquay in the next round. It is a measure of the Gunners' supremacy that Cardiff will feel fairly pleased with the final scoreline and will certainly be pleased with their defensive effort, particualrly in the second half when Arsenal managed just the one goal. The other tie provided something of a shock as Liverpool defeated Leeds United 2-0 with goals from Cheryl Foster and Kelly Jones. In the FA Cup Whitley Bay progressed after a real thriller away to Darlington RA. The Bay Girls were twice behind in normal time only to level through Laura Darmody, cup specialist, and Rachel Kay. It looked as though they would then win in extra time after Jo Suddes raced through to give them the lead with the goal of the game but Darlington scrambled home a last minute equaliser with Bay's keeper down injured. The penalty shootout also went the distance with Bay finally prevailing 7-6. Next up for the east coast side is a trip to Blackpool Wren Rovers. Looking ahead both Arsenal and Everton will be competing in their UEFA Cup qualifying groups over the coming week and hopefully we will be able to bring you first hand coverage of Everton as they take on opposition from Belgium, Iceland and Germany in their group which is being held in Belgium. Arsenal host their group with games being played at Borehamwood and St Albans and the holders should have little difficulty in progressing against teams from Italy, Austria and Kazakhstan.
Friday, October 12 If the standard of spelling is below par in this report I will put it down immediately to the bizarre Belgian keyboard I have been saddled with. Last night Everton Ladies got their UEFA Cup group stage underway and their last minute defeat to host club KFC Wezemaal leaves them with a mountain to climb. Mo Marley has a stronger squad than ever at her disposal but whether this is an advantage could be debatable. It was certainly strange to see Rachel Brown, Jill Scott and Emily Westwood all starting on the bench. Natasha Dowie, a summer signing from Charlton, also only made an appearance from the bench. Before going into any vague details about this game I have to stress that my role as womens correspondent for this site is only a hobby and my trip to Belgium is a busmans' holiday with the emphasis on the word holiday. I therefore arrived at the impressive stadium in Bierbeek with no food inside me but copious amounts of Stella Artois. For the sake of this site I had at least steered clear of the Trappist Monks' beers which travelling companion BJ, Football England's part time photographer, was doing his best to work through. Everton basically looked the stronger, better side for most of the match but, as so often in the past, they struggled to turn this superiority into a clear lead. The first half was goalless but things looked good for the Blues when they took the lead early in the second half. The goal came through a left footed drive from the edge of the box which sailed in straight over the keepers' head. The shot was a left footed one but not by Rachel Unitt so I would imagine it must have been Michelle Evans. Everton continued to be tidy and generally in control with Fara Williams and Becky Easton, as usual, impressing even my blurred vision with the precise, controlled nature of their football. One goal leads are always precarious, however, and Wezemaal hurt Everton by equalising and then delivered a real body blow with their injury time winner. I can't remember the first goal at all but it must have happened and my biggest memory of the winning goal was complaining that the game had been allowed to continue during the build up. I assume there must have been a player down. The scoring shot was a good one, low into the corner from around the edge of the box giving Danielle Hill no chance. It's always hard for women goalkeepers as they basically just aren't as big as their male counterparts and from the unusually elevated view from the top of a big stand Hill looked positively tiny. Rachel Brown couldn't have been too chuffed at sitting this one out and looked in a real temper when she stormed onto the pitch at the end to apparently voice some choice words at the officials. Perhaps she was annoyed at the same thing as me, whatever it might have been. Anyway, Everton now need to get something from their next game which will be a tough ask against Frankfurt who came from behind to win their opening fixture against a team from Iceland. Hopefully I'll be in a better position to report on that one but with 15 beer tokens for the venue still in my pocket it is not absolutely certain. No such worries for defending champions Arsenal who beat Alma 4-0 in their opening fixture. All the goals came in the first half with Karen Carney getting two while Katie Chapman and Lianne Sanderson also found the net.
Friday, October 19 Womens football is notorious for late venue changes and alterations to kick off times. The trouble with these is that it is almost impossible to get wind of them before hand. In my naivete I felt a certain degree of confidence that an international club competition organised by UEFA would be free from such hazards. I now know very different. Having taken a week off work to travel to Belgium and follow Everton's progress in their UEFA Cup group myself and travelling companion BJ ended up seeing only 15 minutes of action after the opening game. We arrived at the stadium last Saturday well over an hour before the scheduled start of the game against Frankfurt and found the game in progress with only 15 minutes remaining. The good news was that Everton were doing well against the group favourites and were level at 1-1. Fara Williams had apparently given them an early lead which had been cancelled out by Birgit Prinz. It was clear that Everton were holding on somewhat in the late stages with fatigue as much as anything looking a problem. Michelle Evans cleared off the line following a corner while Prinz saw a low shot flick away off the outside of a post following a driving run. In attack Everton could offer nothing. They got themselves in a couple of promising positions but the player in possession was always short of options and while Toni Duggan was impressive in flicking a succession of balls on against bigger opponents there was never anyone remotely close enough in support to profit. It looked as though Everton would hold out for the point, however, but three minutes of injury time was enough to bring a sickening defeat, just as it had against Wezemaal in their opening game. A corner from the left hand side could not be cleared and when it bounced up at the far post Conny Pohlers produced a brilliant finish to hook her volley beyond Rachel Brown. The decision to move the game forward apparently arose chiefly from worries about the capabilities of the floodlights at the ground in Bierbeek and as well as meaning we missed almost the entire game the late switch badly affected the preparations of the Everton camp whose pre-match routine had to be thrown out of the window. All that was left was for us to watch the next game between Wezemaal and Valur Reykjavik and hope that the Icelandic team won to maintain Everton's interest in the group. This turned out to be an enjoyable game in which Valur turned on a performance that was easy on the eye in every respect. BJ's comment of "If this is what the footballers look like in Iceland how good's everyone else going to be?" might not have satisfied the demands of political correctness but did set the imagination racing. In the end Valur did their job just a bit too well and ended up hammering the host club 4-0 after a second half blitz which meant that to have a chance of progressing Everton would have to now beat them by three clear goals. A tough ask on this showing. Now, before leaving the venue we double, triple and at least quadruple checked the kick off times for the final games which were to be played on the Tuesday and were told categorically at every turn that both games would kick off, as per the UEFA's original schedule, at 5.30 pm. On this occasion there seemed less reason to worry as it was obvious that in the interests of fair play, something UEFA are obviously completely committed to, both games would have to kick off at the same time. This was no problem either because there was another pitch at the other side of the clubhouse unused and ready for action. I have to admit to being more than a little angry when we then turned up an hour before kick off for the deciding games to find the Everton and Valur players just departing the pitch following their warm downs. Jesus Christ. Not only had we missed the game we really wanted to watch but the Belgian team now knew exactly what they needed to do to qualify. The guy on the turnstile told us that Everton had won 3-0 which meant that they now needed Frankfurt to beat Wezemaal to go through. We watched the game and became increasingly frustrated as the Germans, already through of course, laboured in their search of a winner having levelled the scores at 1-1 before half time after the Belgians had taken a shock lead. BJ was the first to smell a rat about Everton's chances when he noticed that the Valur camp, who had remained behind to watch unlike Everton, were becoming increasingly anxious as Frankfurt continued to struggle in their search of a winner. As it turned out Everton had only won 3-1 and it was the Icelandic team needing a Frankfurt victory to progress and they were left disappointed, frustrated and surely angry when the game finished in a draw. There can be no question that Wezemaal gained a massive advantage by kicking off later when they knew exactly what they had to do. All in all the staging of this group had been a shambles and, in truth, it was somehow fitting that Wezemaal, by a street the weakest team in the group, had qualified. Of course Everton were mainly to blame for that by losing to them in the first game and I think Mo Marley certainly made a mistake by fielding what looked like a weakened team in that game. Losing twice in injury time does offer the Blues the valid excuse of bad luck as well, however. The details of their win against Valur, which must have been sickeningly exciting, was that after Fara Williams had missed a penalty Everton swept into a 3-0 lead either side of half time through a Jody Handley brace and a goal from Natasha Dowie. This would have been enough to give Everton the chance of qualifying but Valur quickly pulled one back through Katrin Jonsdottir, who had scored and impressed against Wezemaal, and this put Valur back in the driving seat. There was still half an hour remaining so it can be assumed that the game was wide open from this point on as Everton went in search of another goal but unfortunately I cannot confirm this because as far as I was concerned the game was yet to start. Thanks UEFA. It's a lot of time, trouble and money to embark on this kind of a venture and your whims made it an almost complete waste. There were no such worries for Arsenal who booked their passage by thumping Neulengbach 7-0 in their second game with Jane Ludlow and Julie Fleeting both scoring twice. The Gunners will have been disappointed not to record a perfect record after seeing the Italian team Bardolino come from behind three times to earn a 3-3 draw in their last game. The formidable trio of Fleeting, Lianne Sanderson and Kelly Smith all found the target but for once this was not enough for victory as the Italians grabbed their final equaliser deep into stoppage time. Still, the holders march on and will now face Olympique Lyonnais of France in the quarter finals. No doubt the Gunners will have noticed Lyon's impressive display in their group where they too qualified unbeaten.
Wednesday, October 24 Watford Ladies continued their excellent start to life in the National Premier League by thrashing the early leaders Bristol Academy 6-2 at the weekend. The result leaves Watford 2nd in the table with 16 points from 9 games. Although other teams will no doubt overtake them as they begin to catch up their games in hand this impressive form means there is no danger Watford will be involved in a relegation fight and they can now realistically set their sights much higher up the table. Watford quickly settled into life in the top flight. Despite losing narrowly to Birmingham City on the opening day they then rattled up three wins on the bounce. The defeat to Birmingham came when both Ellen Maggs and Helen Lander were unavailable and this pair have been instrumental to the clubs' success. Lander's two goals on Sunday mean she now has 13 for the season and her ability to find the net against the best opposition was proven by the brace she managed in a 6-2 defeat against Arsenal. Lander is a quick, strong forward who is all about goals. She is perfectly complemented by the clever, probing Ellen Maggs who is one of the most creative forwards in the league. Maggs started at Arsenal and gained full England caps earlier on in her career. Her progress was hampered by injuries but having re-established herself during a spell with Birmingham she is now providing Watford with invaluable experience as well as consistently excellent performances. The capture of Ashlee Hincks from the wreckage of Charlton Athletic gives the Hornets a formidable attacking trio. Hincks is still in the "exciting prospect" category but the regular football she is getting with Watford should speed her progress along significantly. Tall, athletic, quick and strong in possession Hincks is a fine sight when in full flight and was very well regarded by Keith Boanas, her manager at Charlton. More unpredictable than her forward colleagues Hincks has the potential to go right to the top if she develops a greater degree of consistency and the early signs this season are more than promising. If the club can keep this attacking trio together they should have little difficulty in establshing themselves in the National Premier League long term. On Sunday they recovered magnificently from conceding an early goal to Kerry Bartlett and had stormed into a 5-1 lead by half time. Lisa Burrows curled them level direct from a free kick after a foul on Emma Thomas before Ashlee Hincks slotted them ahead from the penalty spot after Helen Lander had been brought down. Watford then enjoyed a truly inspired spell as Maggs supplied Lander for number three at the end of a sweeping move out of defence, Maggs finished in assured fashion herself after a long ball forward by Hayley Kemp caught out the Academy defence and finally Hincks seized on a sloppy pass out of defence before lobbing home with calm precision. Bristol put in a determined effort after the break to try and salvage some pride but found Marie Hourihan in good form in the Watford goal. Hourihan has been another excellent summer signing. Having been peppered from all quarters as Fulham's keeper last season Hourihan might have been expected to be suffering from shellshock but she stood up well to that trial and is proving invaluable as Watford's last line of defence also. Having contained Bristol's attempts to get back into the game Lander struck again from a neat Burrows' through ball to make it 6-1 and although Nicky Watts replied late on for Academy this could not take the shine off an outstanding and thoroughly entertaining Watford display which confirmed that the Hertfordshire team, who are also through to the quarter finals of the League Cup, are welcome newcomers to the National Premier League. Elsewhere Charlton's miserable start to the season continued with a 4-0 home defeat to struggling Cardiff City whose goals came from Terri Beddows, Natasha Harding, Loren Dykes and Lauren Townsend. Cardiff will almost certainly struggle to retain their top flight status but continue to show enough to suggest their task is not a hopeless one. It is difficult to see Charlton's hastily assembled batch of youngsters adapting quickly enough to give themselves a chance of avoiding the drop, however. Chelsea will be hoping that their 4-1 win over Liverpool ignites their season after a tough start. Ellen White, Eni Aluko, Dunia Susi and Katie Owen all found the net and there would appear to be plenty more goals to come from that quartet. Leeds and Blackburn Rovers produced an eight goal thriller with Blackburn coming from 4-1 down to share the spoils. Amanda Barr grabbed two goals for Leeds against her former club but Natalie Preston did the same for Rovers who also had Katie Anderton to thank for their other two goals. Doncaster Belles enjoyed a good 2-0 home win over Birmingham City watched by a crowd of almost 2,000. An early goal by Emily Heckler was backed up by a late clincher from Carla Cantrell. In the League Cup there were comfortable away wins for Arsenal and Everton after their exertions in the UEFA Cup. Everton beat West Ham 4-1 with Fara Williams scoring twice while Arsenal routed Newquay 11-1 with Jane Ludlow, Rachel Yankey and Lianne Sanderson all hitting hat tricks. This weekend sees England in action for the first time since their encouraging World Cup campaign as they take on Belarus in the European Championships. The game kicks off at 12.30 on Saturday and is being played at Walsall FC. Despite the fine entertainment value offered by the side in the World Cup the television companies are not interested in covering a mere qualifying game so if you want to see the girls in action you will need to get yourself to the actual game. If you're within striking distance of Walsall it should be well worthwhile.
Friday, October 26 England play their first game since the World Cup tomorrow with a European Championship qualifier against Belarus at Walsall. It is hardly surprising that Hope Powell has named an unchanged squad from the one she took to China. Her players certainly didn't let her down in that tournament and this game has come around quickly so it would have been difficult, and perhaps unwise, to make changes. It is important that Powell now starts looking to the future, however. Time moves on quickly in football and the finals of this tournament will come around in short order. Hopefully England will be there and Powell will have few enough opportunities to fine tune her side. It is vital that the manager identifies the areas in which her team needs to improve on their World Cup showing and the players who may now need replacing. The obvious department that could do with a boost is up front. Without Kelly Smith's goals in China the team looked fairly impotent which is worrying as Smith basically operates from midfield with three players ahead of her. Three players in attack is a lot if they don't get you any goals. While there is no question that Eni Aluko is worth her place in the squad, both now and long term, surely the time has come to allow Lianne Sanderson the chance to lead the line for at least three or four games together to see if she can be as influential for England as she is at club level with Arsenal. In fact she only needs to be half as effective and England's front line will be enhanced. I would have thought the likes of Jody Handley and even Rachel Yankey should now be vulnerable to the crop of young talent emerging at Premier League level. The likes of Katie Anderton, Ellen White and Helen Lander all look capable of scoring goals at the top level. One player I would hope does not figure in the England forward line is Alex Scott. She has been superb at full back both for club and country over the past twelve months and should remain in that position from now on. She is actually more effective in an attacking sense coming forward from that position anyway and is also excellent in her defensive duties. Powell's decision to play Mary Phillip in that position in the World Cup severely restricted her teams' attacking potential and surely contributed to our timid showing against America. Phillip has been a fine servant for England but there are people at least equally as good waiting for their chance and they should be given the nod now with the future in view. If Faye White is not ready to take her place alongside Anita Asante in central defence then give Lindsay Johnson the shirt. She showed up well against Birgit Prinz during their recent meeting in the UEFA Cup and looking even further ahead her club colleague Fern Whelan potentially looks like an improved model of Phillip. The midfield is an interesting area. On the surface this looks like a position of strength. Fara Williams and Katie Chapman enhanced their reputations during the World Cup while Jill Scott stepped in and did well also. With Kelly Smith available to provide an attacking thrust this gives England plenty of talent and good options. Beyond these four, however, there are no obvious candidates. Hopeully someone will emerge during the coming season as a viable option in this area. Personally I would stick with Williams, Chapman and Scott in the midfield for this game and play Kelly Smith in one of the forward positions. The midfield will still have a decent balance and the forward line would definitely be more potent. Therefore my team tomorrow would be: R.Brown Come on England.
Saturday October 26, 2007 England Ladies 4 Belarus Ladies 0 England: R.Brown, A.Scott, M.Philip, A.Asante, C.Stoney, K.Chapman (J.Scott 62), K.Smith (L.Sanderson 55), F.Williams, K.Carney (S.Smith 45), E.Aluko, R.Yankey. England Ladies proved far too strong for Belarus in their European Championship qualifier at Walsall and will probably be content with all aspects of their performance apart from, perhaps, their finishing. With more precision in front of goal the scoring would have been approaching double figures. England were especially dangerous before half time as they looked to seal the three points as soon as possible. From the kick off the home side pressed forward in waves and had come close on several occasions before grabbing the lead on 11 minutes. Eni Aluko made the initial break and when her centre found Fara Williams she drove in a cross-shot that Alex Scott flicked in with a deft header. Virtually every England player got themselves into a scoring position as attack followed attack and Katie Chapman was particularly involved. She had three decent chances to score but could come no closer than a header over a gaping goal after the keeper had done well to parry a fierce effort from Kelly Smith. It was England's golden girl, Kelly Smith for the uninitiated, who finally gave her side breathing space on the half hour mark. This time the impressive Alex Scott provided the chance with a fine centre and Smith got between defenders to bury a thumping header into the corner. Rachel Yankey came close with a spectacular volley and Karen Carney wasted a good position by shooting when Aluko was better placed inside her. Half Time came with Rachel Brown yet to muddy her gloves. Half Time: England Ladies 2 Belarus Ladies 0 With the game basically already won the second half followed the same pattern as the first but without England managing to really capture the pace of their first half display. The chances continued to come, however, and England ended up doubling their score. Fara Williams, busy as usual, came close with a free kick before Aluko got the goal she so obviously wanted, and needed, at international level. This was a smart finish too. Kelly Smith found her with a neat pass and the striker went beyond the last defender with a sweet first touch before stroking home a crisp finish. This was Smith's last action before being rested with her Arsenal teammate Lianne Sanderson given a taste of the action. Sanderson took the opportunity to show her class with a convincing display while fellow subs Sue Smith and Jill Scott also made positive contributions. This, however, was not the game to judge real international credentials and far sterner tests lay ahead. Only one more goal came against tired and surely demoralised opponents and Sanderson had the major say in it. Having exchanged passes with Aluko she drove a cross-shot towards the far corner and once again it was the adventurous Alex Scott who provided the finish, driving home conclusively from close range. Once again Scott had amply displayed her attacking abilities from the full back position and it is a pity she wasn't retained in that role throughout the World Cup campaign. As for Rachel Brown she was left with another 45 minutes to finish her crossword. Next up are Spain at Shrewsbury next month for what should be a much stiffer challenge. Full Time: England Ladies 4 Belarus Ladies 0 England: R.Brown 5, A.Scott 9, M.Philip 5, A.Asante 5, C.Stoney 6, K.Chapman 6 (J.Scott 6), K.Smith 8 (L.Sanderson 7), F.Williams 7, K.Carney 6 (S.Smith 6), E.Aluko 8, R.Yankey 6. Star Player: Alex Scott Scott continues to flourish and is now one of England's ,ost consistent performers. Hopefully she will now remain at full back which is by far her most effective position.
Tuesday, October 30 Sue Smith showed exactly how you avoid a club v. country row at the weekend by playing in the second half of England's win over Belarus on Saturday before returning to Leeds to score in their Premier League victory over Birmingham City on the Sunday. Smith had Leeds ahead in the first half but saw her side pegged back midway through the second by Amy McCann's goal. Victory was wrapped up shortly afterwards by Olivia Thackery to keep Leeds unbeaten and Birmingham still slightly nervous about their position. Bristol Academy remain top for the time being after a Stef Curtis hat trick helped them to a 4-1 win over Cardiff City during the week and Watford stay second after coming out on top against Doncaster Belles on Sunday. The Belles paid the price for a mad five minutes leading up to half time when they conceded three goals. Liz Hanson had actually put the Belles ahead early on only for Emma Thomas to level for Watford. In the lead up to half time Ashlee Hincks converted a penalty before Helen Lander got her customary goal and then Hayley Kemp put the home side in command with the fourth. Vicky Exley produced a smart finish to give the Belles hope with fifteen minutes left and substitute Sarah Owen reduced the arrears to one near the end. The Belles had one final opportunity from a free kick to level the scores but this was put over the bar and Watford had another three points. Blackburn Rovers secured an expected victory over Charlton Athletic. Katie Anderton and Carloine Dixon both scored twice in a 6-0 win which leaves Charlton without a point or a goal from their first four games. Nottingham Forest continue to lead the way in the Northern section after coming from behind to beat Tranmere Rovers 3-2, Kirsty Robson grabbing the vital winner. In the South WFC Fulham continue to produce the goods, Tammy Scrivens and Jess Trimnell on target in their 2-1 win at Colchester, while Portsmouth routed Reading Royals 10-0 with Cassie Thorp getting a hat trick. In the FA Cup Whitley Bay bowed out after losing a hard fought encounter away to Blackpool Wren Rovers 2-0, the goals coming from a penalty and a free kick. Blackpool now have another home tie against West Auckland Town to look forward to. Elsewhere Frome Town enjoyed an excellent 2-0 win over Penzance. Lisa Frampton put them ahead in the first half and victory was confirmed in spectacular style by Cassie Powell in the very last minute. Frome's reward is a home tie against Forest Green Rovers.
|
