CAFC Women vs Manorcroft United

CAFC Women vs Manorcroft United – Report

Honey Dulley’s scintillating brace ignited a spirited Carshalton comeback as the Robins overturned a one-goal deficit to seal a 3-1 victory over fellow tier 7 side Manorcroft United in Sunday’s friendly at Colston Avenue.

After a lacklustre first half, the Reds emerged revitalised in the second, responding to manager Aaron Lamont’s stern words with an emphatic three-goal surge.

Despite dominating possession early on, it was the visitors who carved out the game’s first clear-cut opportunity within ten minutes. A swift counterattack sent their forward racing towards the Carshalton goal, only to be halted by a thunderous challenge from Riley, conceding a dangerous free kick on the edge of the area. Fortunately, Georgina Solly was equal to the task, producing a superb save to deny the well-struck effort.

As the match approached the 20-minute mark, the Robins continued to press, probing Manorcroft’s defence, but the visitors stood firm. Lamont’s side struggled to create any meaningful openings, with Kanita Throp firing a couple of ambitious efforts high over the crossbar. Then, in the 22nd minute, Manorcroft broke the deadlock. A neat layoff from the forward found their midfielder in space, who unleashed a stunning first-time strike from outside the box that soared into the top-left corner, leaving the rooted Solly with no chance.

The goal seemed to unsettle Carshalton, who lost some of their rhythm as misplaced passes and unforced errors crept into their game, especially at the back. Under a scorching sun, fatigue and frustration began to take hold. The Reds applied sustained pressure with a flurry of dangerous crosses flashing across the face of goal. Still, for all their territory and possession, the only effort of note was a tame half-volley from Georgia Edwards.

Five minutes before the break, Evie Nebbitt tried her luck with an audacious lofted strike from the left channel, but it was comfortably gathered by the goalkeeper. Moments later, Edu Andrande and Kenza Gueriani combined smartly down the right, with Gueriani driving forward and whipping a delivery across the face of goal to Dulley,

who narrowly fired over the bar. Carshalton continued to press, and Ray capped off a lively spell of pressure. Gueriani showed great determination to keep the ball in play near the byline and picked out Ray at the back post, but the midfielder’s chested effort was denied by a sharp save from the goalkeeper’s outstretched boot. Since their opener, Manorcroft had barely threatened, and it was Lamont’s side who ended the half firmly in the ascendancy.

Fired up by some stern words from Lamont at half-time, the team returned to the pitch with renewed focus and attacking intent. Dulley found herself in acres of space just outside the box but could only produce a tame swivelled effort that went straight down the goalkeeper’s throat. Moments later, academy starlet Scarlett came agonisingly close to levelling the score, rattling the crossbar with a beautifully whipped strike that was curling towards the roof of the net. Up the other end, Manorcroft’s attacker surged into the Reds’ penalty area from a tight angle but could only sting Solly’s palms with a straightforward effort that was hit directly at her.

Fifty-five minutes in, the Reds found their equaliser. A moment of quick thinking from E. Andrande saw her curl a perfectly weighted set-piece in behind the Manorcroft defence. Dulley timed her run to perfection, racing through one-on-one with the goalkeeper before coolly slotting a low, side-footed finish into the far corner.

Mid-way through the second half, Dulley nearly grabbed her second, meeting a close-range volley with power, only for the goalkeeper to react sharply and tip it over the bar. From the resulting corner, Heather Eade drove into the onrushing defender from the left channel, before Daisy Olley fired just over the crossbar with a well-struck effort. Pushing to peg back Manorcroft, E. Andrande’s strike a few minutes later came close to angling into the top right corner, but instead it grazed the bar.

Entering the final third of the match, the attacking pressure was relentless. Carshalton launched wave after wave of attacks, forcing the visitors to withstand a barrage of shots and dangerous crosses. E. Andrande’s deliveries continued to cause Manorcroft all kinds of problems as Edwards latched onto one, flicking over the bar. However, a defensive mix-up nearly handed the visitors a golden chance to reclaim the lead. A misplaced pass from Robins goalkeeper Solly landed straight at the feet of the opposition attacker, who took a touch to shift it onto her left foot before flashing a shot goalbound, only for Solly to recover and spare her own blushes with a routine diving save to her right.

Eventually, Lamont’s side received their just rewards in the 82nd minute when Dulley bagged her brace. The Reds forward was threaded through in-behind Manorcroft’s high line and utilised her searing pace to slide the ball past the keeper one-on-one and into the back of the net.

After squandering a golden opportunity to extend their lead with a header wide at the back post a few moments before, Edwards made no mistake three minutes from time. Lamont’s trademark high press forced a turnover just outside the visitors’ penalty area, and the ball fell to Edwards, who calmly drove low and hard into the bottom-left corner.

It was a true captain’s contribution, proving Lamont’s tactical decision to push the traditional central midfielder into the forward role was a stroke of genius.

The Robins continued to apply pressure in search of a fourth, coming close on several occasions in the dying moments of the match. However, they ultimately settled for a 3-1 victory. The second-half performance was a stark contrast to the first, more in line with the form shown in recent weeks, especially last week’s strong display against Sutton. Carshalton enjoyed the majority of possession, moved the ball fluidly, strung together some beautiful patterns of play, and created numerous attacking opportunities, forcing the goalkeeper into action on multiple occasions. There will be hopes that the ladies can carry forward this momentum into our final Surrey Premier Division game next week against Farnham Town.