Bees on Top in Local Derby &&

Enfield Town LFC 0 Barnet FC Ladies 4

South East Combination League

Sunday 21 August 2005

At Brimsdown Rovers FC

Barnet FC Ladies got their season off to the best possible start with a 4-0 victory over their local rivals EnfieldTown.The Bees' prolific striker Stacey Sowden carried on from where she left off last season with a hat trick.Beth Curtis completed the scoring for Barnet with a late penalty to seal a tempestuous match in which three red cards were shown.

Barnet Manager Tracey Kevins gave debuts to new signings Davina Smith and Ashley Hutton. Emma Treanor made her return to the Barnet midfield having rejoined the Bees from Chelsea in the close-season.

The home side had marginally the better of the territorial advantage in the first half hour, during which neither side created much in the way of clear-cut chances.The best opportunity fell to EnfieldTown's Kelly Townshend who could only shoot wide after she had been presented with an open goal following a misunderstanding between Jess Devoti and Charlotte Herson.

However, it was Barnet who took the lead through Stacey Sowden after 29 minutes as the result of a classic counter attack.Katie Wicka collected the ball inside her own penalty area and fed Beth Curtis in the Barnet midfield.Curtis fed Sowden with a perfect through ball and Barnet's leading scorer last season raced through to score in trademark style.

This important opening goal obviously deflated the home side as Barnet were able to take a firm grip on the match.It was therefore no surprise when the Bees added to their lead after 37 minutes.Once again the move emanated from one of the Barnet centre backs.Charlotte Herson picked the ball up within her own half and played a ball through to Stacey Sowden who sprung the EnfieldTown offside trap, took the ball around the advancing goalkeeper and slotted home.

Shortly before the half time interval EnfieldTown's Laura Burns reacted to a challenge from Barnet's Emma Treanor, resulting in an incident that saw both players sent off by the referee.

Sowden had the ball in the net for a third time in the closing seconds of the first half, but her effort was ruled out for offside.

The action taken by the referee appeared to take some of the fire out of the home side's second half performance and Bees' were able to exert some authority by means of their passing game.

Stacey Sowden effectively ended the match with a third goal after an hour.Beth Curtis played in the Barnet forward with an excellent cross-field ball, leaving Sowden to outpace the EnfieldTown defence and finish in clinical style.

With seven minutes remaining, Kerry O'Connor saw her goal-bound header punched off the line by the EnfieldTown defender Kerry Marlborough, with the goalkeeper beaten.The referee was left with no alternative but to show a red card to the EnfieldTown player, thus reducing the home side to nine players.Beth Curtis stepped up to convert the resulting penalty kick, sending the home keeper the wrong way.

The 4-0 win was an excellent start for the Bees in their bid to win promotion from the South Easr Combination League.Not only are EnfieldTown, Barnet's fiercest local rivals but they have been widely tipped as possible League Champions themselves, having been relegated from the FA Women's Premier League last season.It was Barnet's first victory against EnfieldTown since the final match of the 2002/03 season.

Barnet Team: Jess Devoti, Davina Smith, Cerrie Byrne, Ashley Hutton, Katie Wicka, Charlotte Herson, Kerry O'Connor, Emma Treanor, Stacey Sowden, Beth Curtis, Lizzie Goodwin.

Substitutes: Hayley Johnson (for Stacey Sowden 77 mins), Danielle Richards (for Lizzie Goodwin 83 mins), Maria Ward (for Beth Curtis 85 mins), Hannah Grover (not used).

Goalscorers: Stacey Sowden (29, 37, 60 mins), Beth Curtis (pen) (83 mins)

Hat Trick Girl - Stacey Sowden

This Sunday Barnet FC Ladies entertain another of teams strongly fancied for promotion when they entertain Colchester United at Hanwell Town FC, kick-off 2.00pm.Colchester Unied began their season with a 3-0 win against Leyton Orient.