Womens 1st XI vs New Forest 1

On Saturday, Winchester Ladies 1s put in another dominant performance, despite having already secured promotion with 5 games left to play this season.

It would be easy for the ladies to have taken their foot off the gas, but going in to the game with an unbeaten run this season of 17 wins and 2 draws, they showed no signs of slowing down. Saturday's 3-1 win vs New Forest keeps them firmly at the top of the table and currently 4 points clear of Havant (who have a game in hand), who have been snapping at their heels all season.

The first goal was scored within the first 5 minutes. U16 England player Violet Lacey drove hard into the D beating the New Forest defender before unselfishly passing to Marie Atkinson on the far post who wasted no time putting the ball across the line.

Winchester continued to keep the pressure on with some well drilled linked play leading to a quick baseline run from Emily Shepherd who connected cleanly with danger forward Charlotte Gale. Gale's attempt wasn't enough, but forced an excellent save from the New Forest keeper on the far post.

The start of the second half saw a good spell of possession for Winchester. An excellent lead from Winchester pocket rocket Holly Keelan set her up for a clinical reverse hit finish: 2-0.

New Forest countered hard and won a short corner. A good save on the first strike but Winchester’s keeper was unable to get the ball clear. A flurry at the goal mouth led to the ball clipping the keeper and ending in the top corner, bringing the score to 2-1.

Winchester retaliated immediately, and from the reset Lacey delivered a precise pass to Gale gave her the opportunity to beat a couple of defenders and find just enough space to slot home goal number 3 for Winchester, less than 2 minutes after the New Forest goal. The final score was 3-1 to Winchester.

Overall, another great team performance for the Ladies. Next week sees them travel away to Chichester where they will look to keep up their momentum and chase their 19th win of the season.