Waltham Forest Ladies suffered a 4-1 defeat in a tough game away to top of the table Chelmsford Ladies seconds.

Despite some great individual performances and Charlotte Pether’s first goal for the club, Chelmsford prevailed on a cold blustery day.

After victory last time out over Wapping, Forrest struggled to find their form early on and Chelmsford took the lead on ten minutes after some neat interplay.

Forest picked up momentum after the goal and with five minutes to play until half time launched a counter attack which saw Pether strike home from the edge of the area.

They failed to stay level until the break though as Chelmsford worked space to get one on one with the keeper and duly slot home to make it 2-1 at half time.

Into the second half Chelmsford showed the kind of form which has seen them reach the summit of the table combining creative forward play with resolute defence.

With Forest pushing to get back in the game the hosts exploited the counter attack and two more finely taken goals sealed Forest’s fate.

A joint player of the match performance by Mandy Briggs and Anne-Marie Perry mean Forest can take positives from the game as they now look to bounce back in their next match at home to Broxbourne.