Goals in plentiful supply for local women
Goals were in plentiful supply as our women's sides rounded off the year, with Sedgley & Gornal United among those to enjoy a statement victory.
SGUFC rounded off 2021 in style as they had five different scorers in a 9-1 triumph over Cookley Sports.
Arshi Zahoor helped herself to four goals, and Nicola Finlay grabbed a brace while Abi Beady, Lucy Berridge and Olivia Lloyd were also on the mark.
That triumph put them fifth in the West Midlands Division One South, with the action set to restart in early January.
There were some incredibly high scores in the Birmingham County Cup as well.
Stourbridge Ladies moved into the quarter-finals by completely outclassing FC Premier, sealing a whopping 20-0 triumph.
The Glassgirls, of the West Midlands Premier, are three levels higher than Premier – who only had 10 players.
And Stour boss Andy Fisher was left with mixed feelings afterwards as he said: "We’re through, and I suppose that’s all that matters, but I’m not sure how good these matches are for women’s football, and I do think that’s a question that needs to be asked.
“Fair play to FC Premier. Their attitude was spot on, they wanted to play football and they made life as hard for us as they could.
"We’ve already seen a number of teams scratch from the competition this season, and they could have taken that way out, but they didn’t, and I think that reflects well on them.
“From our point of view, we’ve given a few development team players a run out and they’ve all benefitted from the experience, as have some of the players who haven’t had much game time recently."
Wolves Women were also big County Cup winners as they put nine past Bedworth United.
Albion Women progressed as well, albeit by a more modest scoreline. They prevailed 2-0 at Solihull Moors.
The Staffordshire County Cup clashes were all postponed but, back to the league, there were lots more high-scoring encounters.
In the Super League, Villa Women fell to a 5-0 defeat at Manchester United.
City rivals Birmingham suffered a painful 2-0 loss to fellow strugglers Leicester, and as a result, they finish the year at the bottom of the table.
Kidderminster Harriers Women were on the right side of a seven-goal thriller in the West Midlands Premier, beating Coundon Court 4-3.
Rebecca Hall was at the double for Harriers while Lye Town Ladies were 3-2 winners against Tamworth.
Lichfield City Ladies clinched a 3-1 victory over City of Stoke.
Finally, in the West Midlands Division One North, Walsall Ladies picked up a respectable 1-1 draw against AFC Telford United.
Darlaston Town Ladies played out the same scoreline against Coventry City, while rock-bottom Wyrley Ladies lost 3-0 to table-toppers Shifnal Town.
