With Horsley sitting at the top of the table, everyone knew this would be a tough test for Albury Eagles. After an 8am pitch inspection following heavy rain, the game was given the go-ahead, and the sun emerged to give a crisp autumn backdrop to what turned into an absolutely thrilling match.
Albury started brightly, enjoying the better of the opening five minutes with early attacks from Livs, Freya and Ella. Horsley soon settled, though, and their two very strong forwards began to cause problems with well-timed runs behind the defence. It was the visitors who struck first, finishing off one of their early breaks to go 1–0 up. The Eagles responded superbly. Ruby carried the ball out from defence on a strong run and unleashed a powerful shot that was destined for the top corner but it was well saved by the Horsley keeper, setting the tone for Albury’s response.
The equaliser came when Ella drove into the box and finished calmly to make it 1–1. Shortly after, more powerful running from Livs down the wing created space for Ella again, who found herself free and put Albury 2–1 up. Emma and Bonnie looked solid in midfield, chasing down the opposition players and making timely interventions to break up the attacks. As half time approached, Ella went on another weaving run and was fouled just outside the penalty area. Ruby stepped up for the free kick, kept it low and drove it into the bottom left corner via a defender to give Albury a 3–1 lead at the break.
In the second half, Cassidy came on in midfield and, alongside Maeve, covered huge amounts of ground, intercepting passes and making strong tackles which helped Albury transition into attack. Freya and Ella continued to push forward with Livs, keeping Horsley’s defence busy. At the back, Heidi, Lyla and Ruby came under sustained pressure but stood up to it well, making crucial tackles and clearances. Behind them, Stella had a storming game in goal, pulling off a string of outstanding saves that kept Albury in front.
Ria, who had picked up a knock in the warm-up, later came on for Heidi and helped to solidify a defence that was facing wave after wave of Horsley attacks, forcing the Eagles to defend deep and play on the counter. One strong clearance from defence found Livs to ran down the wing and earned an Albury corner. Ria delivered the ball beautifully into the box for Ella to glance into the net and complete her hat-trick, making it 4–1.
The final five minutes were frantic as Horsley threw everything at the Albury goal, peppering the penalty area and eventually pulling one back to make it 4–2 with minutes to go. Even then, the Eagles dug in, showing great resilience and discipline to see out the game with strong defending right to the final whistle.
It was an amazing match: end to end, full of quality from both sides and played in really good spirits. In the end, Albury’s finishing, work-rate and courage under pressure earned them a hard-fought 4–2 win against the league leaders and a performance they can be hugely proud of.

Star player: Stella