Gloucester 0-1 Barking & Dagenham
UNDERNEATH SOARING BLUE skies, Barking & Dagenham made their annual pilgrimage to Gloucester’s fabulous Longlevens home for an entertaining encounter, played out in front of an impressive crowd, including the Mayor of Gloucester. In the end, Aysia Matabaro’s twenty-fifth goal of the season was all that separated the two sides although the visitors will rue the opportunities spurned which could have made the score-line much more emphatic.
Barking & Dagenham’s first chance came in the fifth minute when Matabaro’s quick feet and shifting balance engineered space fifteen yards out. The finish lacked the necessary power to trouble Aaliyah Cross in the Gloucester goal – but the pattern for the first half was set.
Two minutes later, Elizabeth Dimitrova whipped a wicked free kick across goal from the right flank into a perfect area for someone to stab home. No-one was on hand however and the ball curled away from goal without the necessary touch.
Breakthrough
On nine minutes though, the breakthrough came. Again, it was Matabaro who was in the mood, finding space once more on the edge of the box before firing a fierce drive which was too hot to handle, bursting through the attempted save for what looked like the first of many.
However, despite dominating territory and possession, no more goals transpired, with the Gloucester goal protected by a combination of accomplished goalkeeping, staunch defending, and frustrating finishing.
A rare touch for keeper Kornelija Klimaviciute saw her terrific clearance send Matabaro off and running behind the Gloucester backline in true Route One fashion. The resultant attempt on goal fell just wide though, as did a further chance for Matabaro moments later after Dimitrova’s up-and-under prompted similar panic.
Matabaro continued to provide menace throughout, sending a brace of dangerous crosses from the right which Erin Taylor and Lara Sousa Franco almost converted – but, by now, it seemed like Barking & Dagenham had conceded the ability to put the ball into the net and were shooting with hope rather than decisiveness.
The pattern continued into the second half with the lively Charlotte Bryant fashioning a chance for Matabaro after just two minutes, with the latter stinging Cross’s palms which a piledriver moments later.
Denied
Sousa Franco fired over from three yards as the ball bobbled up with the goal gaping and Erin Taylor was denied at the last moment by a desperate half-block and Cross’s excellent positioning.
But with Gloucester switching to a back four to stem the Barking & Dagenham red wave, space around the goalmouth was at a premium, with the host’s defence putting their collective body on the line to keep out the visitors whilst threatening on the break through Esther Felix’s pace.
A flurry of Barking & Dagenham half-chances followed, with Amaya Amaning, Chi-Chi Musa-Onyeka, Kadie Gibbs and Pearl Brown seeing their defensive contribution through with customary reliability to repel any hopes of a home equaliser.
But, as the match edge to its conclusion, it was to no-one’s surprise that neither side added to their tally.
Next
Still, it was a credible away victory for Barking & Dagenham who claimed their sixth clean sheet in eight games as part of a ten-match unbeaten run stretching back to November.
Tough tests lie ahead – with Barking & Dagenham’s next fixture against one of only two teams to have beaten them this season: Chelmsford & Mid Essex. This version of the team though is vastly different from the one that were defeated in the opening game of the season. The result will provide an interesting indicator of how far the team have come in the last six months.
Barking & Dagenham: Amaya Amaning (Warren), Pearl Brown (Rush Green), Charlotte Bryant (Roding), Elizabeth Dimitrova (James Cambell), Zoe Freeman (Rush Green), Kadie Gibbs (James Cambell), Mia Green (Southwood), Aysia Matabaro (Roding), Chioma Musa-Onyeka (St Peter’s), Lara Sousa Franco (St Peter’s), Erin Taylor (The Leys), Honey Thomas (James Cambell), Kornelija Klimaviciute (Parsloes)