Woking 0-0 Barking & Dagenham
GOING INTO THE DECIDING fixture with identical records, last week’s Southern Counties Cup finalists lined up against each other one last time to determine the destination of this season’s London Girls’ League crown. With forty-three goals between them from their respective wins over St Albans, Wokingham and Tower Hamlets, it was perhaps ironic that the competition’s two dominant, free-scoring teams ground out an attritional 0-0 draw to share the 2021 title.
It was a maiden win for Woking as the Surrey side confirm their second major trophy of the campaign. Meanwhile, Barking & Dagenham racked up top spot for the third time in successive seasons to once again confirm their dominance in this format.
The first half was predominantly played out in Barking & Dagenham territory with the dangerous pair of Zoe Lampard and Ellie Turner a constant thorn in the visitors’ side.
Defensive
Corner after corner, through ball after through ball, Woking prodded and probed, trying to find a way past defensive duo Marcheri Sherrif and Tobe Edoka, backed up by the ever-dependable Dalia Wyszczelska in goal.
Soaking up the pressure, Barking & Dagenham still posed a threat on the break though.
First Rehema Okungu saw her effort from the edge of the box half-blocked, the deflection resulting in a comfortable stop for keeper Charlotte Hickey.
Then, on fifteen minutes, Rihanna Zaman tee-ed up top scorer Aysia Matabaro who let one fly from a similar position, Hickey tipping over the bar at full stretch.
With no clear chance for either side throughout the first half, the break provided a chance to regroup and plot a way to break the deadlock.
Red Wall
After the restart though, Sherrif, Edoka and Chi-Chi Musa-Onyeka erected a red wall on the edge of the Barking & Dagenham box, winning tackle after tackle as the waves of Woking attack continued.
Edoka in particular enjoyed her best game in a Barking & Dagenham shirt, dominating aerially and reading play with an intelligence and awareness that belies her years.
And Sherrif’s ongoing duel with the lethal Turner, on the hunt for her fortieth goal of the season, only added to the intrigue.
As with the first half, the visitors always had a sniff of goal on the counter-attack. Musa-Onyeka showed she could create as well as destroy, playing in Matabaro once again before bursting through minutes later, only to find the side netting with her improvised shot.
Gracie Jones was then almost gifted a seventh league goal of the campaign when Matabaro’s industry forced a clearance that struck her teammate, cannoning back towards goal and trickling just wide of the post.
Almost
And with Woking reduced to speculative attempts from distance, Musa-Onyeka almost snatched a winner eight minutes from time when her daisy-cutter from twenty yards almost sneaked in.
However, the game’s final slice of drama came with just two minutes left to play. Turner found space at last to force Wyszczelska into one last save, the ball bouncing back off the post back into the grateful keeper’s arms, much to the relief of all in the Barking & Dagenham camp.
Both sides would have loved to claim the title outright, but it was somehow fitting that two stalwarts of the girls’ district game should share the spoils at the end of such a short but intense season. Woking and Barking & Dagenham continue to set the standards that others aspire to and thoroughly deserve the silverware their endeavours have earned.
Barking & Dagenham: Tobechukwu Edoka (George Carey), Zoe Freeman (Rush Green), 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)