2s go top of Div 4!

Southend & Benfleet 2s v Redbridge & Ilford 3s

S&B 2s third game of the season saw them take on the unknown quality of R&I 3s in a top of the table clash at The King Edmund School. R&I 3s sat top of the table courtesy of 2 conceded games, leaving S&B unsure of what to expect from the visitors, but with confidence high as always, the girls went into the game looking to regain top spot in the league.

The 1st half started in frantic fashion, with some end to end play giving both defences plenty of action to contend with. S&B created some good attacking play, but couldn’t break down a stubborn R&I defence, while a couple of quick breaks from the opposition called S&B keeper Carly Winfield into action. S&B finally broke the deadlock midway through the 1st half, when a fantastic ball into D from Alison Riley to Lesley Tonking allowed her to play a lovely one-two with Anna Winfield, before placing the ball beautifully past the stranded keeper. With Anne Johnson the only defender remaining from the previous game, the next new look defence of Anne, Fiona Regan & Lisa Hockley pushed up to support the midfield, who were running themselves ragged trying to get the ball to the forwards. Dani Fletcher, making her 1st start of the season, put some fantastic pressure on the R&I midfield, winning countless tackles & setting up some great chances for Hannah Daish, but S&B failed to add to their lead, & ended the 1st half frustrated they weren’t more than 1 goal up.

But frustration turned to motivation in the 2nd half, & S&B set about making sure the 3 points went their way, with some superb runs forward from Jo Chesters causing havoc down the right, putting in some lovely crosses, & linking up well with Winfield & Tonking to keep the R&I defence busy. Sam Kinnell made her debut at right back, and wasted no time in making two superb tackles to thwart the opposition’s first attack of the 2nd half. Katie Adcock again put in a strong battling performance in CM, & along with Liz Fry, gave the midfield no time on the ball, restricting them to long balls forward which the defence swept up with ease. And S&B’s pressure finally paid off, when a text book short corner was smashed into the goal by Winfield. The goal seemed to put R&I’s heads down, & it didn’t take long for the 3rd goal to come. Chesters picked the ball up on the half way line, ran the whole length of the half, before putting in a pin point cross to Tonking, who made no mistake in planting the ball past the advancing keeper. S&B were unlucky not to add to their lead, with some great runs into the D from Daish resulting in some desperate defending, but they were also lucky not to concede a goal when an R&I attack saw the ball come back off the post.

S&B will be pleased with the 3 points after an unusually slow 1st half, and Lesley Tonking will be particularly pleased after picking up her first player of the match award, well deserved after 2 fantastic goals & some precision passing.