Mansfield Town defeated League Leaders Notts County, whilst Derby Ladies stretched their unbeaten run to three games with a 2-1 win over Bradford and Hinckley RFC complete the winners list after thrashing Sheffield Tigers.
Derby County Ladies
A goal each side of half-time from captain Kelly Kennaugh and Georgia Hewitt respectively, earned all three points, with Abi Lee adding a second-half goal for Bradford in an entertaining game at Eccleshill United.
Derby took the lead on 27 minutes when a pin-point corner from Sophia Bonser into the heart of the six-yard box wasn’t cleared by Bradford allowing skipper Kelly Kennaugh to stab the ball home for a 1-0 lead.
Early second-half pressure from Derby saw them double their lead on 52 minutes when another excellent corner from Bonser was again not dealt with properly, with the ball falling to Hewitt on the edge of the box to lash the ball home through a crowded box.
With the comfort of a 2-0 lead, Derby settled in for what was the expected onslaught by the home team and they dealt comfortably with the Bantams attack until the 72 minute when Lee’s shot just inside the area brought the hosts back into the game.
Chances for both sides came, with Derby going close through the tireless work of both Andi Bell and Lisa Giampalma, whilst the home team bore down on Sarah Morgan’s goal, with the Derby shot-stopper pulling off a fine save to deny the Bantams a point as Derby held on to take all three points.
Mansfield Town
Magnificent Mansfield Town made it a Derby Day to remember with a comprehensive 3-1 victory over league-leading local rivals Notts County on a bright autumn day at One Call Stadium.
The Stags took the lead on 47 minutes when frontman Danny Rose capitalised on a defensive error to lob County ‘keeper Adam Collin. He had his second just before the hour when strike partner Kane Hemmings saw his headed effort tipped onto the post by Collin, but Rose was the first to react to fire in from close range.
Rose also played a part in the Stags’ third, drilling a ball across the face of goal which was turned in by County captain Richard Duffy.
Stags were dominant from then on but County managed to claw a late goal back as left-back Carl Dickinson curled in a 25-yard free-kick in the dying embers of the game.
Hinckley RFC
After a disappointing performance the previous week against Sedgeley Park, Hinckley got back to winning ways with an 8 try demolition of Sheffield Tigers. Captain Alex Salt led from the front as the Black and Ambers recorded their biggest ever victory at Level 4. A spirited Tigers side were simply blown away.
Salt scored a hat-trick with further tries coming from Callum Dacey, Ben Avent, and a penalty try before Jamie Skerritt added the final and arguably best try, Dacey collected the ball from a kick deep in the Hinckley half and set off on a dazzling run to the Tigers 22 before off-loading to Jamie Skerrit to run the ball in. Joe Wilson duly converted, giving him 19 points and taking the final score to 56-7.