A superb hattrick from Brent captain Giuseppina Carnevale wasn’t enough to give the Under-14 Girls victory in a match which was a superb advert for girls football played at Capital City Academy.
In a fixture that was a top-of-the-table clash in the Capital Girls’ League Division 2, Brent paid the price for a slow start in their first game since the post-lockdown restart of grassroots’ football.
The defence which has been so consistently solid struggled in the opening exchanges, allowing the visitors to gain a two nil lead withing 10 minutes. Only heroic goalkeeping by Emily Danicka who dived full length to tip a shot onto the bar and then reclaimed the rebound stopped Broomwood scoring a third goal.
Carnevale’s first goal was a 25 yard free kick into the top corner to reduce the defecit. Brent were unlucky to concede a third on the stroke of half time when a wicked deflection gave Danicka no chance.
Brent regrouped at half time and piled on the pressure. Maddy Muir injected some pace down the left wing and this spurred Brent forward. The defence regained their composure and Brent started to pass well. Broomwood then scored a fourth goal against the run of play and the game looked over. This only served to spur Brent on. Tirion Lewis began to dominate the midfield and the passing of Keely Dibley-Dias put Brent on the front foot.
Carnavale collected a pass from Sophie Kew dribbled past two defenders and smashed the ball into the net. Laiba Mir then made a great interception and passed to Scout Waddington who slipped the ball to Carnevale. Brent’s skipper unleashed another thunderbolt into the roof of the net to make the score 4-3. By this point, Brent were completely dominant. Broomwood battled bravely and showed courage whilst pinned into their own half. Olivia Henry outpaced the visiting defence before shooting, her effort whistling agonisingly past the post. Waddington had a shot well saved and Carnavale then dribbled through again but the goalkeeper smothered the shot. It looked like an equaliser was imminent but it wasn’t to be and the game ended 4-3.
Brent coach Chris Ampofo “Congratulations to both sides for serving up an excellent contest. I thought Brent showed great spirit to stage such a great comeback. They should take confidence from today. It was great to see and will set the team up for the coming games”.
Squad: Keely Dibley-Dias, Ugomma Ekendu-Obi, Olivia Henry, Tirion Lewis, Chloe O’Donoghue, Sophie Kew, Laiba Mir, Maddie Muir, Maya Rosenberg, Elizabeth Ulusele , Scout Waddington, Laiba Mir, Brooke Dyke, Giuseppina Carnavale (capt).
The team’s next match is against Kinja, away at The Hive. In the Regents Park Youth League, Brent Under-13 girls will face top of the table Tufnell Park while the Under-11 Girls face Regents Par