Margate (1) 1 Speller 11
Tonbridge Angels (0) 2 Sullivan (pen) 64 Beeput 96
After extra time
Played at Maidstone United
Est. Attendance: 350
Admission: £3
Mileage: 20/7,597
Goals from JJ Sullivan from the penalty spot and an extra time winner from Amanda Beeput won the day with Freya Jones being awarded the Player of the Match award.
Joe Rowe said in his after match interview with Matt Davison, “It was a stressful game, a very tight game, but overall I think we had the edge in terms of quality. I’m really pleased for the girls, the whole squad have worked really hard and deserved this.”
The Angels dominated the game for long periods, made countless chances but could not find the finishes that might have seen the game won before the need for extra-time.
From the very outset the Angels were on the front foot with a left sided corner headed onto the top of the crossbar by Beth Kemp after three minutes and two minutes later Grace Mayhead struck a post.
Margate settled into the game and Ashleigh Rhodes needed to make a good low save when Paige Godden met a cross with a header.
Margate took the lead on 11 minutes when a shot from Jessica-Joy Speller took a wicked deflection off Kemp to wrong foot Rhodes.
Tonbridge responded well but the game was end-to-end with efforts from Aimee Churchill and Charlotte Cresswell stretching the Margate goalkeeper, Abbey Duff whilst a shot from Speller brought a great save from Rhodes.
Kemp was causing all sorts of problems in the air from numerous corners for the Angels with one such header drifting narrowly wide after 24 minutes.
At the break, Margate held their slender lead despite the Angels having had the lion’s share of possession and the better chances.
The second half took on much the same pattern with Tonbridge making most of the forward play but Margate looking dangerous on the break. On 50 minutes, Duff made a point blank save as the ball dropped in the area following a corner but two minutes later, Margate had a golden opportunity when a cross from Rebecca Niblett found Godden but Rhodes denied her from close range.
Tonbridge’s pressure finally brought a reward on 64 minutes when following a good combination between Churchill and Faith Gilson, saw the latter tripped in the box with the referee immediately pointing to the spot. JJ Sullivan kept her nerve to convert from the spot.
The last 20 minutes was one-way traffic in the Angels favour, the chances continued to be created and not taken as the game edged its way towards extra time.
Extra time was punishing for both teams with players from both sides suffering from cramp. Early chances fell to Freya Jones and Gilson with shots that cleared the bar before in the sixth minute, Mandy Beeput dispossessed a Margate defender to run clear and fire into the bottom corner.
“I didn’t know which way to run,” said Mandy. “I was under pressure, I can’t lie, I’ve just got to kick this!”
Churchill brought a save from Duff and Gilson fired wide as the Angels looked to wrap the game up and there were nervous moments as Margate forced successive corners but the Angels saw the game out mostly in the opposition half.
Joe Rowe added: “We gave it everything right to the end, we showed that this week and we showed it at Cray Wanderers last week.”
When asked about playing higher league opposition, he commented: “This group alone, without adding players, have shown they can compete. It is a young team, there is no ceiling to what they can achieve.”
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