Nottingham Forest Women 7-0 Loughborough Foxes (FA Womens National League North) 11.10.20
Seventh heaven for Forest Women as braces from Rosie Axten and Georgia Hewitt fired the Reds to a comfortable 7-0 win at Eastwood.
Forest Women went into the Women’s National League fixture with bottom-of-the-table Loughborough Foxes looking for their fourth consecutive victory this season, awarding Rachel Brown her first start, whilst their visitors also afforded a first start to Becky Matlock.
Andrew Cook’s table-toppers (joint with Fylde prior to kick-off) raced into the lead after just ninety seconds of play, Rosie Axten, who’d fired wide moments earlier, capitalised on a mistake at the back to calmly slot the ball past Mayfield for her fourth in four.
Continuous pressure from Forest could have resulted in further goals being added in the opening fifteen, the Foxes also probing away, Mayfield however was leading a charmed life keeping Hewitt, Axten and Brown at bay as the home side played ping-pong with the visitors goal.
Midway through the first period, midfielder Hayley James doubled the home sides lead with an absolute rocket of a goal, holder off her marker along the edge of box, rifling home from fully 19 yards out past a flailing Mayfield.
Just past the half hour mark and the Reds were three to the good, Charlotte Greengrass netting her first goal since joining the club from Aston Villa in the summer, powering home a header from a corner and minutes later, the riot continued with Georgia Hewitt getting in on the act with a volley from close range, at the back post, and puts the Reds all but out of sight.
Completely outfoxed, a demoralised Loughborough side went in four goals down at the interval, Forest seemingly firing on all cylinders
Having has a number of good efforts on goal, the Reds made their first change of the afternoon early in the second period when Mai Muncaster was replaced by Reynolds, who immediately got into the thick of things with an early cross to James, the Reds seeing the opportunity blocked before it can amount to anything, James substituted shortly after to be replaced by Middleton
Chances continued to flow for the hosts, Brown and Naylor both missing opportunities to extend before Axten doubled her tally, and Forest’s fifth, on 69 minutes, nodding home effortlessly at the back post past a beleaguered Mayfield.
With fifteen minutes remaining, Forest went nap with number six, substitute Katie Middleton also registering her first of the season, and outdoing the earlier strike from distance by James, Middleton rasping home from 25 yards out, beating Mayfield all ends up, and dipping in under the bar to put the icing on the cake and, within five minutes, Hewitt made it seventh heaven with her second of the game to ease into the final ten minutes on cruise control.
Both sides continued to battle away in the closing stages, McGrother and Young with chances for the visitors, Middleton and Reynolds clearly wanting more for the hosts but they’d done enough, more than enough, to claim a comfortable three points, a clean sheet, and a 7-0 win, two goals from distance an obvious highlight.
Forest: Aguirre, Greengrass, Harkin, Johnson, Hewitt, James (Middleton), Naylor, Moncaster (Reynolds), Brown, Rayner, Axten.
*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).
*Main image @NFFCWomen Forest players celebrate a goal against the Foxes.
