Golden Girls too strong for Lionesses (From Watford Observer)

Watford Ladies beat Millwall Lionesses in friendly

6:13pm Wednesday 31st October 2012 in Sport By Tom Allnutt

Watford Ladies extended their unbeaten run to six matches in all competitions after a comfortable 4-1 win against Southern Premier League leaders, Millwall Lionesses.

The friendly match was arranged at short notice due to the postponement of Watford’s league fixture with Charlton Athletic.

It was Millwall who started the brighter and the visitors took the lead after just ten minutes when a corner was met at the near post and beat keeper Leah Blanchard, who was deputising for rested captain Lauren Davey.

The goal was perhaps the shake-up Watford needed as they started to press the Millwall backline and created more chances.

The Hornets were able to pull level on 35 minutes as Sarah Wiltshire floated a dangerous left-footed ball into the box, which eventually found its way to Kate Natkiel, who was able to prod home from close range for her first goal of the season.

Five minutes later, Watford took the lead after striker Jo Wilson was sent through one-on-one with the keeper by Wiltshire and she lofted the ball over the advancing stopper to add to her impressive tally this campaign.

Millwall went close to levelling on the stroke of half-time after a long-range dipping effort cannoned off the top of Blanchard’s crossbar – much to the relief of the Watford goalkeeper.

The second half saw Watford start much brighter than the first, and it was on the hour mark that Wilson scored her second.

Good work by Wiltshire saw her turn her marker, and play a diagonal ball into the box for Wilson, who beat her defender and smashed a right-footed effort into the bottom left-hand corner.

Emma Beckett, pulling the strings in midfield, saw a 25-year effort sliced wide following good work from Wiltshire and Josie Green, before Bonnie Horwood added the fourth and final goal on 71 minutes.

Manager John Salomon was pleased with his team’s workout and saw it as good preparation for this weekend’s League Cup game against Tottenham Hotspur.

He said afterwards: “Today was an important part of our preparations for Tottenham next week, maintaining our match fitness, and through our performance, maintaining our momentum.

“We rotated a bit and every player made an impact, showing the strength of the squad at my disposal.

“It was a very dominant performance against an in-form team with good players, so I’m delighted with the performance and result.”

Watford Ladies’ youth teams were also in action, testing themselves against some tough opposition.

The two Under-15 teams both suffered defeats as the Harts went down 7-2 to a rampant Bedwell team despite goals from Bethany Turnbull and player of the match Julia Waller.

The Wasps also lost out 5-2 to league leaders St Josephs, who have a 100 per cent record in the league this campaign. Kelly Asojo and Rhianne Kenney found the net for Wasps.

The Under-13s however were more successful, enjoying a 4-0 win over Bedwell Rangers. Two goals each for Alys Bardsley and Georgina Lee and a player of the match performance by Roxana Buckley was enough to see Watford seal a comfortable away win.

The Under-12s were edged out 2-1 in a tight affair against table-toppers Harvesters, with Elly Bird notching for Waford.

The Under-10s finally relinquished their unbeaten record, losing to fellow title challengers Bury Rangers 2-0.

Watford’s player of the match was Sam Piercy.