This was a great game for the neutrals. But not for the supporters of both sides in the end. No doubt there'll be some very sore fingers out there due to severely gnawed nails.
It could have all been so different though. In the very first minute Amy Russ took on the Saltdean midfield and defence on her own. Weaving her magic past her opponents like they weren't even there until she had a clear sight on goal, then unleashed a shot that went just wide. It was very unfortunate because the entire move deserved a goal at the end of it.
It was a bright start full of optimism. Infact I nearly completely missed the opening goal as I took my eyes off the game momentarily to make a comment to someone next to me. There was no obvious danger on the pitch and then I just caught sight of Georgia Bridges goal breaking the back of the net. Apparently a defensive mix up fell to the Saltdean number 10. If there is one person you wouldn't want to hand a goal scoring opportunity to it's Bridges. Infact, Georgia could have had a hat trick in the first half. The goal she scored in the 10th minute unsettled us but altleast we went into the break only 0-1 down.
Tactical changes were made at the start of the second half.
With Russy, Poppy Payne and Emily Woodhouse making way for Lizzie Adams, Georgie Davis and Imani Hanif. Lizzie was influential from the off and we missed her in the first half.
We began to tighten up and really take the game to Saltdean.
Up until then our midfield seemed stretched with too many gaps exploited by the opposition. But this is no way a reflection on Xayla-Rae Alberts or Shauni Griffiths who both worked hard. In mitigation of the first half performance, Brionne Fowle pulled up during the warm up. Xayla, Brie and Shauni are the first names on the team sheet for me. There's so much good stuff that goes through them, unless you're the opposition ofcourse then nothing gets through! But you need all three of them and then you've got arguably the most formidable midfield in the league. They are our engine room firing on all cylinders.
Amina looked lively throughout and it took just two minutes for her to register her first attempt on goal when her shot was saved by Fay Baker on 47 mins.
There was some considerable stoppage time at the 49th minute mark. Make no mistake, young Ellie Dolby is stronger than she looks and firmly demonstrated that when she nearly sent her opponent into orbit, like the Silver Surfer on an advertising hoarding.
I wonder how Lucy Clark would have described it?
It was against the run of play in the 67th minute when our defence then morphed into the Suicide Squad. I know it's not easy out on the pitch but from where I was standing I could hear the ambulance coming in my head. We were running into trouble. And it duly arrived in the form of Caitlin Sullivan doubling Saltdean's lead.
The warning signs were there when we got away with one 5 minutes earlier as Jade Charlton was forced into making a brilliant one on one block from a striker. Maybe it was Caitlin then, I'm not sure.
It was really looking like it wasn't going to be our day. Our girls continued to pile on the pressure though. Then finally the breakthrough game in the 86th minute.
A smart ball in from the left by Amina straight to Lizzie who directed the ball goalbound. There was no defender to clear the danger but although it was only seconds the ball seemed to take an eternity to cross the line. The Dartford Ultras must have sucked it in.
Two minutes later it was really game on when a cross from Abbey Davies beat everyone and flew into the far corner.
Now it was a question of how much added time had Ellie bought for us? 9 minutes! I honestly thought we were going to do it as well. Especially when winning a corner and Emily Vaughan, who was subbed earlier, came back on and took up her favourite position just beyond the far post. But on this occasion it wasn't to be.
In the grand scheme of things a draw was probably a fair result.
Player of the match, Lizzie Adams. She made an impact, rallied the troops and got us back in the game. As she has done so many times in her career when, on those rare occasions when we can't seem to buy a goal, she comes up with the answer.
It could have all been so different though. In the very first minute Amy Russ took on the Saltdean midfield and defence on her own. Weaving her magic past her opponents like they weren't even there until she had a clear sight on goal, then unleashed a shot that went just wide. It was very unfortunate because the entire move deserved a goal at the end of it.
It was a bright start full of optimism. Infact I nearly completely missed the opening goal as I took my eyes off the game momentarily to make a comment to someone next to me. There was no obvious danger on the pitch and then I just caught sight of Georgia Bridges goal breaking the back of the net. Apparently a defensive mix up fell to the Saltdean number 10. If there is one person you wouldn't want to hand a goal scoring opportunity to it's Bridges. Infact, Georgia could have had a hat trick in the first half. The goal she scored in the 10th minute unsettled us but altleast we went into the break only 0-1 down.
Tactical changes were made at the start of the second half.
With Russy, Poppy Payne and Emily Woodhouse making way for Lizzie Adams, Georgie Davis and Imani Hanif. Lizzie was influential from the off and we missed her in the first half.
We began to tighten up and really take the game to Saltdean.
Up until then our midfield seemed stretched with too many gaps exploited by the opposition. But this is no way a reflection on Xayla-Rae Alberts or Shauni Griffiths who both worked hard. In mitigation of the first half performance, Brionne Fowle pulled up during the warm up. Xayla, Brie and Shauni are the first names on the team sheet for me. There's so much good stuff that goes through them, unless you're the opposition ofcourse then nothing gets through! But you need all three of them and then you've got arguably the most formidable midfield in the league. They are our engine room firing on all cylinders.
Amina looked lively throughout and it took just two minutes for her to register her first attempt on goal when her shot was saved by Fay Baker on 47 mins.
There was some considerable stoppage time at the 49th minute mark. Make no mistake, young Ellie Dolby is stronger than she looks and firmly demonstrated that when she nearly sent her opponent into orbit, like the Silver Surfer on an advertising hoarding.
I wonder how Lucy Clark would have described it?
It was against the run of play in the 67th minute when our defence then morphed into the Suicide Squad. I know it's not easy out on the pitch but from where I was standing I could hear the ambulance coming in my head. We were running into trouble. And it duly arrived in the form of Caitlin Sullivan doubling Saltdean's lead.
The warning signs were there when we got away with one 5 minutes earlier as Jade Charlton was forced into making a brilliant one on one block from a striker. Maybe it was Caitlin then, I'm not sure.
It was really looking like it wasn't going to be our day. Our girls continued to pile on the pressure though. Then finally the breakthrough game in the 86th minute.
A smart ball in from the left by Amina straight to Lizzie who directed the ball goalbound. There was no defender to clear the danger but although it was only seconds the ball seemed to take an eternity to cross the line. The Dartford Ultras must have sucked it in.
Two minutes later it was really game on when a cross from Abbey Davies beat everyone and flew into the far corner.
Now it was a question of how much added time had Ellie bought for us? 9 minutes! I honestly thought we were going to do it as well. Especially when winning a corner and Emily Vaughan, who was subbed earlier, came back on and took up her favourite position just beyond the far post. But on this occasion it wasn't to be.
In the grand scheme of things a draw was probably a fair result.
Player of the match, Lizzie Adams. She made an impact, rallied the troops and got us back in the game. As she has done so many times in her career when, on those rare occasions when we can't seem to buy a goal, she comes up with the answer.
Statistics: Posted by Ajaxman DFC — Mon Apr 14, 2025 6:38 pm