Knowle Ladies Pick Up Huge Three Points

Knowle Ladies were able to name a full-strength squad last Sunday, and all sixteen players duly produced a superb performance to deliver a vital 3-0 win against Coventry Sphinx.

The home side took the game to their opponents early on, weathering a short period of Sphinx possession with some solid defending that didn’t allow the team in blue to get a shot at goal. No such problem for Knowle though, who scored with their very first attempt of the game after just six minutes. Sam Smith stepped forward to win a loose ball and found Nadia Bacciochi in midfield; she flicked a quick pass forward to Marsha Malik who raced through and slotted her finish past Coventry’s keeper.

The first half momentum was then all with Knowle, who looked dangerous on the attack and assured at the back. Bacciochi and Hayley Joynson both saw long range efforts fly wide before fine team move allowed Katie Adams and Demi Rolph to break free down the right and force a good save from the Sphinx keeper. The Robins were enjoying plenty of possession in the final third, but were perhaps guilty of not getting their shot off quickly enough at times, plus Sphinx worked hard to get blocks and tackles in. At the other end, the away side were restricted to hitting a couple of attempts from outside the penalty area, but one sailed over the bar and keeper Jess Jenkinson easily gathered the second. A long ball over the top nearly fell to the Coventry striker, but excellent defending from Maz Byrne delayed her and enabled Morgan Betteridge to tidy up without threatening goal. 

At the other end, a gilt-edged chance then dropped to Rolph when Knowle’s high press won the ball from a Sphinx goal kick. Bacciochi nicked it, Malik found Rolph in the box and although the striker bamboozled two defenders to create plenty of space for the shot, the away side’s keeper threw out a foot and saved it well.

Sphinx’s main threat came from set pieces, and then went close to an equaliser from a deep corner – Smith blocked initial header, Natalie Gibson got in the way of the follow up and Jenkinson rose high to gather the loose ball. Gibson then made an even bigger impact at the other end of the pitch. Another good period of play from Knowle saw them work the ball from left wing to right. Betteridge teed up Malik and although she was crowded out, she had the presence of mind to lay the ball back to Gibson on the edge of the box and the number ten did the rest, dinking a delightful finish over the goalkeeper to put Knowle 2-0 up.

Sphinx threw on subs round the 30 minute mark to try get back into the game, and the right winger nearly had an immediate impact, using her pace to get beyond the Knowle defence. Naomi Henry was able to catch up and turn her round however, and Bacciochi tracked back superbly to help mop up the danger and snuff out the chance. There was just time left in the half for both Gibson and Betteridge to have a crack at goal from free kicks, but neither effort was on target. Knowle were well worth their 2-0 lead at the break.

The second half began at a fast pace, substitutes Sarai McDonald and Jess Barlow causing problems straight away. A neat one-two between the pair looked like it may set McDonald clear through, but the Sphinx defender took the risk of cynically upending her to earn a booking, which could well have been worse. The resulting free kick was cleared out for a corner and another chance for Knowle, but Byrne planted her header just wide. Sphinx simply had no answer to the directness and skills of McDonald and the next Knowle chance fell to her again. Kate Fleming won possession with a well-timed tackle, fed Barlow and she produced a clever turn to break lines and play McDonald in. The young striker rounded the keeper but then saw her shot from a tight angle roll agonisingly across the goal line. A carbon copy of that chance happened not five minutes after, but this time McDonald was forced too wide as she rounded the keeper, so tried to pick out Malik, but the away defence got back well to intercept.

Sphinx tried to gain a foothold in the game and found some joy down their right side again, but Henry produced an inch perfect slide tackle to stop the forward getting her shot away. With twenty minutes left, the game became scrappy with most of the play in midfield and neither side creating much. Sphinx forced a goalmouth scramble with another dangerous corner, then saw a couple of efforts from the edge of the penalty area fly well off target. The pivotal moment arrived on the eighty-minute mark; the referee adjudged Bacciochi to have tripped a Sphinx forward in the box and pointed straight to the spot. Sensing a route back into the game, Sphinx’s skipper stepped forward and struck her kick well, but Jenkinson was having none of it – the keeper pulled off a stunning save, diving full length to her left and pushing the ball wide. Adams cleared the rebound easily and Knowle were able to celebrate. To make matters worse for Sphinx, Adams won the ball back from the resulting throw in, played forward early and player of the match Malik did the rest; racing past her defender and bending a finish into the bottom corner of the net to put Knowle 3-0 up.

That goal seemed to kill off Sphinx hopes of a comeback and Knowle were able to see out the final ten minutes easily. Fresh legs from Rachel Keen and Lily Phelps gave them the upper hand on the left side and they launched a couple of late attacks, from one of which Betteridge found herself striding forward and going close with an effort from twenty five yards. 

When the whistle blew soon after, Knowle were more than happy to settle for a 3-0 win, which pulls them out the relegation zone and puts them three points ahead of Sphinx in the league. More pleasing perhaps was that the performance shows how much they have improved since last season, when they were beaten three times by these opponents.  Next up for the Ladies is an away game at Crusaders on 3^rd March.

Knowle: Jenkinson, Adams (Keen, 80), Henry, Smith, Byrne, Betteridge, Joynson (Fleming, 30), Gibson, Bacciochi (Barlow, 45), Rolph (McDonald, 45), Malik (Phelps, 80).