Bees fire home five

Barnet Ladies 5-0 Colchester United LFC
FA Tesco Women’s Premier League Cup
Preliminary Round
2pm, Sunday, 23 August 2009
Reynolds Field, Hanwell Town FC

Barnet Ladies continued their good start to the season with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Colchester in yesterday’s Premier League Cup tie at Hanwell. Play was even in the first ten minutes, but the home side took control in the warm sunshine after Stacey Sowden’s opener.

Barnet were 3-1 winners against Cardiff City in the first match of their Southern Division campaign and the confidence showed as the ‘Bees’ buzzed around Colchester’s goal. The pace and skill shown by the front players was bound to reap dividends sooner or later and it was the prolific Sowden who scored a stunning goal on ten minutes.

She feinted to go right as Colchester’s centre-half moved in to challenge and was swiftly in the clear as she went the other way. The ‘keeper was circumvented before the Barnet No.9 slid the ball smoothly into the unguarded net. Midfielder Cheryl Williams was sometimes second best in tackles, but her creative play was outstanding as she slipped killer balls through to breach Colchester’s square defence.

Katie ‘Leggy’ O’Leary weighed in with two enterprising goals before the break to put the tie beyond the Essex side. On 34 minutes she blasted a right-footer from inside the box that the ‘keeper did well to block and was composed enough to curl the rebound past the grounded ‘keeper and just inside the near post.

Nine minutes later it was 3-0, O’Leary volleying in from the right a split second before the visitors’ left-back also got a touch. The ball spun into the air and inches under the bar. Only two goals were added in the second period when it could have been a lot more. Holly Sandow turned in skipper Kate Holmes’ perfect right-wing cross on 58 minutes and substitute Gemma Rudman hit a 25-yard screamer to round things off on 71.

Barnet travel to Chelsea in the First Round on 13 September.

Attendance: 46