Our girls were back in action down at Aylesford today. The home of The Little Gem, the smallest pub in Kent. And no more than 5 minutes walk away from there, (15 if you were staggering), could be found some little gems of our own battling it out for a place in the 4th round of the league cup.
And what a cracking start to the New Year it was too. Not so much a cricket score but more akin to a tennis match.
The game was only 3 minutes old when the hosts drew first blood. A long clearance from Sade Rider was helped on by Beth Hulme finding Kara Richardson, who got behind the Dart's defence and fired home.
The lead was short lived though when Amy Russ sent in a corner which took a wicked deflection for an own goal to level things up at 1-1.
On 21 mins Russ played a great through ball to Shauni Griffiths who confidently rounded the keeper for 1-2.
Seven minutes later it was turning into the Amy Russ show with another corner. It didn't need a deflection this time and went straight in for number 3.
Then it just needed another 60 seconds and Aylesford were in serious trouble. It was time for the Woodhouse/Fowle double act. A great cross from Emily and Brionne cleverly fired home. Where have we seen that before?
In the 42nd it was more or less game over for a shell shocked Aylesford side. This time it was Poppy Payne who turned provider for the legendary Emily Vaughan, who beat the keeper with a trademark header. It wasn't entirely all gloom and doom for the opposition though, who did pull one back on the stroke of half-time.
Milly Penfold struck a shot against the bar and Becky Burnham reacted quickly to follow up from the rebound, to send her team into the break 2-5 down.
The second half had barely got under way when Aylesford were soon hit for six. Vaughany scoring at the second attempt from another assist from Payne in the 46th minute.
But Aylesford commendably refused to throw in the towel.
With ten minutes of normal time remaining, a corner from Imogen Armstrong fell to Olivia White who fired in from close range to make it 3-6. Xayla-Rae Alberts was unlucky not to grab a 7th for the Darts when striking the post from some distance in the 81st min. Then in stoppage time a long throw found Hulme, who flicked it on for Emma Healy to supply the finishing touch for Aylesford's 4th goal in the 93rd. I don't really think the great comeback was ever on the cards though and it was too little too late for our opponents.
As usual excellent performances all round. Amy Russ was amazing with a player of the match performance. She made things happen, particularly in the first half and quite frankly there was only realistically going to be one winner by half-time. It's great to see such fierce competition for places all over the park, including the number 1 shirt and I hope Kerys Baker enjoyed her outing between the sticks today.
It keeps everyone on their toes. I don't think Jade will take it the wrong way. She's our number 1 and probably welcomes the competition. So hopefully I won't have to turn up for training Wednesday wearing a crash helmet.
And what a cracking start to the New Year it was too. Not so much a cricket score but more akin to a tennis match.
The game was only 3 minutes old when the hosts drew first blood. A long clearance from Sade Rider was helped on by Beth Hulme finding Kara Richardson, who got behind the Dart's defence and fired home.
The lead was short lived though when Amy Russ sent in a corner which took a wicked deflection for an own goal to level things up at 1-1.
On 21 mins Russ played a great through ball to Shauni Griffiths who confidently rounded the keeper for 1-2.
Seven minutes later it was turning into the Amy Russ show with another corner. It didn't need a deflection this time and went straight in for number 3.
Then it just needed another 60 seconds and Aylesford were in serious trouble. It was time for the Woodhouse/Fowle double act. A great cross from Emily and Brionne cleverly fired home. Where have we seen that before?
In the 42nd it was more or less game over for a shell shocked Aylesford side. This time it was Poppy Payne who turned provider for the legendary Emily Vaughan, who beat the keeper with a trademark header. It wasn't entirely all gloom and doom for the opposition though, who did pull one back on the stroke of half-time.
Milly Penfold struck a shot against the bar and Becky Burnham reacted quickly to follow up from the rebound, to send her team into the break 2-5 down.
The second half had barely got under way when Aylesford were soon hit for six. Vaughany scoring at the second attempt from another assist from Payne in the 46th minute.
But Aylesford commendably refused to throw in the towel.
With ten minutes of normal time remaining, a corner from Imogen Armstrong fell to Olivia White who fired in from close range to make it 3-6. Xayla-Rae Alberts was unlucky not to grab a 7th for the Darts when striking the post from some distance in the 81st min. Then in stoppage time a long throw found Hulme, who flicked it on for Emma Healy to supply the finishing touch for Aylesford's 4th goal in the 93rd. I don't really think the great comeback was ever on the cards though and it was too little too late for our opponents.
As usual excellent performances all round. Amy Russ was amazing with a player of the match performance. She made things happen, particularly in the first half and quite frankly there was only realistically going to be one winner by half-time. It's great to see such fierce competition for places all over the park, including the number 1 shirt and I hope Kerys Baker enjoyed her outing between the sticks today.
It keeps everyone on their toes. I don't think Jade will take it the wrong way. She's our number 1 and probably welcomes the competition. So hopefully I won't have to turn up for training Wednesday wearing a crash helmet.
Statistics: Posted by Ajaxman DFC — Sun Jan 05, 2025 7:27 pm