Barking & Dagenham 3-1 Wokingham

BRILLIANT BARKING & DAGENHAM SECURED back-to-back London Girls’ League titles after a gritty 3-1 win over Wokingham brought down the curtain on a long but highly entertaining season. In the thirty-second game of the campaign, goals from Ellie Mai Morgan, Kayla Grain and Violette Sharpe clinched the vital points against the Berkshire side who would themselves have become champions with a win.

In a cagey start from both teams, it was Miquellah Meade who precipitated Barking & Dagenham’s first chance, darting past three defenders in a jinking run from half-way before scuffing her shot disappointingly wide.

Parried

And it took until midway through the first half for the next clear-cut effort as Kaltrina Ibrahimi showed fast footwork on the left to power a shot from distance that looked to be arrowing into the far corner until a fingertip parried the ball clear.

A minute later, a Grain miss-hit caused mayhem inside the visiting penalty area with frantic blocks denying both Ibrahimi and Morgan.

Then Morgan again came close when spinning her marker and sprinting clear, only for her well-struck effort to fall on the wrong side of the post.

The building pressure took its toll though when Barking & Dagenham took the lead with ten minutes of the half remaining. It was Meade who intercepted an errant goal-kick to bring a fine save from the visiting keeper. The ball spilled loose however, and Morgan greedily converted for her seventeenth district goal – a fine way to celebrate breaking the Barking & Dagenham girls’ appearance record with fifty-two.

Response

Wokingham responded well, showing why they are the South East Cup winners, and hit back soon after.

First Wang was forced to save from Samantha Sehejpal who began to take advantage of spaces opening up down the right.

Then the dangerous Jess Harris was fouled thirty yards for a free-kick in a central position. She duly dusted herself off to smash a howitzer into the top corner and level the tie. It was a stunning strike and reminded Barking & Dagenham that they were in a contest.

Just before the break, Morgan and Ibrahimi combined well for the latter to test the Wokingham goal once more. This time a smart save denied the William Ford winger.

Calm

Throughout the action at the other end, Elishah Mintah-Adarkwah had been Barking & Dagenham’s best player; imperious, defending ferociously with her tenacity and pace before calmly playing out from the back.

The sweltering conditions got the better of her though and she was forced off at half-time, prompting a shuffling of the pack with Grain dropping back from midfield and Lily-Mae Elsey deputising on the right.

Grain still managed to get on the scoresheet though when the persistent Meade was brought down on the edge of the box. Her right foot set-piece looked innocuous at first – but a late Wokingham deflection pinballed it into the goal and the lead was restored with just under twenty minutes to play.

Expert

Barking & Dagenham then managed the remainder of the game expertly. Only when Frida Ferrer sprung between two defenders and exposed nerves in the home backline did Wokingham threaten to get back on level terms. However, the first-time effort pulled wide of Wang’s goal and the hosts received the luck they needed.

With five minutes to go, victory was sealed. With the visitors pushing bodies forward, Wang mopped up a through ball inside her box and alertly boomed the ball forward to Sharpe. The Gascoigne forward pounced to fire home her fourth of the season and make it 3-1 in fine style.

The win caps off a remarkable season for the district team as they achieved a historic and unprecedented treble. Winning three of the five competitions they entered, Barking & Dagenham are now the holders of the Southern Counties Cup, Essex 7-a-sides and the biggest competition of all – the London Girls’ League.

Thrilled

Manager Chris Wilding was thrilled with the achievement: “This is a very special group of girls who gave everything they had to get the team over the line. Our early games in this competition were a bit patchy, but when the challenge was laid before them, they really stepped up. A one hundred-percent record in their last four games, against some of the best teams in the country says it all. Three of the squad will still be eligible to play for the side next season. Let’s hope that they can do it all again!”

Barking & Dagenham: Mei Wang (Henry Green); Elishah Mintah-Adarkwah (George Carey); Miquellah Meade (Henry Green); Kirsten McNaughton (George Carey); Ellie Mai Morgan (Henry Green); Violette Sharpe (Gascoigne); Kayla Grain (Richard Alibon); Lily-Mae Elsey (Northbury); Kaltrina Ibrahimi (William Ford)