The Blues continued their assault on the top spot by beating mid tablers Barrowby at home on Sunday.
With a backlog of fixtures it was important that the game went ahead despite the boggy conditions.
The game eventually kicked off after the visiting team located their spare kit.
From the whistle the Blues were keen to bag another essential 3 points for their promotion plans and used the channels to great effect, avoiding the centre of the field which resembled a quagmire. The wingers stetched out the Barrowby defence and it felt like it was only a matter of time before the breakthrough came.
However after 20 mins of Long Eaton pressure and chances falling to what felt like nearly all the ladies team it was still nil nil.
Barrowby taking confidence from Long Eaton’s inability to score upped their game and turned the tables on the Blues by attacking the home sides defence, winning corners and coming close to scoring.
This sufficiently scared the Blues and they pushed to get back in the game but at half time the scores were still level, Barrowby inevitably a lot happier with the scoreline than the Blues.
The half time team talk seemed to do the trick as after a shaky start in the second 45 the Blues got back in the game, with 5 minutes gone Hayley Armstrong ran down the wing and with the ladies were queing up to score in the box the keeper was 2 yards off her line, anticipating the cross, but Armstrong tucked the ball behind the stranded goalie into the net.
1 nil up the Blues breathed a sigh of releif and finally started to play better passing football, as they have been doing in previous weeks.
It didn’t take long for the lead to be extended when Charlotte Healy got on the end of Carly Hayes corner to hit home although it took a slight deflection on the way.
At 2 goals down Barrowby started to wilt and Long Eaton pressed on for more goals. The third came from good work by Hancock down the wing who crossed for Lisa Jones to side foot home from close range.
As Long Eaton found their comfort zone the still eager Barrowby sought to regain some pride and continued to cause the Blues defence problems, but for the meantime were held at bay.
Then, reinforcing their dominance, a pinpoint through ball from Kimi Harford unleashed Lisa Jones who’s shot was perfectly placed to slot past the Barrowby keeper, taking it to a comfortbale 4 nil.
Still the Blues kept pressing and their efforts were rewarded when an excellent run and cross from Healy saw Hannah Draycott able to slot home Long Eaton’s 5th.
The Barrowby captain still attacking the Blues defence found herself in the danger zone, heading towards Long Eaton keeper, Hopewells goal, centre half Laura Robinson came across and committed to the tackle caught the player inside the area and the referee took no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
The experienced Barrowby forward stepped up to take the spot kick and tucked it just inside the left post although Hopewell was mere fingertips away.
The ladies were frustrated not to keep a clean sheet but it was a deserved goal for Barrowby as they managed to hold the Blues in the first half and never gave up.
Final score 5-1 to the Blues, heaping more pressure on League leaders Hinckley who didn’t play, allowing Long Eaton to close the gap to 2 points with 1 game in hand.
The first half proved a warning for the ladies as they often lower their standrds to match their competitors but in the end a solid result. Next week the ladies face Huncote away in the cup, garunteed to be a fiery affair.
