Newbury lose out to rivals
Ladies 1st XI are pipped by Oxford
NEWBURY & Thatcham Ladies 1st XI suffered a narrow 1-0 home defeat to Oxford 2nd in North Division 1 of the South Central League.
The home side started strongly, pushing into Oxford’s territory early and finding forwards high up the pitch.
They were rewarded with the first shot on goal, testing the keeper from open play and subsequently winning a short corner.
An initial straight strike was saved, then a second attempt led to a well-worked set piece, but Newbury were again thwarted by the goalie on the line.
Oxford responded to this period of pressure with quick passes through their midfield, making some charging runs into the Newbury D.
Heading into the end of the firsthalf at 0-0, the sides were evenly matched and with each team eager to break the deadlock, it was anyone’s game in the second half.
Oxford started well from the whistle and built play from the back, eventually finding an outlet down the left after a few minutes.
Two shots were saved, but the third attempt bobbled into the goal to make it 1-0 to the visitors.
Undaunted, Newbury regrouped from their reset, outplaying Oxford all over the park.
Special mention must go to Jess Allen in goal, who pulled off several of her trademark wonder saves to deny the Oxford forwards.
Although not to be rewarded, Newbury remained relentless in their attempts on bringing back the scoreline.
Newbury Ladies 2nd suffered a 2-1 defeat against Marlow 4th, with Posy Cranfield on target for the visitors.
The 3rd XI were also on the losing side as they were beaten 3-0 at Yateley 2nd in Thames Division 1.
Nicole Allen was on the scoresheet for Newbury 4th, but they were unable to find a way past Marlow 6th as they lost 2-1, while South Berkshire beat Newbury 5th 3-0.
Two Newbury teams were up against each other in Division 3 as Newbury 4th recorded a 1-0 win over the 5th team with Rhian Simm scoring.