Barrass and Hetherington help put Southampton to the sword

HENLEY LADIES 1sts secured all three points as they won their South Central Women’s Premier Division 1 clash with visitors SOUTHAMPTON 1sts 4-1 at Jubilee Park last Saturday.

The home side started strongly and immediately put pressure on the Southampton defence. A flurry of opportunities came in front of goal and the deadlock was broken when Charlotte Hetherington deflected a bouncing ball struck at goal by Charlotte Granger-Holcombe off a short corner.

Southampton also took their chance from a series of short corners and equalised late in the first quarter. Henley upped the tempo but remained frustrated not to regain the lead, despite some good leads at pace from Caitlin Barrass and Lucy Wiseman.

Henley came out in the second half fighting, and in the space of 10 minutes, three goals were scored.

Barrass drove the ball into the circle and during a scramble around the goal, Hetherington was able to poach the ball home from close range for her second of the match.

The third goal came shortly after from another short corner. Rachel Herbert delivered in a perfectly placed shot for Kiera Halloran to deflect home for 3-1.

Southampton were grappling to regain any control of the game, enabling Henley to continue their attacking threat and this time Barrass was once again on hand. Lucy Wiseman played off a ball for player-of-the-match Barrass to drive and bounce back to her teammate, who smashed the ball into the back of the net.

Southampton had a chance to close the deficit when they were awarded a penalty stroke, but goalkeeper Daisy Ruhle pulled off a fine save to keep the visitors at bay.

Division 2 North league leaders HENLEY LADIES 2nds ran out 3-1 winners at home to PHOENIX READING 1sts.

Henley applied early pressure through their attacking line, with captain Emma Buckham-Hedges, Chloe Lyons and Hayley Munt causing problems up front.

Strong midfield work from Kirsten Botha, Olivia Callaway, Ellie Roseff and Isabelle Woolfrey ensured the ball was moved quickly into attacking areas and this pressure paid off when Buckham-Hedges flicked a shot goalwards that struck a Phoenix defender’s shin pad. The resulting penalty flick was calmly converted by Chloe Lyons.

Straight from the push-back, Hayley Munt intercepted a pass in midfield and drove forward before slipping the ball to Buckham-Hedges, who made a beeline for goal where she executed a perfectly timed slide and reverse-stick finish to double Henley’s advantage.

Phoenix pushed hard to respond, but Henley’s defensive line stood firm. Jane Dench, returning after having a baby, showed her stick skills had not deserted her, while Alyx Clarke also made several strong tackles. Sophie Miller impressed with skilful dribbling out of defence while Georgie Grocock produced some good saves to keep Phoenix at bay.

Substitute Bethan Lewis made an impact up front while Sophy Rogers showed relentless running and tackling in midfield and Isabelle Woolfrey added solidity at the back.

Despite a few momentary lapses and warnings for brash tackles and not retreating five metres at free hits, Henley managed to avoid any cards. Phoenix remained relentless and earned several short corners but thanks to disciplined defending and more strong goalkeeping from Grocock, Henley initially denied them before Phoenix eventually converted one to make it
2-1 at half-time.

The second half saw Phoenix defend well and limit Henley’s chances. Henley won their first short corner after Lewis dribbled skilfully into the circle and forced a foot. Lyons struck the resulting straight hit cleanly, but it drifted just wide of the post.

Olivia Callaway was influential throughout the midfield, consistently breaking up Phoenix play, winning key tackles and distributing calmly to keep Henley moving forward and relieve pressure on the defence.

The home side continued to threaten, and in a standout moment, Munt received the ball from midfield and threaded it through the centre to Lyons who took a touch past the keeper and dived but was unable to keep the ball in play.

Henley wrapped up the scoring when a pass from Baker into the circle found Munt who managed to keep it in play and swiped it goalwards where it found its way past the keeper and into the net.

Second placed HENLEY LADIES 3rds drew 1-1 in their Division 2 Thames clash at league leaders MARLOW 5ths.

Henley held Marlow off for the opening 15 minutes, absorbing pressure and staying disciplined. Marlow eventually broke through to open the scoring with a strike that snuck past the defence.

Henley hit back with a composed build-up that saw Fi Dunn fire the ball forward to Jo Corbett, who fed Jules Lambert inside the D who fired home past the keeper for 1-1. The second half was end to end with both teams creating chances but both keepers standing firm. Emily Matthews and Maeve Moorcroft were named players of the match for Henley for good work on the wings, shutting down Marlow’s strongest attacks. In a tense final 15 minutes, Henley dug deep to deny Marlow any chance of a winner.

Division 4 Thames league leaders HENLEY LADIES 4ths, who welcomed new players Charlotte Jean-Jean and Audrey Edimoh into their squad, eased to a comfortable 6-0 home win against NEWBURY AND THATCHAM 5ths.

Henley made an immediate impact, pressing hard from pushback. Early pressure paid off when Emilia Ziegler weaved through the defence to set up Jenny Buckham-Hedges for the opening goal inside four minutes. Moments later, Charlotte Jean-Jean won a short corner, which skipper Alison Jean-Jean injected for Kat Green to dispatch to make it
2-0 after six minutes. Despite dominating possession Henley were unable to add to the score before half-time thanks to stubborn Newbury defending.

Within a minute of the restart, Charlotte Jean-Jean converted after slick link-up play to make it 3-0. Henley now looked confident and composed and Ali Jean-Jean capped off the momentum with a well-worked goal in the D to make it 4-0.

Charlotte Moore added a fifth after a pinpoint cross from Charlotte Jean-Jean before Tilly Alderton sealed the dominant 6-0 win with a stylish short-corner finish. Ziegler was named Henley’s player of the match.