London & SE Regional Women’s League, Premier Division
Sunday 17th September 2023 in Princes Park Stadium
Joint Managers: Connor Dymond & Martin McCarthy; Coach Steve Sales, Physio Geoff Williamson
Team: Jade Charlton, Jo Woodgates, Meghan McKeag, Shannon Wason, Chana Hinds, Charlie Torry,
Lizzie Adams, Gemma Shepherd, Emily Vaughan, Nicha Dyett, Shauni Griffiths,
Subs: (used) – Emily Read, Molly Hawkins, Gabby Howell
(subs not used: Georgie Davis, Emily Woodhouse)
Darts’ scorers: Lizzie Adams (pen), Gemma Shepherd, Charlie Torry, Molly Hawkins
The opening five minutes of this match was eventful. As early as the second minute a strong cross from Charlie Torry was spilled by the goal-keeper and with Nicha racing in the defence just managed to hook the ball clear.
Then 60 seconds later a good effort from Emily Vaughan went over the bar, but in the next attack, Enfield’s goalie was unlucky to come off worst in a collision for a loose ball with Emily Vaughan. Emily recovered from her knock, nursing her wounds, but the keeper had to be stretchered off with an injury to her leg.
Soon after the game restarted, a 30-yard free-kick from Shannon Wason was powered goal-ward and she was so unlucky to see the ball strike the top of the bar. That would have been a cracker!
Enfield were rather unlucky to be penalised for high kicking when Gemma went forward to head the ball and from the resultant free-kick, about ten yards outside the penalty area, Gemma hit a ‘gem’ of a shot but it hit the defensive wall protecting their goal.
Dartford were beginning to control the game in midfield and offering their forwards many different options for attacking and Enfield’s defence looked somewhat bedraggled at times.
Finally Darts got their opener. On 22 minutes good front running by Gemma forced the goalie into an error and from Shannon’s through ball
Lizzie Adams chased into the penalty area and when just about to shoot, was brought down. Lizzie dusted herself down and placed
the ball cooly into the bottom left-hand corner having sent the keeper in the opposite direction. 1-0
In the next minute however, disaster almost struck. A midfield mix-up sent the ball directly into the path of an Enfield striker, but confronted with Jade standing her ground, she hurried her shot and skied it over the bar.
A few minutes later in the Enfield penalty area, Darts had a massive shout for hand-ball after Meghan and Gemma had kept the ball alive in the box, but denied by the referee.
Still more chances came Darts’ way when Charlie passed forward to Chana, then on to Shauni on the left wing. She laid the ball off to Meghan who, just before the bi-line, got over a lovely deep cross and Gemma hooked the ball into the goalmouth where Lizzie connected with it on the half-volley but was fired straight at the keeper.
HT: 1-0
The game restarted as it had ended, with Darts in the ascendancy and inside four minutes a Meghan free-kick was only inches too high, with the ball rustling the top of the net just behind the crossbar. Then Gemma had a long-range effort that wasn’t too far off its target.
A few minutes later though there was agony for Shauni; it appeared as if the ground had opened up beneath her feet, and suffered an injury to her leg and thus didn’t partake in any more of the game. Emily Read came on and delighted the crowd with several of her typical-of-old supreme runs down the right wing.
Her first action in the game saw her receive a great ball down the line from Charlie. Em sprinted past her marker and crossed a beauty of a pass into the goal-mouth where Gemma leapt high and accurately angled her header powerfully past the bewildered goalkeeper for a wonderful goal. 2-0
Minutes later Charlie fed Emily Read and once again, Em produced another superb cross which was this time met by Emily Vaughan who headed the ball down but only inches the wrong side of the post.
Darts were now getting in behind the Enfield backs with regular ease and a throw-in from Meghan to Em Read with the return pass to Meghan who supplied another beauty of a cross which this time the goalie managed to punch clear where Gemma fired in a half-volley but couldn’t penetrate the packed defence.
In the 67th minute Darts added to their tally. Emily Vaughan was being held whilst shielding the ball and eventually the ref gave Darts a free-kick. The kick was 25 yards out and level with the left-hand penalty line.
Jo and Meghan were on the ball and completely caught the Enfield defence flat-footed when Jo did a neat ‘switch-pass’ to Meghan who quickly made several yards. She got in behind the back and put over a great cross to the back post that was headed into the goal-mouth where Charlie pushed the ball over the line for 3-0
After 70 minutes Molly Hawkins replaced Gemma – big shoes to fill! – and then with 20 minutes to play, Jade pulled off an important save, showing a safe pair of hands, from a shot that had been whipped in at speed. Had that gone in, at 3-1 Enfield might have found some strength from way down deep – but happily Jade’s save kept us with our handsome three-goal lead intact.
In the 71st minute Emily Read ‘skinned’ the full-back once again, taking the ball the outside route (the longest way round) but still got past her marker and then to cap her wing-play off, sent over another of her delightful crosses into the box. The ball fell nicely for Molly who showed great composure in burying the ball just inside the left-hand post for Darts fourth.
Enfield pulled a goal back with an 84th breakaway goal when the forward was pulled down in the box and the resultant penalty was hit powerfully into the top left-hand corner. Jade dived to her right but the kick was just too powerful.
Full time: 4-1
Summarising the game and Darts’ performance:
In the first half especially, the distribution of the ball lacked accuracy, but this improved drastically in the second half. To be fair, there were plenty of stray passes from both sides in the opening 45 minutes, Dartford though, through their greater possession, managed to get the good, telling passes in where it mattered most.
And Darts really turned it on in the second half. To their credit, Enfield didn’t give up on the chase although in the end were well beaten by a Darts side that exploited Enfield’s full backs who were rarely up to the job of stopping the runaway antics of Emily Read and the equally penetrating runs down the left of Shauni and Meghan, whose runs to the bi-line cracked the Town’s defence open several times.
All told, this was still a first-rate team-performance, with the back four very sound, the midfield linking well and the strike-force causing all sorts of havoc with the Town defence.
Report by Tony Brown
[Photo: Taur Everard]