Gloucester 2-6 Barking & Dagenham
THE NEW YEAR began in fine style for Barking & Dagenham U11s girls as they made the long trip to Gloucester, claiming an impressive win. From the first minute to the last, the visitors were on the front font, creating over twenty attempts on goal and converting six – with Emily Brown (4), Holly Anderson and Ianna Msekwa getting on the scoresheet.
Barking & Dagenham signalled their intent with barely sixty seconds on the clock: Kayla Grain’s cross from the right wing was only half-cleared to Brown who calmly slotted a left-foot finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Shortly afterwards, Grace Young caused chaos on the opposite flank, evading her marker to drill a fierce centre across goal only for Grain to miss out on the conversion.
Grain again was denied a minute later when her shot from close-range was directed straight at the keeper.
Mazy
Miquellah Meade then saw her low drive screw wide before Brown’s mazy run ended with a similar result.
Barking & Dagenham shuffled the pack with defender Ianna Msekwa now deployed up front. The move almost paid dividends straight away when the George Carey skipper shot wide.
However the lead was doubled shortly afterwards when Brown skipped past four challenges to complete a wonderful solo goal.
Young and Msekwa then tested the keeper from the edge of the area before the former produced the moment of the match. Tracking back on the left, Young showed strength and courage to win back possession just inside her own half before turning and driving and the Gloucester backline. Having already beaten two, with a drop of the shoulder, Young then shimmied past the final defender, cutting back for Msekwa to poke home first time.
Disaster
But just when the visitors looked to be heading for the half-time interval in total control, disaster happened. An innocuous looking cross wasn’t dealt with and the loose ball was drilled against a Gloucester forward, deflecting back into the empty net.
Then, a minute after the break, Gloucester were right back in the game when a throw-in from the right was headed into her own goal by a Barking & Dagenham defender.
With her team on the ropes, Brown wrestled back control for her team five minutes later – the impressive Meade marauding forward before cutting back for her captain to convert for a well-deserved hat-trick.
Fight-back?
Any remaining fears of a Gloucester fight-back were quashed moments later when Msekwa intercepted a pass in her own half before driving forward at pace. After dodging past a series of challenges, she found herself in touching distance of the opposition box, picking out Brown with a square pass from the left. Brown then found Anderson in space, whose touch and finish extended the lead to 5-2.
Barking & Dagenham weren’t finished though as Grain fired wide following neat play from Meade and Anderson whilst Young saw her header saved following Brown’s dangerous corner.
It was Brown who had the final say however with another solo run and finish to take her personal tally to four for the game and her seventh goal in three games.
Next up for Barking & Dagenham is a home London Girls’ League tie with Tower Hamlets on Saturday 20th January at Barking Abbey.
Barking & Dagenham: Emily Brown (Godwin); Kayla Grain (Richard Alibon); Miquelleh Meade (Henry Green); Abigail Asare (Henry Green); Ianna Msekwa (George Carey); Maria Omotayo (Roding); Grace Young (Hunters Hall); Holly Anderson (Grafton)