Barking & Dagenham 3-0 Gloucester
GOALS FROM LILY-MAE ELSEY, Violette Sharpe and Kayla Grain gave the score-line an impressive bias against South West of England champions Gloucester as the visitors made their first ever visit to East London. After a 3-2 away defeat against the same opposition earlier in the campaign, a solid team performance ensured Barking & Dagenham came out on top – although they were made to work hard for their rewards straight from the off.
Indeed, it took seven minutes before either side was able to fashion any chance of note. Grain picked up the ball in midfield and laid a pass forward to skipper Ellie Mai Morgan who laid it off to the onrushing Miquellah Meade. A powerful burst into the box was followed by a near-post drive that flashed towards goal before being tipped wide.
Neat Footwork
On sixteen minutes, Gloucester managed to break through for the first time as smart passing saw them destroy Barking & Dagenham’s right-hand side before a curling effort just inside the box was repelled by the strong wrists of keeper Mei Wang.
Two minutes later, neat footwork from Sharpe led to her goal-bound effort deflecting wide off a defender’s back. From the resulting corner, Grain’s dangerous ball fell to the feet of Elsey who poked home from a yard out to give her side the lead.
Sharpe continued to cause problems going forward, with two further efforts on goal before Morgan and Elsey combined well on the edge of the box, only for Morgan’s scuffed shot to be comfortably saved.
As the half drew to a close, it was Wang who was the busier of the two keepers, her excellent positioning, with a helping hand from the post, denying a succession of chances from the visitors.
Threat
Sensing the need to wrestle back control of midfield, Morgan was deployed in a much deeper role with Sharpe deployed up top to threaten on the break. And it worked a treat: within two minutes of making the switch, Captain Morgan picked out Sharpe with a precise pass for the Gascoigne midfielder to double the advantage with her second in as many games.
Wang again had to be at her best on numerous occasions, although the attempts on goal lacked the necessary power to catch her off-guard.
The same couldn’t be said for Grain’s fifth of the season which wrapped up the scoring in fine style. Picking up a goal-kick just short of the centre circle, the Richard Alibon midfielder strode forward and picked her spot from twenty-five yards out to make it 3-0.
Almost
Barking & Dagenham continued to try and push their advantage in the dying stages. First Elsey almost added to the lead when Meade played her in down the inside-right channel. Then Meade herself was close to completing a slick passing move involving Elisha Mintah-Adarkwah, Grain and Morgan.
Both teams will be contesting the semi-finals of the Southern Counties Cup in the coming weeks. Gloucester take on Woking Development on Saturday whilst Barking & Dagenham host rivals Thurrock on March 9th. With one win apiece so far, there is the potential for a high stakes decider later in the season should the two sides reach the final.
Barking & Dagenham: Mei Wang (Henry Green); Miquellah Meade (Henry Green); Kirsten McNaughton (George Carey); Ellie Mai Morgan (Henry Green); Violette Sharpe (Gascoigne); Elishah-Oliviae Mintah Adarkwah (George Carey); Jessie English (Roding); Kayla Grain (Richard Alibon); Lily-Mae Elsey (Northbury); Holly Anderson (Robert Clack)