Following last week’s wet and windy win at QPR, a sun-soaked Sussex Transport Community Stadium saw Emma Blakely in for Chloe Winchester as the only change to the team which had come from behind to take the points in North West London.
The hosts attacked their opponents from the off, with Dani Rowe robbing Leonnie Bezant just outside the area and shooting narrowly over the target, after only three minutes.
Less than sixty seconds later Rowe set up Becki Bath; her centre circle pass controlled first time by the inform centre-forward but Yellows’ goalkeeper Amelia Carter saved her shot and quickly pounced on the rebound.
A theme of red hot strikers was off and running and duly continued thanks to Sammy Quayle seizing on Captain Ronni Harrison’s heavy touch, as she attempted to pass back to Carter and leaving our own Skipper Gemma Worsfold with an open invitation from five yards, that led to the game swinging decisively in the homesters’ favour.
Despite finding themselves trailing early on, Sudbury responded rapidly via Player-of-the-Match Holly Kennard, whose deflected byline cross was helped on by Evie Creaton for Phoebe Guiver to lift over the top, under pressure from Rowe.
Creator Creaton then took down Sophie Jeffery’s long ball before being met by Lauren Dolbear, as the Red’s ‘keeper sensed the danger. Although it still needed the wherewithal of Blakely to block the follow-up on the six yard line.
Midway through the opening period, Bezant inadvertently played in Quayle who quickly picked out Worsfold, only for the defender to make a fine recovery and clear off the goal line.
An offside flag had already ruled out a slightly earlier effort by our number ten, following her swivel and shot on a Bath “assist.”
Home fans didn’t have much longer to wait for a second strike though and it emanated from an inch-perfect through ball from Katie Young, resulting in Quayle surging past Aliyat Lambe, prior to burying a bullet beyond Carter and edging ahead of teammate Bath in the divisional
goalscoring charts.
Approaching the interval, the ever-dangerous Kennard weaved some more magic along the byline although, ultimately, just out of the reach of an incoming Creaton on this occasion.
The Suffolk side almost halved the deficit in added time too, when Guiver gave substitute Maisie Goodwin an opportunity that grazed the outside of the base of the post, much to the relief of custodian Dolbear.
Two further changes by the guests during the interval failed to stop the momentum, with Bath threading a delightful through ball to Katie Cooper, who, making full use of the time and space afforded to her, showed tremendous composure in advancing and producing an emphatic finish to give custodian Carter no chance, with forty-nine on the clock.
An hour into proceedings, Kennard upended Rowe not far from the left-hand corner flag and was instantly punished, courtesy of Dani delivering a dead ball that Carter could only palm onto the back of Young and into the back of the net. Katie Y making sure at the second attempt, although the ball had already crossed the line before her initial contact.
A double swap saw Winchester and Becs Bell join the action and both made an instant impression.
Firstly, Chloe drove forward on the right, won a fifty-fifty against Lambe and slipped in Bath for an attempt she dragged a fraction wide.
Then, Becs’ unfortunate miscue eventually landed at the feet of Creaton, who’s outstretched leg also diverted the danger a tad the wrong side of the upright.
Normal service soon resumed for our ‘Speed Queen’ though, as she raced clear on the left wing and soon spotted Quayle further inside. Carter able to calmly claim Sammy’s shot on the turn this time.
Not that Quayle could be kept quiet for long; reacting sharply to Carter’s attempt at playing out from the back and nipping in ahead of replacement Learna Daniels, to lob the netminder, at least twenty yards out.
Niamh Andersson had only been on the pitch ten minutes when she had two chances in around one.
In a counter-attack commencing due to a conceding of possession by Amber Provan in the ‘d,’ Quayle sent Bell scampering along the right flank, where, in the blink of an eye up the other end, her deep cross found Andersson unmarked but a swerving shot swayed away from goal.
Niamh is no slouch herself and put on her own afterburners to leave sub Chloe Brame choking on smoke, before cutting in off the left wing and finally firing oh-so-close to rounding off a brilliant passage of play she had started and very nearly completed.
A stunning touch by Winchester at the midpoint proving pivotal, almost alongside that of a flicked header to a Rachel Palmer flag-kick, in the final four (minutes), that landed on the roof of the net. Carter clearing a front-stick aimed free-kick that consequently became it’s flag-wearing
cousin.
