Essex County Women's League Division One, Sunday 30th October
I made a trip to Stambridge Memorial Ground for my first watch of Corinthians Ladies, and a stoppage time leveller from Broghan Kelly saw them grab a point against Leigh Ramblers Ladies in their Essex County Women's Division One contest.
The hosts are only in their second season as a side, and they are competing in Division One of the Essex Women's County League, which is the eighth tier in the Women's game (I believe!!!) and they were up against Leigh Ramblers who had started the season with three wins from three in the division so far.
The visitors then knew a win would send them to the top of the division if Toby Ladies slipped up against Blackmore Ladies, whereas the home side were looking for their second win of the campaign after winning one and losing two of their opening three games so far, and a win here would move them up three places in the standings to fifth, which is just above half way in the eleven team division.
The first half saw the visitors dominate in large parts, and had it not been for home keeper Zoe Brown, Ramblers may well have been at least three goals up at the break, but she made two superb stops to keep the score line level, however, twelve minutes before the break she could do nothing to keep our a corner kick from Rebecca Dalgarno, the attacker swinging one in from the right which managed to find its way into the net and giving Ramblers a deserved lead.
The hosts though when they did get the ball played some decent football with it, and led by the superb Marie Barker and aided by Ashley Debham, they did at least keep the Ramblers defence honest although the visitors keeper Ellise Strickland had very little to do in the first period, although the game only had one goal in it as the teams went in for their half time break, it had been an enjoyable contest to watch too.
Whatever Corinthians boss Daniel Mann said in the dressing room at the break certainly worked, as his side came out of the traps well on the front foot, and this was aided by him bringing on Kelly, as she and Barker, who for me was one of, if not, the best player on the park in the contest (I told her this in the bar afterwards) caused the visitors all kinds of problems.
They were aided by other teammates as well and the hosts missed a glut of chances to level the game as their luck in front of goal deserted them, although they didn't really test keeper Strickland which would have been a disappointment, and with the hosts pushing forward in search of a leveller they were in danger of being countered on.
This did happen on three occasions (of what I can remember!!!) when the dangerous and brilliant Halle Turrell twice burst into the box, on one occasion seeing her effort brilliantly blocked by Sarah Murphy, who also had a brilliant game alongside her sister (I assume!!!) Nicola Murphy, and then seeing Brown make another brilliant save to deny what surely would have been a clinching second. And then Rebecca Dalgarno fired a powerful effort across goal and wide on another occasion, she had also been a constant thorn in the hosts defence side too.
Despite these moments for Ramblers, they were definitely more on the back foot in the second period though and survived the hosts barrage of chances, and with four minutes to go saw a Corinthians penalty from Kelly saved by Strickland, this after Kelly had been brought down inside the area, and you felt it just was not going to be the hosts day and the visitors would come away with a hard fought win.
Kelly though was to have the final day, she had hit the bar, missed a penalty, but it was to be third time lucky for the attacker who let fly from twenty yards or so out four minutes into stoppage time and see the ball find the bottom corner with Strickland unable to keep the shot out and could only watch as the ball sailed past her, and Corinthians grabbed a point right at the death.
It had certainly been a game of two halves, the visitors were the better side in the first period, however, the hosts had certainly turned the tables in the second period so a draw was probably fair in the end, and it turned out to be a superb contest in all, and a very enjoyable watch.
So, the point sees Corinthians stay in eighth, they now have four points from their four games so far, whereas that late late goal ends Ramblers 100% start, and sees them stay in third spot, although they are still unbeaten after four games.
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