Colchester Ladies 0, Dereham Ladies 7DEREHAM maintain their unbeaten run in the East League Division One North with an emphatic victory over closest rivals Colchester.

Colchester Ladies 0, Dereham Ladies 7

DEREHAM maintain their unbeaten run in the East League Division One North with an emphatic victory over closest rivals Colchester.

The win sees them stay 12 points clear, although Lowestoft have now moved into second place.

The league leaders made hard work of the first half in the pouring rain at Colchester's Garrison pitch. They allowed the home side to push them back into their own half and win themselves a couple of short corners.

It was a break from such an attack that saw Evie Van Poortvliet round several defenders before opening the scoring from the top of the D.

Dereham went into half-time only one goal up, and their nervousness had been evident. Their opponents had previously lost only two games, and had put nine goals past Norwich Union before Christmas. They weren't second for nothing.

A stern half-time talk gave Dereham the boost they needed and, despite the awful conditions, they turned up the heat, scoring three goals in quick succession.

The first came from a stunning Donna Causton short corner, followed by a well-placed poach from George Edwards. Then a lovely individual effort saw Hannah Palmer steal the ball from a defender and round the keeper to get Dereham's fourth goal in the space of about 10 minutes.

Dereham were back on their game. Colchester managed a break in the second half that forced a save from the Dereham keeper, but their heads really dropped when star striker Van Poortvliet tore open the defence and let rip with a stupendous reverse strike from the edge of the D.

Dereham's sixth goal came from a pinpoint Palmer pass that found Rachel Fisher lurking at the far post to see the ball in. The rout wasn't over until Holly Allen had got in on the act with a well-worked short corner effort.

Dereham are more than half way there - eight games yet to play, starting with top-half sides Watton and Peterborough - and then a run against four from the bottom half.

The final countdown starts on Saturday at home to Watton.

Squad: J Purser, D Causton, H Malcolmson, S Johnson, S Savage, C Hobson, S Skelton, G Edwards, E Settle, R Fisher, H Palmer, H Allen, E Van Poortvliet.