Our Women’s Under-19s earned a bonus point in the Professional Game Academy League after a penalty shootout success over Southampton following a 2-2 draw in normal time on Wednesday.
We made a positive response from last week's defeat to Arsenal when goals either side of the break from Nife Aramide and Grace Bellwood put us in a strong position to bounce back with a victory.
However, two goals in a three-minute spell from Sherise Henry and Poppy Walton brought the visitors level and, after some fantastic saves from goalkeeper Sophie Jackson in the closing stages, the two sides couldn’t be separated to settle for a point, with a subsequent penalty following to determine the bonus point.
After 12 well-taken spot-kicks, Jackson then produced heroics, pushing Emily Wilson’s penalty on to the post before Blue Bartlett-Antwi stepped up and calmly converted to secure a 7-6 win and the extra point, which sees us leapfrog Southampton in third-place.
Sabiha Jamal named a young side to face the Saints that included three Under-16s in the starting XI – Amie Bush, Waris Deria and Daisy May Bird - with the latter two making their first appearances for the Under-19s. There were also strong performances by a number of the six first years, including Holly-Mae Elmes who put in a fantastic display in an unnatural position at centre-back.
More details to follow…