Published on 2nd Mar 2019 by Rachel Garfirth
Brentwood ladies 4 1-0 Southend Ladies 3s
The 3s were not able to return to their form from before the season break and fell to a 1-0 defeat to their close league rivals Brentwood.
The team saw the return on Liane Iles after a number of weeks out with an injury and also saw Angie Estabrook return even though she was ‘under the weather’, however, the team were missing defensive pair Nicola Wells and Jenny Gallott through injury.
The game started in a messy fashion with both teams trying to get early control over the game and the upper hand was gained by Brentwood who were able to get an early opportunity with a short corner. Despite missing this and Southend clearing their lines, Brentwood scored the only goal of the game within the first ten minutes.
The ball was played down the left and played to the P spot and despite Christine Baker trying to block the shot, it was fired in to to the bottom right corner, out of reach for the goalie.
The goal seemed to fire the 3s into getting their structure and dominance out and this led to early opportunities for Hanna Stevens, Stella Preece and Maria Allen. Although none of these concluded in a goal, it did calm the team down from their early panic.
The half was not full of many big moment and was end to end but both goalies were called into action at times. There was also a number of tackles which were threatening to cause injury but fortunately, this didn’t happen. The half ended evenly but the blues were wanted to level the score quickly in the first half.
HALF TIME: BENTWOOD LADIES 1-0 SOUTHEND LADIES 3s
Following half time words of wisdom from Jenny Gallot - who was ruled out of the match with a minor knee injury, the 3s went back on to the pitch with a drive to improve on their first half performance.
The 3s did start with a stronger mentality and were getting more action in the D then the first half had shown with Freya and Poppy Martin linking up on the left side only to be thwarted by the Brentwood goalie and some questionable defensive tackles. There was also a call for two shorts which the umpire didn’t seem to notice.
Brentwood were creating opportunities on the counter and during one of these, the ball was hit in to Hanna Stevens ankle. Despite falling to the ground and being visibly distressed, the umpire played on until Brentwood had got their shot off, only for Goalkeeper Rachel Garfirth to stop the shot without too much effort. Time was then stopped but by this time, Hanna had dragged herself off the pitch. Team doctor Kerri-Anne Hughes was immediately at the scene to help the stricken player..
The game continued with opportunities missed for both sides. There was a cautious moment when Brentwood played the ball in and instead of kicking in calmly like the rest of her stops, the GK thought it would be the perfect opportunity to balance on the ball. It was cleared and the 3s once again tried to counter but the ball was not wanting to go in the goal for the blues.
The game fizzled out and started to become very stop-start thanks to some questionable delays from the homeside. The 3s were unable to get the goal that they needed and were left empty handed and hanging to 5th place in the league with a must win game next weekend.
FULL TIME:BENTWOOD LADIES 1-0 SOUTHEND LADIES 3s
Man of the match and goalkeeper for the day Rachel Garfirth said after the match: ‘Today was an unfortunate result and I feel like the team deserved a point from this. The early goal was unlucky but Brentwood took the opportunity that they were given. I think that some decisions from the umpires didn’t help us or the flow of the game but there’s not much you can do about that..
I know the team are clear on what we need to achieve in preparation for next week to get a win. The league is very close at the minute but we are determined to keep 5th place in the league as this is the highest we can mathematically go.’
Man of the match: Rachel Garfirth
Most hungover: Angie Estabrook
Sideline tactic machine: Jenny Gallott
Paramedic for the day: Kerrie-Anne Hughes
Most Painful Ankle: Hanna Stevens
Best Captain: Gail Swain