Both our sponsored players were in league action for the first time in 2020 this weekend. EJ May and Southampton Women’s FC hosted Brislington in the National League Division One South West, whilst Sarah Wiltshire and Yeovil Town Women hosted Hounslow in the National League Southern Premier.
After beating Hounslow 9-0 in their first league game of the season, Yeovil Town Women were hoping for another win in the reverse fixture, keeping them in the top half of the table. Chloe Lloyd, Jordan Guard and Ellie Strippel, 3 of the 4 winter signings, went straight into the starting 11, with Kiani Wong available from the bench. Yeovil were in control from the first whistle, opening the scoring with 2 early goals in quick succession from Sarah Wiltshire and Meesha Dudley-Jones.
Wiltshire wasted no time adding a third, with captain Annie Heatherson converting from the spot for Yeovil’s fourth. Five minutes into the second half Wiltshire scored Yeovil’s fifth, bagging herself a hat trick. Despite having a goal disallowed for offside, Yeovil were unstoppable, with Ellie Strippel topping off her debut with her first goal to put them 6-0 ahead. Sarah Wiltshire had one more goal in her locker as she scored Yeovil’s seventh, followed by an eighth from Megan Wood to top off a dominant team performance.
Second place Southampton Women were looking to remain hot on the heels of Southampton FC (Saints), as they welcomed Brislington to Romsey in their first league game of the year. The opening goal came in the 24th minute, as Southamptons Erin Bloomfield headed in from a Laura Vokes corner, scoring her third goal of 2020 in all competitions.
Just ten minutes later Southampton had their second. EJ May set Vokes off towards goal, but when her 1 on 1 attempt was pushed away Jane Yeates was there to poke the loose ball into an empty net. Captain Lauren Cheshire scored an unfortunate own goal at the end of the first half to pull one back for the visitors. The second half was goalless, meaning Southampton maintained their 2-1 lead and took all three points.
Photo by Bilcliff Photos
