2024/25 Season - Week 16

It was a case of onwards and upwards for Blueharts Ladies 1s on Saturday as their 3-0 win at Upminster took them to within touching distance of the top of the East Division 1 South table.

Meme Brown gave the Blues an early lead with a brilliant solo goal after being fed by Beth Jepson.

Olivia Byford doubled the advantage from a short corner just before the break with captain Anna Page rounding things off as the 1s moved to within two points of leaders St Albans.

It was also a successful Saturday for the Men’s 1s who eased to a 4-1 win over Pelicans – gaining revenge for their home defeat by the side from Kings Lynn in September.

Chris Gadsden and Harvey Walton Adams scored two apiece, while there were standout performances from man-of-the-match Ethan Gaunt and debutant Szymon Pochodaj.

The 1s were disappointed not to have kept a clean sheet but next face Bishops Stortford on Saturday – the side immediately below them in the East Premier Division table.

Goals just before half-time and the final whistle saw the Ladies 2s to a 2-0 win over Harpenden.

The Blues started strongly but had to wait just before the break when Josie Layton applied the finishing touch after a goalmouth scramble.

Harpenden managed to muster a handful of attacks which were easily mopped up by the 2s’ defence.

Kate Sherwood made sure of the points with the second goal to seal the match in which Natalie Gibbs produced a standout performance.

The Men’s 2s played last Wednesday, coming away from Harpenden with a 1-1 draw, Addison Scott the man on target.

Two Jules Rees goals helped the Ladies 3s to a convincing 6-2 win over Stevenage, her double included a sublime penalty flick.

Fi Hutchings, Jo Floor, Lyla Thompson-Wells and Kat McLarty all added a goal apiece, including the long-awaited conversion of a number of short corners.

Emily Bryan was player-of-the-match while Kaia Blake and Cat Cattermole were also influential on their promotion from the 4s.

The 3s were also indebted to the support from coach Brandon and Vic Bell, despite her broken fingers.

Paul Graves and Ollie Wright were among the scorers as the Men’s 3s edged Royston by the odd goal in five, while the 4s came back from Harpenden with a 2-0 win thanks to strikes from Will Hammond and Harry Sampson.

A single Niamh Krishman goal was enough for the Ladies 4s to defeat Broxbourne but the 5s were held 1-1 by their Broxbourne opponents.

The Men’s 5s gained a much-needed 4-2 win over Bishops Stortford which helped them climb two places in East Division 4 South West with two goals from Paul Krishman and one each from Oscar Whitley and Philip Britton.

Rachel Morey and Hannah Ross were on target but the Ladies 6s went down 3-2 at home to Shefford and Sandy – and there was defeat for the Men’s 6s who lost 2-1 at fellow promotion hopefuls Bishops Stortford.

The 6s started well and were duly rewarded for their dominance with George Raynor opening the scoring.

However the side had to withstand a Stortford storm at the start of the second half, the pressure eventually telling as the home side turned the match on its head with two goals.

The depleted 6s displayed tremendous resolve with goalkeeper Paul Marston outstanding.

There was better news for the Men’s 7s with man-of-the-match Oscar Galliford, Chris Job and the prolific Rob Trotter all scoring in the 3-1 success at Letchworth.

The two-goal margin was preserved thanks to a brilliant goal-line clearance from Richard Murphy in the closing stages.

The Ladies 7s however went down 3-1 at Stevenage.