Weymouth Women 1st v Ridgeway Ladies FC

Recap

Weymouth 4

Wilson P 8′
Hunt 19′
Redding 45+2′
Thornicroft 52′

Ridgeway 0

South West Womens League East Division (22/10/23)

Weymouth’s Women picked up their first 3 points of the season on Sunday, thanks to a convincing 4-0 victory over bottom of the table Ridgeway at the Bob Lucas Stadium.

New signing Emily Screen made her Terras debut against her former side, and Weymouth also welcomed back captain Charlie Wilson following an injury lay-off. Unfortunately, Lucy Roberts missed out through illness.

Weymouth wasted no time in stamping their authority on the contest. They had their first chance on 6 minutes when Hunt and Redding linked up to play in Webb, but her shot was blocked by goalkeeper Marquis.

But the reprieve would be short lived for Ridgeway, as just a minute later, Webb was clipped by a defender in the box, and the referee pointed to the spot. Captain Charlie Wilson duly converted the penalty to give Weymouth an early lead.

Weymouth continued to push, and on 14 minutes they almost had a second when Webb kept the ball alive and pulled it back for Hannah fowler who fired over the bar from the edge of the box.

By the 20 minute mark though, Weymouth did have their second of the day. Annie Redding made a driving run through the midfield and found Hunt with a perfectly weighted through ball, and the young forward showed great composure to round the keeper and roll the ball into an empty net.

On 26 minutes Emily Screen came close to a goal against her former club, but Marquis made a good save to palm her shot behind for a corner.

After half an hour, Ridgeway began to get a foothold in the game, and Weymouth had to defend a string of corners. Goalkeeper Kate Chard had to be alert to tip a close range effort behind from one of those corners, before Weymouth eventually cleared the danger.

As the clock ticked into injury time at the end of the half, Weymouth had a glorious chance to make it 3-0 when the ball broke for Hunt who raced through one on one, but lifted her shot just over the crossbar from the edge of the box.

The Terras need not have worried though, as from the restart they won back possession high up the pitch, and Ellia Webb put in an inch perfect cross for Annie Redding to head home unmarked in the middle of the box to send the home side in with a 3-0 lead.

The second half saw Weymouth continue to dominate. Marquis made a terrific save low to her right to deny Ruby Clark on 52 minutes, but 3 minutes later Weymouth had another goal.

Skipper Charlie Wilson drove forwards from midfield and was taken down on the edge of the box, but the referee played on and the ball rolled into the path of Kaydee Thornicroft who got a tap-in for 4-0.

The Terras didn’t take their foot off the gas. They should have made it 5-0 on 63 minutes when Sapsford played a ball through to Thornicroft who rounded the keeper, but then lost her footing at the crucial moment and could only stab the ball wide of the mark.

Hunt then got in behind the full back on the left flank, but Marquis was quickly off her line to smother the shot from a tight angle.

Ridgeway did have their moments. Chard had to tip a free kick around the post for a corner, and Ellis was on hand to thwart the danger when it looked like they were in, but it was mostly one way traffic.

Weymouth missed another glorious chance on 70 minutes when Clark and Webb beat the offside trap and raced through on goal. Clark unselfishly tried to square it to Hunt but she just put too much on the pass – forcing Hunt wide, and she could only fire into the side netting.

And further chances came and went in the final 10 minutes. Screen flicked the ball on for Webb who tried to lob the keeper but fired over the bar. Then Standen went on a driving run which saw her get past 3 or 4 defenders before dragging her shot wide, and Sapsford fired wide from the edge of the D.

The missed chances were probably the only frustration of the day for Weymouth, as they eased to victory and also picked up a first clean sheet of the season.

A professional job done for Weymouth, and they’ll now look to build on this first win of the season when they make the trip to Stockwood next week.

In the Dorset league, the Development Team had a difficult day at the office, suffering an 8-1 loss against league leaders Wimborne Town, despite Caprice Locke-Whyte drawing the Terras level at one stage. They host Longfleet next week.

Terras starting XI: Chard, Potter, Standen, Ellis, Screen, Hunt, Redding, Wilson, Billing, Fowler, Davis. Subs – Clark, Thornicroft, Webb, Sapsford

Player of the match: Hannah Fowler

Development Team player of the match: Sarah Fowler