After 35 days without league action, Alvechurch Women finally returned to competitive football with a trip to Hereford, looking to continue their perfect start to the campaign and maintain their 100% record in the West Midlands Regional Women's League Division One South. It had been a frustratingly long wait for Chris Gagg's side. Since their impressive 4-2 victory over Leamington, Church had been left watching on as the rest of the division continued to collect points, with their three wins from three leaving them sitting in fifth position despite having games in hand.

There was no better way to get back to business than a trip to HR7, with three valuable points up for grabs against one of their fiercest rivals. It was also the first-ever meeting between the two sides, and Church were determined to pick up exactly where they had left off. Back in the sunshine, back on the road, and back to football. Let's get underway!

MATCH REPORT:
It was the visitors in amber and black who got proceedings underway, and they wasted absolutely no time in making their intentions clear. Church were looking for another fast start, having already found the back of the net 15 times this season, and they needed just three minutes to add another!

What a start for Church!

Freya Lawton, who has been in excellent form herself, delivered a delicious corner from the far right-hand side, picking out Evie Cunnane perfectly inside the penalty area. Cunnane met the delivery with a cushioned volley from her right boot, and although her effort took a deflection on its way through, it found the back of the net to give the visitors an early advantage! Exactly the start they had been looking for.

The away side were absolutely flying, playing with swagger, energy and determination as they looked to make their return to action a winning one. On eight minutes, Church came agonisingly close to doubling their advantage, creating two huge opportunities within the space of just 60 seconds. The first fell to Mia Dolan, who intercepted a pass from the Hereford defence before driving purposefully towards the penalty area. She unleashed a thunderous effort that looked destined for the top-left corner, only for the Hereford goalkeeper to produce a magnificent save to keep her side in the contest. There was barely time to catch a breath before another opportunity arrived. Poppy Jones found space in behind the defence and let fly with a snapshot towards the bottom-left corner, but the goalkeeper was equal to it once again, producing another important stop.

Church were knocking on the door, but the hosts were being kept alive by their goalkeeper. The contest then entered a scrappier period, with the game becoming increasingly stop-start. Despite that, Alvechurch continued to dominate possession, control much of the play and search for a second goal to give themselves some much-needed breathing space. Around the halfway point of the first period, Jones was once again causing problems. Having worked her way past a series of challenges with some excellent footwork, she found herself clean through on goal, but her attempt was thwarted by yet another outstanding save from the Hereford goalkeeper, who seemed determined to deny Church at every opportunity.

Moments later, Lawton went close herself. Some excellent work out wide from Aleesha Hussain created the opportunity, with Lawton rising to meet the delivery inside the box, only to send her header narrowly over the crossbar. How the scoreline remained at just 0-1 was becoming increasingly difficult to explain!

Church continued to threaten, but their failure to convert their chances nearly came back to haunt them on 34 minutes. For the first time in the afternoon, Hereford created a genuinely dangerous opportunity. A ball played in behind the Alvechurch defence allowed the home striker to get there ahead of the onrushing goalkeeper. She took the ball around her, leaving the goal seemingly at her mercy, but opted to square the ball rather than take the opportunity herself. That decision allowed the Church defence precious time to recover, get bodies back and clear their lines. A huge let-off for the visitors!

The hosts began to grow in confidence following that opportunity and came close to finding an equaliser five minutes before the interval. The same player found herself with another opening, this time taking on the strike from just inside the penalty area after manoeuvring past the challenges. She attempted to curl the ball into the far-right corner, but EJ Leigh reacted brilliantly, getting down quickly to push the effort away to safety and preserve Alvechurch's lead. With the pressure beginning to build, Church needed to see out the remainder of the half.

They nearly managed to add a second just before the break, too. Lawton released Hussain into the left-hand channel before making her way into the penalty area to meet the return delivery. Hussain clipped the ball towards her teammate, but Lawton's header sailed safely over the crossbar. It was another opportunity to extend the advantage, but the visitors would have to settle for a slender lead at the interval.

HALF-TIME: HEREFORD FC WOMEN 0-1 ALVECHURCH WOMEN

A deserved advantage for the visitors, but one that perhaps didn't tell the full story of the opening 45 minutes. Alvechurch had created numerous opportunities, tested the Hereford goalkeeper on several occasions and largely controlled proceedings. However, with only one goal separating the sides, there was still plenty of work to do.

The message was simple: find that second goal, settle the nerves and make sure all three points were heading back to Worcestershire.

And just four minutes after the restart, they really should have done exactly that! Olivia Baker was released into the wide area and showed excellent awareness to lift her head and pick out the opportunity developing inside the penalty area. She slid a superb ball across the face of goal, seemingly presenting Simone Brown, who had just been introduced, with a golden opportunity to tap home. However, Brown could only guide her effort over the crossbar. Another huge chance gone begging!

The frustrations were beginning to grow, with Church struggling to find that all-important second goal despite creating opportunity after opportunity. On 61 minutes, another sweeping attacking move nearly produced the breakthrough. Chris Gagg's side worked the ball brilliantly through the Hereford defence, with Hussain once again at the heart of the action. She delivered another superb ball into the penalty area, where both Lawton and Brown attacked the delivery. Unfortunately, the pair got their wires crossed, with the ball coming off Lawton's thigh before trickling agonisingly wide of the post. It was almost comical how Church hadn't managed to find the net again!

With the game still finely poised, Hereford began to push further forward in search of an equaliser. Alvechurch were making life a little more difficult for themselves, conceding unnecessary free-kicks and inviting pressure that perhaps could have been avoided. There were a couple of nervy moments as the hosts looked to capitalise, but the opportunities never quite developed into anything that seriously threatened Leigh's goal. Nevertheless, a one-goal advantage is always a dangerous position to be in, particularly when the opposition have nothing to lose.

Church needed to put the game to bed. And with ten minutes remaining, they finally did exactly that!

WHAT A WAY TO ANNOUNCE YOUR RETURN!

After a frustrating spell on the sidelines, Olivia Betts marked her return from injury in the best possible fashion, producing a superb finish to put the result beyond doubt. A chipped through ball from Simone Brown picked out Betts, who brought the delivery under control brilliantly before taking aim and rifling an unstoppable effort into the top-right corner. A fantastic piece of quality, and a moment of real relief for everyone in amber and black! The celebrations were deserved. After dominating for long spells, creating countless opportunities and being made to work incredibly hard for that second goal, Church finally had the breathing space their performance deserved.

It was also a fourth league victory of the campaign, extending their perfect start and making it three away wins already in league action. Hereford had certainly made them work for it, putting up a spirited fight throughout, but Betts' late strike ensured there would be no late comeback. The remaining minutes were negotiated, and the final whistle confirmed a thoroughly deserved three points for Alvechurch!

FULL-TIME: HEREFORD FC WOMEN 0-2 ALVECHURCH WOMEN

A welcome return to action, a clean sheet, two goals and another three points on the board! After a month and some without league football, Alvechurch showed little sign of rustiness, starting the afternoon brilliantly and producing an impressive attacking display for large portions of the contest. There will undoubtedly be some frustration that the game wasn't put beyond doubt much earlier. The visitors created enough opportunities to have scored considerably more than twice, and Hereford's goalkeeper deserves plenty of credit for keeping her side in the contest for so long.

However, the most important thing was getting the job done. Cunnane's early opener gave Church the perfect platform, Leigh produced some important saves when called upon, and Betts provided the finishing touch with a wonderful goal on her return from injury. It wasn't always straightforward, and there were certainly a few nervy moments along the way, but winning away from home after such a lengthy break is no easy task.

Four wins from four in the league. Another three points. Another clean sheet. Church are back, and the perfect start continues!