Chesterfield ladies to face Derby County in Derbyshire Women’s County Cup final

A brace from Shannon Purdy along with a neat finish from Georgina Williams helped overcome a stubborn Draycott defence.

The Blues were quick off the blocks right from kick off with Millie Standen hitting the post with a right-footed shot from the edge of the area just two minutes into the match.

A dominant start to the game from the hosts lead to the deadlock being broken in the seventh minute. Purdy advanced forward and pulled the trigger, but a prodigious deflection diverted her shot past the scrambling goalkeeper into the back of the net to put Mike Noon’s side into a deserved lead.

Midway through the half, a defence-splitting pass found its way to Williams whose strike was excellently tipped onto the crossbar by the goalkeeper.

Ten minutes later Emmi Cook combined excellent control and footwork to breeze past a defender, before laying off Standen on the edge of the box but she saw her shot saved by the goalkeeper’s feet, who was evidently the best player on the pitch for the visitors.

Shortly after Purdy almost grabbed a brace when a creative solo run resulted in her shot cannoning back off the woodwork, soon after the visitors registered their first shot which looped over the crossbar.

Despite a non-stop barrage of Chesterfield attacks late in the first half with Amy Pashley’s strike well-blocked being the last of them, Draycott managed to keep the deficit at only 1-0 going into the break.

Chesterfield looked to impose themselves at the beginning of the second half and did just that. The ball broke to Purdy on the edge of the area and subsequently arrowed a low effort into the bottom left corner to double the Blues’s advantage, as well as claiming her second goal of the match.

On the hour mark, a through ball split Draycott’s defence once again and found Williams. The in-form striker was through on goal and calmly chipped the goalkeeper to put the hosts into a secure 3-0 lead with her 15th goal of the season.

At the other end of the pitch Draycott had their best attempt of the match, a left-footed shot from the edge of the area was palmed out of for a corner by substitute keeper Louise Apperley down low to her left. The ensuing corner was scrambled clear from danger at the near post.

After several long-range efforts from both teams the final whistle blew and Chesterfield Ladies progressed to the final of the County Cup.

The final of the competition will be against Derby County Women development. The date and venue for the match is yet to be confirmed.

Chesterfield Ladies team: Watson, Cook, Jebb-Geer, Anderson, Warren, Pashley, Standen, Phillips, Purdy, Williams, Camfield.

Used substitutes: Apperley, Baker, Everley, Fidler, Graham.