Preseason had gone reasonably well and confidence was high amongst the young squad. With several girls making the step up from youth football, there were some nerves but the experienced players in the squad looked to make a strong start and create a positive environment for the youngsters.

The game kicked off in a thankfully less hot temperature than the previous week and Charlton were immediately on the front foot with former player now returned Claire Williams closing down the defenders and forcing a mistake form the Colchester right back. Unfortunately she scuffed her shot near side of the goal.

The first 15 minutes were spent camped in the Colchester half with plenty of possession and good movement keeping the Colchester back line under pressure. The two wide players, new signing Sarah McCrae and Kristina Manktelow were getting plenty of the ball and looking dangerous if not quite finding the perfect cross.

20 Minutes gone and Claire Williams received an excellent through ball from Sarah McCrae and her first time shot from 25 yards found the bottom the net despite a good effort form the keeper.

Instead of pushing on the Women began to over-complicate play and the slow recycling of the ball began to offer Colchester a foothold in a game that should have been stretching away form them. They began to profit from Charlton’s stray passes and an excellent run by their physical midfielder resulted in a 25 yard drive being expertly pushed over by the until then redundant Megen Lynch.

Unfortunately Charlton did not take heed of this warning and following further wasteful possession relinquishment, Colchester levelled the game. A ball was played form the back missing out the midfield and this caught the Charlton girls on the back foot which enabled the Colchester striker to break through the defence and despite an excellent effort form Megen who took the pace off the ball it still trickled into the net.

Half time came soon after and Charlton trudged off disappointed that they were the architects of their own downfall. Paul Mortimer who was looking after the team lifted the girls with encouragement whilst looking to reduce the basic mistakes which had allowed their obvious superiority to slip away.

The second half kicked off and Charlton began to play better with the midfield three of Katie Sheppard, Charlotte Long and Gemma Hyland working hard to support Claire, Kristina and Sarah whilst snuffing out any developments in the Colchester midfield.

The ball was moving quicker in midfield and Colchester were struggling to comes to grip with the interchange and fluidity of the play. This also gave Toni Alden and Emily Symonds opportunities to show their passing ability and desire to work forward down the flanks. Sharana Longville and Athena Yennaris were now snuffing out any danger form the Colchester frontline and it seemed only a matter of time before the second goal would come.

A combination of profligacy and bad luck would then detract from the improved second half performance and chances were spurned by Williams, McCrae, Hyland and Manktelow.

Midway through the 2nd half youngster Chloe Shields came on to make her senior competitive debut.

A great run by McCrae led to her being chopped down by the tiring right back and Toni Alden stepped up to take the penalty to give Charlton the result they deserved. Unfortunately although the penalty was hit well, it was too close to the keeper who pushed the ball out of the danger area.

There were more chances for Charlton before the end of the game but these and a performance that should have given the ladies the perfect start disappointingly became “a what might have been” result.

Team: Lynch, Symonds, Alden, Yennaris, Longville (Singyard 72mins), Long, Hyland, Sheppard (Shields 67 mins), Kris Manktelow, Williams, McCrea
Unused subs: Baker, Paye.