CELEBRATIONS for club captain as Droitwich Spa Ladies secure a 6-1 victory over Kenilworth Ladies on her 100th appearance for the football team.
Lindsey Jones, only one of two players to reach the century landmark, could not have asked for a better present as two goals apiece from Ellie Gerhold and April Polden along with strikes from Diane O’Hare and substitute Katie Armento secured their fifth consecutive league win.
From the outset, Droitwich dominated and it took only three minutes for them to find the back of the net.
Holly Newton had headed Polden’s cross against the post before Melissa Curnock was able to pull the ball back across goal for O’Hare to head in at the far post.
Eight minutes later Spa doubled their lead as Gerhold fired home from Curnock’s cross after her initial corner had been cleared.
With only 20 minutes gone on the clock, Spa netted their third goal of the game after Polden set up strike partner Gerhold to score.
Gerhold turned provider minutes later as she set up Polden for her first goal of the game, before netting her second just before half time to give Spa an unassailable 5-0 lead going into the interval.
Kenilworth netted a consolation goal midway through the second half after Rebekah Jones hammered home the rebound from her initial penalty that was well saved by Beth Roberts.
Substitute Armento rounded off a fantastic performance six minutes from the end, chipping the ball over the Kenilworth keeper into the far corner.
After the game, Spa manager Ian Fry was impressed by how the squad had performed.
“‘My players were fantastic today. Their first half performance was superb, particularly given the difficult playing conditions,” he said.
“They played some wonderful football. The whole squad played beautifully today, worked extremely hard and thoroughly deserved their win.”
Fry was also keen to praise club captain Jones, he said: “Lindsey was one of the club’s founder members and has been a wonderful player for our club since we were established in 2011.
“She is a great captain and leader and a wonderful example of total commitment to our club.
“Playing her 100th game for our club today, only the second player to reach that milestone, is a great achievement. We are all very proud of her.”
Spa’s next match is a league game away at Malvern Town on Sunday (February 7).
