Barking & Dagenham 10-0 Slough
IT’S FIVE WINS AND five clean sheets now for Barking & Dagenham as they enjoyed themselves in the pounding Parsloes Park rain against visitors Slough. A brace for Paloma Correia, plus single strikes from Aaliyah Felix, Theresa Ezea and Bella Hines accounted for half of the goals. But it was Hunters Hall’s Abbie Blewitt who ran rampant, exceeding her tally from last season in this game alone with five, to cap off a fine individual and team display.
From the get go, it was clear that Blewitt held the key to unlocking the Slough door. Her thrusting forays forward from midfield signalled panic in the visitors’ resistance, forcing a series of early, dangerous corners.
Cool
So it was no surprise when the vice-captain opened the scoring in the eighth minute, sweeping up a loose clearance, before cutting onto her left foot on the edge of the box and coolly slotting into the bottom corner for the lead.
Two minutes later, a Blewitt corner found Roding’s Lilly-Mae Fisher in space at the back post, resulting in a brace of back-post blocks to deny her a maiden district goal.
It took until the quarter-hour mark for the second to arrive when a quickly taken Lily Imititikua throw on the left bounced across the box to an unmarked Felix, who duly pounced to gobble up the chance from a central position.
Scenting blood, Blewitt showed equally predatory instincts to seize possession straight from the restart to drive forward and smash home, instantly knocking the wind out of Slough’s sails.
It was another deep Imititikua throw that created the fourth, with Hines helping the ball on to George Carey’s Correia, who unleased a fierce strike that proved too hot to handle for the visiting keeper.
Whitney James and Hines went close when well-placed and Fisher saw her close-range effort ruled out for offside.
Combination
But the best move of the half came when Ezea won the ball in her own half before precipitating a move that involved great combination play from Blewitt and Correia before the former laid the ball off to Simonette Johnson in the box. The St Peter’s forward took a touch to set herself, before firing off an unstoppable blast that looked destined for the top corner, until it curled wide of the upright at the crucial moment.
In the end, the fifth fell to Blewitt, whose corner took a couple of deflections before trickling over the line.
And from another Blewitt corner, Ezea almost converted from inches out before Hines’s outstretched boot finally poked home to settle the ensuing scramble.
Barking & Dagenham shuffled the pack several times but the goals continued to flow.
First Blewitt showed flashing feet to skip through the heart of the visitors’ rearguard, finishing from the edge of the area to make it seven.
Ezea then intercepted a goal-kick on the edge of the box, punishing her opponents will a well-taken fifth of the season.
Wrapped Up
Blewitt then finished for the day with the ninth, before Correia wrapped up the scoring with her second of the game prior to filling in between the sticks for the closing stages as Grace Attwood-Adams was freed up from goalkeeping duties for a quick run-around upfront.
That is seventeen goals now in just two hours of play for Barking & Dagenham. Last season, it took thirteen matches, and until the 20th January, to reach the same total.
Just as pleasing though were the improvements to the positioning and organisation of the backline, who are yet to concede a shot in anger.
All in all, a strong morning’s work.
A final friendly against Basildon follows on 9th November before the competitive fixtures begin with a home London Girls’ League tie against Merton.
It is still early days… but… whisper it… could a sixth league title in seven years be on the cards for this talented and exciting team?
Barking & Dagenham: Grace Attwood-Adams (The Leys), Abbie Blewitt (Hunters Hall), Paloma Correia (George Carey), Theresa Ezea (St Peter’s), Aaliyah Felix (Goresbrook), Lily-Mae Fisher (Roding), Bella Hines (Richard Alibon), Lily Imititikua (St Peter’s), Whitney James (Rose Lane), Simonette Johnson (St Peter’s), Amelia Pike (Valence), Bella Yorke (Northbury)