Barking & Dagenham 2-0 Hackney
BARKING & DAGENHAM BOUNCED BACK from last week’s heavy defeat at Chelmsford & Mid Essex with a character-filled display against Hackney in the London Girls’ League. Predictably, Jasmine Amrane and Tolu Elufowoju obliged with a goal apiece to separate the two sides – but it was a composed and resilient performance from front to back which caught the eye with no sign of damaged confidence or wounded pride following the previous game.
Hackney were always likely to provide difficult opposition, and so it proved as the Eastenders pegged Barking & Dagenham back into their own half early on.
No Problems
On seven minutes though, the home side carved out their first opportunity when Jaydee Williams’ dangerous through-ball set Elufowoju sprinting clear, only for the skipper to pick out the visiting keeper from an acute angle, her shot lacking the necessary power to cause any real problems.
Bit by bit, the pressure began to build as a succession of dangerous Amrane corners caused havoc in the box, without ever really finding their hoped-for targets.
From a central position though, Amrane proved lethal. Elufowoju picked her vice-captain out thirty yards from goal, the Gascoigne midfielder shifting the ball to her right and skipping past a hopeful challenge, before bending a sumptuous right-foot finish into the top corner in trademark spectacular fashion.
It was a stunning goal, giving Amrane her tenth of the season and Barking & Dagenham the cushion they needed to relax and enjoy the rest of the game.
It could – and perhaps should – have been 2-0 ten minutes later thanks to another piece of individual brilliance: this time via the dynamic running of Alethea-Becky Adjoh-Davoh.
Beaten
Picking the ball up well inside her own half, the George Carey winger exchanged passes with Dominyka Petrauskaite before bursting free down the left flank, riding a series of challenges, before dragging the eventual shot wide of the upright with the keeper beaten yet grateful.
The second half saw Barking & Dagenham adapt well to the extra attacking talent deployed by the visitors. With bodies thrown forward, Chloe Ajewole martialled her back-line superbly with able support from disciplined Laura Ameny and Sasha Stoute and the indomitable screen of Atene Skendelis in front.
Despite being under heavy pressure, Francisca Arhin in goal never had a save to make, speaking volumes for the focus and commitment of her outfield team-mates.
On the break, Amrane continued to pull the strings: first, testing the keeper with a well-struck drive from thirty yards before playing in Adjoh-Davoh who was unfortunate to poke wide as a Hackney challenge knocked her off balance at the crucial moment.
With four minutes remaining, the tie was put beyond doubt.
A free-kick in the centre circle saw Amrane thread a simple pass in behind the Hackney line for Elufowoju to gobble up, drawing the keeper off her line and slotting into the bottom corner for an unassailable lead.
Winners
The result sees Barking & Dagenham confirmed as London Girls’ League Group 2 winners, with Hackney their closest rivals, as the district side progress to the final stage of the competition against the teams from Group 1. Three further victories from those remaining games would see the district team crowned champions for a fifth successive season.
Barking & Dagenham: Ajewole (George Carey), Skendelis (Godwin), Williams (Goresbrook), Arhin (Northbury), Adjoh-Davoh (George Carey), Hussain (Richard Alibon), Petrauskaite (Richard Alibon), Hossain (Northbury), Elufowoju (Rush Green), Stoute (Rush Green), Rimkeviciute (William Bellamy), Amrane (Gascoigne), Ameny (Valence)