Brent’s Under-14 Girls moved a step closer to winning the Capital Girls League Division 2 title with an impressive away win against a strong Ruislip Rangers side. Brent are currently second in the division, two points behind leaders Broomwood but with three games in hand.
The opening 15 minutes were tight although Brent held a territorial advantage. Brent goalkeeper Emily Danicka made a good save, and at the other end Chloe O’Donoghue came close with a cross shot.
The deadlock was broken when Apollonia Margetson emerged from the midfield and found some space. She swivelled, shot with her left foot and the ball found the bottom left corner of the net.
Soon afterwards, Olivia Henry found herself on the right with space to shoot. The shot was parried but she followed up and finished well.
Brent dominated the midfield, with Laiba Mir showing good composure on the ball and Margetson bursting forward from midfield finding good passes. Brent’s defence was rock solid with Lizzie Ulusele, Sophie Kew, and Ugomma Ekendu- Obi working together well.
Georgie Stone was introduced to bring fresh legs into midfield and did some great work on the right leading to Brent winning a series of corners but they couldn’t capitalise further and took a 2-0 advantage into half time.
Ruislip came out hard at the start of the second half, dominating the first five minutes. Brent were soon back on the front foot, winning more corners. After good work from Maddie Muir on the right, Brianna John-Etiko broke free on the right wing and put in a brilliant cross which Olivia Henry met perfectly to score a quality goal for Brent.
Then with Brent dominating, Ruislip got on the counter-attack and hit a long range shot which left Danicka with no chance.
Brent soon rediscovered their rhythm. From yet another brilliant Giuseppina Carnevale corner, Brianna finished strongly to put Brent 4-1 ahead.
Brent then rang the changes and changed to a new formation. Sophie Kew went into attack while Maddie Muir, Laiba Mir and Brianna switched to defence.
With Giuseppina Carnevale now stepping into the centre of midfield, she found herself in space up front and beautifully rounded the keeper to finish Brent’s fifth goal.
In the final few minutes after a misunderstanding at the back and a foul on a Ruislip striker Ruislip were awarded a penalty. Happily for Brent it sailed over the crossbar and the final score was a resounding 5-1 win, which means that if Brent win two of their final four matches they will claim the Championship.
Brent coach Joe Pascoe said afterwards: “The players showed great team spirit today; they are a great group. They worked hard and passed well. It was an impressive performance”
Squad: Brianna John-Etiko, Emily Danicka , Ugomma Ekendu- Obi, Olivia Henry, Georgie Stone, Chloe O’Donoghue, Sophie Kew, Laiba Mir, Maddie Muir, Elizabeth Ulusele, Laiba Mir, Giuseppina Carnevale (capt).
Brent U14 Girls next face Ruislip Rangers at home at Capital City Academy on 15 May. They then travel to Regents Park on 22 May.