Woking 0-0 Barking & Dagenham
DESPITE A SECOND HALF performance good enough to win any contest, Barking & Dagenham U11s had to settle for a share of the spoils in their opening London Girls’ League game of the campaign. Pahris Cotterell, Nour Khalfauoi and Makayla Smith were all denied by the woodwork and a string of finger-tip saves from keeper Chloe Gibney meant that the home side clung onto a point despite a late onslaught from the visitors.
Barking & Dagenham began brightly with Rachel Babatunde and Gabriella Gomes combining well to tee-up Millie Blythe for a first attempt in the opening minute.
The next chance came from a whipped Khalfaoui corner; Mariam-Daisy Ngobo Azeez’s ensuing left foot shot was well held by the diving Gibney.
Whip
The move of the half once again saw Blythe skip free down the left, splitting the home defence, before flashing a dangerous centre across goal. No-one was on hand to connect however and Woking saw out the rest of the half, restricting their guests to half chances for Gomes and Smith.
After the restart though, Barking & Dagenham got their act together and besieged their opponents’ territory for much of the rest of the match.
It was Smith who came closest in the early stages – Gomes and Blythe’s midfield combination play allowing the tenacious Henry Green forward to beat Gibney to a low cross before the stabbed ball brushed the upright for a goal kick.
It was Cotterell however who truly took the game by the scruff of the neck, filling in for absentees at the back before launching forward to try and win the game for her side. First of all, another wicked Khalfaoui corner saw Cotterell launch herself across goal, acrobatically connecting with the outside of her right foot to send a first time effort agonisingly wide of the post.
Wide
The same player then saw another effort from distance almost catch Gibney off her line – the home goalkeeper glad to see the dipping ball drift wide at the last moment.
Some desperate defending from Woking saw Blythe and Gomes denied yet again before Khalfaoui rattled the crossbar with an exquisite left-foot curler from distance with just two minutes remaining.
Just as it had finished shaking, Cotterell smashed against it once more in the dying stages – cruelly denied a well-deserved goal for herself and her team.
With their first points on the board though, Barking & Dagenham now travel to Camden as they seek to secure their place in the medal places at the end of the season.
Barking & Dagenham: Babatunde (Richard Alibon); Embery, Blythe (Valence); Gomes (St Joseph’s Dagenham); Ngobo Azeez (Godwin); Cotterell (Manor Longbridge); Khalfaoui (Hunters Hall); Smith (Henry Green)