Ashridge Park Women 6 Procision Oxford Ladies 0 Sunday 5th November 2023 Thames Valley Counties Women’s Football League Division One Sunday was an altogether nicer sunnier day in Berkshire and a day without any rain which felt like a novelty. It’s always a pleasure to visit Cantley Park, home of Ashridge Park, and another chance for me to check out their progress this time in the league after catching them in a cup a few weeks previously. For the first ten minutes the visitors, Procision Oxford Ladies, were on the front foot with Lohan Partlett looking especially dangerous down the right. A great run down the left and cross from Phoebe Coles was cut out well by Rachel Stevens as they continued to press. Gradually the hosts came into the game and the first shot on goal came from Lily Varney as she raced onto a long ball over the defence but could only shoot straight at Lauren Busby in the Oxford goal. In the 12th minute, another long ball down the middle ball bypassed the visitors defence with Varney again beating the offside trap and this time running into the area before firing past Busby to take the lead. 1-0 Oxford were struggling with Ashridge’s pacy forwards every time the hosts played a ball through the middle and on 15 minutes Mia Leonard’s shot was well saved by Busby with the rebound falling to Lucy Thomson outside the area. She hit the ball powerfully goalwards only for Pheobe Coles to get back and head the ball clear from underneath the crossbar. Ashridge were now fully on top with Varney and Laura Comerford both having shots from outside the area, both straight at the keeper. On a rare Oxford foray forward, Bryony Bennett hit a shot from distance which was well saved by the returning Suzana Traguedes in the home goal. On 22 minutes yet another ball over the top was this time picked up by Comerford who sidefooted the ball calmly past the advancing Busby. 2-0 Comerford was in the thick of the action minutes later seeing her cracking shot from outside the area crash off the bar and away to safety. On 33 minutes a great move gave the hosts their third. Mia Leonard and Megan Averill played a lovely one two down the right with the former running towards the byline before driving a cross into the six yard box where Comerford was waiting to smash the ball home off the underside of the crossbar. 3-0 Just three minutes later it was four, another good ball down the middle from Thomson found Katie Sayer and she ran on into the area before slotting the ball past Busby. 4-0 Just before the break, a corner from Amy Linge found Thomson who in turn, touched it back to Averill but her shot under pressure was well saved by Busby. H-T: Ashridge Park 4 Procision Oxford 0 The second half began in the same fashion with the home side pushing forward looking to add to their already impressive goal tally. Just ten minutes into the half another quality corner from Linge found it’s way to debutant Ruby Owen who turned nicely before hitting a confident finish past Busby. 5-0 Liv Sloan had the next chance and tried to lift the ball over Busby from outside the box but couldn’t get the height and Busby just managed to keep the ball out. In the 68th minute Lily Varney made it six with a decent finish following a superb through ball from Rachel Stevens. 6-0. Varney’s pace was now destroying the visitors defence, flicking the ball past the defender and racing clear down the left flank but her effort went too close to Busby and she was able to gather. Comerford twisted the Oxford defender inside out on the edge of the area before firing just wide and the final goalmouth action saw a free kick from Molly Brookes again cannon off the crossbar and away. F-T: Ashridge Park 6 Procision Oxford 0 A comprehensive and well deserved victory for the home side in a game that looked to be a tight one on paper before the match. As soon as they found the key to unlocking the visitors defence there was only going to be one winner and it could have been by a lot wider margin. Good performances all through the side, Comerford, Varney, Leonard and Sayer were a constant danger throughout, Traguedes will be happy with her clean sheet, the defence solid during an intense opening and restricted the visitors for the rest of the match, and good showings again from Megan Averill and Lauren Broadhurst. Management duo Duncan Owen and Bryn Anderson will have been more than happy with both the performance and result at the end of the day. Oxford started well and look to have several decent players but were undone by the pace of their opponents. Phoebe Coles, Lohan Partlett and Charley Hamilton being the pick of their players on a tough day for the visitors.

Fisher 3 Whitstable Town 4 Saturday 18th November 2023 Southern Counties East Football League Premier When two of my favourite teams from my wanderings over the last year and a half season’s meet, it’s pretty much a no-brainer that I’m going to add that match to my fixture list. It’s always a pleasure to visit Fisher, a fantastic community club doing things the right way. This game was also designated by the club as a community day where they had a raffle to raise money for local causes, old programmes for sale and even a special prize for whoever turned up in the most obscure football shirt (won by someone wearing a Chiangrai United shirt, a team I’ve never heard of!) I left home early as, on my visit last season, I’d spotted the Brunel Museum close by which warranted a visit as I’m fascinated by the great man. It didn’t disappoint. Despite the inclement weather I had time for a wander around Rotherhithe and Bermondsey and, although the area has been largely redeveloped, there are still plenty nuggets from the old docklands you can find while walking around. Check out my Instagram or Twitter pages (links at the top of the page) to see some photos from the day. Onto the ground and it’s always good to catch up with the guys at Fisher. Admission was £8 plus £2 for a superb printed programme. As usual my first port of call was the food van where the ladies whip up some really good and tasty burgers. You can find a new entry on my Matchday Fayre page for an impressive burger. After gorging myself I needed to spend some time trying to walk it off before the game started! The game itself started at a very high tempo, both sides playing the high press which gave neither any real space to forge an opening. The closest we came was a lovely piece of interplay down the right from Fisher which gave Inesh Sumithran a chance to whip in a cross and pick out the head of Eniye Amgbaduba but he could only head over under pressure. In the 19th minute Manny Oloyede was felled inside the box giving Whitstable a chance from the spot. Josh Williams penalty crashed against the post and he was quickest to the rebound and fired home. I can only assume Arthur Le Blond in the hosts goal must have got a touch when diving the right way. 0-1 It didn’t take long for the Fish to respond as, in the 28th minute, another dangerous cross from Sumithran again found the head of Amgbaduba and this time he headed powerfully home, with the ball lodging between the net and stanchion. 1-1 The final chance in a very even first half came to the visitors, the industrious Oloyede finding Tyler Anderson but his effort went just wide of the post. H-T: Fisher 1 WhitstableTown 1 The pace of the game didn’t let up in the second half and we saw three goals in the first 12 minutes. First, nice play down the left led to a cross from Oloyede going behind Harvey Smith who didn’t give it up, with his back to goal he deftly turned the defender before firing past the wrong footed Le Blond. 1-2 Again Fisher battled straight back and, just two minutes later, a deep cross from the right was headed away in the six yard box before falling to Callum Flynn. He controlled well at the corner of the box and curled in a lovely effort which nestled into the bottom right corner of the net for a goal on his debut. 2-2 The hosts parity just lasted two minutes though. A long ball forward was misjudged by the defence and Oloyede took full advantage, winning the ball and holding off the defender before lifting it over the advancing Le Blond with the ball seemingly travelling in slow motion into the net. 2-3 After the breathless opening to the half the game calmed down with both sides finding it difficult to make any real chances. As we entered added on time the visitors looked to have wrapped the game up. A needless free kick was given away 25 yards from goal by the home side with Reece Gillies being fouled. Josh Oliver lined up the set piece and fired an absolute beauty around the wall and into the top corner. 2-4 Once more Fisher battled straight back and three minutes into injury time they set up a tense final few minutes when a mix up at the back allowed the Andres Tobon to to reduce the deficit. 3-4 A frantic few minutes followed as the Fish launched attack after attack into the Whitstable penalty box but the visitors held strong under severe aerial bombardment to take the three points. F-T: Fisher 3 Whitstable Town 4 A thoroughly entertaining match between two committed sides and in front of a fantastic crowd of 386 which made for a great atmosphere, Fisher’s highest gate for 15 years. Fisher gave it everything and probably deserved to get something out of the game but you can’t take anything away from Whitstable. A cracking day out and good luck to both sides for the rest of the season and I’m pretty sure I’ll be seeing both of you again in the new year!

Woodley United Ladies 0 New Bradwell St Peter Ladies 2 Sunday 19th November 2023 Berks & Bucks FA County Cup Quarter Final What had started out as a little project to watch random games last season, has now taken on a life of its own and this was to be my 100th game under the guise of the Wandering Tractor. It seemed fitting that I return to the Bulmershe Pavilion and catch up with Woodley United Ladies, the team I’d seen most often in the previous 99 games and I do enjoy meeting up with everyone involved with the club. A usual recently the weather was rubbish and there were concerns earlier in the day it might not go ahead but a keen wind and no further rain (at least before the game!) meant we were okay to start. The Berks & Bucks Cup had brought together Woodley from the Southern Region Womens Football League Premier division and New Bradwell St Peter from the East Midlands Womens Regional Football League Divion One South in an intriguing match-up with a place in the semi finals up for grabs. The first ten minutes of the game were very even, plenty of football being played in the centre of the park and not many goalscoring opportunities at either end. Woodley had the first chance, a fantastic run and ball through from Charley Evans found the run of Sarah Lawrence who drove into the area and shot low across Shayla Burgess in the Bardwell goal. Burgess did well to get down low to her left and get a touch that took it across the six yard box where Bonnie Messitt just couldn’t turn it into the net sliding in at the far post. The hosts were starting to get on top with Katie Hudson winning a lot of tackles and passing the ball around nicely. A good run down the left by Shannon Hobson found May Hamblin wide. She cut inside and tried twice to get a cross in but both being blocked well by the visitors, before the ball fell nicely for her just outside the box and her first time shot was tipped over the bar at full stretch by Burgess. The corner was swung into a great area where Sami Jones managed to get a great touch to hook it away as it looked like it might go in directly and Burgess did well to punch it clear through a crowd of players. On a rare foray into the Woodley half, the New Bradwell took the lead after winning a free kick on the right midway inside the half. Lucy Hopper sent a great ball into the six yard box where it was met perfectly by Kelly Evans and her powerful header gave Sophie Meacham in the hosts goal no chance. 0-1. Woodley battled back and came close to levelling when Lawrence picked up a Burgess punch on the edge of the box and fired it goalwards only to see it rebound off the post and away to safety. At the other end Cara Brooker was having a good game, holding up the ball, constantly shutting down the Woodley defenders and hurrying them into giving the ball away cheaply as they tried to play out from the back. Another great tackle from Hudson in midfield played in Messitt down the right where she pulled the ball back into the area from the byline but it was just behind Sajunae Turner. She managed to turn and shoot only to see Burgess tip her effort around the post low to her right. The final action from a hard fought first half was a lovely run down the left by Lizzie Downmill. She picked up the ball on half way and ran at the Woodley defence, cutting inside two challenges before getting a shot on target which Meacham was equal to. H-T: Woodley United 0 New Bradwell St Peter 1 The first action of the second half saw the visitors double their lead. The home side did give them a bit of a helping hand, hesitating when two had the chance to clear and paid the price when Elise Young nipped in and played the ball to Brooker who fired home. 0-2 Woodley now had a mountain to climb as the rain started coming down. They were given a lifeline when Lawrence was felled inside the area with the official pointing to the spot. Michelle Quinn stepped up to take it but fired over the bar. The home side were now making wave after wave of attacks, forcing New Bradwell to defend deeper and deeper. They were working so hard and just finding a clearance or block just as Woodley thought they might have a chance. We were now being treated to a superb show from Shayla Burgess in the visitors goal. Time after time she was called into action, making some excellent saves and she looked intent on keeping a clean sheet. At the other end, the visitors thought they should have had a penalty of their own when, after a long chase, there appeared to be a foul near the byline in the box but the referee waved play on. After a lot of discussion between the referee and linesman and then with the benches once play had stopped, the game continued. Sarah Lawrence had another chance following some good work from Mollie Haines but once again Burgess was there to make a fine save. The best of the lot came a couple of minutes later when she made a fantastic diving save from a Charley Evans header. Right at the death Woodley were awarded another penalty, this time Turner took responsibility and, somewhat inevitably, Burgess had the final say, saving the spot kick high to her right. F-T: Woodley United 0 New Bradwell St Peter 2 Woodley were perhaps a little under par in this game, especially in the first half but you shouldn’t take anything away from the visitors, who scored two good goals, defended resolutely when under pressure in the second half and had an absolutely inspired goalkeeper. So, New Bradwell take their place in the semi final and good luck to them in that and for the rest of the season. Scant consolation on a disappointing day for the hosts but Woodley can take encouragement from the fact they did make a whole host of chances in the match but it just wasn’t to be their day.