Barking & Dagenham 4-0 Barnet

GOING INTO THEIR final London Girls’ League group match of the season, Barking & Dagenham knew a point would be enough to put them through to the Super Six phase and maintain their impressive one hundred percent qualification record. However, visitors Barnet arrived at the Bobby Moore Sports Hub with victories over Hackney and Brent under their belts and the knowledge that three points would also guarantee them a place in the medal competition.

The hosts were almost given the perfect start when defending a corner in the second minute. Paloma Correia remained calm to win possession from the whipped centre and played forward to the breaking Aaliyah Felix on the left flank. A superb through-ball picked out the onrushing Malaika Unwandji, who cut in from the opposite wing to race clean through from half-way.

Wind

The swirling wind played havoc with the Roding forward’s run however, holding the ball up at every touch and disrupting Uwandji’s stride. This in turn allowed a scrambled defence to recover, forcing her wide and away from her initial trajectory. Eventually she managed to get her shot away, but only after the ground almost disappeared from under her feet, narrowing the angle to give the advantage to the well-positioned keeper.

Two minutes later, Uwandji was in again when Abbie Blewitt’s slide-rule pass sent her through. This time it was the post that denied her, with her well-struck effort cannoning back off the upright.

In the eighth minute, a hat-trick of chances for Uwandji was completed when Felix found her once again, with the outstretched right-foot of the goalkeeper adding to her opponents’ growing frustration.

Then it was Felix’s turn to rue her misfortune when Blewitt’s corner fell at her feet inside the six-yard box, just outside the far post. The effort spiralled wide though for the first of three golden chances to come the Goresbrook winger’s way.

The next was spearheaded by the lively Zainab Touray’s break that saw her gallop through the Barnet backline to pick out Felix inside the box. Her first effort was saved, the second put wide, with the visitors’ goal now resembling a cat with nine lives as it faced off against the Barking & Dagenham hounds of horror.

Level

And on the stroke of half-time, Simonette Johnson’s pass picked out Felix in acres of space in a central position. But once again the Barnet goal survived and the sides went into the break with the scores level, but the balance of play well and truly in the hosts’ favour.

Surely, they would score soon?

And they did.

Four minutes after the restart, it was Correia in the left-back position who picked up a Barnet clearance, running back to her own goal on the edge of the box. A superb turn saw her wrong-foot the approaching Barnet forward before she slid an inch-perfect pass further forward to Felix.

A first time ball inside left much for Maria Matteus to do, but the George Carey defender – now deployed in midfield to add more bite to the tackle – showed great aggression to get there first and play in Touray through the inside left channel.

A superb left foot cross then zipped across the Barnet goalmouth, bypassing the retreating backline… and there was Uwandji at the opposite post to force it home and provide the much-needed breakthrough.

Two minutes later, the lead was doubled. This time, Uwandji turned provider, slaloming through a series of attempted tackles on the right-hand byline to fire a fierce shot from a tight angle. Inevitably, the attempt was saved; but with the ball parried across goal, Touray showed commitment, courage and control to convert from close quarters.

Volley

Now the goals were flowing.

Ten minutes into the half, Blewitt’s floated corner was volleyed home by Touray and Matteus almost made it four from another set piece, only for the woodwork to deny her a much-deserved maiden district goal.

Instead though, Matteus used her talents to set up the next, showing great feet to keep her balance and find space in the box before fizzing across to Uwandji for another tap-in and Barking & Dagenham’s fourth.

Six minutes before time, it should have been five. And a well-deserved hat-trick for Touray. But the post came to Barnet’s rescue for a third time as her firmly struck penalty thundered back off the frame of the goal.

No matter though.

By then the game was done and dusted and the points were in the bag, ensuring a top three finish in Group 2 and three more games in the competition after Easter. And – with four victories on the spin for Barking & Dagenham – their future opponents will need to take notice: the BAD Girls are coming!

Barking & Dagenham: Emily Peka (Valence); Jona Islami (Roding); Gilda Hasani (Northbury); Abbie Blewitt (Hunters Hall); Paloma Correia (George Carey); Grace Attwood-Adams (The Leys); Malaika Uwandji (Roding); Aaliyah Felix (Goresbrook); Simonette Johnson (St Peter’s); Zainab Touray (Northbury); Maria Matteus (George Carey)