Barking & Dagenham 1-1 Lewisham
LAYLA DUFFIELD’S STUNNING goal of the season – or any other season for that matter – put a huge dent in Lewisham’s London Girls’ League title hopes as brilliant Barking & Dagenham battled from behind to salvage a point at home to the South Londoners.
Kicking off at the start of the second half, Duffield exchanged passes with Pahris Cotterell and Emily Brown to find the latter in space midway through enemy territory.
Brown’s pass to Cotterell then looked to have pushed the captain too wide as she chased down the through-ball and turned in the corner. However, Brown’s intelligent run on the angle was just enough to draw Cotterell’s marker away, enabling the space for a composed pin-point cross into the box.
Exquisite Technique
There was still a lot to do as the ball dipped in between the posts, eight yards out, into the crowded area. Duffield’s determination saw her get to the ball first though as she showed exquisite technique to pull the ball back from behind her with a first-time volley that whistled off her laces and shot past the visiting keeper before she knew what was happening.
Less than twenty seconds had passed between kick-off and the goal, with Lewisham unable to get close to the ball until it was collected from the back of the net.
Earlier, and end-to-end thriller began with a chance for both sides with less than a minute on the clock: Jessica Nwosu saved well to deny Lewisham whilst Cotterell almost caught out Nwosu’s opposite number with a drilled effort from the right flank.
Poor marking from Barking & Dagenham gifted the visitors the lead in the third minute but the home side responded well. First, Cotterell’s mazy run and strike brought a block from the keeper before Grace Young fired over on the follow-up.
Brown lobbed over from the edge of the box in the tenth minute whilst Young again went close six minutes later.
And when Barking & Dagenham found the opportunity to play their passing game, they carved their opponents open with Cotterell denied at the crucial moment following a swift one-two with Nour Khalfaoui.
Duffield’s equaliser was well-deserved therefore and Barking & Dagenham were unlucky not to have taken the lead as their opponents were left rattled. Aaliyah Young’s up-and-under finally bounced through to Brown who fired over from just inside the box. Grace Young then saw her shot drift narrowly wide when Brown’s cross picked her out in space.
Wonderful Goalkeeping
Both sides then had opportunity to claim the points but two wonderful pieces of goalkeeping kept the scores level.
First of all – with eight minutes remaining – Cotterell broke free at pace behind Lewisham’s backline and advanced on goal with glory on her mind. As she reached the edge of the area, the visiting keeper rushed out to close her down and produced a fine block on the run to keep her team in the game.
Even more dramatically, five minutes later, a fierce Lewisham strike looked destined for the top corner until Nwosu showed strong wrists to deflect the ball upwards. As the ball looped up, it finally thumped onto the crossbar and down towards the waiting striker, only for Nwosu to recover superbly and join forces with Aaliyah Young to scramble the ball away.
It was the final goalmouth action of an incident-packed game that leaves three teams in contention for this year’s top prize. Unfortunately, Barking & Dagenham’s highest possible finish is fourth as they look to overtake their final opponents South London with an away victory next week.
Barking & Dagenham: A Young (James Cambell); L Duffield, E Brown (Godwin); T Mutuale, J Nwosu (Henry Green); P Cotterell (Manor Longbridge); N Khalfaoui, G Young (Hunters Hall)