Barking & Dagenham 9-0 Tower Hamlets
THERE WAS NO MESSING about for Barking & Dagenham schoolgirls as the district side quickly hit their stride in the opening match of their delayed season. Four goals for Northbury’s Ganiyat Jimoh, braces for Gracie Jones and Rehema Okungu, along with skipper Marcheri Sherrif’s long-range effort gave the hosts the ideal confidence boost ahead of their national cup tie with Bexley next week.
It was Jimoh who opened the scoring early on, pouncing on a loose ball in the box to force the ball home.
And the lead was doubled in the seventh minute when Jimoh chased down a lost cause to tackle the visiting keeper and convert for 2-0.
Buried
Barking & Dagenham continued to probe as Jones and Rihanna Zahman went close and it was the former who stretched the lead on fourteen minutes with a cool first-time finish, cutting in from the right wing to bury a loose clearance.
Moments later, it was four. Sheriff’s marauding run into the danger zone brought panic before Okungu swept the ball in from inches out.
Jimoh’s hat-trick was secured just before the half-way mark with her most impressive finish of the day. Tobechukwu Edoka’s long-ball from the back bounced perfectly for her team-mate whose first-time lofted effort looped perfectly over the helpless keeper and into the far corner.
Profligate
A period of profligacy followed as the hosts spurned a raft of chances. Eva Young, Aysia Matabaro, Sheriff and Jones all saw efforts fire wide as Barking & Dagenham set camp inside the Tower Hamlets’ half.
It was with twelve minutes remaining though that the home side rammed home their advantage, led by the imposing Sheriff – who lashed an unstoppable drive into the roof of the net from twenty-five yards.
A short while later, Matabaro saw her effort charged down, only for Jimoh to profit from the rebound for her fourth of the day.
And Matabaro was at the heart of the action again moments later, sprinting clear down the right wing to centre for opposite number Okungu as she drifted in from the left.
Wrapped Up
The scoring was wrapped up by Jones whose cross-shot found its way in for her fourth district goal.
It was an encouraging start for the new-look side as they embark on a condensed and congested run of fixtures over the next few months. With this performance as their starting point, there is much to indicate that there is much to look forward to in the games to come.
Barking & Dagenham: Tobechukwu Edoka (George Carey), Ganiyat Jimoh (Northbury), Gracie Jones (Grafton), Aysia Matabaro (Roding), Chi-Chi Musa-Onyeka (St Peter’s), Rehema Okungu (George Carey), Marcheri Sheriff (Grafton), Dalia Wyszczelska (Hunters Hall), Eva Young (Hunters Hall), Rihanna Zaman (Hunters Hall)