BARKING & DAGENHAM GIRLS U11s bowed out in the group stages of the English Schools’ FA national tournament at Dartford FC after a narrow 1-0 defeat to Lewisham in their final game. A 2-0 win against Sutton and a 0-0 draw with Medway meant if the district side kept a clean sheet they would qualify for the semi-finals. But an early strike for the South Londoners dashed any dreams of making Finals Day in Liverpool on June 15th.
The day began in fine style when Barking & Dagenham dominated from first to last against Sutton.
Kayla Grain showed great vision to switch play out left to Kaltrina Ibrahimi: however, her shot pinged back off the advertising hoardings for the first of several missed chances.
Wide
Moments later, Ibrahimi’s dangerous free-kick evaded everyone in the box, then Violette Sharpe fired wide from eight yards.
Sharpe made no mistake though midway through the match when Ibrahimi picked out Ellie Mai Morgan, who in turn threaded a pass behind the Sutton backline. Sharpe span sharply to turn her marker and sprint clear into the box before finishing with aplomb to give her side the lead.
A second came with the last kick of the game – and was possibly the goal of Barking & Dagenham’s season so far. Kayla Grain chased down a clearance to lever an opposition forward off the ball left of centre, thirty-five yards from goal. A quick glance up to check the keeper’s position and Grain unleashed a sumptuous curling effort into the far corner that was always going to find the back of the net from the moment it left her foot.
Next up were Kent Cup winners Medway, who had comfortably beaten an under-strength Barking & Dagenham just three weeks beforehand. This time though both sides had to settle for a point apiece as neither was able to fashion a clear-cut chance. Lily-Mae Elsey came closest to creating an opportunity to break the deadlock but was ultimately thwarted just before she was able to threaten the goal.
Decisive
At that point, Barking & Dagenham topped the group and knew a point would be enough to see them home. However, slack marking from a third minute corner cost them as a clearance fell to a Lewisham player on the edge of the box and the ball was smashed into the top corner for the lead.
With games only lasting ten minutes, the strike proved decisive although Morgan almost benefitted from Kirsten McNaughton’s tenacity when the George Carey defender won possession stepping into midfield and sending her captain clear.
At the other end, the commitment of Miquellah Meade and Elisha Mintah-Adarkwah prevented Lewisham adding to their lead as their opponents progressed at Barking & Dagenham’s expense into the knockout rounds.
A disappointed Barking & Dagenham then fell in the 5th/6th placed play-off 2-0 to Dartford in a low-key display, with only Grain’s speculative early effort coming close to lessening the blow.
Nervy
A high-class, enjoyable tournament was eventually won by Bexley – who overcame both Medway and West Kent on penalties following a nervy goalless semi-final and final respectively.
Barking & Dagenham’s attention now turns to the Southern Counties Cup Final against Gloucester on Monday May 6th at Oxford City FC. The two sides have met in friendlies twice already this campaign with each registering a win. The stakes will be much higher this time round but Barking & Dagenham will dust themselves down and be ready for action as they aim to capture the title for the first time.
Barking & Dagenham: Mei Wang (Henry Green); Miquellah Meade (Henry Green); Kirsten McNaughton (George Carey); Ellie Mai Morgan (Henry Green); Violette Sharpe (Gascoigne); Jessie English (Roding); Kayla Grain (Richard Alibon); Lily-Mae Elsey (Northbury); Elishah-Oliviae Mintah Adarkwah (George Carey); Kaltrina Ibrahimi (William Ford); Kezia Owusu-Abeiye (Valence)