Northampton Town Women ended their first ever FA Women’s National League Division One Midlands season with a 2-0 win away to Doncaster Rovers Belles on Sunday afternoon.
Jade Bell and Alex Dicks scored the Cobblers’ goals as they finished the campaign with a victory in front of an attendance of 1,425 at the Eco-Power Stadium.
The visitors made a bright start and created the game’s first half-chance when Alex Dicks ran onto a bouncing ball and stabbed wide.
Abbie Brewin dispossessed Jess Andrew on the halfway line and drove down the right-wing midway through the first half, but the Belles captain recovered to block her cross.
The hosts grew into the contest and began creating opportunities of their own, Holly Mayfield rushing off her line to deny Abi Coley’s first-time effort and pushing away Izzy Gigg’s low strike from the edge of the area.
Bianca Luttman and Vicky Barrett both made goal-saving blocks from Lyndsey Tugby and Coley respectively as Northampton were put under pressure going into the break.
The Cobblers were first to threaten after the interval, Dicks winning the ball off Olivia Harness and bearing down on goal. However, in similar fashion to Brewin’s crossing chance in the opening period, the defender sprinted back to deny her as she shaped to shoot.
Doncaster responded on the hour mark, but Mayfield dived low to hold Coley’s close-range effort from Sophie Scargill’s cross.
The visitors came close a few minutes later when Dicks played the ball out wide to Bell, whose shot from a tight angle was pushed behind by Eleanor Sharpe.
The pair linked-up again heading into the last 20 minutes, and this time Bell rolled the ball into the far bottom corner to open the scoring.
Her strike-partner Dicks doubled the lead soon after, cutting inside from the left and firing home at the near post despite a touch from Sharpe.
The final quarter-of-an-hour was relatively comfortable for Josh Oldfield and Liam Williams’ side, who saw-out a win in their final fixture of the season.
They end the campaign in fourth place, having earned 36 points throughout their first year in the fourth tier.
Cobblers: Holly Mayfield, Rachael Mumford, Vicky Barrett, Bianca Luttman, Zoe Boote (sub Sara Wait 82), Abbie Brewin (sub Mia Richards 58), Beth Artemiou (sub TJ Warren 85), Kim Farrow (sub Favour Omenazu 72), Fay Noble, Jade Bell, Alex Dicks (sub Keira Doig 80)