Rotherham United Women FC booked their place in the East Midlands Women’s Regional Football League Plate final with a comprehensive 4-0 win at Chesterfield on Sunday.
Jessie Broadhurst edged the Millers ahead at the break and the visitors made their superiority count with Alesha Gale, Lauren Winter and Lauren Brogan all finding the net in the second half.
The victory ensured safe passage for the Millers into the final of the competition, where they will compete for silverware with either Kettering Town Women or Northampton Town Women.
Having already seen off Notts County and Nottingham Trent University Women, the Millers made the short trip to take on the Spireites on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors started the game brightly and could’ve been ahead with just four minutes on the clock when Delia Hurdiss engineered a fast counter attack and looked to slip debutant Gale through on goal, but the Spireites’ keeper was alert to the danger and raced out to gather.
Gale had the away side’s first sight of goal when she took aim, but her left-footed effort whistled narrowly past the post three minutes later. Rotherham continued to apply the pressure and Jessie Broadhurst almost made a goal all on her own when she won back possession in the middle before driving forward and taking aim, but there wasn’t enough power in her strike to trouble the goalkeeper.
It was all Rotherham and on 16 minutes, Winter forced Nic Stokes into action again when she let fly from 20 yards.
Pete Jarvis’ side were rewarded for their strong start on 20 minutes, when Broadhurst seized on a loose ball and curled a beautiful effort into the top corner from 15 yards out to give the visitors the lead their play had deserved.
The Millers didn’t take their foot off the gas and could have added further daylight between themselves and the Spireites with 11 minutes to go until the break, when Broadhurst was denied her second of the game when she was beaten to a through pass by Stokes.
HALF TIME: Chesterfield Ladies 0 v 1 Rotherham United Women FC
The second half continued in the same vein as the first, with the Millers well on top and only another intervention from Stokes prevented them from making it 2-0 five minutes into the half. Sidni Simmons lofted a delivery into the box towards the head of Gale, but Stokes was able to claw the ball away for a corner.
RUWFC had their second goal on the hour mark and it was the debutant Gale who latched onto a ball over the top from Amy Nowell and finished clinically past Stokes to double the advantage.
Three minutes later, Nowell made an equally vital contribution at the other end, when she hooked a goalbound effort off the line, in what was the Spireites’ first meaningful foray into Rotherham territory.
Looking for a way back into the game, Chesterfield threatened again through Lily Naylor on 71 minutes, but Georgia Ward was equal to her left-footed drive.
And the game was put beyond any doubt four minutes later, when Lauren Winter made it 3-0. Simmons forced Stokes into a save from one of her trademark free kicks but she could only push the ball back into danger and Winter was there to capitalise on the rebound.
Brogan added further gloss to the scoreline with just two minutes remaining, when she raced through on goal and slotted the ball beyond the outreached arm of Stokes to make it 4-0.
FULL TIME | CHESTERFIELD LADIES 0 V 4 ROTHERHAM UNITED WOMEN FC
RUWFC: Ward, Sarayreh, Tart, Nowell, Staples, Simmons, Winter (O’Callaghan 80’), Hale (Colford 68’), Broadhurst (Jones 52’), Hurdiss (Essa 70’), Gale (Brogan 80’).
