Barking & Dagenham 1-0 Islington

BARKING & DAGENHAM U11S PROGRESSED to the London Schools’ FA Crisp Shield quarter finals with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Islington. Harry Brown’s second half strike was enough to book their place in the last eight. 

 The early stages of the game saw both sides struggle to come to terms with the sticky pitch and there was little by way of goalmouth action. The visitors had the game’s first chance but Junior Ngala’s well timed tackled thwarted Zion Abbot as he was just about to shoot.

At the other end, Brown tested Alex Treganna with a stinging free-kick before Titas Sveikauskas saw his cross fired wide by the onrushing Connor Gavin. Gavin’s trickery almost created a scoring opportunity for Ethan Wenayto but Islington’s Harrison Bull was alert to the danger. Gavin and Alex Young then combined to set Basilio Rieno-Socoliche free but once again Bull was on hand to snuff out the threat.

Well-Marshalled

Islington created chances of their own, albeit half chances but Owen Duggan was able to keep out the efforts from Abbott and Billy Osborn. Osborn was a constant threat whenever Islington broke but he was well-marshalled by Joseph Atoki.

The half ended with Barking & Dagenham having another sight of goal but Rieno-Socoliche took too long after being set free by an inch-perfect pass from Young.

The second period saw Barking & Dagenham seize the initiative and they went close to taking the lead when Brown tried his luck from twenty yards; however, Treganna was equal to his effort.

Rieno-Socoliche and Sveikauskas carved further openings without a resulting chance on goal.

Islington had limited forays forward but Kieran Pougoue was called into action when Osborn tried his luck from outside the area but The Leys stopper held on to the fierce strike.

Barking & Dagenham continued to look the more likely to score and eventually the pressure told as they went in front. Kye Calvey brought the ball out from the back before finding Rieno-Socoliche. He showed good feet to make space for himself and he fed Brown on the edge of the area. Brown then cut inside his marker, settled himself and picked his spot inside Treganna’s near post for his third goal of the season.

Smart Save

Brown almost made sure of the tie with the home side’s next attack but, after Rieno-Socoliche went past three challenges, Brown was denied by a smart Treganna save.

Islington knew they had to press for an equaliser but the closest they came was when Teddy Shields hit a dipping volley from twenty-five yards but Pougoue produced a smart save to preserve the lead.

If anything, Barking & Dagenham looked more likely to add to their lead and had two counter attacks where they should have made better use of outnumbering the Islington defenders but poor final balls meant they failed to make the game safe.

That said, Islington failed to create any real chances and Barking & Dagenham held on comfortably to secure the win. They now have a home tie against Newham or Hackney for a place in the semi-finals to look forward to and, after yet another impressive performance, they will be confident of going all the way.

Barking & Dagenham: A Young, A Towse, J Atoki, O Duggan, E Wenayeto,  C Gavin, H Brown, J Ngala, B Rieno-Socoliche, T Sveikauskas, K. Calvey, K. Pougoue