JERSEY Bulls Women secured nine from nine in Surrey Division 1 thanks to a hat-trick from Leah Morris in their convincing 3-0 away win over Fleet Town Reserves.
Following heavy rain, the game was moved to the 3G surface at the local leisure centre, replicating the familiar conditions the Bulls feature at Springfield Stadium.
Jersey welcomed back their captain Holly Sundby, as well as goalkeeper Chantelle Renouard, coming in this week for Ana Malta and Sam Silva for this week, with Natasha Keen replacing Coco Leonard amongst the substitutes.
Fleet Town Reserves 0
Jersey Bulls 3
Morris 16′, 21′, 55′
HT Score: 0-2
Player of the Match: Leah Morris
The Bulls secured their ninth consecutive win this season, but notably, their third consecutive away win without conceding a goal.
“I think full credit has to go to the players,” said manager Chad Morris, “to win three away games on the bounce without conceding is an immense effort and something we’re extremely proud of.”
The visitors started well from the first whistle against a Fleet Town Reserves side featuring a handful of their first team.
After an opening 15 minutes of domination, it was Leah Morris (pictured left) who broke the deadlock with her first of the afternoon. Breaking away from a cleared corner, Morris carried the ball forwards from thirty yards and lofted the bouncing ball over the on-rushing keeper to open the scoring.
That lead doubled just five minutes later as Morris grabbed her second with a goal Morris described as a “carven copy” from the first and efforts “straight off the training ground”.
Morris would seal her hat-trick just before the hour mark after an audacious moment of skill that saw her lop the goalkeeper from 40 yards out.
“I just saw the keeper off her line, so I thought I’d go for it!” said the star striker Morris, who’s three goals took her season tally to 11.
“The first 2 goals came from what we have worked on in training, so when I saw Anita [Tavares] drop in I knew to run in behind and that she would be able to find me with a pass and I just had to finish them.
“I have loved playing for the bulls so far this season as it is such a good group of players, we all get on well and want to work hard for each other.”
Manager Morris is always one to hand credit over to his side, and he was keen to emphasize how impressed he has been with the performances, as well as the results.
“What we always ask for from the girls is a good performance,” he continued. “You can’t always guarantee the result, but you can perform how you play and if you can control the controllables then you give yourselves the best opportunity each time you play.
“We knew we were going to face a tough challenge with some of their first team coming down to play for them. But if you look at the live stats with our penalty box entries against theirs, 3-0 is exactly what it should have been, so it was a fair result.
“The first two goals were straight off the training ground, we have been working on our ‘up, back and through’s’ and both goals were carven copies of each other. The ball being played up to Anita [Tavares], then played through to the forward, who on this occasion was Leah [Morris], is satisfying to see put into action in game scenarios and Leah took both those finishes really smartly.
“The third goal just highlighted her individual quality, it certainly wasn’t something we practice in training!
“We controlled the rest of the game expertly, our defensive unit kept them at arms length and were rock solid to see the game through, which is so crucial and such a big part of our success at the moment.”
The Bulls now face their Christmas break with a six point lead at the league summit, with their next fixture scheduled for January 11, another away clash that sees them travel to seventh placed Hartland.
Fleet Town Reserves: Amelia Kipling, Kia Dunn, Izzy Wheatley, Priya Whybrow, Daisy Wright, Roxy Matthews, Margo Bourven, Katie Hempton, Leigh Lipscombe, Gabriella Rockenbach, Abigail Pearman
Substitutes – Amy Fretwell (for Pearman 46), Alex Bristow (not used), Priya Wilson (for Wright 36), Lucy Passfield (for Wheatley 36)
Jersey Bulls: Chantelle Renouard, Tiffany Sundby, Lauren Queree (wore 12), Aine Ruth, Danielle Bradshaw, Ella Brennand, Emily Le Page, Holly Sundby (c), Anita Tavares. Leah Morris, Taylor Smythe
Substitutes – Alena Clyde-Smith (for Queree 77), Natasha Keen (for Smythe 59), Amy Guthrie (for Le Page 36), only three substitutes Returned – Le Page for Guthrie 77
Surrey Division 1
