Derby Women’s 1st XI 1-0 Nottingham Women’s 2nd XI: Home side maintain their strong start to the season
Words by Devon Cash.
Sarah Hassanin was the match-winner for the second successive game as Derby Women’s 1st XI beat Nottingham Women’s 2nd XI 1-0 at home.
Manager Adam Jones saw his side maintain their 100% start; two weeks after their opening day win over Coventry.
Jodie Hill, who picked up her second clean sheet of the campaign, produced a fine first-half save to keep out Tayla Simms who wrong-footed her marker before aiming for the corner.
Evie Garner then went close for the home side as she hooked Hassanin’s knockdown over the bar from the edge of the box.
In the second period, Derby almost gifted Nottingham a goal as Abbey Bennett’s sliced clearance sent through Ines Goycoolea whose effort was saved by the feet of Hill.
Like in the hosts’ previous fixture, the difference in the tie was Sarah Hassanin as Jodie Thomas’ free-kick fell to the forward’s feet where Hassanin needed two bites of the cherry before rifling the ball into top left corner.
Goycoolea should have levelled the game shortly after, as she poorly fired wide from Katy Hawkshaw’s cut-back.
Nottingham thought they had snatched a point in the dying minutes as Ellie Bradford’s thunderous effort crash against the post from 25 yards before bouncing across the line and just wide of the target.
The whistle then sounded to confirm that it would be Derby who secured all three points.
