Charitable Rams

This Sunday a combination of reasons saw me heading back down the M40 for a return visit to Holloways Park. My first train of thought had been to ensure I picked a game on an artificial pitch. The rain was still coming down hard at lunchtime and I didn't want to risk a long journey only to find the game called off. Secondly, the game between Beaconsfield Town and Oxford City had the potential to be a good game between two teams that were, on paper, quite evenly matched. Thirdly, this weekend was also a big charity weekend for Beaconsfield. Both their men's game on Saturday, and women's on Sunday were focused on the OneCan Food Bank & Trust (www.onecantrust.org.uk). The club had declared that, instead of paying an admission fee, supporters were encouraged to donate tinned food to the trust, helping local families in need during the Christmas period. A fantastic gesture from the club.
My trip down the M40 made me realise that the two service stations I had to pass were Oxford and Beaconsfield. Could this fixture be known as the Service Station Derby?
As always when visiting Holloways Park, it's always great to catch up with Beaconsfield's Press Officer Craig Anderson. Nice to have a chat about women's football in general, and about today's game. Despite being busy on match days, Craig always has time for a chat.
Thankfully the rain, which had been torrential on the journey down, began to ease off prior to kick-off, although the artificial surface was definitely going to be slick and the ball was going to fly off the surface at every bounce.​

---

​Having dropped off a bag of tins on my way in, my charity deeds for the day were done. However, it seems that no-one told the Beaconsfield players that charity ended at the entrance, and they proceeded to gift their visitors a three goal lead inside the opening 10 minutes.
The game was under three minutes old when Grace Craven slid a ball between full-back and central defender, to set Ellie White on her way towards goal. The striker was closed down before she could get a strike away, but the loose ball fell into the path of Lucy White who, without breaking stride, deftly set the ball over Liv Sieradzka from the corner of the penalty area. 0-1.
A minute later the visitors were two up, and it was another through ball into the space behind their defence that was the undoing. Ellie White bust clear on the right before sending over the perfect cross to Yasmin Edwards, who stroked the al home from 6 yards. 0-2.
In a breathless start to the game, Beaconsfield immediately tried to hit back. Nicole Nedd's ball across the face of goal found Henna Hussain, but her effort was narrowly wide. That miss proved even more costly three minutes later when Lucy White got free on the right and delivered a dangerous ball across the six-yard box. Ruby Harris, tracking back, tried to clear but was unfortunate to see her sliced effort loop into her own net. Only nine minutes on the clock and Oxford already 0-3 to the good.
To be fair, The Rams did mange to steady the ship a little after this point. Once again the Nedd Hussain partnership almost paid off, with the latter's attempt only narrowly wide of the mark. At the other end, Edwards came close again before, just before the half-hour, Alix Todd's vicious strike came back off the underside of the bar and away to safety. That pretty much summed up Beaconsfield's day so far. Three-nil down but, on another day, they could have been level. I had jokingly said to Craig that it could even end 6-6 today. The way things were going, I was beginning to think I should have placed a bet on it.
Edwards again came close for Oxford, heading just wide from a corner, but for a short period after that, the clear-cut chances dried up.
As we headed towards the break Katie Riddington, who had been quiet by her standards, sent a delightful curling effort skimming over Gerrow's bar, with the keeper beaten. Then, as the Rams pressed to get a foothold, Hussain brushed off a challenge, beat another defender and sent a 20-yarder just over. 
The home side did, however, finally get on the scoresheet with a minute or so remaining. Alix Todd sent over a right-wing corner which was met by Henna Hussain, who headed into the far corner. 1-3

HT Beaconsfield Town 1 Oxford City 3. A blistering start from The Hoops, aided by some generosity from Beaconsfield. Both teams could easily have had a couple more goals, but could that late goal back be a building block for The Rams?

---

Any hopes that Beaconsfield had about getting back into the game were pretty much shot down as early as the fifth minute of the second half. Yasmin Edwards was quick to pounce on a fumble from Liv Sieradzka, nudging the ball back into the path of Kate Parsons, who drilled the ball into an empty net from the edge of the box. 1-4
Beaconsfield were not about to throw the towel in though, and Hannah Gerrow had to be quick and brave on 54 minutes, throwing herself at the feet of Katie Riddington to make the block. Yasmin Edwards then had a header scrambled off the Beaconsfield line before, with twenty minutes to go, Ellie White got in on the goalscoring act for the visitors. Turing sharply on the edge of the box, she let fly. Sieradzka got to the shot but the wet ball squirmed through her grasp and trickled over the line. 1-5
Despite being comfortably in front, Gerrow was determined to not allow Beaconsfield any glimpse of a way back. With just over ten to go, she was once more called upon to race off her line and throw herself at the feet of an attacker, this timer Freya Harris, to ensure the four goal lead remained intact.
Almost on the stroke of full-time, Henna Hussain was sent clear but delayed a little too long, and was closed down. Then, to add icing to the cake, deep into added time Yasmin Edwards broke clear on the left before driving into the box and calmly sliding the ball past Sieradzka. 1-6

FT Beaconsfield Town 1 Oxford City 6. Tree in each half for City, who were devasting going forward today. They played an attacking line-up from the start, and it paid dividends. Beaconsfield were rocked by the early onslaught but did have chances of their own. The difference was the clinical finishing that Oxford showed. The win lifts The Hoops into seventh spot, just three points behind Beaconsfield with two games in hand.
Coming up next week, Beaconsfield face a very local derby, just down the road at Burnham FC, as they take on leaders Wycombe Wanderers, looking to improve on their opening day defeat to The Chairgirls. City, meanwhile, travel to the cost to face ninth-placed Sholing, who they beat 3-2 in the reverse fixture on the opening day.

Beaconsfield Town: Sieradzka, Haines, Lloyd, R.Harris, Harte, Messitt, F.Harris, Todd(c), Riddington, Hussain, Nedd. Subs: Godfrey, Parkin, Lyon, Haye
Oxford City: Gerrow, Ayers, Bough-French(c), Leach, Wellington-Faissal, Lester, Parsons, Craven, Edwards, E.White, L.White. Subs: Maskell, Davis, Gorman, Walecki, Harris

Ground Number: Re-visit
Att: 
Entrance: Food donation
Programme: N/A

---