Hampstead Women Off To Winning Start
Hampstead Women’s FC (HWFC) are the only Jewish women’s team in London, and with a competitive league season ahead, have begun with two victories.
FA Greater London League, Division IIIHampstead Women’s FC 4 Alexander Palace FC 2
Sunday, 1 October, 2006
HWFC had a fantastic start to the season with a 4-2 home victory against north London rivals Alexandra palace FC.
Going in at half time at 4-1 up, after a clinical attacking display, a more defensive performance in the second half guaranteed the points.
With seven minutes gone, Kate Freeman picked the ball up on the edge of the box and thread through Temi Henry who rounded the keeper to make it one nil.
APFC responded almost immediately and a superb curling drive from 30 yards out pulled the scores level after 12 minutes.
Having worked in the weeks before on their passing game, HWFC started to move the ball around quite well and the second goal came on 27 minutes after some great build up play. Liz Berks, captain and central defender, played in Dani Benjamin who rounded one player and then spread the ball wide to the right wing for Catriana Forbes to pick it up. Cat ran the line and then played in Freeman on the edge of the box, who in one sweeping movement passed the ball through to Anjana Gadgil on the left wing. Taking the ball in her stride she played in Temi Henry who scored her second goal by leaning back and curling the ball into the top right hand corner from just inside the box. It was a brilliant goal that set of a ten minute spell that saw HWFC net three more.
On 33 minutes, having been released by a long goal-kick from Leigh Shapiro, Carly Grayston broke free from central midfield and when faced with the oncoming defenders and APFC goalkeeper, she coolly lifted the ball over them all and into the back of the net from 10 yards outside the box.
Two minutes later the ball was in the back of the net again, this time Catriana Forbes scoring an exceptional half volley from outside the box. After some strong work in defense, Lins Roberts fed the ball up the line to Catriana who took the ball past two AFPC defenders before slamming the ball into the top corner from an acute angle on the right hand side of the pitch.
At 4-1 HWFC seemed in total control of the game and came off at half time confident of the win.
AFPC made two substitutions for the beginning of the second half and brought on some very strong attackers but they spent most of the second half chasing the ball.
HWFC played a much tighter game, narrowing their football and passing the ball around the back and through the middle. There was only really one chance for HWFC in the second half and Freeman shot wide. When APFC did get forward they were threatening but Leigh Shapiro, standing in for injured goalkeeper Laura Mifsud made three excellent saves to keep the scoreline at 4-1. APFC did get a late consolation goal in the 82nd minute, breaking through a very tired HWFC defense and drawing Shapiro off her line, before slotting it past her in the far corner.
HWFC stood resolute and kept battling until the final whistle earning three points and bragging rights for the next three months over long term rivals Alexandra palace. The return fixture is in December.
HWFC Team:
Shapiro, Roberts, Berks ©, Marcus, Benjamin, Forbes, Grayston, Bard, Gadgil, Henry, Freeman.
Subs: Elstein (not used), Dobrin(85 minutes – came on for Forbes), Minter Green (45 minutes – came on for Henry)
----------------------------------------
FA Greater London League, Division III
Waltham Abbey FC 2 Hampstead Womens FC 11
Sunday, 8 October, 2006
Playing away from home is never easy in the FA Greater London League and Waltham Abbey FC is a very hostile place to go and play. Yet, despite the hostile crowd of more than 40 people, HWFC left the Abbey FC ground as convincing winners.
Making two changes form the team that beat APFC the week before, HWFC took this game by the scruff of its neck from kick off.
For ten minutes HWFC kept the ball, played to feet and had four chances, which all were off target, but once the forwards found their range the goals started going in.
The first goal came on 12 minutes when Forbes broke free on the right hand side and rounding two defenders and some very late challenges, bent the ball in to the far corner from just inside the area.
It was 2-0 on 15 minutes when Forbes found herself in the clear again and this time ran with the ball into the penalty area before hitting it through the goalkeepers legs. Two became three less than two minutes later when Rebuck won a corner on 17 minutes. Freeman stepped up to swing the ball into the six yard box and swung the ball into the top corner.
The goals kept coming. On 22 minutes Gadgil and Rebuck linked up well on the left hand side and Rebuck struck the ball from eight yards out and it went low and hard into the corner of the net. It became 5–0 on 30 minutes after a Waltham Abbey defensive error forced a penalty for HWFC. Freeman, the club penalty taker, stepped up and coolly placed the ball past the Abbey keeper.
Forbes wasn’t finished scoring either and grabbed her hat-trick in the 37th minute when she won the ball after some poor defending by Abbey FC and drilled the ball in from close range.
Abbey kicked off at 6–0 down and scored an unexpected breakaway goal to make it 6–1 on 40 minutes, but natural order was restored when HWFC grabbed a further two goals before half-time with Freeman grabbing her hat-trick and Patterson scoring an individual goal when she rounded three defenders in the Abbey FC penalty are before nut-megging the goalkeeper on 45 minutes.
Abbey started the second half strongly and won a penalty early on which they converted making the score 8–2, but to be fair the HWFC team never looked like struggling against this poor team and found time to net three more times before the game finished. Forbes got a fourth when she moved over to the left-hand-side, Patterson scored for a second time, and Gadgil scored a beautiful goal from the right-hand-side when she took a pass from Grayston in midfield, ran onto it, beating the Abbey left-back for pace, and hit the ball with the outside of her foot from 20 yards – watching it sail over the Abbey goalie and into the back of the net.
When the ref blew HWFC had won 11–2 – the greatest victory in the club’s eight-year history. Our next home match will be at 11.00 am on 15 October 2006 at Barnet Playing Fields against Celtic FC
HWFC Team:
Jebreel, Roberts, Berks, Marcus, Benjamin, Forbes (4), Freeman (3), Grayston, Gadgil(1), Dobrin, Patterson (2)
Subs: Rebuck(1) (came on after five minutes when Dobrin injured)
