Oxford United Women swept aside bottom-of-the-league Basildon Ladies at Court Place Farm yesterday, scoring six goals in each half to boost their goal difference as their push towards the top in the National League South continued to gain momentum.
The rout was started in just the sixth minute by Georgia Timms, who arrived in the right place to turn in Emily Allen’s cross with a simple tap in. Ellie Noble then had a long-distance effort superbly tipped over the post by visiting keeper Amy-Rose Dodds but that aside there was little hint in the game’s early stages that the U’s were about to rack up their record league victory.
Midway through the first half a deluge of three goals in under five minutes cemented Oxford’s hold on the game. Allen doubled United’s lead in the 21st minute when she swept the ball past Dodds after receiving the ball from Flo Fyfe. Georgia Timms then showed her poacher’s instinct as she reacted well to head in the rebound after Dodds had turned Allen’s drive onto the crossbar. This burst of scoring was completed by Allen, who steered in Fyfe’s cross at the near post to effectively end the game as a contest.
Oxford then had to wait almost 20 minutes before grabbing their fifth, but what a goal it was. Fyfe picked up the ball in her own half and drove at the Basildon defence. She rode two challenges before slipping the ball past Dodds to cap a brilliant individual effort. There was still time before the break for Allen to complete her hat-trick with a simple finish to make the half-time score 6-0 to the U’s.
Credit to Basildon, who didn’t let their heads drop and kept plugging away, keeping out United for the first quarter of an hour of the second half. However, it was the on-fire Allen who increased the lead in the 61st minute as she cut in from the right to beat Dodds with a fine curling finish.
It was 8-0 three minutes later as Fyfe raced clear. The Basildon keeper made a fine save to deny her fiercely struck shot but the rebound fell kindly for Fyfe, who slotted the ball past Dodds. Substitute Amber Roberts had been on the field for a matter of moments before her 78th minute right-wing cross was steered home by Allen for United’s ninth goal of the afternoon.
Oxford made it into double figures in the 85th minute when young Immy Lancaster steered the ball home from the edge of the area and three minutes later Timms cut in from the edge of the area to make it 11-0 and grab her hat-trick. In the 90th minute Allen grabbed her sixth of the game to complete the scoring, the referee immediately blowing for full-time.
This leaves United in fourth place, just two points behind third-placed Chichester City Ladies but with a game in hand and far better goal difference, and three points adrift of second-placed Cardiff City Ladies, who still have to come to Oxford at the end of April.
United: Thomas, Haynes (Williams 64), Mobbs, Lancaster, Allen, Noble, Timms, Fyfe (Roberts 68), Baker (Bent 58), Sims, Gane
Goals: Allen (6), Timms (3), Fyfe (2), Lancaster
Attendance: 158