Cambridge United score 10 goals in big Cambridgeshire Cup victory over Chatteris after Under-18s lose to Haringey Girls

Cambridge United Women’s teams suffered contrasting fortunes at the weekend with a 10-0 Cambridgeshire Cup thrashing of Chatteris having been proceeded by a humbling 8-2 defeat for the under-18s at Junior Premier League leaders Haringey Girls.

On Saturday, the young U’s went behind early on after failing to clear a corner but they were soon back on level terms thanks to a fine solo goal from Emilia Reinhardt.

The striker picked up the ball 30 yards from goal, dribbled into the penalty area and rode a challenge before finishing from a tight angle.

United were playing well and should really have taken the lead when Reinhardt fed Jasmine Fox who in turn found Billie Cook unmarked on the edge of the area but her shot was weak and was punched away by the Haringey goalkeeper.

The home team then took the lead on the half hour when an innocuous-looking free kick went into the box unchallenged and was tapped home by the centre forward.

And from that moment Haringey did not look back as they added a couple more goals before the interval and then four more in a chaotic 12 second-half minutes.

United’s player-of-the-match Reinhardt got her second to finish off the scoring seven minutes from full time when she collected a pass from strike-partner Millie Docking, beat the defender and took the ball around the goalkeeper to score.

Young U’s manager Sean Greygoose was disappointed with the result and performance in his team’s first game of 2025. He said: “We looked very rusty in regards to our defensive actions.

“On reflection it was the quick goals which knocked the confidence and killed the game.

“The girls are a really honest bunch and will look back at the video but know to move on quickly.

“We still had some good moments in the game and something we want to build on however Haringey are a team that had some good attributes that we struggled with on the day and you can see why they have won all their games this season and are top of the league.

Meanwhile, United started their Cambridgeshire County Cup campaign 24 hours later in emphatic style by scoring 10 goals without reply at Chatteris.

Manager Darren Marjoram selected a mix of regular first teamers and promising under-18 players against the lower-league opponents.

Sarah Wiltshire started the scoring with a quickfire brace before Docking added a third after 30 minutes. Two more goals were added before half-time by Serena Cobb and Rosy Wodhams, while defender Lauren Rouse scored from the penalty spot at the beginning of the second period.

Wiltshire helped herself to another two goals and another under-18 player was on target when second-half substitute Reinhardt added to her goals from the day before with another double.

Marjoram said: “It was good to have an opportunity to give first-team players needing more minutes a game and also importantly have a look at some of the under-18 players.”

“This is how we want to use the County Cup this season, and we saw some excellent performances while playing some good football. Credit to Chatteris who worked really hard right to the end and showed terrific attitude throughout.”

The U’s have been given the chance to gain revenge for last year’s cup final defeat by Whittlesey Athletic having been drawn against the Peterborough side in the next round, while the young U’s have dropped to third in the league, trailing both Haringey and West Ham United

Both teams return to league this weekend as United travel to Chesham United on Sunday (26 January) and the under-18s have a trip to Leyton Orient on Saturday (25 January).