Hethersett Athletic

Both teams were desperate for victory in their bid to gain promotion to the third national tier of women’s football. It was a fiercely competitive match that saw a Norwich City coach sent off for remarks made to the referee and a number of Norwich players also booked.

Hethersett’s destiny is now in their own hands. With points in the bank they know that winning their last five matches will make the title and promotion a certainty.

Without a league game this week, they will have time to reflect on a job well done. Hethersett fielded new signing Sarah Quantrill in goal and Zoe Klimcke from Haverhill replaced stalwart Logan Shepherd in defence after the latter was ruled out through illness.

Any nerves Hethersett may have had were soon settled as Emily Coates gave them a lead inside the first couple of minutes when she headed home a corner. After 35 minutes Jodie Rettie scored the goal of the season when she slammed a shot into the top corner from 25 yards.

Hethersett knew that Norwich would come at them in the second half and the visitors changed their formation to pack midfield in an effort to drive forward. It looked as if the tactics would pay off when former Hethersett player Hayley Martin pulled a goal back on the hour.

After that the game could have gone either way with both teams having chances. Nicola Bray hit the post twice for Hethersett and Sophie Fuller failed to make the most of a one on one with the ‘keeper, but Hethersett held on for a deserved victory and three more vital points.

“Norwich had a substantial amount of possession but rarely penetrated our defence. We know that we may now be just five matches away from a dream promotion in our first season in the Eastern Region Premier Division. We must guard against complacency as we have some difficult away games to come, but we know that our destiny is in our own hands although there is plenty of football to play and plenty of possible twists and turns before the season ends,” said co-manager Tom Parke.

“Our preparation for the game was meticulous and the players put in a tremendous amount of hard work throughout the week,” said Parke adding that the help of veteran coach Donny Pye throughout the season has been an added bonus.

“Donny has done a wonderful job getting over his tactics to the team in a very calm and effective way,” he said.

Hethersett’s player of the match against Norwich was Sophie Fuller who gave another tireless show in midfield. This week Hethersett were due to find out who their opponents will be in the semi-finals of the League Cup. This Sunday Parke will have the opportunity to try out some new formations with a friendly against Kettering.

Hethersett’s final home league game of the season will be against Bedford on March 2^nd and this will be followed by four away games at Cambridge United (March 9^th), Cambridge University (March 23^rd), Peterborough (April 13^th) and Royston (April 28^th).

Current positions in the Eastern Region Premier Division are:

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Ps
Hethersett Athletic	17	13	1	3	57	17	40
Norwich City	13	8	3	2	38	9	27
Woodbridge Town	15	8	2	5	27	22	26
Peterborough	13	8	1	4	32	14	25
Haringey Borough	14	7	3	4	33	31	24
Cambridge University	14	6	1	7	20	33	19
Barking	16	5	2	9	22	34	17
Bedford Ladies	11	4	3	4	25	28	15
Cambridge United	15	4	2	9	22	37	14
Haverhill Rovers	16	4	2	10	20	48	14
Dagenham & Redbridge #	16	3	6	7	27	27	12
Royston Town	14	3	2	9	12	35	11

# = Points deducted