Barnsley FC Women produced a stunning performance in the North East to take home all three points in a 2-0 win against Sunderland West End Ladies.
The Reds began the game under some pressure, as the opposition looked to signify home advantage early on. In the 3rd minute, a Sunderland West End free kick beat the Barnsley wall, and was coolly collected by Reds 'keeper Ashleigh Ridsdel-Harrison.
Barnsley rallied back quickly from this setback with a number of positive attacking moves, with dominant displays from wing-backs Betty Cheetham and Alayna Millard allowing the Reds to effectively employ the high press. In the 4th minute, Cheetham produced a great run on the right flank, before drilling a ball into the eighteen-yard box and the flight path of Barnsley number 9, Jodie Gregory, who was only able to head the effort onto the bar. Four minutes later, an excellent pass from midfield by Reds' captain Charley Evans found Cheetham once again on the right wing, who hit a powerful shot which looped over the crossbar.
This early goal appeared to rally the Reds further, and over the next twenty minutes they had a multitude of great goalscoring opportunities. Two minutes after the opener, a clearance from defence by Stephanie Rigby again found Millard, who managed to round her marker and hit a long shot from twenty-five yards out which was aimed wide of the target. In the 15th minute, a Cheetham run into the box ricocheted off a defender into a path of Victoria Chincharo, who drilled an effort back into the area from long range, which deflected off a Sunderland defender and was collected by the opposition shotstopper.
After twenty minutes, Barnsley had an excellent opportunity to double their advantage, when an excellent diagonal pass from the halfway line by Millard allowed Gregory to lob the ball over the Sunderland goalkeeper from long range, before rounding the 'keeper and forcing a last-ditch goal line clearance. Ten minutes later, the Reds came close once again, with a flowing team move seeing the ball move from Evans in midfield, to Millard on the flank, and then finally to Cheetham in the area, forcing a close-range fingertip save.
Just three minutes later, the Reds had the perfect opportunity to make it two goals to the good, when a Sunderland West End defender was adjudged to have handled a Jodie Gregory shot in the area. Midfielder Kim Brown stepped up to take the spot kick, and promptly dispatched a confident and cool effort into the bottom left-hand corner, to double the scoreline in favour of Barnsley.
As half time approached, Barnsley had a number of chances during the remainder of the half to extend their lead. In the 37th minute, a Beth Ayrton free kick from the halfway line found the head of Millard, with the errant ball being picked up by the goalscorer, Brown, who delivered a long range drilled shot which forced a trying save from the opposition 'stopper, meaning that the Reds went into the second half with a two-goal advantage, and looking comfortable in the lead.
HALF TIME: Barnsley 2-0 Sunderland West End
The opening ten minutes of the half were incredibly cagey, with midfielders Brown and Evans having to dig deep in order to win a series of midfield battles against a scrappy Sunderland West End side who entered the second half with renewed confidence. However, it was Barnsley who had the first chance of the half in the 56th minute, when substitute Madison Foye started a flowing move from midfield, passing the ball to Evans, who laid it off for another substitute, Louisa Barraclough, with the Reds wing-back promptly hitting a long-range effort over the bar.
Three minutes later, Sunderland West End had a free kick opportunity from twenty yards out, when Melissa Turton-Burrell was adjudged to have fouled an opposition forward on approach to the area. The resulting free kick resulted in a defensive melee, with the ball ricocheting off several defenders before young Reds 'keeper Ashleigh Ridsdel-Harrison came off her line and dove to catch the ball confidently to deal with any immediate oppositional threat. This resulted in a long kick down field, which found Chincharo. She produced a great weighted pass into the path of Gregory, forcing a great save from the Sunderland West End keeper, before a defensive clearance denied Gregory an opportunity to follow up to double her goal tally for the afternoon. Two minutes later, in the 61st minute, an excellent run into box by Barraclough allowed her to create space in order to lay the ball off to Chincharo, whose subsequent effort was aimed agonisingly wide of the target.
The following fifteen minutes were mainly played in the Barnsley half, with Sunderland West End continually attempting to break down a sturdy Reds' backline. The defensive trio of Turton-Burrell, Rigby and Rebecca Wilson held firm, keeping the opposition mostly restricted to play across the midfield, and not resulting in any significant attacking opportunities.
Indeed, it was the Reds who again had the next chance of the half in the 77th minute, whenn Jodie Gregory burst into action, produced a great effort from thirty yards which narrowly missed the target. And after another cagey nine-minute period, Gregory sprung into life once more in the 86th minute, producing a run into the box which allowed her to deliver an excellent short pass to substitute Nic Shaw, who hit a fantastic powerful shot which was only denied by a goal line clearance from a Sunderland West End defender.
Barnsley subsequently saw out the rest of the game with little incident, to secure a 2-0 win.
FULL TIME: Barnsley 2-0 Sunderland West End
Ridsdel-Harrison, Rigby, Turton-Burrell, Ayrton (Wilson, 45), Millard, Cheetham (Holland, 75), Evans, Brown (Barraclough, 55), Chincharo (Shaw, 82), Dawson (Foye, 45), Gregory (Dawson, 89)
