Hampstead Women Hit LNER For Six
FA Greater London League, Division Three
Hampstead Womens FC 6 LNER FC 0
Sunday, 26 November, 2006
Strong passing through the team and some excellent running off the ball led to three chances in the first ten minutes but all went begging as the Hampstead forwards got their eyes in. Cat Forbes and Anjana Gadgil were in great form on the right and left wings respectively and they were causing the LNER full backs problem after problem.
LNER were defending in numbers and seemed to have a strategy of filling the midfield and penalty area with as many players as possible so they were forcing HWFC to break them down.
It was a piece of a great individual skill that did and it came from the left wing. On 28 minutes, Lins Roberts playing at left back threaded a 15-yard pass over the half way line into space which Gadgil ran on to. Taking it past the first and then second defender Gadgil headed into the penalty area and leaning back coolly placed the ball around the keeper and into the bottom right hand corner of the net.
The second goal came on the stroke of half time and in the words of the HWFC manager was a “beautiful football goal”. LNER had just had their first shot on goal in the 44th minute when after some good work from their striker she managed to get a shot off from outside the area. Mifsud playing in goal made the save look simple but in the wind, torrential rain and the odd roll of thunder, conditions in the penalty area were nothing less than treacherous and Mifsud did well to hold onto the ball. She released it quickly to Roberts who in turn found Carly Grayston in midfield. Grayston was becoming more influential and with a cool pass through two LNER midfielders played in Stewart who turned and in one movement spread the ball out wide to Gadgil. Gadgil took the ball in her stride, raced past the full back and got to the bye line. A perfect cross across the penalty area found Grayston steaming into meet it and with a side foot tap in from six-yards out Grayston made it 2–0.
The second half started much the same way as the first with HWFC making chances but not taking them but when Bard was fouled just outside the penalty area, Kate Freeman moved quickly to place the ball and struck the ball to the right, curling it into the top corner over the reach of the LNER goalkeeper. From 35 yards out it was perhaps Freeman’s best goal of the season so far.
At 3-0 HWFC seemed to be in complete control but after the last match capitulation, a fourth goal was needed and with this in mind Lucy Rebuck was bought on up front and Green put out onto the right wing and their inclusion at this stage of the match seemed to lift the HWFC players even higher.
With almost her second or third touch Rebuck was on the score sheet. Freeman sent an outswinging corner in after some good work on the touch-line from Gadgil and Rebuck had won the corner. Grayston headed the ball back into the penalty area and Rebuck slipping past her marker headed the ball into the back of the net from just outside the 6 yard box.
LNER were beaten now but there was still time for two more goals. Gadgil showed she had great composure when she slotted home the fifth, her second of the game, and Rebuck took a speculative shot from outside the area on 86 minutes, which, with the help of the wind that day was able to bend round three defenders and the goalkeeper and nestled itself in the bottom corner.
This was a great team performance and everyone played well in their own positions as well as fighting for every ball and showing a huge commitment to the cause. Strong performances from Mifsud, Berks, Roberts and Elstein in defence made sure that LNER only had two shots on goal throughout the whole match.
Benjamin playing as sweeper was her usual exemplary self winning every ball she challenged for and the midfield pairing of Bard and Grayston gets better each match. Forbes and Gadgil controlled the wings with Green doing the same when she went on and Rebuck, Stewart and Freeman between them helped to make and score the goals that won this match.
This was an important victory for HWFC and helped move them back to third in the table. Having played seven games, the club have won five and lost two, and also have a positive goal difference of +36 having already scored 47 goals this season.
With a crunch match vs Garston FC on Sunday 10 December, HWFC keep moving toward achieving their goal this season of winning promotion in to Division II.
MATCH FACTS:
Team: Mifsud, Roberts, Elstein (65 minutes), Berks ©, Benjamin, Forbes (70 minutes), Bard, Grayston, Gadgil, Freeman, Stewart
Subs: Green (70 minutes), Rebuck (65 minutes)
Goal Scorers:
Gadgil – 28, 81
Grayston – 45
Freeman – 55
Rebuck – 68, 87
Player-of-the-Match:
Anjana Gadgil
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FA Greater London League, Division Three
Celtic FC 5 Hampstead Womens FC 3
Sunday, 19 November, 2006
HWFC lost this match after being 3–0 up but a fluke goal from 40-yards out on the stroke of half time seemed to raise the Celtic spirits at the same time as dampening HWFC’s resolve.
A brilliant opening 15 minutes saw Kate Freeman, Lucy Rebuck and Jamie Minter-Green all take advantage of poor defending to open up a 3-0 lead for HWFC.
But when they returned for the second half, the HWFC team seemed still to be in shock from the goal Celtic scored in the last minute of the first half and within seven minutes of the second half, it was 3-3.
Celtic were forcing the HWFC midfield into making unwanted errors by pressurising the HWFC midfielders for possession. Although there was some fluid football from HWFC, for most of the second half they found themselves under pressure. The pressure told when with less than 10 minutes to go Celtic scored from a set-piece when their striker connected with a good corner and headed the Team from Ealing into the lead for the first time in the match.
HWFC responded immediately but three attacks were foiled by the inspirational Celtic Goalkeeper – her best save coming from a volley from Freeman just inside the box that somehow she was able to tip round the post.
You could sense HWFC’s frustration at not being able to score and almost as soon as she had made this diving save to deny Freeman her second of the game, Celtic went all the way up the other end and after a defensive mix up put the game beyond doubt with their 5th goal of the match.
HWFC came off shell-shocked having sunk to only their second defeat of the season and realising that this defeat would drop the club a position in the table.
