Bretforton Ladies 1 Lancaster 2

A THRILLING National trophy tie took place at Evesham High School last Sunday in front of a larger than usual crowd.

The opening 15 minutes saw Bretforton attacking the visiting goal and they were unlucky not to take the lead when a reverse shot from Sarah Hall caught the foot of Andrea Cole on the goalline.

Good play from midfielders Deb Slatter, Lisa Workman, Julie Hall and Sophie Corbett forced the play with the former going close on a couple of occasions.

Lancaster settled down towards the end of the first half and pressed forward and sweeper Jane Wheeler was forced to make a number of crucial tackles.

Goalkeeper Vicky Webb then produced a number of fantastic diving saves including one from a penalty flick.

However, she was helpless to prevent the northerners taking the lead just before the break after a series of short corners.

The second half saw the Vale hosts press hard to get level and shots from Corbett and Kim Barry struck a post.

Just when an equaliser appeared beyond them, Barry sprinted down the right and crossed the ball for Cole to sweep a shot into the net and take the tie into extra-time when the "golden goal" rule came into force.

After Slatter forced an easy save from the Lancaster keeper, opposite number Webb again came to the rescue with another save from a penalty flick.

However, In the second half, a cruel twist of fate saw one of the umpires blow for an initial foul by a visiting player only for the decision to be reversed after a discussion with the fellow official.

A short corner was awarded to Lancaster who took full advantage to find a way past player of the match Webb and book a place in the next round.

Bretforton Ladies II 3,

Cheltenham CS 0

A WELL-CONTESTED ended with a satisfying victory for the village team.

The lead was taken inside the opening two minutes when Lesley McKinnon took advantage of a static visiting defence that saw her sweep past two defenders and the goalkeeper before placing the ball confidently into the net with a reverse stick strike.

The opposition worked harder and Bretforton had to fight harder for the ball and managed to maintain the majority of possession.

A second goal arrived from a short corner struck confidently by Shirley Aubrey towards the right post where Bernie Amphlett flew in elegantly behind the defenders and clipped the ball neatly into the net.

Cheltenham weren't without chances of their own but Fiona Jordan was in good form protecting the D while keeper Fiona Lovecy managed to save any on target strikes.

It was 3-0 at half-time following Ceri Barber's strike from the top of the D that went through the goalkeeper's legs.

The second half saw Cheltenham continue to battle hard as both sides tired in the miserable conditions.

Amphlett fought hard to grab a second goal but her attempts were thwarted by some fine stops.

Both sides gained short corners and player of the match Lovecy was also in the thick of the action again to produce some flying saves.

The match ball was sponsored by Chipping Campden Sports Centre.

Last weekend's winners will be hoping to carry on the good work at Newent on Saturday.