Nottingham Forest Women continued their emphatic start to the new season with a comfortable, 9-0 home win, against Stourbridge, this past weekend – victory moving them top of the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier.
In hitting their opponents for nine, Sophie Domingo bagging the first women’s hat-trick at the City Ground, on what was captain Lyndsey Harkin’s 300 appearance for the Reds, it takes their early season tally to thirty-one scored, in just four games, conceding once.
Leading by three at the break, Carly Davies’ side knew a win, and results going in their favour, would send them top of the division – Charlie Wellings bagged her fourth of the season inside the first fifteen before further goals, from Natalie Johnson and Mollie Green, just after the half-hour, had the Reds coasting at the break.
Upon the restart and the floodgates quickly burst open; Sophie Domingo, always a threat since joining the club, bagged two in the opening ten minutes of the second half, before half-time substitutes Holly Manders and Melanie Johnson chipped in.
Domingo completed a well-deserv3ed hat-trick with five minutes remaining, moving onto five for the season, before Mel Johnson added a late second for her, and ninth for the free-scoring Reds, taking her tally to six thus far.
With both Rugby Borough (2-1 at home to Stoke City) and Burnley (1-0 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers), slipping up at this early stage, it was a valuable three points for Davies’ side who face an early-season battle with Burnley, in the next outing, at the City Ground on 15 September.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST – Emily Batty, Lyndsey Harkin, Natalie Johnson, Katie Longhurst (Hollie Olding,46), Sophie Domingo, Bridget Galloway (Melanie Johnson, 46), Charlie Wellings (Katie Dungate, 77), Mollie Green, Freya Thomas (Amy Sims, 63), Caragh Hamilton, Millie Chandarana (Holly Manders, 46)
All three Notts County sides suffered defeat, and by sizeable scores at the at, their first team going down 7-2 away to Northampton Town in the National League Division One Midlands, taking their tally conceded to twenty-two goals in five games – Jessie Knott and Leah Hardy with the goals.
County’s Reserves were also firmly beaten, losing 4-1 at home to Sutton Coldfield Town Reserves in the Reserves Midlands Division, Harriet Bridgwater with a brace for the victors, whilst their Development side lost by the same score when home to Chesterfield in the EMWRFL Division One North, Summer Oliff with the consolation there.
In the East Midlands Women’s Regional Football League Premier Division, SJR Worksop are enjoying their start to life in the division, collecting a 6-1 win on the road at a Nottingham Trent University side struggling to adapt at this early stage.
Netting three in each half SJR would see a four-goal salvo from Millee Clarke put them on their way to another three points, she being joined on the scoresheet by goals from Emily Myatt and Lauren Cundy.
SJR WORKSOP – Olivia Walker, Rachael Bell, Abbie Lister, Lauren Cundy, Alice Hill, Amy O’Brien, Autumn Marshall, Beth Scarll, Emily Myatt, Emily Murphy, Millee Clarke
The other two sides in the Premier Division both suffered losses, Mansfield Town losing 2-1 away to Sheffield FC, and Basford United losing an eight-goal thriller, 5-3, away to Anstey Nomads, six of those goals arriving in a hectic, opening forty-five, Chloe Phillips with a brace for United whilst Analeice Wilkins bagged a hat-trick for the victors.
In Division One Central, West Bridgford Colts were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Beaumont Park, whilst in the North there were home wins for both Arnold Eagles and Sherwood.
Kitty Ward netted the only goal of the game for the Eagles as they edged visiting Buxton, whilst Katie Fish scored twice, alongside one from Hollie Dalling, in Sherwood’s 3-1 win when hosting Belper Town.
Meanwhile, in the opening day of the Nottinghamshire Girls & Ladies League Seniors One season, there was certainly goals aplenty, twenty-six in-fact, in just four matches – a statistic made even more surprising by the fact there was only one scored in the game between Mansfield Town Development and Lowdham Colts, substitute Molly Allsopp for the hosts.
Ten were scored as Radcliffe Olympic edged Newark Town 6-4 at home, braces coming from Shannon Franklin and Rania Turner-Ramadan (Radcliffe), and from Jessica Parker and Connie Forman (Newark); eight were scored at Retford as they went down 7-1 against visitors Hucknall Town, three Town players bagging braces in Kayleigh Allen, Bailee Manners, and Mia Shanahan; and seven was seen at Basford as their U23s won 6-1 at home to Arnold Eagles Development, Kaitlyn Konyani and substitute Scarlett Owen-Jones with a brace apiece.
*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).
*Main image @NFFCWomen Celebrations during another super Sunday for Forest.
