But following a gutsy and determined performance, the girls were disappointed in the final score and certainly felt they deserved more.

Player of the match Sophie Sexton ran rings through the midfield, quite literally taking on every player in her sight. With Maddy Barnes, Frankie Rogers and Captain Lucy Dunnett creating space for Sexton to dribble through and push balls forwards, it seemed only a matter of time before Ipswich would take the lead.

But it was Barnes who scored first against the run of play, playing a soft ball which rebounded off GK Ali Barham into the goal. It wasn’t long before Barnes got their second, a powerful reverse strike.

Ipswich began to turn things around with Kat Blake, Ellie Scott and Emily Wheaton beating the Barnes press consistently. A run of attacking PCs on the halftime whistle seemed certain to result in a goal and despite shots on target, Barnes did well to defend.

The forward line of Kate Wingar, Lizzy Wheelhouse, Chloe Williams and Jess Logan had plenty of ball, making excellent leads into space. Barnes won a string of PCs with good shots resulting in Wheelhouse and Dunnett making spectacular diving saves on the line on separate occasions.

With Ipswich beginning to tire due to lack of subs, Wingar found herself repeatedly tracking back and making last ditch tackles to keep them in the game.

But it wasn’t to be, with Barnes capitalising on tired legs to win PCs which they converted well.

The score line did not reflect the closeness of the game and Ipswich were disappointed not to have kept Barnes at bay for longer.

With just three games remaining, the girls make the final push to stay in the East Conference by next week travelling to play Canterbury 2s.