Ascot United registered their third win in four when they travelled to Oxford City on a sunny Sunday afternoon with goals from seven different scorers and a clean sheet to match. With Sarah Leonard unavailable for selection, they might’ve been concerned about chances in front of goal, but the Yellawomen were firing on all cylinders.
With less than five minutes gone on the clock and Sarah Davern had sent a swift corner into the box which saw the Oxford City goalkeeper fumble away and the quick thinking of Amelia Kimble poked home the error to put Ascot one nil up. The early lead struck fire into the Yellas and more attempts at goal came shortly after by Tiff Skinner and Georgia Luckhurst-McCord.
Davern forced the defense into action all game with her quick feet threading ball after ball through to split the City players. Hannah Bennett tried her chances from midfield with relentlessness as the half hour mark approached but to no avail. Shortly followed City’s first attack of the game when they found themselves one on one with Lucie White, but the quick thinking defensive effort from Sarah Killick-Bird cut out the press and the Yellas lead was secure. Nicole Brown was in the act next to cushion the lead with some beautifully built play by several of the squad with White starting the attack off with a ball played to Dom Carrington waiting on the right who carried the ball forward to play a one two touch sequence with Izzy Woods before she offloaded the ball to Alix Todd. Todd then flicked the ball on to a waiting Carrington who had fired down the right wing giving her the chance to drive into the box and find a waiting Brown who slotted past the scrambling defense.
Moments later, Davern made the most of a switched off City defense and the Yellas were three nil up as half time swiftly approached. A final strike before the whistle from Kimble at distance was ambitious but wide and the Yellas went in with a convincing lead.
HT Oxford City 0-3 Ascot United
One might’ve expected the Yellas to sit back a little in the second half with such a confident passage of play in the first half and three goals to their name but that they did not as with barely five minutes on the clock, Laura Spark was in on the act as she rose highest to head home a Davern cross to make it four. That set the wheels in motion for a flurry of goals as Izzy Woods found herself under pressure yet with all the composure in the world as she fired home from the right wing to make it five and two minutes later Todd got her just desserts, after previous chances went amiss, with Carrington threading a smart ball into her path to make it one more.
Not all was rosy in the second half as Hannah Bennett was hacked down and had to be carried off the pitch, a real misfortunate as she’d surely have been on the scoresheet too with the long distance attempts fired by the midfielder, but a sensible precautionary decision ahead of the next game.
Oxford weren’t giving up on netting themselves with a couple of long distance strikes themselves in the final ten but none were enough to really test White in between the sticks who looked comfortable collecting.
Signed, sealed and delivered with the seventh goal coming from Carrington who make the most of those pacey runs down the right having assisted for the afternoon. Skinner tried her luck with the final Ascot attempt of the goal but it sailed over the bar and the referee called for full time.
FT Oxford City 0-7 Ascot United
A huge credit to the Yellawomen and their performance, seven goalscorers is an indication of the team performance. The result puts the Yellas top of the table for the time being in a very competitive Premier Division of the SRWFL this season.
All attention turns to the Third Round Qualifying of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup on Sunday 23rd of October where Ascot will welcome AFC Acorns to the Racecourse for a 2pm kick off.
Ascot United: White, Luckhurst, McCord, Killick-Bird, Spark, Bennett, Woods, Todd, Bowers, Kimble, Skinner, Davern (C)
Subs: Last, Uppal, Carrington, Cruikshank, Brown
