Reading Ladies benefited from last weeks abandoned match and ran out 4-1 winners over league rivals Newton Abbot on Sunday at IBIS. Reading had their tails up from the kick off and within 10 minutes had scored the opener. Hayley Holland stepped past a defender out on the right, and crossed in a low ball to the near post which Bev Hall was on hand to slide under the keepers body.

10 minutes later Hall’s fellow midfielder Laura Woodley found the back of the net with her first, and a minute later ended Abbots hopes with a great individual run to get her second and Reading’s third. Woodley won the ball from a tackle in midfield and whilst Hall and Naomi Best were both in offside positions, she had the sense to run on past 2 defenders on her own and place the ball past the keeper.

On half-hour, the game was stopped after Newton Abbot striker Liz Kemp suffered a leg injury after a challenge on the Reading keeper Nic Snarey. An ambulance was called and both sides waited anxiously for half an hour whilst Kemp was attended to. She was taken to Royals Berks and the game carried on, although the last 15 minutes of the half was stilted due to the long delays.

After half time the game flowed a little better but Newton Abbot did look like their normal battling selves after the injury to Kemp. Both Best and Serena Hickman found the back of the net after half time, but both goals were ruled offside. On 65 mins, Abbot got a goal back from a free kick, but never really troubled Reading again.

Hall and Hickman both went close near the end, Hickman going just wide, and Hall just missing the top right hand corner with a floated shot from 15 yards out. With injuries to Woodley and Hall in the latter stages, Simone Lavine and Rhonda Stewart came on in Midfield and on 86 minutes Reading sealed the game. Leila Dickinson won the ball in defence, and carved out a long ball to Best, who took the ball past the last defender and slotted home to make the final score 4-1.

In the third round, Reading will face Premier League – Southern Division side AFC Wimbledon at IBIS Club, Scours Lane on December 7th at 1.00pm. But before that, they travel to Milton Keynes to play MK Wanderers in the Berks & Bucks Cup.

Reading are looking for experienced players to join the squad following some injuries to first team players, and are also running a reserve team this year playing friendly matches once a month. If you are interested in joining Reading for either competitive first team football or for local friendlies, you can contact the Secretary, Jackie Batten.

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