Written by Catja Christensen
The Shots dominated at home with a 10-0 win against Widbrook United Women. This match marks the women’s first time playing at EBB Stadium, bringing women’s football back to Aldershot, with a supportive 345 in attendance to welcome them home.
Despite an early shot on goal from Widbrook, saved easily by Christina Binyon, the affair would soon become largely dominant in the way of the Shots. The scoring would open in the 6th minute, Susie King playing a beautiful cross to Shellie Irvine to find the back of the net.
Irvine took another blazing shot that hit the crossbar in the 10-minute, much to the crowd’s dismay. Two corners from Lottie Traxler brought more action into the box, but no one was able to take control for another goal.
The steady play came to a halt 15 minutes in, with Erin Felton needing medical treatment and walking off the pitch. Beth McMillan came on as a substitute and brought even more energy to the confident Shots.
Ella Fegan created opportunities each time she possessed the ball, building up to a 25-minute goal flying well above Widbrook goalkeeper Stacey Harrington into the net. King was hungry for another goal as she and Ella Fegan dashed to the net, but neither could hit the mark despite working well in tandem. King persisted, making a solo sprint in the 30th minute and scoring on a rebound from Harrington’s initial save on her first attempt.
Ella Fegan went down in the 33rd minute, resulting in a free kick blocked by Widbrook’s solid wall. Shortly after, Lorraine Fairbairn went down hard, needing medical attention for several minutes before swapping places with Jess Gunn in minute 36. Not even a minute later, Shellie went down, also needing medical attention, but managed to recover to finish the half.
Widbrook energetically marked their Aldershot counterparts but struggled to find their own goals. A final rush towards Binyon, resulted in a corner taken by Kayleigh Hudson, with no success. Aldershot responded quickly, bringing the ball back towards the Widbrook goal twice but being unable to finish. The Shots made one last attempt in the 45-minute, making clean passes but failing to shoot on target.
All of Aldershot’s injuries led to eight minutes of stoppage time. The teams and the crowd lost steam with added time, with less precise passes and a quieter atmosphere in the stands.
Widbrook’s Chanel Gunn took a hard hit blocking Traxler’s 47th minute corner. In the 52nd minute, Taxker made a beautiful cross into the box, but no one was there to complete the play. The half ended in minute 53.
HALF TIME
The break brought renewed determination to the pitch, with the Shots still dominant on their home turf. A 51-minute corner from Traxler brought fleeting hope, as the ball was quickly cleared. She made another break towards the goal a few minutes later but was stopped in her tracks by Harrington.
Irvine struck gold again with a lovely shot in goal in the 61st minute, bringing a much needed injection of energy into the otherwise quiet second half. Her 68th minute hat trick brought the score up to 5-0 with a rocket past Harrington, and she added one more goal for good measure just two minutes later thanks to an assist from Brooke Lowther.
Most of the play occurred in the Widbrook half, with the Shots maintaining control of the game. Binyon saw some action in the 74th minute before Traxler made a break back towards Harrington. In the 75th minute, Fairbairn bent a beautiful shot into the corner of the net and made another shot on target just a minute later, saved by Harrington. Lowther tried to get in on the action in minute 81 with a strike on target saved, but Irvine struck gold once again in minute 86, just as she was named Player of the Match.
Grace Fegan added her name to the scoreboard with an 89th minute shot to the top corner, then Irvine followed with yet another screamer in the 90th minute to wrap up the game. The Aldershot Women made a strong return, commanding the pitch throughout the 90 minutes, looking comfortable on a previously unfamiliar EBB Stadium pitch.
Attendance: 345
Shots lineup: 1. Christina Binyon, 3. Grace Fegan, 5. Shannon Mather (C), 7. Jessy Woffinden, 8. Shellie Irvine, 9. Susie King, 10. Ella Fegan, 11. Lottie Traxler, 12. Hollie O’Brien, 14. Erin Felton, 16. Lorraine Fairbairn
Rolling subs: 2. Erin Wetherill, 4. Beth McMillan, 15. Brooke Lowther, 17. Jess Gunn, 19. Jess Scott
Widbrook lineup: 1. Stacey Harrington, 2. Chanel Gunn, 15. Jessie Farrington-Ratcliff, 16. Grace Everett, 5. Sylvia Smith, 19. Hannah Wright, 24. Chloe Cooper, 21. Ella Celik, 9. Jade Turner (C), 10. Maisie Hutchinson, 14. Kayleigh Hudson
Rolling subs: 4. Lara Blanco
