Neil Matthews’ Arnold Eagles, bottom of the East Midlands Women’s Regional Football League Premier Division, will contest this season’s League Cup final, with high-flying Lincoln United, after the Eagles avenged their previous weeks’ loss, to see off Oughtibridge War Memorial, 4-3.
Another Nottinghamshire club, Daniel Corlett’s Nottingham Trent University, of the EMWRFL Division One Central, will face Loughborough Foxes Vixens in the Plate final, NTU progressing with a 5-1 win at home to fellow Notts club, Sherwood.
Meanwhile, the county’s flagship outfit, Andy Cook’s Nottingham Forest, routed second bottom hosts, Boldmere St. Michaels, 10-1, to continue their march towards both promotion, and the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier title – it’s looking like an interesting end to the season is brewing up….
Even Forest’s Reserves got in on the act, as they battle, neck-and-neck, Derby County Development, for the Reserves Midlands title, the Reds easing to a 5-0 win away to Stourbridge Reserves, and just about keeping their noses in front.
Cook’s table-toppers, buoyed by braces from Charlotte Greengrass, Yasmin Mosby, and Rosetta Taylor, only led by four at the interval, upping the tempo as the game wore on – although Emily Batty, the Reds’ number one, will be disappointed to have lost her clean sheet, at the death.
Greengrass got the visitors underway, heading home LJ O’Neill’s cross after just five minutes, before Amy West, and Mosby, netted either side of the twenty minute mark, West doing so when lobbing the home ‘keeper from range; by the stroke of half-time the Reds had their fourth when Arryana Daniels fired a shot across the ‘keepers bough, and it nestled into the bottom corner.
Inside ten minutes of the second period beginning and the Reds found themselves six goals to the good, Mosby slotting home neatly with her second of the game, before she and Greengrass combined well, the latter released Mai Moncaster, who registered from ten yards out.
Far from being finished, Greengrass then added the seventh, and her twentieth of a productive season in front of goal, with a brilliant chip, visiting Head Coach, Andy Cook, taking then opportunity to make his changes, all five of them, as Georgia Hewitt, Gianna Mitchell, Niamh Reynolds, Rosetta Taylor, and Naomi Powell, all entered the field of play, just before the hour mark.
Two of the substitutes, Mitchell and Taylor, combined, the latter being on hand to score the games eighth goal just minutes after coming on, the same player making it a quick-fire double when she connected with Reynolds’ pass to fire home her sides’ ninth.
With a little more than twenty minutes remaining, you’d feel for Boldmere, the game long since having become a case of, how many? However, the Reds settled for just the ten when, with five minutes left on the clock, a cross from Mitchell was turned into the hosts’ own net.
There was time for an eleventh goal, the hosts with a very little consolation effort in stoppage time, the game though, it had long since been won by the table-toppers, they running out 10-1 winners, their second, double figure result this season.
It’s a couple of local affairs up next for the Reds, both on the road, first away to Loughborough Lightning (Thursday 16 March), before the small matter of the East Midlands derby, at Pride Park, against Derby County, at the end of the month (26 March).
As for the table, Cook’s charges hold a six-point advantage on second place Burnley, and seven on third place Wolverhampton Wanderers, both of whom two games in hand, and the run-in to come.
Nottingham Forest – Emily Batty, Lyndsey Harkin, Olivia Cook (Gianna Mitchell, 59), Charlotte Steggles, Mai Moncaster (Naomi Powell, 59), Yasmin Mosby, Amy West (Georgia Hewitt, 59), Arryana Daniels (Niamh Reynolds, 59), Laura-Jayne O’Neill (Rosetta Taylor, 59), Becky Anderson, Charlotte Greengrass
As for the Reserves, and their battle for the title, braces from Olivia Edwards and Isabella Hodson helped them to their 5-0 win, a valuable three points after Derby’s Development kept up the pressure with an 11-0 success away to Long Eaton Development.
Edwards’ brace moved her onto ten in fifteen outings this season, whilst the two from Hodson saw her reach six in thirteen, the other scorer for the Reds’ second string, an early goal from Jessica Melrose.
In the EMWRFL, Arnold reached the League Cup final following a seven-goal thriller at home to Oughtibridge, Eve Shaw with a thirty minute hat-trick, and a late winner from Natasha Leach as Outibridge threatened a comeback; they’ll play Lincoln United who won 5-2 away to Ilkeston Town, Tracey Duxbury-Mead with a treble, and Lauren Churcher with one, amongst the scorers.
NTU meanwhile roared into the League Plate final, courtesy of a 5-1 home win against fellow Notts club, Sherwood, a game that was goalless for the first hour before braces from Alice Rogers and Quinn Garner, and one from Ellie McKeegan, out them through; where they’ll oppose Loughborough Foxes after they battled to a 4-2, penalty shoot-out win, following a goalless draw, away to Thrapston Town.
SJR Worksop was the only Notts club on league duty, winning 4-0 at home to Grimsby Borough in the EMWRFL Division One North, goals coming from Charlotte Finch, Beth Gingell, Deysha Pressley, and Abbie Lister; whilst in the Notts Girls & Ladies Seniors 1 Retford continued their run to possible promotion, and the title, with a 3-0 win at Arnold Eagles Flyers, with three different scorers, they being Kayla Nelson, Ellie Sims, and Isabelle Thorpe.
There was seven goals in the game between Sports Gateway Hucknall, and NTU, the hosts edging that one, 4-3, as Bailee Manner scored three for the victors, and Keyworth United slapped a 6-0 thrashing on visiting, University of Nottingham IV, Lily Chapman with a treble also.
The EMWRFL League Cup and League Plate finals, scheduled for Sunday 21 May (venue tbc), will be contested between the following (Notts clubs in bold) –
EMWRFL LEAGUE CUP FINAL Arnold Eagles vs. Lincoln United
EMWRFL LEAGUE PLATE FINAL Loughborough Foxes Vixens vs. Nottingham Trent University
*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).
*Main image @ArnoldEaglesFC the Eagles won promotion last season to the EMWRFL Premier Division.
