Brightlingsea Regent Ladies concluded an evenly matched clash with Chelmsford City Reserves in a one-all draw on Sunday afternoon at North Road.

The opening few minutes were an even affair, with both sides pushing towards goalscoring areas, but failing to find the necessary shots on target.

After an uninspiring opening quarter, Chelmsford City bundled the ball into the back of the net. A corner ball led to a scramble in the heart of the box, trickling into the net after numerous deflections, but the linesman put up the flag immediately, cutting opposition celebrations short.

Chelmsford City went close once again. After an unknowing touch from the Regent backline, the opposition number ten was left in acres of space but scuffed the shot narrowly wide of the post. After a minor pause for a Regent injury, Chelmsford tried their luck from far, but R's goalkeeper Helena Brodie stayed confident and prevented any scares.

Brodie was once again called into action minutes later. After a forward pass deflected uncomfortably off Laken Duchar-Clark, it allowed the opposition forward into an excellent position, but their effort lacked the firepower once again to find the back of the net.

An unfortunate injury just before half-time saw a hefty delay, after a nasty collision, alongside a double substitution for the R's, as Matilda Wilson and Nancy Batler replaced Olivia Dowsett and Shenai Osman. Swiftly on from the alterations, the referee blew for half-time.

Chelmsford started the second half on the front foot. Their number eleven and fourteen combined well to claim another shot on target, before some heroics from Helana Brodie were required to retain the scoreline from the succeeding attack, saving with her legs firstly, then bravely collecting from an onrushing attack.

Despite sustaining heavy pressure, the R's broke the deadlock in the 55th minute. A looped ball forward from the midfield found the feet of Emily Priestley, who calmly evaded the defender to calmly slot past the Chelmsford goalkeeper from a one-on-one chance just inside the penalty area.

Chelmsford City tried to respond quickly, but the Brodie remained composed between the sticks and caught the efforts without too much trouble, despite coming from promising shooting positions.

The R's went agonisngly close to doubling the advantage in the 63rd minute through the goal scorer Emily Priestley. Once again, Priestley dribbled past the defence, leaving only the goalkeeper to beat, however, fired inches off target, ultimately slamming the post.

Unfortunately, Chelmsford City found a way back into the game after consistently knocking at the door for 80 minutes, nudging the ball past the goalkeeper from close range to level the terms, which lead to a nervy final ten minutes for Regent ladies.

Despite going close a couple of minutes later, through a headed attempt with far too much power, Regent continued to fight and throw bodies on the line to prevent an away win, eventually settling for a one-all draw.