Beechfield United’s Ladies footballers were on a roll this past weekend, beating all comers to add yet more silverware to the club’s groaning cabinet.
At the annual Stanstock 7s tournament in Shropshire, two teams from Salford powered their way through the ranks to play for glory.
Now in its fourth year, the prestigious competition at Ludlow Town FC saw teams compete in knock-out stages before a cup final on Sunday 12 July.
Beechfield’s battling B Team went undefeated on Saturday 11 July and topped their group to qualify automatically for the next day’s cup.
Winning their first match after tense extra time and penalties set up a bruising quarter-final encounter with a Royal Air Force Ladies side, who proved just too strong, dumping the Salford side out in a narrow 1-0 victory.
B Team: Dawn Parkes, Sue Howard, Debra Lisa Wright, Teresa Prendergast, Hayley Robinson, Faye Cassidy, Joanna Malcolmson, Lyndsey Turner, Sam Smith.
Beechfield’s A Team failed to qualify for the cup but instead went into competition for the Stanstock Silver Plate.
Vicky Kerr blasted her side to victory in the quarter-final, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win.
But early injuries in the semis to Emily Walmsley and Lauren O’Neil meant some players were forced to play out of position.
The girls dug deep with sterling performances in defence by Stacey Qualters, Gemma Winterburn and Katie Taylor, and Rachel Howarth bossing the play in goal.
Striker Sophie Wainwright rattled the crossbar twice and hit the post three times in a frantic attempt to put Beechfield through to the final.
It looked like extra time was on the cards before Wainwright caught a glimpse of goal in the final minute and cooly slotted the ball beyond the flailing keeper.
It was joy for the A Team but they faced familiar opposition in the final in the form of City of Manchester Ladies 7s.
Tired legs were fuelled by pure adrenaline in a blistering encounter which had the feeling of a local derby – only 115 miles from home.
Both teams had chances but at the end of full time and extra time it remained 0-0 to set up sudden death penalties.
Rachel Howarth pulled off more heroics with two spot-kick saves while an exhausted Beechfield Ladies line-up fired four of their five penalties past the Manchester keeper to take the plate.
A Team: Emily Walmsley, Rebecca Watkins, Rachel Howarth, Stacey Qualters, Sophie Wainwright, Katie Taylor, Vicky Kerr, Gemma Winterburn, Claire O’Reilly, Lauren O’Neil
