Watford Ladies claim Leatherhead success as Under-16s reach final

The visitors were quickly out of the traps, taking an early lead with a goal from Sophia Amanor.

The forward then made it two from the penalty spot after being fouled by the Leatherhead keeper as she was bearing down on goal.

Amanor then turned provider as she laid on the ball for Lily Hall to find the net, before Iva Hrisimova slotted home to put the visitors 4-0 ahead before the break.

Sophia Amanor scored two and set up another goal in the first team's victory (Image: Watford Ladies)

The second half saw a revitalised Leatherhead come out fighting, but despite the pressure they were unable to find a goal.

Lola Meyer, making her debut for Watford, almost made it five as she knocked the ball past the keeper, only to be thwarted by a defender.

Player of the Match was Mainie Dakin who impressed in central midfield.

Watford coach Jordan Williams, who was delighted with his team’s performance, thought the large pitch suited his side. He said: “We’ve got a lot of athletic players who want to make runs, who want to run in behind. We’ve got a lot of pace in the side so I think that helped us.”

Elsewhere, the highly-anticipated League Cup semi-final between Oakland Wolves FC Under-16s and Watford Ladies Under-16 Hornets lived up to its promise with plenty of action.

Goals from Jess Wright, Amelia Hunt and two from Brook Dyke gave the Hornets a well-deserved 4-0 lead after only 25 minutes.

Oakland responded by scoring two goals late in the first half, and within four minutes of the second they pulled another back to make it 4-3.

But the Hornets soaked up the pressure and three more goals from Aimee O’Malley, Ella Simpson and Holly Vale sealed an impressive 7-3 victory and a place in the final.

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