As the Christmas holidays are in full swing, we look back at how the ladies have performed in the first half of the season. The ladies look to be having a better season than the men, on current form. This, despite trailing the men in the goal scoring charts (99 vs 153, excluding the junior sides) – although there are an extra two men’s teams! The 3rds and 5ths lead the way in goal scoring, and are also both seeking a promotion place. As are the 2nds, looking for another back-to-back promotion. After a difficult start, the 1sts are rising back up the table. Meanwhile, the 4ths are in the bottom half, but with a bit of breathing space between themselves and the bottom 2. Below, we look at each individual team and their successes.

The 1st team currently sit in 7th position in East Division 1 North after a recent good run of form following an inauspicious start, taking five games to register their first victory. Seven points from a possible nine have lifted them away from the relegation zone, as Christmas approaches. A home game against Harleston Magpies is next up for the ladies, and they will be seeking a victory to begin 2017 with a bang! They also exited the EH Women’s Cup and Trophy at the first round stage of each competition, defeated 5-0 by National Conference side Chelmsford and 2-0 by East London.

DIVISION 1N

Last season’s Yorkshire Division 2 champions, the 2nds, remain in the hunt for yet another promotion after a strong start to life in Division 1 recording four wins and a draw in the opening six games. Recent form has seen them only take two points from nine, but put in two strong performances in the cup competitions. The ladies reached the 3rd round of the EH Women’s 2nd XI Cup but lost out 2-0 away to Lichfield 2nds, and also reached the semi-final of the YHA Women’s Yorkshire Cup, but suffered a 2-0 defeat by fellow promotion rivals, Driffield 2nds – a fantastic showing that the ladies will build on next season after (hopefully) another promotion campaign.

The 3rds have had a good start in Division 4 South only ending up on the wrong side of the score-line on three occasions. Victoria Machalke has been in fine goal-scoring form as has Lindsay Pritchard. The ladies will be seeking more of the same to push for the promotion spot(s) and start their rise up the leagues captained by Kerry Rough.

The 4ths have had a difficult start in Yorkshire Division Five East registering only two victories, but thankfully sit above the relegation zone entering the second half of the season. There has been cup success, however, with the ladies reaching the final of the YHA Women’s Division 5 Cup with victories against Doncaster 4ths (4-1) and Halifax 4ths (3-3, 3-2 on flicks). They face Driffield 3rds in April on YHA Finals Day.

The 5ths have had a cracking start to Division Six East, only suffering a single defeat which came as a result of an unfortunate injury to the goalkeeper. The ladies hope for more of the same in the second half of the season, in the hope of a promotion spot come the end of March.

Unfortunately, the decision had to be made to pull the ladies 6ths out of the league due to player availability. Although disappointing for the club, it is hoped that the 6s will be back in the future.

The Under 16 Girls have had a good start to the U16 Championships with 3-1 victories over both Peterborough and St Ives, and also an 8-0 defeat against Saffron Walden. Cambridge City and Leicester make up the opponents for the remaining games. The top two will go through to the next round, with all other sides exiting the competition.

Look out for our Mid Season Review of the Mens’ Teams, later this week.