Oxford United Women won for the seventh successive game on Sunday as they beat Cheltenham Town 2-0 at the MGroup Stadium.
Second-half goals from Emma Thompson and Maisy Barker were enough to see off a determined Cheltenham side and see the U’s climb to fourth in the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division.
United started on the front foot but were unable to break down a stubborn Robins defence. Thompson had the first opportunity after quarter of an hour, but her shot was blocked, while later in the half a scramble after Cheltenham defender Courtney Jones headed off the line before Naomi Bedeau’s shot went just over.
After a frustrating first half, United were again quick off the blocks at the start of the second period and, after just three minutes, were in the lead. Grace Palmer’s corner was headed down into the mix by Bedeau for Thompson to shoot past Poppy Irvine and open the scoring.
Minutes later, Oxford came close to a second after Irvine made two great saves before losing control of the ball, but United’s final shot hit the bar and went over.
Beth Wookey had to make a routine save from a Louise Guymara free kick with 20 minutes remaining, but that was the closest the visitors got to a goal.
The Yellows were rewarded in the 86th minute as Barker’s left-wing cross evaded everybody and landed inside the far post to give Oxford the cushion they deserved.
“I thought the girls were brilliant today,” manager Liam Gilbert said after the game. “Some of the football, some of the patterns, some of the rotations were unbelievable.
“I’d like us to be a little bit more ruthless. We created some fantastic chances, but for me that’s been as close to a complete performance as we’ve had so far.
“I’m really happy with the girls’ application. We said last week we started slowly in the first half, but we didn’t allow it to be that way this week. I’m really pleased for the back five or six to get a clean sheet, because that’s been a bit longer coming than we wanted.”
UNITED: Wookey, Gibson (Richardson 86), Provan, Wiseman, Bedeau, Casley, Barrett, Thompson (Kendell 90), Palmer, Barker, Manders (Trinder 86)
Attendance: 193
