A bonus game for me, I had ruled out going to a game over the weekend after taking on an Ultra Challenge 25km charity walk in London on Saturday but, with my legs feeling surprisingly good, I hitched a lift from Andrew Batt who was there to take photos of the game, and made it to Cantley Park.
The Berks & Bucks FA have recently taken over the running of Cantley Park and what better way to celebrate this than with a Women’s FA Cup Preliminary Round tie between two local teams? It was good to catch up with Liz Verrall, the BBFA CEO, before the game and take advantage of the reopened café now under the FA’s control. If you’re playing, spectating, walking your dog or out for a bike ride in the vicinity, pop in and check out this great facility.
Also in attendance for the game today were Clive Jones, the MP for Wokingham, Imogen Shepherd-DuBey, a local councillor who can often be found watching Ashridge Park games from the sidelines, and the club also had their U9’s girls team as mascots for the day which was great to see.
Slough were the favourites going into the game as they a tier 6 side in the SRWFL Division One North while Ashridge sit a league below them in the TVCWFL Division One, but hey, it’s a cup tie and anything can happen, right? We also had Dave Masters as the match official who in my opinion is one of the best local referees, he is clear in his decisions and a great communicator on the field which as a player is what you want.
So, handshakes, pomp and pageantry out of way we kicked off and what a start it was! After a brief flurry from the home side Slough broke quickly, Ellen-Mae Harris looked lonely on the right flank but with the assistant caught on his heels and waving play on, she ran clear. She played a lovely ball into the centre which Megan Duffy didn’t get a clean touch on with the ball looping up and coming back off the crossbar. Amber Saunders was the quickest to react in the box and she made no mistake from close range. 28 seconds the goal was timed at and just the start the visitors wanted. 0-1
Ashridge came back strongly, first Aimee Thomas had an effort from a corner which went straight into the arms of Amelia Morgan in the Slough goal, then Thomas found space on the edge of the box to hit a decent strike which was gathered at the second attempt by Morgan.
The pace of the front three for Slough was frightening, especially Duffy down the left-hand side, where she ran onto a pass through the defence to the edge of the area. Elena Torroni did well to shut her down but Duffy still managed to get a shot away which was saved low down by Issy Ferguson.
It wasn’t long before Slough increased their lead, Saunders picking up the ball 30 yards out, advanced to the edge of the box and fired in a shot which hit one post and rolled into the side netting of the other post. 0-2
Saunders was now chasing a first half hat-trick, she picked up the ball outside the box, cut inside and shot which again had Ferguson scurrying across the goal as the ball drifted just wide of the post.
After a hydration break Saunders did complete her hat-trick with another strike from outside the box, this one gave Ferguson no chance as it nestled in the bottom left-hand corner. 0-3
Slough were now completely on top and a superb defence splitting pass from Nikhita Sangha picked out the run of Duffy. One on one with Ferguson, the keeper did well to close down the angle and shut down Duffy with her effort going wide.
Just before the half time break Duffy got the goal she deserved for an all action first half performance. Played in behind the defence again she seemed to have all day to run towards goal and pick her spot, firing it past Ferguson at the near post. 0-4
H-T: Ashridge Park 0 Slough Town 4
The second half began quietly with Sophie Milne’s shot from distance for the visitors that drifted wide of the post the only chance of note. The hosts kept pushing forward for a chance to get back into the game and nearly took advantage of a rare mix-up in the Slough defence. Katie Sayer and Lily Varney battled for the ball just inside the area but couldn’t find the space for an effort on goal with the defence recovering well to clear.
Sayer had another half chance picking up a ball through the Slough defence and travelling into the box but Morgan was quickly off her line and smothered the ball at the attackers’ feet.
At the other end, another through ball to Duffy had the home side appealing for offside but with nothing given she ran into the area and tried to find the far corner but had to watch it go just past the outside of the post.
Ashridge were now committing more players forward which left more gaps at the back and Duffy made them pay from a quick break forward. Running on to another pass from midfield she calmly slid the ball past the advancing Ferguson for her second of the game. 0-5
Still Ashridge battled back and, after Varney was felled halfway inside the visitors half, Sayer tried a long shot which seemed destined for the roof of the net but Morgan managed to parry the ball away and managed to pick up the loose ball before an Ashridge player could get to the rebound.
Slough had two further chances; substitute Evie Smith beat the offside trap with Torroni closing her down. She cut inside and managed to get a shot on target which was well saved low down to her left by Ferguson.
Two substitutes combined with Arielle Grant winning the ball in midfield and then playing a lovely ball for Smith to run onto. This time Smith made no mistake firing past Ferguson and into the net to complete the scoring. 0-6
F-T: Ashridge Park 0 Slough Town 6
A tough day for Ashridge who were missing a couple of players and struggled to get any sort of a foothold in the final third. They matched Slough early on after conceding the first goal but never really looked like scoring. They did look a little more dangerous late on but were definitely second best on the day against impressive higher tier opposition.
Slough will be very happy with this result, the goal in the first minute will have helped to calm the nerves and they do have so much pace up front which will worry a lot of teams in their league this season. The back four (minus the one blip!) were very solid with Tygun Hart, Emma Green, Chloe Kaur Boparai and Gemma Lunn all having good games.
Amber Saunders took her goals well and Megan Duffy was a constant threat and could easily have grabbed a hat-trick for herself. The captain Nikhita Sangha impressed me in the middle and would be my pick as player of the match. She seemed to be everywhere, winning the ball in her own half, good technique with the ball at her feet and a very good eye for a pass. They will now face Marlborough Town in the first qualifying round after they won 5-4 on penalties against Barton United. Wishing Slough Ladies the best of luck in the next round and for the season.
Ashridge will come back fighting as they always do and hopefully with a few players returning and maybe an addition or two, they will have a successful season. I look forward to covering both clubs again soon.
It’s always a pleasure visiting Cantley Park and it was nice to get the chance to catch up with Neal Jeffs, who is now a director as well as match reporter with Ascot United, at the game and have a little reminisce about the old days.
Not bad for a bonus day out!