FOULS, phantom goals and a refereeing performance of comical value was enough to give Nottingham the edge in a hard fought encounter.
Hat-tricks from James Perkins and Dimitri Chambers, along with Izzy Wilding’s first ever goal kept the Scorpions in close contention, but they were caught short in defence as they went looking for the equalising goal late on.
It was only a refereeing decision reminiscent of Rob Lewis’ failure to spot Pedro Mendes’ winning goal cross the line against Manchester United that prevented Staffordshire taking the lead. Kelly Stone ran through the defence and shot past the helpless keeper, only to see her effort bounce back from the frame of the goal after clearly crossing the line.
As it was, Nottingham took the lead minutes later, but this lasted less than 10 seconds as Perkins picked up the ball from the draw and ran half the length of the pitch in the allocated 5 seconds to produce a strong finish into the top corner.
Nottingham carved open the Staffs defence to take the lead again, but Perkins levelled before the end of the first quarter. He enjoyed a rare free throw given by the referee just on the edge of the fan and ran through a crowded area to shoot low and get his second of the game.
Nottingham piled the pressure on after the restart and Staffs were unable to prevent them scoring two goals in the opening minutes of the quarter.
A time out was called and the away team regained their composure and reduced the deficit. Wilding somehow created room in a crowded fan to get a powerful shot off to prove her attacking credentials.
However he home side produced another strong attack just before half time to regain the two-goal advantage.
The second half started with Nottingham fielding 13 players, a trick that was repeated on several occasions throughout, increasing the strain between the two teams as tempers started to boil over.
Staffs turned their anger into determination as they started the half strongly and within minutes had levelled the game at 5-5.
Chambers ran through from defence to score his first of the game. The defenders were powerless to stop his powerful surge as he passed them with ease, finishing clinically when bearing down on goal.
Perkins also completed his hat trick as he converted a penalty, resulting from a trip on him on his initial run to goal.
Nottingham regrouped and scored four without reply as the frustration grew within the Staffs ranks, as time after time it appeared they were stopped from attacking by illegal checks.
During this period Scorpions defender Mimi Roch had to leave the field with a suspected broken hand as she received a check in what is supposed to be a no contact sport.
In an attempt to rescue the game Chambers was pushed forward, his added pace shook the Nott’s defence as he scored two goals in as many minutes to complete his hat-trick, and bring the game back into Staffordshire’s reach.
However it was not to be as Nottingham took advantage of the hole left where Chambers had been to score two more and put the game beyond doubt.
Staffordshire: Stephen Jinks, Karina Gale, Richard Owen, Dimitri Chambers, Mimi Roch, Laura Morrissey, Carly Edwards, James Perkins, Richard Christon, Ben Bradley, Elle Morrisson, Kelly Stone, Christopher Pike, Jack Tew, Izzy Wilding, Jonathon Heeley.
Man of the Match – Jack Tew
Women of the Match – Karina Gale