A women’s football team has beaten a 125-year-old British record by thrashing their opponents – 41-0.
Keynsham Town Ladies Reserves scored an average of one goal every two minutes as they crushed Somerton & Langport Ladies.
Top striker Chloe Rogers knocked in 11 goals and even goalkeeper Caroline Oyedepo got in on the action by sloting home a rebounded penalty.
The scoreline beats the current British record which has stood since 1885 when Arbroath beat Bon Accord 36-0 in the Scottish Cup. It is also a world record in a women’s match.
Club chairman Graham Rogers said: ”The team is very young but they are extremely fit.
”Somerton have a big pitch, we used the wings, opened up the space and let them do the running. They were getting tired.
”We didn’t go out with the aim of doing something like that, it wasn’t a nice to thing to happen.
”Somerton were a great bunch of ladies, the game was played in a great atmosphere.”
Keynsham Town Ladies Reserves have taken the Somerset County Women’s League by storm since forming two years ago.
They have already won two cup competitions and had scored 43 goals in their opening four games of the season, winning 23-0 the week before their away clash at Langport.
The opposition got off to a poor start when only eight players started the game. A ninth turned up after 20 minutes but they were two players short throughout the match.
Keynsham were 15-0 up at half-time but the floodgates opened in the second half as their superior fitness shone through.
Mr Rogers said: ”My wife Lesley jots down the goals and scorers. She was getting frantic it was happening so regularly!”
Striker Chloe Rogers bagged 11 goals, Amy Davidson claimed eight, Becky Dando and Hannah Pearce both got six, Kate Collyns netted four, and Sarah Bartlett, Keirra Minall, Sophie Freeman and keeper Caroline shared a goal each. There were two own goals.
The team have now scored 84 goals in their opening five games and conceded none.
Mr Rogers said: ”I text Somerton manager’s Naomi on Monday to say we’re looking forward to playing them again next year.
”She text back and said so were they and her side would keep on fighting.
”Last year we were playing at under-16 level so the team are still learning but we are looking forward to the challenges ahead.”
Keynsham secretary Pamela Newton said: ”We hope to get promotion this year to the league above.
”It was quite an extraordinary result. We applaud Somerton & Langport for their sportsmanship.”
149 own goal protest match
The scoreline is a British record for an amateur or professional match, but surprisingly falls well short of the world record.
The is held by Stade Olymique L’Emyrnert, a professional Madagascan team who scored 149 own goals as a protest against a referee in 2002.
Their opponents AS Adema won 149-0 without ever gaining possession.
Coincidentally, Romanian side Carpati Mirsa recently matched Keynsham’s scoreline of 41-0 when they defeated Avintul Dirlos.
In 2001 Australia set the international result record beating American Samoa 31-0 in a World Cup qualifier.
Keynsham Reserves will now be hoping to break the 100-goal barrier for the season when they entertain Wellington Town at their home ground, The Crown Field, this Sunday.
They beat them 20-0 in a Somerset Cup fixture two weeks ago.
Keynsham Town Ladies ‘first’ team are currently second in the FA Women’s Premier League Southern Division, six points behind West Ham United with two games in hand.
Winning that league would promote them to the National Division which, until the Women’s Super League commences in 2011, is the highest ladies division in the country.
