South East Combination
Enfield Town were knocked off the top of table as they lost 3-5 away to Gillingham who now replace them at the summit. An Ashlee Hincks hat-trick and two from Natalie Cringan for Gillingham with Claire Gooch, Bianca Baptiste and Sheree Oliver for Enfield scored the goals. Enfield Manager John Abbott said “We showed Great Spirit and commitment but we just left ourselves with too much to do after a poor start and the state of the pitch didn’t help either side. We now have to concentrate on our own performances and see where that takes us.” Gillingham now lead the table on goal difference from Enfield Town and also have 3 games in hand.
Enfield missing a couple of key players were slow to start and Natalie Cringan almost made them pay in the first minute as she burst into the penalty area but her shot ricocheted of two defenders and was them cleared. With the centre area being sticky Gillingham were content to hit the long ball over it and Ashlee Hincks raced onto a long pass but shot weakly to Jo Ayre, Cringan reached the line and crossed too close to Ayre and then Lesley Kay sent a ball down the line for Deanna Cooper to cut in and cross the ball between Ayre and the defence for Hincks to steer the ball home at the far post. 1-0 (5 min)
Enfield’s first decent attack saw Bianca Baptiste send Sara Sinclair away but Sinclair ran out of pitch before she could put in a cross. A Rebecca Laporte corner was cleared to Baptiste who tried to shoot through the crowd but it was going wide until Claire Gooch managed to get a touch to it but it was cleared from behind her almost on the line. Laporte picked out Sinclair who held the ball up well before turning and forcing a save from Katie Duffy. Beth Lovell threaded a pass through to Baptiste but she was eventually crowded out before she could shoot.
Gillingham turned the tide and Hincks went on a long run only to shoot tamely to Ayre and then a long diagonal pass saw Cring clear of the defence and shoot across Ayre into the net. 2-0 (20 min)
Cringan appeared to be trapped in the corner by three Enfield defenders but a smart back heel to Cooper allowed her to get in a shot that Ayre did very well to push away and then collect. Hincks again raced onto a long pass from the half way line but was well off target with a poor shot and then a short while later Hincks headed a corner wide when she should have done better. Another clearance saw Cringan nip in and take advantage as two defenders hesitated and race on to slot the ball past Ayre. 3-0 (31 min)
Enfield were now forced to replace the injured Candice McNeil with Kelly Hughes and the change gave them a more solid look. Kerrie Marlborough did well to block a Hincks shot from a Cringan cross. Sinclair laid the ball back for Nicola Carty to test Duffy from outside the area. A Laporte corner was only cleared to Sinclair whose shot held little threat until Gooch back heeled it into the net past a couple of players and the keeper on the line. 3-1 (42 min)
Sheree Oliver sent Baptiste on and her shot forced Duffy to scamper across her goal and struggle to push the ball away. Hincks had the last chance of the half as she took the ball into the area before shooting but Ayre saved the shot and dived on the loose ball before Hincks could reach it.
Oliver played a pass wide to Laporte and went for the return but Duffy managed to put the ball behind for a corner which saw Sub Robyn Downie flick it on and have a good shout for a penalty turned down as the ball hit a defender behind her. Downie made the line and pulled a cross back that was cleared to Baptiste who shot early but Duffy saved stretching up to her left. Hincks had waited patiently for another ball over the top and almost rewarded as she raced on and shot narrowly over the bar. Enfield worked another opportunity for Downie and her shot was cleared to Lovell who fired wide. Lovell set up Sinclair but her effort was blocked and a quick break with a long pass sent Cringan in to shot at Becky Lyon headed powerfully against the bar with it dropping down to Ayre.
Laporte fired in a good shot that Duffy parried and then collected at the feet of Sinclair. Fran Boggi was fouled in midfield and Sheree Oliver quickly took the free kick to Baptiste who turned and rifled in a stunning shot into the top corner from outside the area before even managed to move. 3-2 (73 min)
Laporte played a free kick into the area and it was headed down by an Enfield player but cleared before anyone else could react to it. A diagonal ball into the area saw Hincks well ahead of any defenders and Ayre managed to turn her effort onto the post but Hincks was immediately up to tuck the loose ball home. 4-2 (77 min)
Enfield were undone again when an attack broke down and a quick clearance saw Hincks race away to slot the ball past Ayre and complete her hat-trick. 5-2 (84 min)
Two minutes into added time a desperate clearance fell into the path of Boggi who thundered a shot that hit the underside of the bar before bouncing down and out but Enfield were not to be denied for long and rounded off the scoring as a Sinclair pass picked out Oliver who controlled the ball and then fired in. 5-3 (90+3)
Enfield Town M.O.M. was Kelly Hughes who came on after thirty minutes with the side 3-0 and settled straight in and played a big part in restricting the chances of Gillingham and pushing the team on.
Enfield Town Team; Ayre, Oliver, McNeil (Hughes), Carty (Downie), Marlborough, Gooch ©, Boggi, Lovell, Baptiste, Laporte, Sinclair.
Gillingham team; Duffy, Judd, Kay, Cooper, Herrett, Lyon, East, Hincks, Cringan (Halfpenny), Mugford (Ahern), Ashton-Jones (Johnson). Unused Subs; Broad, Russ.
This Wednesday 10/02/2010 Enfield Town travel to Billericay Town for a quarter final tie in La Senza cup. The sides met at the same stage last season and Enfield won 3-0 on the way to winning the trophy. 7.45 kick off.
Next Sunday Enfield Town travel to eighth place Ipswich for a league game. The sides have yet to play each other this season.
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