Last weekend brought a close to an amazing first season for Leicester Road Ladies as they hosted their final game as champions of the Leicestershire Women and Girls Senior Division 1.

After an extremely successful campaign and after only losing one game all season, the league title was all rapped up two weeks before this final fixture and this certainly allows the ladies to relax and enjoy their final game of the season.

The game started with a wonderful gesture from Groby as they lined up in a guard of honour for Leicester Road to walk through and enter the pitch as champions prior to kick off. This was something which some of these girls have never experienced before and was a real touch of class from the Groby ladies.

As with the reverse fixture Leicester Road’s red hot striker and league top goal scorer Neve Hinks was on the score sheet early, as she put the ladies 1-0 up in the first minute with a wonderful first time finish from a cross into the box.

There was not long to wait for a second as 5 minutes later, captain Molly Carter headed home a wonderful corner from Neve Hincks to make it Leicester Road 2 Groby 0.

The girls really found their feet early and got into a rhythm, moving the ball around quickly and probing the Groby defence with attack after attack. The fluid football soon bared its rewards as Hincks was on the score sheet again after creating a yard of space for herself to tuck the ball into the bottom corner to make it 3-0 in the first 25 minutes. The game settled right up until just before half time. After returning from an absence due to injury Emily Sowler had been a constant thorn in the side of the Groby defence was able to convert a penalty with so much force it left the keeper with absolutely no chance and put Leicester Road 4-0 up at Half Time.

After such a strong first half performance, there was not a great deal that manager Dan Flint needed to say other than keep the pressure on, continue to play your passing game and continue to be positive in front of goal. Something that the girls duly obliged, as within the first 5 minutes of the second half, returning American scholar Analeice Wilkes fired home from inside the box.

It wasn’t long before there was a sixth goal as Leicester Road star midfielder Tia Pullen who has been in stunning form all season lifted the ball over the Groby keeper into the top corner from a very tight angle in the corner of the 18 yard box.

An all-round faultless performance was rounded off as Neve Hincks was able to get her hat trick with the best of all three goals. She picked the ball up inside the attacking half, drove forward and was able to fire one into the bottom corner form 30 yards.

Credit to the extremely resilient Groby side, they kept trying to find a way forward all game and just before full time they were rewarded as they were able find a way through the Leicester Road defence and their club top scorer slotted home with a very tidy finish to make it 7-1.

Leicester Road Ladies have already applied to join the East Midlands Women's League for next season and will look to step up and carry on from where they finished this season.