Gover hat-trick as Hemel Ladies run riot in cup

Hemel Hempstead Town Ladies gave Sherrardswood Ladies a footballing lesson in the Herts Senior Cup on Sunday '“ winning 8-0.
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Kicking toward the High Street Green end of the ground it only took Hemel seven minutes to open their account, as Tara Hancock met a right wing cross in front of goal and could not miss.

By the tenth minute winger Nashima Mohamed was put through only to find her shot smothered by the visiting keeper. You almost feel that the visiting defence were in for a long afternoon.

Then in the 14th minute Natasha McConville cut in from the left wing to curl a shot, with her right boot, just wide of the right hand side of the visiting net. By the 18th minute Tara Hancock had so nearly doubled her and Hemel’s tally by just shooting wide, when on the right hand side across the goal.

Natasha McConville tried her luck again with shots on the left wing curling just past the right hand post.

On 25 minutes Lorna Gover doubled Hemel’s lead when a defensive mix-up presented her with the easiest of chances in front of the goal.

On the hhalf hour McConville put Kerry Stratton through on goal, but she shot wide of the right hand post. You could feel the next Hemel goal could come at any time and so in the 33rd minute it duly arrived, when Hancock’s persistent play saw her get the better of the visiting keeper to net her second of the match from close range.

With five minutes left of the half, Mohamed, put through Gover, who slotted home with ease. A minute later a Sherrardswood defender, diverted a header onto her team’s crossbar. However, despite having all of the play, with the visitors barely able to venture out of their own half Hemel have to settle with just the four half-time goals.

With keeper Ruth Gorin hardly doing anything in the first half, manager Lionel Davey, swapped her for Charlotte Howey.

Fellow half-time substitute Charlene Turturici, strikes a left foot thunderbolt, from just outside the penalty area and Hemel had their fifth, some 12 minutes into the second half. A further five minutes pass before McConville fires just over the bar, when well placed.

Hemel’s third half-time substitute, Alys Chendlik, tried to get on the score sheet in the 67th minute of the match, but was just wide. Then just past the half-way mark in the second half Gover, completed her hat-trick and Hemel’s 6th, after yet another defensive mix-up, as she thundered in her shot past the despairing visiting keeper.

It was now a ‘duck shoot’, as Hemel’s ladies were totally overwhelming their opposition. In the 72nd minute Stratton tried an audacious back flick which only just failed to find the target. This was followed a minute later when Charlene Turturici shot just over. Stratton came back for more in the 76th minute, when dribbling through on goal shot wide with her left foot.​

McConville’s fine wing was finally rewarded in the 77th minute, when her left wing cross was spilt by the visiting keeper into her own net.

Two further minutes elapsed before Alys Chendlik, added Hemel’s eighth when she shot from just outside the penalty area. Late shots from Leah Haley and Natasha McConville prove to be the final action in this totally one-sided contest.

Manager Lionel Davey, was full of praise for his side, who tried to pass the ball around, rather than have ‘shoot on sight’ policy and make it into double figures.