IT’S BEEN YET ANOTHER stellar season for Barking & Dagenham girls’ district team as they added a second Southern Counties Cup title and a fourth successive London Girls’ League crown to an already bulging list of honours. Unbeaten in 2022, it was therefore fitting that the team should round off the campaign in fine style with a brace of victories against Woking and Wokingham in the Darryl Brooker Festival.
In their opening game against Woking, Barking & Dagenham were given the ideal fillip when all-time leading scorer Aysia Matabaro struck in just the second minute, netting her forty-ninth district goal. Skipper Chi-Chi Musa-Onyeka won possession before releasing the Roding striker, who turned her marker on the half-way line and sprinted clear for a trademark finish into the bottom corner.
Matabaro almost grabbed her fiftieth just thirty seconds later when intercepting a misplaced back-pass before running out of room, with the angle too narrow to bother the home keeper.
Action
But the Woking Number One was called into action several times during the remainder of the half: first denying Lara Sousa Franco after a flowing move involving Matabaro, Zoe Freeman and Elizabeth Dimitrova; then Freeman’s effort was blocked following a thirty yard run, skipping past a brace of defenders; outstanding Mia Green’s side-foot attempt on the run from Matabaro’s cross was deflected away; and, finally, debutant Jaydee Williams sprinted clear only for a sharp one-on-one save to prevent a maiden district goal.
In contrast, Matabaro notched up her half-century shortly after the interval when breaking down the right before finding a gap between keeper and post from a tight angle.
For the rest of the game, despite a late consolation for the hosts, Barking & Dagenham remained in control and kept pressing for more – most notably Musa-Onyeka who powered through on a late burst before firing over with the goal at her mercy.
Instead, the goals followed in the next fixture against Wokingham.
The first came courtesy of Matabaro, following Kadie Gibbs’ through-ball, dancing through a crowd with the ball magnetised to her feet before duly converting.
Outstripped
Green and Freeman then had opportunities to double the lead before Musa-Onyeka obliged in typical fashion, outstripping the Wokingham rearguard and earning the skipper her eighth district goal.
And a sublime finish from St Peter’s classmate Sousa Franco put the result beyond doubt with a curling effort from the left-hand channel, just outside the box.
Despite a deflected Wokingham corner preventing a clean sheet for Barking & Dagenham, Matabaro stamped her authority onto the scoresheet once again with a break from half-way that resulted in an amazing fifty-second strike for the borough in just twenty-nine games, twenty-four ahead of her nearest rival.
The goal confirmed a fifteenth straight victory for Barking & Dagenham who finished the season unbeaten since the turn of the year, including wins against the only two sides to defeat them earlier in 2021.
More important though are the memories, fun and friendships forged during an amazing nine months where this incredible set of players have represented their borough with pride, honour and distinction.
Here’s to 2022/23!
Barking & Dagenham: Amaya Amaning (Warren), Pearl Brown (Rush Green), Zoe Freeman (Rush Green), Kadie Gibbs (James Cambell), Mia Green (Southwood), Hazel Walker (Parsloes), Chioma Musa-Onyeka (St Peter’s), Lara Sousa Franco (St Peter’s), Honey Thomas (James Cambell), Kornelija Klimaviciute (Parsloes), Aysia Matabaro (Roding), Jaydee Williams (Goresbrook), Elizabeth Dimitrova (James Cambell)