Ipswich Town Women ensured the FAWNL Southern Premier Division title race will go to the last day of the season with a dominant performance at the AGL Arena this afternoon, thrashing 10-woman Cheltenham Town Ladies 8-0.
Town manager Joe Sheehan made two changes to the side that faced MK Dons last time out with Bonnie Horwood and Lucy O’Brien coming in for Kyra Robertson and Sophie Peskett, both of whom made the bench.
The game started with intensity, Cheltenham deploying a high press and Town initially restricted to creating chances on the break. Six minutes in, the visitors were forced into an early change after an injury, with Maisy Collis coming on for Laura Holden.
Town soon grew into the game however, creating a succession of chances and dictating play, Anna Grey and Lucy O’Brien making driving runs on both sides of the pitch.
On 15 minutes, O’Brien was able to break on the right and put a cross in, the ball eventually going wide for a corner.
Three minutes later, another corner played short was floated into the box by Abbie Lafayette with striker Natasha Thomas heading just wide.
Soon after, Grey broke into the box but her tame shot was easily held by Cheltenham keeper Aimee Watson.
Ipswich continued to dominate the game and look to open the scoring. On 29 minutes a superb cross-field pass from O’Brien found Grey on the edge of the box, but the latter was tackled before she could get a shot away and the ball going out for a corner.
The resulting set piece was only cleared as afar as Lafayette on the edge of the box, whose strong effort beat Watson but crashed off the post and back out.
A minute later, however, Town took the lead. O’Brien was able to break and get one on one with Watson, who was only able to push O’Brien’s shot into the path of an onrushing Grey, who bundled the ball home. It was nothing more than Town deserved having been the better team for the opening 30 minutes.
Three minutes later the Blues nearly doubled their lead with Grey again bursting into the box and Cheltenham forced to put the ball out for another Town corner, which was headed wide by defender Megan Wearing, who was named the Women's Player of the Year on Saturday evening.
On 37, Grey, the Player of the Year runner-up, turned creator, playing through Sarah Brasero-Carreira, whose shot was closed down well by Watson.
Cheltenham ended the half with some rare forays into the Ipswich half, putting a shot on the roof of the net and another straight into the hands of Town keeper Sarah Quantrill.
The Robins pressed high again in the opening stages of the second half, forcing Ipswich to play through the thirds, but as in the first period Town were able to soon impose themselves on the visitors, almost doubling their lead on 53 minutes when O’Brien shot wide from inside the box.
A minute later Town were awarded a penalty, the referee pointing to the spot after O’Brien was bundled over in the box. Skipper Bonnie Horwood stepped up and put the ball straight down the middle and in the back of the net to make it 2-0.
Two minutes later, it was 3-0. A great team move worked the ball into the Cheltenham box and Brasero-Carreira fired the ball into the roof of the net from six yards out.
Town were in the ascendancy and in the 59th minute made it 4-0, Grey’s shot pushed out to midfielder Eloise King who rifled the ball home to the delight of the home crowd.
Cheltenham were rattled by the three quick goals and could not get back into the game and then gave away a second penalty on 64 minutes, O’Brien again winning the spot-kick after a high boot caught her in the head as she played the ball out towards Grey. Horwood once more stepped up and smashed the ball in the left corner to make it 5-0.
With Town in complete control, Sheehan made his first substitutions on 66 minutes, replacing Wearing and Brasero-Carreira with Leah Mitchell and Sophie Peskett.
The latter made an immediate impact, racing down the right before crossing the ball into the box, but with O’Brien flagged offside.
On 70, Sheehan made another double substitution with Thomas and Horwood making way for Holly Turner and Kyra Robertson.
Town almost scored a sixth on 74 minutes, but Grey was flagged offside when through on goal, much to the consternation of Ipswich fans as it appeared she was in an onside position.
Two minutes later, Cheltenham had a free-kick in the Blues’ half, putting the ball in the box only to see it headed comfortably wide. Shortly afterwards, a speculative Cheltenham shot sailed high and wide of Town’s goal.
With nine minutes remaining, Sheehan made his final substitute, mimicking Kieran McKenna by replacing goalkeeper Sarah Quantrill with understudy Nina Meollo, whose appearance was greeted warmly by the Town faithful. Meollo was soon called into action, closing down Izzy Cook as she was through on goal.
The final five minutes of the game saw the Tractor Girls score three further goals, first on 85 minutes after Grey drove to the byline and cut the ball back for Turner to smash home for her first goal since arriving at Ipswich from Billericay.
A minute later, Cheltenham defender Holly Finch turned the ball into her own net after Watson had parried out a Grey effort and in the final minute Peskett was able to slam home from close range after Cheltenham failed to clear a Town corner.
In between the final two goals, the visitors were reduced to ten players after Charlie Taylor was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Same as the men’s team the day before, Ipswich Town Women were utterly dominant in front of their home fans, controlling the game from the early stages and scoring almost at will.
O’Brien, although not on the scoresheet, was pivotal throughout the match, dictating play in the middle of the field, keeping possession and creating attacking opportunities.
With Oxford United beating Gillingham 5-1, the race for the top spot will go to the following weekend with Town needing to beat the U’s and hope that Billericay take points off Watford to secure the league title and a spot in the FAWNL Premier Division play-off final at Stadium MK on May 19th.
Town: Quantrill (Meollo 81), Boswell, Wearing (Mitchell 66), Lafayette, Hughes, Horwood (Robertson 70), King, Grey, O’Brien, Brasero-Carreira (Peskett 66), Thomas (Turner 70). Attendance: 524