FAWNL Southern Premier, Sunday 16th April
I was over at New Lodge on Sunday for some more FAWNL football and it came
from the Southern Premier Division, the third tier in the Women’s game, as
Billericay Town, fresh from the BBC Essex Women’s Cup triumph on Thursday night
(for a report on that please visit my blog http://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2023/04/billericay-town-1-hashtag-united.html to recap what happened in
that) hosted relegation threatened Plymouth Argyle.
It had been quite the week for The Blues, after losing out to Charlton
Athletic U21s in the Repost Isthmian Cup Final on penalties on Wednesday night
in Lewes, they battled to victory over Hashtag United’s Reserve side in
Colchester the very next evening, meaning two very draining contests in twenty
four hours, so I am sure plenty of rest has been had in the last few days in
preparation for this penultimate league match of the season.
The hosts had nothing to play for really now, the highest they can finish
now is fifth spot (they sat seventh at kick off) and with a trophy in the bag
now, they may feel their season is almost done, which it is to be fair, as
following this contest they finish at home to Watford, which may be huge for
the visitors who are going for the title and an instant return to the
Championship, but that is for another time.
Town’s opponents today had different things on their minds, they were in a
relegation dog fight and at kick off were only a point above the drop zone and
second bottom Bridgwater United, who were not in action this weekend, so if
Plymouth could get a result here at New Lodge they would open up a four point
gap to them and heap tons of pressure on Bridgwater in the process and almost
guarantee their survival. (Bridgwater have two games against London Bees to
finish their season and the Bees are also still in the relegation fight too so
today was big for Argyle)
It was then a much more important game for the visitors, so they were
hoping that Town were going through the end of season motions and also still
jaded from last weeks cup finals, but Billericay had no pressure on them
whatsoever and this can also prove a dangerous animal when the pressure is off,
so it was going to be interesting to see how it panned out.
It was a tight affair when the two met in the corresponding fixture back in
October when a Jay Blackie goal proved enough for Town to net a 1-0 victory at
the Manadon Football Development Centre, but although Town’s form is mixed of
late, Argyle’s form is poor, six defeats in a row and they have failed to score
in four of those, so confidence probably wasn’t to high amongst the visiting
players. Their last win was neatly two months ago in fact.
A very tight and even first half ensued, the hosts almost got their noses
in front early on when Georgie Morton saw an effort cleared off the line, and
Argyle keeper Jasmine Read also had to make a smart stop to prevent the hosts
from taking the lead, down the other end the visitors did have a couple of decent
efforts but it seemed a half that was getting increasing niggly, would end
goalless.
But, two minutes into stoppage time at the end of the first period the
visitors struck, as a mix up at the back between defender and keeper saw Lily
Greenslade nip in and slot the ball into the empty net, and hand the Devon side
a potentially priceless goal in their battle against the drop.
The hosts at times had looked jaded and disinterested, and maybe lacking some
fight perhaps, they had been through a demanding week and with nothing to play
for in this one, maybe they were going through the motions, it was all pointing
to a potentially big result for the visiting side that was for sure, who were
giving their all as they obviously had much much more to play for.
However, the hosts seemed revitalized after the break and I was very
impressed with how much energy they showed, especially towards the end of the
game when they were putting more and more pressure on the relegation threatened
Argyle and seeking at least a point in this their penultimate contest of the
season, the hosts had plenty of openings to draw level but could not hit the
target or get that final shot off, often taking one to many touches, allowing
the defence to get in and get the ball away from danger.
Plymouth themselves were playing on the counter and had a couple of great
openings to double their advantage and probably seal the contest and the
points, as I felt had it gone 0-2 then I think the hosts were not going to come
back from that, a superb tackle from the excellent Scarlett Williams thwarted
them on one such occasion, and then the other one saw Charlotte Whitmore break
the offside trap and force a brilliant stop from hosts keeper Alexandra Baker.
Billericay though were finishing the stronger but it seemed they would not
find that leveller and the visitors would hold on and net a huge win, they had
defended well too and battled hard, but the hosts pressure did finally pay off in
the 89th when a ball laid into the path of Che Thomas, and the
second half substitute fired past Read and now the hosts went searching for a
winner as the visitors were now clinging onto a point.
The hosts saw a corner hit the bar before Elise Jennings got in but could
only slice her effort wide of the post, and it meant the game would end all
square, meaning both sides picked up a point, it did mean the visitors ended
their six game losing run in the process, but how costly will that late goal
prove to be for them, it’s still a point but it could have been more. The hosts
though deserved something from the game so in the end they got the least they
deserved.
Full time Billericay Town 1 Plymouth Argyle 1
Right, let’s see what else happened in the division on Sunday as the top four were all in action, two of them against each other, as they continued to battle for the title and promotion to
the championship…..
Cheltenham Town 3 Crawley Wasps 1 (Butcher netted a brace as hosts Cheltenham Town
saw off already relegated Crawley Wasps at the Corinium Stadium, Butcher netted
twice inside the opening twenty minutes to give the hosts a two-goal cushion,
and although Wasps pulled one back midway through the first period, Wathan
netted from range in the second period to settle this one)
Milton Keynes Dons 0 Ipswich Town 2 (Ipswich kept themselves right in the title hunt
after they netted all three points against MK Dons at Stadium MK. Both goals
came in the first forty-five minutes, breaking the deadlock after eleven
minutes when after Wearings header clipped the bar, mayhew ensued and ended
with Natasha Thomas heading in off the post before doubling the lead six minutes later
after Abbie Lafayette netted from the spot following a foul on Grey. It’s also eight straight wins for Town now as
well)
Portsmouth 1 Oxford United 2 (This was a huge game in terms of the title and promotion, and a late goal from the visitors saw them net a massive win at Westleigh Park to keep themselves just ahead of the rest
at the top and almost end the host chances of promotion in the process. They
had to come from behind as well after the hosts edged in front ten minutes
after the break when Dani Lane scored for Pompey, however Oxford managed to
level just before the hour mark so they were only behind for three minutes, McLachlan
floating a ball over the top to find Taome Oliver’s late run before the
midfielder glanced the ball past Haughton, and then with time running out Carly
Johns picked the ball up inside the box before curling home to create scenes of
celebrations amongst the visitors, it was certainly a huge goal in the
promotion race)
Watford 2 London Bees 0 (The Hornets netted a home win at Grosvenor Vale over relegation threatened
London Bees to keep themselves right in the title hunt and instant promotion
back to the championship, Baptiste’s stunner seven minutes before the break
handed the hosts the lead, producing a fantastic finish after an impressive
solo run, and the points were sealed with four minutes to go when Wilson found
the top corner)
Finally, let’s look at the table then as the season enters its final two
weeks…..
Oxford’s late win at Portsmouth was massive as said, it means they stay ahead of Watford and Ipswich Town by a single point and have a game in hand too, Pompey need to win their final two games and hope others slip up now if they are to pinch top spot, which seems unlikely now. But we do technically go into the final two weeks of the season with four sides still in with a chance of promotion, so it should be fun!!!
The final relegation place is still between three sides, London Bees and Plymouth
failed to win today, meaning them and Bridgwater United are separated by just
three points, and guess what, Bees and Bridgwater’s last two games are against
each other, the first one at Bridgwater’s Fairfax Park next weekend before the
return game a week later at Bees home The Hive, you could not have written the script
any better could you!!! Plymouth finish at home to MK Dons in two weekends’
time and will be watching next weekend’s game with a lot of interest and no
doubt praying that Bees get a positive outcome!!!
So, an exciting end to the season at both ends awaits!!!
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