A Beth Wharton hat-trick sealed three points for our Women’s First team as we registered an away win over Belper Town Ladies yesterday afternoon.
Ben Challen made just the one change to the side that bowed out of the County Cup last time out, bringing Leah Wray back into the fray to replace Holly Smith at left-back.
Ellie Gribbin made her league debut for the Mariners between the sticks, with Wray, Olivia Kershaw, Sophie Gray and Chloe Thorpe making up the back-line in front of her.
Captain Dani Brighton and Laura Flecknor paired up in the midfield, with Lily Jacklin and Ray Swallow operating on the wings and Alisha Dejonge sitting behind Wharton leading the line.
The Mariners created chances from the get-go, with a Kershaw free-kick three minutes in heading straight into the hands of the Belper keeper and a speculative effort from 40-yards out by Dejonge also being comfortable for the host shot-stopper.
A through ball saw Wharton in on goal. The striker took aim, but the keeper parried away her effort and as the ball then rolled along the mouth of the goal, no black and white shirt was there to tap in the rebound.
The Mariners had the ball in the back of the net after quarter of an hour on the clock through Lily Jacklin, but the offside flag was up.
Town continued to press the hosts in a high-line and search for the opener. Dejonge fired in on goal through a congested area and the rebound fell to Wharton, but the follow-up frustratingly headed over the bar.
The deadlock was broken on the stroke of half-time. Swallow teed up Wharton nicely, who took a touch and held the ball up before resetting, getting the right side of the Belper defender and slotting the ball home.
On the half-an-hour mark, we had a Town debut as midfielder Kloe Green came onto play her first minutes in black and white at 16 years old.
Wharton got her brace with 15 minutes to go and the continued press paid off, placing the ball in the bottom left and her hat-trick was sealed as a sublime round the corner ball fell to the striker for her and Town’s third to round off the win.
Town: Gribbin, Wray, Brighton, Kershaw, Thorpe, Flecknor, Wharton, Dejonge, Jacklin, Gray, Swallow
Subs: Green, Barker
