Chesterfield Ladies beat Anstey Nomads Women 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Chesterfield Panthers Rugby Club Ground to maintain their perfect start to the 2022/23 season. A superb brace from Amy Pashley plus an own goal from a Nomads defender secured all three points for Mike Noon's side in a hard-fought affair.
Sunday's victory means that the Blues have won their first three games of the season and are two points clear at the top of the East Midlands Women's Premier Division.
Chesterfield Ladies certainly didn't have it all their own way though, particularly in the first half. Anstey were excellent in closing the ball down when the hosts were in possession and repeatedly forced Chesterfield's defence into errors. With Chesterfield struggling to string a series of passes together, Anstey were looking more threatening as the minutes passed by. At the half hour mark, the Nomads were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead when they were awarded a penalty. In a huge moment of relief for the hosts, Anstey blazed their spot-kick over the bar. Chesterfield knew that was a big let-off.
The huge warning seemed to improve Chesterfield's performance immediately and they broke the deadlock just two minutes later. Player of the match Amy Pashley drilled home a 20 yard free-kick into the bottom corner to make it 1-0 to the hosts and claim her second goal of the season.
The Derbyshire outfit's improved performance continued into the second half and the hosts killed the game off with a professional and controlled display after the interval. Chesterfield Ladies doubled their advantage in the 52nd minute when a corner from Pashley was inadvertently diverted into the net by a Nomads defender. The visitors were then dealt with a stroke of bad luck when their goalkeeper had to leave the field just after the hour mark when she sustained a head injury following a collision with a Chesterfield player. With no substitute goalkeeper on the Nomads bench, Anstey were forced to put an outfield player in goal for the last 30 minutes of the match. Chesterfield Ladies soon went 3-0 up thanks to more set-piece magic from Amy Pashley in the 69th minute. This effort was even better than the first goal as Pashley found the top corner with a sensational free-kick from around 30 yards out. Anstey Nomads managed to grab a goal after 76 minutes to reduce the deficit when their impressive number 15 weaved past a couple of opponents before firing a shot past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net from 15 yards out. A large amount of stoppage time was played due to the injury picked up the Anstey goalkeeper but the hosts managed the end of the game well and ran out comfortable winners. A special mention must be given to Chesterfield Ladies goalkeeper Esme Naylor. Due to Nicolle Watson and Claire White both being unavailable with injuries, Naylor was selected to start by manager Mike Noon. At the age of just 16, this was Naylor's first game of football at senior level and she impressed everyone with an excellent save midway through the first half. For Chesterfield Ladies, their attention now shifts to the Women's FA Cup next weekend as they host Pocklington Town Ladies in the second qualifying round. Chesterfield Ladies team: Naylor, Cook, Abercrombie, Anderson, Warren, Pashley, Fidler, Frances-Creaser, Standen, Purdy, Williams. Used subs: Baker, Camfield, Smyth, Townsend. Mike Noon Quotes: "This was the toughest game we've had so far this season. Anstey were playing a tier below last season but they've come here and caused us problems today. They weren't allowing us to play. We had some honest conversations at half-time. I didn't think we were playing at the level we expect to be at. Fair play to Anstey, they gave us a real test. I thought we were lucky to go into the interval 1-0 up." "We talked about making the right decisions at the right time during the interval. We weren't doing that in the first half, so we needed to address that. We were encouraging Anstey to close us down quickly as we were taking too many touches on the ball. I think we cut that out in the second half. We were in control for large parts of the second half...but we're chuffed to bits. Three games in, nine points, we're top of the table." "So we've had injuries to two goalkeepers. Esme came in today and was absolutely outstanding. She made a brilliant save in the first half. She wasn't phased today - she's a very level-headed person. I couldn't be happier for her. All the team were chuffed to bits with her performance today." "The FA have increased the prize money in the Women's FA Cup this season which is fantastic...this season, prize money in the FA Cup could really help the club. Everyone knows that our priority this season is to win promotion - but if we can go on a good cup run and generate funds that will contribute to our performances and running of the club, then that will be very important too. We're going to really go for it next weekend and try and make sure we get through to the next round."
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