St Neots: 0
Harpenden: 2
09.12.06

Harpenden went into a second successive top of the table clash as they battled to put right a disappointing performance from the previous week.

Harps had the benefit of coach Purchase on the sidelines which was of great help as Harps struggled to make an impression in the first half, a passionless display led to a game of stalemate and it was a 0-0 first half performance!

The second half however saw a different Harpenden team emerge. The desire to win was back and Harps fought for the ball in every tackle eventually winning a short corner.

The ball was injected at pace, Lincoln stopped and with a speedy St Neots defender charging down the ball, Lincoln showed her composure, slipped the ball through the defenders legs before unleashing a strong shot which buried itself in the bottom corner of the goal!

Harps continued to pressure the goal and shortly after a great shot from England was saved by the keeper but deflected into the path of Lincoln who was then heftily stick tackled resulting in the umpire awarding a flick!

The Captain showed great faith in her fellow striker and after two previous misses Lincoln bravely stepped up, the power and precision of the flick beat the keeper!

Harps were now 2-0 up. However, St Neots started to up their game. The Harps defence stood strong and not even a ball in Slough’s neck could stop the rock solid defence with Meade making some important saves to keep the Harps quest for promotion alive.

The last game before the Christmas break brings Royston to Hatfield as Harpenden host the return leg, where they hope to repeat their performance from the away match.

Team: Emily Meade (GK), Georgia Naden, Vicky Borman, Claire Gardner, Caroline Connell, Sue Dear, Jo Frankish, Karen Slough, Vicky Quinn, Louisa England, Julia Bradley, Jac Smith (C), Karen Lincoln. Coach: Dave Purchase

Goal Scorers: Karen Lincoln x2