Lineup: Daisy Burnfield (GK), Nikki Frier, Kylie Allen, Gemma Marsh (C), Ellen Clarke, Amy Baird, Nicky Millings, Amy Sanger, Liv Leather, Noni Davis, Gemma Fletcher, Leanne Griffiths-Lower, Deyna Davie, Georgi Bavister, Rachel Lang.
It’s a hattrick of wins for the Salisbury FC teams today as Salisbury FC Women come in with a 1-10 win over Calne in the Women’s County League Cup. In a show of utter domination and spectacular play, the Whites took the lead early on and refused to relinquish the lead for the entire 90 minutes. With 4 goals in the first half and 6 in the second, today was a day full of goals and goal attempts despite the cold weather.
Sanger is the first to get onto the scoreboard with an early goal, she battles through Calne’s defence with ease, backed up by Griffiths-Lower and Leather though they aren’t needed as Sanger dribbles into the box and makes an easy strike under the arm of the Calne keeper, giving the White’s their first goal. 0-1.
Play restarting has the White’s claiming possession almost immediately, Vice Captain Clarke – having been dropped back into the right back role upon the absence of usual Evie Cummings – makes a phenomenal impact as she wins tackle after tackle, lining the ball up to Griffith’s-Lower who takes a shot on goal, though it rebounds off the keeper. Leather chases it down but the keeper manages to get to it first. The ensuing goal kick doesn’t go far at all – it’s retrieved in the middle by Leather who squares it to Bavister on the right wing. Bavister outpaces the defence and approaches the goal line and strikes the ball across the box with enough spin to have the ball curl in just under the crossbar. The keeper gets a hand to it but knocks it further into the net. 0-2.
Less than ten minutes later the White’s see their third goal in. Millings takes a hopeful strike from just beyond the centre circle which is palmed out for a corner by Calne’s goalkeeper. Griffiths-Lower steps up to the corner flag and sends the ball soaring into the middle of the box where Davie is waiting. Davie meets the cross with her head and sends the ball clinically into the back of the net. 0-3.
We see superb pass and play work in the middle from the likes of Clarke, Leather and Millings, exhausting the Calne side who have had to play with a bare side of 11 players, but they persevered admirably, gaining possession in the middle, only to lose it to the Salisbury back four.
The 25th minute was Calne’s first sniff at goal. They play a long pass from the middle to their strikers. The Salisbury defence fails to hold their line and Calne break through, only to be met by Burnfield who rushes out and dives around the ball, stopping the strikers in their tracks.
Less than 5 minutes later, the ball is back on the wing and ends up with Bavister. She powers through the Calne defence and plays a through ball right into Griffiths-Lower’s line of sight, allowing her to run on and take a strike which bypasses the keeper with such power, she barely gets a hand to it. 0-4.
The first half is full with further attempts on goal, though the Calne goalkeeper gives an admirable performance by making a variety of spectacular goals, and it isn’t long before the half time whistle is blown.
There are no changes at halftime as the White’s walk back onto the pitch, they take control of the game immediately, with an attempt on goal from Lang within the first couple of minutes. 6 minutes in and Griffiths-Lower fights her way through the defence and puts her bootlaces through a clean, powerful strike from just inside the box. 0-5.
Calne manage to pull one back however, their winger breaks away down the wing and approaches goal unmarked, Burnfield comes out to make a spectacular block, though the ball rebounds off back to the same player who takes a second strike that Burnfield can’t quite get a hand to. 1-5.
Salisbury respond with a 6th goal courtesy of Davie again, this time coming from a great run taking her to the edge of the box, where she makes a clean sweep across the box and past the keepers outstretched hand. 1-6.
At this point Salisbury make their first and only substitutions – Millings, Sanger, Bavister and Frier off, Fletcher, Davis, Baird and Marsh on.
Davis comes on and within minutes joins the scoreboard. She is played through from the middle and turns into Calne’s defensive line, and though they hold it well, Davis outpaces them with ease, taking long strides towards the box where she fires it into the bottom left corner – the keeper reaches but fails to make the save, making it 1-7.
There is a moment of perfectly drilled overlapping from Clarke, Davie and Lang. Clarke plays the ball to Davie who has dropped back while Lang overlaps Davie and takes off up the left wing. Davie plays a 1-2 with Clarke who plays it through to Lang. Lang takes a strike though it scrapes the edge of the right post, bouncing out of play.
Davis scores her 2nd goal of the match in a similar fashion to her first, receiving the ball from a deep-playing Griffiths-Lower and darting her way through the Calne back line and slips the ball under the keepers arm. 1-8.
The 9th goal comes from a much anticipated strike from Lang after multiple attempts of trying to get on target, she finally manages it in the 85th minute by sending the ball careering into the bottom right corner from the far side of the box, playing her part in a fabulous game with the final goal coming from Griffiths-Lower who gets a great through ball from the middle courtesy of Leather, cuts in past one defender, outpaces another and makes a simple tap past the keeper, finalising the game at a comfortable 1-10.
This emphatic win moves the White’s into the semi-final round of the Wiltshire Women’s League Cup, the date of which is TBC.
