South Reading Vixens

The Vixens knew they were in for a hard morning's work against a strong, well organised and experienced Westwood side. It wasn't long before Dominique was called into action, pushing a fierce drive over the bar. This was a taste of things to come as the Diamonds really got going, rattling in three goals in four minutes with some neat football and accurate finishing. But the Vixens were prepared to fight this one out, and Stacey, Shannon S and Kamara worked hard in defence to keep their bigger opponents at bay for the rest of the half. Deanna and Nicole were outstanding in central midfield as they battled for everything, whilst Azara and Hannah covered the wide positions to great effect. The Vixens best chance of the half was created by Shannon B as she broke down the wing, but with Westwood defending solidly her cross was comfortably collected by the Diamonds keeper.

Westwood extended their lead shortly after the restart form a well rehearsed corner kick. Dominique then took an accidental kick to the hand after making yet another brave save, so Azara took over between the posts whilst first aid was administered. A defensive mix-up then allowed the Diamonds to hit another before a fit again Dom returned to the fray. Westwood did have more opportunities, but sound defending and some wayward shooting meant that there was no further score.

In spite of the result it was another never-say-die performance from the team, who kept going right to the end. Although it has been a while since the girls picked up any points, they have now completed their toughest part of the season. Four out of the last five fixtures have been against sides with at least one season's experience and we now have a benchmark to measure our progress when we face these opponents again.

Squad: Dominique, Stacey, Shannon S, Kamara, Hannah, Shannon B, Deanna, Nicole, Azara

The Vixens player of the match was Nicole, who competed for every ball and was strong throughout despite picking up a number of knocks along the way.