Winscombe Ladies started the new season with victory away at Taunton Vale.

Taunton Vale Ladies 2nd XI 1

Winscombe Ladies 1st XI 3

The first league game of the season saw Winscombe Ladies travel to Taunton Vale and came back with all three points

After a slow start from both sides, Taunton Vale made the most of an early opportunity and after a one-on-one with keeper Katie Dennis, they opened the scoring.

The defensive team of Charlie Phillips, Michelle Isgar, Michelle Clarke-McCulloch, player of the match Chloe Brown and keeper Dennis kept the Taunton attack at bay and cleared several shots at goal, including a goal-line clearance by Clarke-McCulloch.

Winscombe equalised when Vicky Burns took a shot at goal which was deflected by the keeper and Georgie Collett was quickest to react and scored.

Great team work continued from the midfield consisting of Kelly Clark, Imogen Marsh, Sarah Holland and Leanne Gardner. Holland and Collett weaved through the Taunton defence where Collett scored the second goal of the game.

Pressure from forwards Gabriella Richardson, Collett and Burns eventually paid off and the ball found Clark in the D. Holland connected, mid-air, with a reverse flick shot from Clark, the deflected ball finding the back of the net just before half-time.

Winscombe continued their domination of possession throughout the second half and their hard work paid off. A great start to the new season with three league points.

Winscombe host Bridgwater on Saturday at their new home pitch at Winscombe Recreation Ground/Sidcot School – all support welcome.

Winscombe Ladies 2nd XI 3

Minehead Ladies 1st XI 5

Winscombe seconds faced tough opposition in their new season opener, eventually going down in an eight-goal thriller.

During the first 10 minutes, Winscombe contained Minehead well in their own half and thanks to an attacking run by Dulcie Glossop and a quick pass to Georgie Savage, Winscombe found themselves taking the lead.

The team quickly settled into the play and forwards Maddie Bawden, Jasmine Honor, Tia Craig and Eleanor Philips battled relentlessly against a strong and robust Minehead defence. The physical nature of some of the defending unsettled some of the younger players and Winscombe conceded two goals by half-time.

After the break, Minehead started strongly and in spite of excellent defending by Jo Horwood, Niamh Hyden, Amelia Bourton, Megan Coe and Trixie Osmond, scored again.

Undaunted, Winscombe fought back, adding two goals to their score line from Trudie Lynham and Craig, but this was not enough to affect the overall result as Minehead scored their fifth to increase their lead.

Joint players of the match were: Megan Coe and Tia Craig.

Nailsea Ladies 2nd XI 0

Winscombe Ladies 3rd XI 2

After a scrappy start to the game, the thirds returned home as 2-0 winners.

The first-half swung from end to end, with both sides guilty of losing possession as the sides turned around goal-less at the break.

In the second half, Winscombe really stepped up and took the game to the opposition, with sustained attacking play from all areas of the pitch by forwards Shirley Hartshorne, Tia Rendall and Cara Ellis.

When called upon, the Winscombe backs of Georgina Glossop, Jo Hann and goalie Georgia Tulip defended solidly and robustly. Sarah Kempster turned defence into attack, while winger Ellis, making her third team debut, put in some lovely crosses for the forwards.

Midfielders Emma Whitehead and Tracey Edwards worked tirelessly, while Lucy Kindred, making her debut for the thirds, put in an excellent performance which earned her player of the match.

An attack initiated by captain Gill Harvey resulted in a flurry of shots on the Nailsea goal, one of which rebounded to Gail Izzard found the back of the net to give Winscombe the lead.

Ten minutes later, Winscombe doubled their lead from a penalty corner when Izzard netted from a pass from Sinclair.

Winscombe Ladies 4th XI 3

Taunton Vale 5th XI 2

A new-look fourth team, with a mixture of youth and experience, showed great composure against Taunton Vale.

In the first-half, Winscombe applied early pressure with good link up play from Caroline Glossop and Nicky Mills feeding forwards Ellie Cooke, Becky Matthews and Hannah Glossop.

Winscombe earned several short corners which were not converted, before Vale broke free and scored from a short corner, soon followed by a second goal.

After an up-beat half-time talk from captain Glossop, Winscombe rallied and a firmly struck shot from Matthews was parried by the goalkeeper, only to be pounced on by Hannah Glossop who finished superbly.

The Winscombe defence of Jo Sawtell, Amy Cheeseborough and Julie Mayo linked well with the midfield. New players Stephanie Osmant and Lyndsey Lawrence continued to link up with Mills and Caroline Glossop who in turn found the forwards Ella Hutchinson, Cooke, Hannah Glossop and Matthews

It was Matthews again who provided the assist for Winscombe’s second goal, with Cooke netting the equaliser.

Winscombe’s defence held strong with super saves from keeper Paget and the defence of Mayo, Sawtell and Cheeseborough seeing the ball to safety on several occasions.

It was Winscombe though who had the final say of the match. A short corner firmly injected by Mills to Matthews. Her initial shot was saved, but she managed to net the rebound.

Player of the match was Stephanie Osmant.