Page 11 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.7 2021-22

Pompey shine under the lights

Portsmouth 3 Chichester & Selsey 1
Portsmouth took the local honours with a fine 3-1 home win over rivals Chichester &
Selsey in their midweek clash.
The result lifted Portsmouth into fourth place in the FAWNL Southern Premier
Division table but for Chichester & Selsey, it meant that they weren’t quite able to
climb out of the bottom four places.
Always seeking to dominate against resilient opponents, it took until the 85th
minute for Pompey to make the points safe through substitute Sammy Quayle.
There was nothing to choose between the teams in the opening stages but
Portsmouth were using the right flank particularly well to create crossing
opportunities and it was from this route that Shannon Albuery opened the scoring in
the 12th minute with a first time close range finish.
Chichester goalkeeper Issy Foster made a good save to deny Rosie McDonnell
on 20 minutes and the hosts continued to create the better chances right up to the
break.
Dani Lane went on an excellent run through the defence only to see her shot
blocked and Ava Rowbotham had a shot from distance which flew just over Foster's
bar on 43 minutes.
It was this willingness to shoot from distance which led to Pompey's second on
54 minutes. Lane picked up the ball on the right edge of the area and curled an
unstoppable effort in off the underside of the bar.
Chichester responded immediately with a Megan Fox corner to the far post
where Amber Howden timed her run perfectly to force the ball home. The visitors were
lifted by this goal and looked for an equaliser as the game reached the final quarter.
Hannah Haughton in the home goal was off her line quickly to claim a loose ball
from another dangerous Fox set piece but the Pompey defence was generally solid. At
the other end, the hosts created a number of half chances but took another long range
effort to settle the outcome on 85 minutes.
Quayle picked up a loose ball wide on the right and lofted an effort from 25
yards which flew beyond Foster and struck the post before hitting the back of the net.
Ahead of their weekend encounter with Bridgwater United, the win was a
welcome boost for the home team. Chichester & Selsey were well organised and
competitive throughout but were unable to repeat their FAWNL League Cup victory
from a few weeks earlier.
Portsmouth: Hannah Haughton, Danielle Rowe, Jazz Younger, Jaime Gotch, Evie
Gane, Ava Rowbotham, Jade Bradley, Hayley Bridge, Dani Lane, Rosie McDonnell,
Shannon Albuery. Subs: Freya Jones, Lena Stroem, Kitty Cleeve, Sammy Quayle,
Grace Laidlaw.
Chichester & Selsey: Issy Foster, Sharna Capel-Watson, Sienna Howell, Nicky
Lake, Sophie Phelps, Amber Howden, Natasha Wild, Gemma Simmonds, Sarah
Saunders, Megan Fox, Ariana Fleischman. Subs: Philippa Holden, Jane Yeates,
Emma Alexandre, Lauren Clark, Gemma
Staple.

news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk Issue no. 7 - 14 October 2021