The QPR Ladies Reserves put in another driven performance away to Ascot to secure their second victory of the season with a resounding 11:2 victory.

We should have been in the lead in the first-half, but fell behind only for Allana Ashmeil to dig us out of jail and put us 2-1 up. Ascott got back on level terms though after we gave away another sloppy goal and it took that to really wake us up and take control of the game.

Katie Smith scored with a terrific looping shot to restore our lead and then Anita Afonso scored with a lovely strike before Allana sealed a first-half hat-trick to take us into half-time at 5-2. In the second-period we dominated from the outset and it was mainly one-way traffic. Allana grabbed another three goals, taking her tally to a double hat-trick, Jade Bowley got a brace and Scarlett Hanharan netted as well.

I was delighted that the entire midfield got on the scoresheet. It’s important the goals are spread and shared around as it breeds confidence and means we can rely on many different players and areas of the side to score goals. We know we won’t win like this every week.

As for the match, well, I thought we were a little bit scrappy at times, but we did play the better football and when we did get it down and tried to work it we played some nice stuff and caused Ascot all sorts of problems. The midfield bossed the game from start to finish and in the second-half really orchestrated the play and created plenty of chances for our strikers.

I was pleased with us defensively too. Although we conceded two relatively cheap goals, we had a number of players playing out of their natural positions so we can be pleased how they worked as a unit. They also kept a clean sheet in the second-half which for me was a plus and they couldn’t have done much more in the circumstances.

Despite the scoreline, there’s still lots for us to work on and we’re not kidding ourselves as we’re still blending as a team and learning about each others games. We had another couple of debutants out there too, so with that in mind, we’re doing well and are on the right track and it’s exciting to think what they could achieve if we continue working hard on the training pitch as we’re making good strides forward.

Overall, it’s a fantastic achievement to hit double figures for the second time in a row and the players know they are setting themselves very high standards that they need to maintain on a regular basis. They can be very proud of there work here though as it was another top win and remarkable scoreline.

Team: Syan Armstrong, Alex Lupano, Stephanie Lupano, Kelley Bloomquist, Melanie Randall, Jade Bowley, Katie Smith, Scarlett Hanrahan, Anita Afonso, Chloe Julien and Allana Ashmeil

Goals: Ashmeil 6, Smith, Afonso, Bowley 2 and Hanrahan

When I saw the starting eleven I felt that we were probably asking for trouble. It was practically the same team that had won so fantastically well against Aston Villa earlier in the week to secure an easy tie at Old Trafford against the Premiership and European Champions.

The Villa game wasn’t really as physical a battle as it could have been, but it was definitely a mentally exhausting one for the players. We were up against better class opposition, on their home patch and it was a cup tie so we had to ride our luck once or twice and put in a really disciplined and focused display.

We did that really well, but in that match, we didn’t actually create a great deal in the final third and that’s fine. What does one expect us to do against a team who are now sitting in third place in the Premier League? We did what we had to and needed to do to get a result.

In this match however, we started with the same 4-5-1 formation and played it like a real 4-5-1 which is what we did against Villa. In some of our other games this season, this 4-5-1 system has often turned into a 4-3-3 due to the personnel and that’s allowed us to be creative. Today though we played it like it looks, 4-5-1 and that led to many of our problems.

The play seemed congested from the off and was far too condensed with little width. This was a problem for both teams, but we didn’t seem as keen as normal to spread the ball wide and that played into Derby’s favour. They kept it nice and packed in the middle and this led to lots of challenges, misplaced passes or moves breaking down with nobody having the space to play.

We never really got going or took the onus to really take the game to Derby, when we should have being the home team and with so much creative talent on show. At the same time though, the players didn’t look like they had the legs to do it and I wonder whether we could have done with some fresh legs in there. The sun was out as well and that didn’t help us in the first-half as it appeared to be causing us difficulty when attempting to deal with high balls. It did annoy me when Radek Cerny got stick from the fans for missing and easy catch which bounced off his chest… he quite clearly couldn’t see it at all… I had to tell a disgruntled fan who effed and blinded about it to give it a rest, but then he started going on about how he kept punching the ball against Villa so I put my fingers in my ears (I didn’t really, but I wanted to!)

The system didn’t help poor old Damien Delaney either or the entire defence actually. Whenever they had the ball the middle looked so rammed (see what I did there?) that none of them felt comfortable to play a short ball in fear of losing it, so they pumped it long to Dexter Blackstock, who had little or next to no service and just couldn’t get himself into the game.

I had hoped we’d switch to 4-4-2 at half-time, or early in the second-half, but it wasn’t until just over 10 minutes to go that we made this change, but by then, we got suckered into conceding two goals from set-plays and the game was dead and buried.

I didn’t really think we deserved to lose, but by the same token, I didn’t think we deserved to win. Derby seemed to get the basics right and better than we did and they did a perfect smash and grab by taking their chances when they came… a bit like what we did to Villa on Wednesday.

Oh well, it wasn’t disastrous and had we drawn I would have been happy with the point considering the performance. I was still pleased with Damien Stewart and Fitz Hall. In my book, good old Stewpeas has two Man of the Match performances in a week and he should be really pleased with his current form. Long may it continue.

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It was interesting watching us against Aston Villa in the Cup. I wondered how we would perform against Premiership class opposition and learned a lot from the match.

Villa weren’t at the races, that much was clear, but they still had quality in their side that was always a danger to us.

It was the pace of the game that interested me most. The players on both teams had much more time on the ball. Villa granted us that, which allowed us to play football and take control of the middle of the park.

With five-men in the midfield, we packed it and Villa didn’t really find the answer to breaking that barrier down. We also pressed quickly when they had the ball and ushered them into forced and unforced errors.

Having said that, we didn’t create a great deal of chances ourselves, but we still generally made more than Villa did. I kept thinking to myself that if we could fashion out one golden chance and get it on target, we would be able to take something away from the tie.

In the end, Damion Stewart stepped up to the plate. I didn’t think it was our corner in the first place, but the referee awarded it to us despite Zat Knight’s protests. It was whipped in and not cleared properly and Daniel Parejo planted the ball on Stewpeas head and that’s all we needed.

Stewart, bless him, played out of his skin. We looked comfortable and not out of place against Villa. From a technical perspective it was fairly even and their direct style suited us actually. They are more direct than most of the better Premiership teams and play less technical football. But at the same time, they are direct but at a slower pace than Championship football. So this worked in our favour and they didn’t seem to capitalise on the height of John Carew or Zat Knight. We did really well to snuff their aerial threats out of the game.

I was also pleased with Parejo’s performance. Sure, he misplaced a few passes here and there, but he tracked back well and got stuck in with some excellent tackles.

I thought Gavin Mahon did great too in a positional sense. He helped us maintain shape and when our creative players ran down a blind alley and had no where else to go, he was always on hand to take it from them and keep us the ball. Martin Rowlands and Fitz Hall also had good games.

I’m still slightly concerned about Damien Delaney. I think he’s missing that final quality at the moment from his game. It’s form. He’s not in the best of form and he let his man cross far too easily all ngiht and didn’t really have any quality in his attacking play or passes. We don’t have many other options at left-back though, so hopefully he can pick up soon.

The word of the day for the performance was resolute. If we can continue playing with as much professionalism and discipline, then we are going to be thereabouts in the Championship at the end of the season.

If I was to offer any constructive criticism to the guys, we hit it long too often in the sense that we panicked when there weren’t options on. With one man up front, the ball never really stuck with Patrick Agyemang and on the night his first touch let him down. You can’t afford that against Premiership players and ball retention is important at that level, or any level!

But other than that, it was a really pleasing display. Fourth round? Oh my.

The first-team made it four wins out of four on Tuesday night with a hard-fought win over Chesham in Amersham. The Hoops now sit at the top of the table as they set the pace at this early stage of the season, maintaining their 100% winning record.

Cherrelle Albert scored a wonderful goal midway through the first-half to secure the points. After picking up the ball and playing a quick one-two she smashed the ball into the top corner which had “goal” written all over it as soon as it left her boot.

The Rs played well in the opening 45 minutes and had several great chances to extend their lead. Carla Williams had a header deflected just wide after a cracking move and cross and Camilla Ray hit the post from a corner just before half-time.

In the second period and having played two games in three days (after beating Yeovil 2:1 away on Sunday) the team began to tire, but they put in a real gritty performance to hang onto their lead, including going down to 10 players after an injury to Camilla to secure the win.

Team: Jess, Ceryl Guard, Simone Dwyer (Capt), Mel Bidewell, Caroline Barker, Camilla Ray (Hannah Curnow), Danielle Richards (Maurine Gray), Suze Wylie, Susannah Abbott, Carla Williams and Cherrelle Albert

Subs: Maurine Gray and Hannah Curnow

The QPR Ladies Reserves put in a stunning performance to secure their first three points of the new season against Maidenhead which could have easily yielded more than the 13 goals we scored.

Despite going in at half-time with a comfortable 5-1 lead, I was delighted with the way we played so professionally in the second period. We kept playing our football and that led to further goals and such a comprehensive victory.

I was thrilled with the manner we went about our job. It was all the more impressive given we’re still a new team and still gelling and getting to know one another. There were so many positives to take away including things we need to improve on, so we learned a lot about our players and our team.

I’m really excited to see how they develop over time because they’ve got the potential to have more days like this if they want it and something also has to be said about the tremendous character they’ve shown to bounce back from last weeks disappointment too.

It’s hard to pick out a single player when you have one scoring 5, another two getting hat-tricks, a substitute grabbing a brace and another creating 10 of the 13 goals. On top of that, there were those who didn’t score who also put in excellent displays.

Well done ladies - pat yourselves on the back because you’ve made my week!

Team: Syan Armstrong (Emily Cure), Jade Thirkettle (Jade Creighton), Kelley Bloomqvist, Melanie Randall (Capt), Ellie Sullivan, Stephanie Lupano, Jade Bowley, Anita, Scarlett Hanrahan, Katie Smith and Allana Ashmeil.

Subs: Emily Cure and Jade Creighton

Goals: Ashmeil 5, Smith 3, Hanharan 3, Creighton 2

This is what I had been waiting for. The past eight weeks of hard work in pre-season training were put to test against the newly promoted Oxford City who provided our first test of the new season. I knew we were ready for the campaign when the hairs stood up on the back of my neck and arms in the dressing room before the game. I had goosebumps and was probably more excited than the players!

The weekend prior we had drawn 0:0 and won 3:2 out in Belgium, which provided our final pre-season preparations before the real thing and the QPR Ladies started their season with a bang thanks to a resounding 6:1 victory at Brook House.

The home side took the lead through Cherelle Albert who scored with a long range strike before the visitors equalised through a soft goal from a throw. The Hoops though continued to push forward and Carla Williams put us back in front with a fantastically placed header after being found by Susannah Abbott’s cross. Williams extended our lead further before half-time with another well taken goal after dribbling past several City defenders before coolly slotting the ball home with her left foot.

We went in at half-time with a 3:1 lead, but it was the second-half performance that had everybody purring. The Hoops got the ball down and played some beautiful football and really dominated the half which saw three more goals added to the scoreline. Albert got her second with a low drive inside the box after being found by Amy Murphy and Williams just failed to grab her hat-trick after striking the inside of the post. Substitute Tanya Beverley came on for the injured Lucy Dewar and finished the game off by also scoring twice; one a diving header and the other from a low strike from an acute angle.

I was really impressed with our performance, particularly in the second-half which was outstanding and very enjoyable to watch. It would have been worth paying to see. We got the ball down on the deck and played some great football which deserved more than just the three goals it yielded in that period. Still, it’s a fine start to the season for the first-team and a terrific three points!

Team: Emily Cure (GK), Caroline Barker, Ceryl Guard, Simone Dwyer (Capt), Mel Bidewell, Susannah Abbott, Amy Murphy, Lucy Dewar (Tanya Beverley), Suze Wylie (Hannah Curnow), Carla Williams, Cherrelle Albert (Danielle Richards)

Goals: Albert 2, Williams 2, Beverley 2.