Barnsley carved out a second successive home win in impactful fashion, defeating Harrogate Town 1-0 in a principled performance.
The Reds dictated play from early on in the game, with two forward runs from striker Jodie Gregory forcing Harrogate goalkeeper Claudia Sandford into two goalmouth clearances.
And this early tempo paid dividends, as in the 13th minute, Victoria Chincharo responded to a well-placed Louisa Barraclough corner by nodding home at the far post.
Harrogate responded to this goal with their first real attacking spell of the game, forcing the Barnsley defence to deal well with a corner attempt shortly after the restart, and 'keeper Ashleigh Ridsdel-Harrison coolly clearing it.
Following this, the Reds settled back into the game, and began to try their luck once more. In the 17th minute, Charley Evans hit a well placed shot from 35 yards out, forcing Harrogate keeper Sandford into another save. This was closely followed by another long shot by Kim Brown in the 25th minute, with a similar save following. Brown also sprung into action ten minutes later, with a powerful shot from 35 yards out forcing a parry.
Just before half time, Barraclough was at it again, with a pacy run down the left side falling at the feet of Madison Foye, who drilled a shot onto the crossbar, but was unable to convert the rebound, leaving the Reds going into half time with a single goal advantage.
HALF TIME: Barnsley 1-0 Harrogate Town
After the break, Barnsley picked up where they left off, with a confident attacking display from Jodie Gregory resulting in a shot being placed just wide of the left post.
Harrogate then began to find their way into the game, with a long range effort from Harrogate defender Olivia Needham forcing Reds 'keeper Ridsdel-Harrison to run well into her own half to deal with the attacking pressure. Ridsdel-Harrison was also forced into dealing with two further attempts at goal from Annie Smith as the half progressed, but a solid defensive display allowed the Reds to weather the storm.
Gregory then received another chance at goal in the 57th minute, with a positive buildup resulting in Gregory hitting a shot, forcing the Harrogate keeper into another save. Foye also had a chance at goal in the 69th minute, when Evans spliced across a shot across the goalmouth, however, the Harrogate goalkeeper was again able to reach the cross first.
The last twenty minutes of the game initially appeared to proceed without much attacking action, with both sides attempting to force play without it moving beyond the midfield. However, in the 89th minute, the game burst into life once more when they believed that substitute Shannon Durkin had been brought down in the box by a Harrogate defender, although no penalty was awarded. This appeared to bolster the Reds further, as one minute later, a Barraclough corner once again found itself into the box, and the path of Lynn Goodman, although the resulting shot was fired just wide, and Chincharo’s bullet header remained all that separated the sides.
FULL TIME: Barnsley 1-0 Harrogate Town
Ridsdel-Harrison, Wilson-Roberts, Wilson, Rigby, Evans, Chincharo (Durkin, 74), Kelly (Shaw, 29 - also substituted for Lunn, 74), Brown (Goodman, 45), Gregory, Foye, Barraclough
Unused subs: Clement
