Chesterfield Ladies comfortably defeated Ilkeston Town Ladies 4-0 at the New Manor Ground on Sunday afternoon to reach the semi-finals of the Derbyshire Women’s County Cup.
First half goals from Louisa Anderson, Millie Standen and Amy Pashley plus a strike from Emma Young in the closing stages of the game sealed an impressive victory for the Blues away from home in very wet conditions.
After a cagey opening first phase of the match, the visitors broke the deadlock after 14 minutes played. A surging run from Emmi Cook down the right wing saw her advance into the penalty area where her shot was diverted for a corner kick. The resulting set piece found an unmarked Louisa Anderson and the centre-half headed home from close range to make it 1-0 to Chesterfield and record her first ever goal for the Blues.
The Blues almost doubled their lead midway through the first half when Kel Fidler’s 15 yard effort flashed narrowly wide of the post following an excellent run down the left wing and into the penalty area.
The hosts defended well for the majority of the first half and restricted the Blues for large parts of the opening 45 minutes where the visitors could only fire long range attempts. It was a good performance from the lower-tier side and they also managed a couple of long range shots on target themselves.
It needed something special to break Ilkeston’s defence down for a second time in the afternoon and that’s just what Mike Noon’s side delivered in the 44th minute. An excellent team move that featured 12 completed passes in a row concluded with a delightful right wing cross from Georgina Williams that found Millie Standen who steered the ball home with her head from ten yards out to make it 2-0.
The victory was virtually wrapped up just a minute later on the stroke of half-time when a lapse in concentration in the Ilkeston defence cost the hosts dearly. A header from within a crowded penalty area hit the post which allowed the nearby Amy Pashley to rush forward and smash the ball home from only a few yards out to make it 3-0 and record her seventh goal of the season.
With the score at 3-0 and the Blues right on the verge of qualifying for the semi-finals, the second half was played at a slower pace but did see bursts of goalmouth action intermittently.
Louisa Anderson came agonisingly close to scoring for a second time in the 53rd minute when her glancing header from a trademark whipped in delivery from Kel Fidler on the wing hit the post before the Ilkeston defence managed to scramble the ball away.
In the 71st minute, Blues top scorer Georgina Williams managed to break free of the Ilkeston defence following a long ball over the top. Her lightning pace meant she just had the goalkeeper to beat but her effort was blocked superbly from around 15 yards out.
The final goal of the game arrived with just two minutes of normal time remaining. Following an initial free kick from Millie Standen which saw her effort cannon back off the woodwork, a poor attempt at a backpass from an Ilkeston defender failed to reach the goalkeeper. This allowed substitute Emma Young to latch onto the ball and she calmly placed the ball past the keeper from 12 yards out to make it 4-0 and cap off a good team performance against spirited opposition.
Georgina Williams came within inches of adding a fifth with virtually the last kick of the match when her curling 20 yard effort whistled inches wide of the post with the Ilkeston keeper well beaten.
Overall, this was a really pleasing start to 2023 for Mike Noon’s side as they carried on the momentum from last month’s outstanding 5-0 victory in the league away at Notts County Women.
Chesterfield Ladies will now face surprise package Draycott Victoria Ladies next Sunday at home for a place in the Derbyshire Women’s County Cup final. If the Blues were to beat Draycott, then this would be the first time in the club’s history that they will have reached the final of this competition.
Chesterfield Ladies team: Watson, Cook, Warren, Anderson, Jebb-Geer, Pashley, Fidler, Baker, Camfield, Williams, Standen (c). Used subs: Apperley, Frances-Creaser, Young, Phillips, Purdy.
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