| GUERNSEY FC WOMEN | 7 | – | 5 | WIMBORNE TOWN |
| Hedley 13′, 18′, 22′, 41′, 75′, 85′ Bougourd (pen) 83′ | Batsford 9′ Bell-Jack 38′ Patton 73′ Selby 90′ Sudderby 90+5′ |
Guernsey FC women announced their arrival in the UK women’s football pyramid in memorable fashion in front of nearly 600 fans at Victoria Park on Sunday.
Calleigh Hedley stunned the visitors with a double hat-trick – only Ross Allen has previously done that in GFC colours – as the Green Lionesses quickly put an early setback behind them to secure three points in their Southern Region Women’s Football League Division One debut.
That setback came on nine minutes as the Green Lionesses failed to clear a corner and Gracie Batsford found the far bottom corner from the angle and dilute the buzzing atmosphere at Victoria Park.
The visitors had started stronger but the opening goal roused GFCW into life and Hedley soon lifted the spirits again with a quickfire treble – inside a 10 minutes spell. The first was fortuitous on 13 minutes as Wimborne keeper Tegan Barnes kicked the ball straight against her inside the six-yard box with the ball bouncing into the net.
But the next two were far more clinical, the first on 18 minutes as she broke down the left after a high press on the visiting defence and found the far corner from the angle, not requiring the assistance of two team mates as the Green Lionesses broke three on one. Five minutes later it was 3-1 as captain Candice Bougourd’s pass sliced open the Wimborne defence and set Hedley clear to stroke the ball under Barnes.
Wimborne pulled one back on 38 minutes as Lucy Roberts’ send a cross to the far post. The presence of Abigail Buck jumping for the ball was enough to put off Steph Batiste, who was unable to hold the delivery and Sheree Bell-Jack was waiting to tap in the loose ball at the far post.
Hedley’s fourth to restore the two-goal advantage shortly before half-time was perhaps the most pleasant on the eye at the end of a sweeping team move. Chloe Ingrouille’s crossfield pass sent Amy Dallamore clear down the right. Her cross was delightful in meeting the run of Hedley, who simply had to make contact with her head to finish from close range.
Wimborne improved significantly after the interval and had the ball in Guernsey’s half for long periods and it just reward that the visitors reduced the deficit again on 73 minutes. They had already hit the woodwork twice (with Vicki Rang heading narrowly over at the other end) when Freya Patton the ball over a retreating defender and into the net from the edge of the D, with Batiste having given chase to Abigail Churchill, who had charged down her pass out.
But hopes of a comeback were extinguished with two minutes as Bougourd sent Hedley clean through a second time. This time she opted to go round Barnes, who got a hand to the ball but was unable to prevent the number nine evading her and rolling into an empty net for hers and her team’s fifth.
Just two minutes later it was 6-3 as Hedley was clipped in the penalty area and skipper Bougourd dispatched the resulting spotkick low to Barnes’s right, a deserved goal to cap her earlier assists.
She also had a hand in the seventh to really put the nail in the coffin. She looked to pick out the run of Hedley again, and Emily Nieman’s header back to her keeper fell desperately short, allowing Hedley to nip in and bag her sixth.
Jessica Selby’s lob and Brooke Suddaby’s low finish somewhat blotted the home defence’s copybook and earned some consolation for the visitors as the game ticked into injury time, but there was no doubt that Guernsey are well and truly off and running.
Sunday’s other results were as follows: Havant & Waterlooville 0-4 Farnham Town, AFC Varsity 3-0 Shaftesbury, AFC Stoneham 2-1 Bournemouth Sports Reserves, Bemerton Heath Harlequins 2-0 Burlesdon, Nursing & Shirley 0-5 Andover New Street.
GUERNSEY: 1 Steph BATISTE; 2 Amy DALLAMORE; 3 Elise LE LACHEUR; 4 Aimee OGIER; 5 Scarlett KENNEALLY; 6 Scarlett GALLAGHER; 7 Codie LE FLEM; 8 Candice BOUGOURD (c); 9 Calleigh HEDLEY; 10 Donna GALLIENNE; 11 Chloe INGROUILLE. Subs (rolling); 12 Heidi DAWBER; 14 Adrienne LEECH; 16 Emily McCARTNEY; 18 Vicki RANG; 20 Rochelle MULLEN.
WIMBORNE TOWN: 1 Tegan BARNES; 2 Emily NIEMAN; 3 Abigial BUCK; 5 Freya PATTON; 7 Emilie REGNART; 8 Lucy ROBERTS: 9 Brooke SUDDABY; 11 Gracie BATSFORD; 12 Eva WELSTEAD; 15 Emily ADAMS; 16 Jessica SELBY. Subs (rolling): 10 Sheree BELL-JACK; 14 Amiya WILLIAMS; 20 Abigail CHURCHILL.
Attendance: 572.
