Our first home league game of the year saw our ladies run out 5-0 winners over Sutton United.
The midweek jet setting conquerors of the Channel Islands were brought down with a bump as early as the fourth minute.
A through ball to Brionne Fowle saw her take flight down the right flank, taking the ball to the edge of the box before beating the keeper with a sublime finish for 1-0.
Two minutes later Abbey Davies saw her goal bound free kick, from just outside the area, diverted away by United keeper Mya Francis who flew across the face of goal to prevent Abbey from doubling the lead.
Play came to a brief halt on 10 minutes when a Sutton player was taken down by a crunching tackle from Xayla-Rae Alberts.
Protests could be heard from the opposing dugout with Mrs. Doubtfire not sounding very impressed either. Although I did hear someone respond by kindly pointing out Xayla did get the ball first.
On 14 minutes Davies was at it again when she let fly with a 35 yarder. A stinging shot well saved by Mya.
23 minutes saw Amy Russ go close with an good effort from distance.
Then a minute later Russ set up Xayla, whose shot flew over the bar.
In the 35th a rare attack by Sutton saw a free kick from the edge of the box well saved by Paris Smith.
Paris was back in action again two minutes later saving another free kick from the visitors.
40 mins and a well taken volley by Russ went wide of the far post. In the 42nd Paris was quick off her line to thwart another Sutton attack.
On the stroke of half time Russ found Emily Vaughan whose shot was saved followed by a strike from Russ, who beat the keeper but the ball went just wide of the target.
A triple substitution during half time saw Ellie Dolby, Poppy Payne and Amy Russ make way for Georgie Davis, Shauni Griffiths and Emily Woodhouse.
In the 56th minute Brionne found Georgie out on the left who whipped the ball across field which Lizzie Adams met with a brilliant volley for the goal of the game.
The substitutions allowed Abbey Davies to push further up the field in the second half which proved very effective.
Her cross into the box saw Brionne's header well saved by the keeper.
Abbey and Brionne combined again on 61 mins with Brie firing home for 3-0.
Sutton then had a brief spell on the front foot but Paris was equal to it everytime, being quick of the mark before the opposition had a chance to pull the trigger.
On 66 min Abbey, who was becoming a second half revelation, sent in another great cross to set up Vaughany who shot just wide.
Five minutes later Mya made a good save from Vaughany, which saw Lizzie reacting quickly to pounce on the loose ball to score at the near post for her second and Darts fourth goal of the game.
Just before that, keeper Jade Charlton came on for the final 20 minutes replacing Paris who has deputised admirably during Jade's absence.
It wasn't the last we saw of Paris though. She was soon sent upfield to cause further havoc for the visitors.
Shauni unleashed a brilliant shot on 84 mins which was well blocked by Mya and Paris followed up for goal number 5.
Or so we thought. For some inexplicable reason Paris was deemed offside. She certainly wasn't offside and neither was anyone else for that matter when Shauni fired from distance. It was a diabolical decision from the officials.
Shauni had the last word though when the final action of the game saw her force the ball over the line, completing another great day at the office for our girls plus a second consecutive 5-0 league victory for them too.
Player of the match for me was Brionne Fowle who was in the running for it before her second goal. Her link-up play in the final third was excellent throughout.
The midweek jet setting conquerors of the Channel Islands were brought down with a bump as early as the fourth minute.
A through ball to Brionne Fowle saw her take flight down the right flank, taking the ball to the edge of the box before beating the keeper with a sublime finish for 1-0.
Two minutes later Abbey Davies saw her goal bound free kick, from just outside the area, diverted away by United keeper Mya Francis who flew across the face of goal to prevent Abbey from doubling the lead.
Play came to a brief halt on 10 minutes when a Sutton player was taken down by a crunching tackle from Xayla-Rae Alberts.
Protests could be heard from the opposing dugout with Mrs. Doubtfire not sounding very impressed either. Although I did hear someone respond by kindly pointing out Xayla did get the ball first.
On 14 minutes Davies was at it again when she let fly with a 35 yarder. A stinging shot well saved by Mya.
23 minutes saw Amy Russ go close with an good effort from distance.
Then a minute later Russ set up Xayla, whose shot flew over the bar.
In the 35th a rare attack by Sutton saw a free kick from the edge of the box well saved by Paris Smith.
Paris was back in action again two minutes later saving another free kick from the visitors.
40 mins and a well taken volley by Russ went wide of the far post. In the 42nd Paris was quick off her line to thwart another Sutton attack.
On the stroke of half time Russ found Emily Vaughan whose shot was saved followed by a strike from Russ, who beat the keeper but the ball went just wide of the target.
A triple substitution during half time saw Ellie Dolby, Poppy Payne and Amy Russ make way for Georgie Davis, Shauni Griffiths and Emily Woodhouse.
In the 56th minute Brionne found Georgie out on the left who whipped the ball across field which Lizzie Adams met with a brilliant volley for the goal of the game.
The substitutions allowed Abbey Davies to push further up the field in the second half which proved very effective.
Her cross into the box saw Brionne's header well saved by the keeper.
Abbey and Brionne combined again on 61 mins with Brie firing home for 3-0.
Sutton then had a brief spell on the front foot but Paris was equal to it everytime, being quick of the mark before the opposition had a chance to pull the trigger.
On 66 min Abbey, who was becoming a second half revelation, sent in another great cross to set up Vaughany who shot just wide.
Five minutes later Mya made a good save from Vaughany, which saw Lizzie reacting quickly to pounce on the loose ball to score at the near post for her second and Darts fourth goal of the game.
Just before that, keeper Jade Charlton came on for the final 20 minutes replacing Paris who has deputised admirably during Jade's absence.
It wasn't the last we saw of Paris though. She was soon sent upfield to cause further havoc for the visitors.
Shauni unleashed a brilliant shot on 84 mins which was well blocked by Mya and Paris followed up for goal number 5.
Or so we thought. For some inexplicable reason Paris was deemed offside. She certainly wasn't offside and neither was anyone else for that matter when Shauni fired from distance. It was a diabolical decision from the officials.
Shauni had the last word though when the final action of the game saw her force the ball over the line, completing another great day at the office for our girls plus a second consecutive 5-0 league victory for them too.
Player of the match for me was Brionne Fowle who was in the running for it before her second goal. Her link-up play in the final third was excellent throughout.
Statistics: Posted by Ajaxman DFC — Mon Feb 10, 2025 5:49 am