BILLERICAY TOWN Women have been crowned Champions of Essex after winning the BBC Essex Women’s Cup Final at Colchester.

Town defeated Hashtag United Reserves 1-0 in front of a bumper 2,044 crowd at the Jobserve Stadium with an early goal from Ruby Sealey.

Billericay dominated the match and only some wasteful finishing gave the scoreline a closer look than it needed to be.

Player of the match Scarlett Williams long ball after four minutes caught out the Hashtag defence leaving Sealey through one on one to coolly shoot past goalkeeper Christie Hale for her 25th goal for the club.

Karissa Doo could’ve had a first half hat-trick but the chances went begging and though Hashtag rarely threatened there was always that worry that one goal might not be enough.

More chances were squandered after the break though Karesha Iton did find the net after 77 minutes only to be denied by an assistant’s flag.

Hashtag tired as the clock ticked down and Billericay were comfortable in the closing stages to win the trophy though credit must go to Hashtag for staying in the game.

Remarkably this was Billericay’s second Cup Final in 24 hours having lost on penalties to Charlton Athletic in the Reposs Isthmian Cup Final the night before at Lewes.

Manager James Gibson said after the game “It was a wonderful performance, a great spectacle for the 2,000 fans here. Congratulations to Hashtag for showing such grit and determination but I thought we were brilliant, we moved the ball around so well. I’m not from Billericay but I understand the history of the competition with our club and I’m so happy to win the trophy”

BILLERICAY TOWN WOMEN; Baker, Williams, Blackie (Morton), Iton, Doo (O’Shea), Rushen, Stimson, King, Rogers (Jones), Sealey, Thomas (Clemenson)

GOAL; Sealey (4 mins), ATT; 2,044