Southend and Benfleet - 9 (Sarah Conway 5, Ashlie Coleman 4)
Brentwood 2 - 1

Another home game this week saw Southend and Benfleet 1s host Brentwood 2s who found themselves being promoted from Division One alongside S&B and Phoenix whilst finishing third last season. It was a warm October afternoon when play began and it was clear from the outset that S&B were taking no prisoners this week and pressured the visitors from the outset. It didn’t take long before Brentwood caved to S&B’s constant assaults and Sarah Conway opened the floodgates as she bagged herself a hat-trick through the first half, one goal coming from a penalty flick, awarded after the Brentwood goalie illegally blocked the S&B attacker from the ball. Brentwood attacked quickly on the breakaway but great defensive work from Deborah Etheridge on the left and Hayley Middleton on the right closed off the visitors attack routes and fed the ball back through the throng on Brentwood players to waiting forward Ashlie Coleman who’d slipped the ball into the back of the goal a further two times to take the score to an impressive 5-0 before half time.

Despite the score Brentwood came back on the pitch with a renewed vigour and would be rewarded for their efforts as a defection from a short corner would bag them a consolation goal early in the second half. Great teamwork by Adele Cole and Nicola Bryant in midfield saw the Brentwood attacks cut short and turned back on the visitors as Coleman weaved through the Brentwood defenders time and again to take on the goalie and bag herself another two goals. Not to be out done, Conway followed suit with another two of her own late in the game, as she pounced on a rebound after a shot hit the post and Player of the Match Caitlin Meredith drew the goalie before slipping it to Conway for an easy tap into an open goalmouth. The final score saw S&B 9 – Brentwood – 1.