The Bees pick up a win on the road as they beat London Seaward 2-0 at the Oakside Stadium.
As the game was underway the Bees set the tone immediately, taking full control of the possession in the first opening minutes.
In the 4th minute the Bees were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box, Hailey Hoare stepped up to take the kick, firing the ball over the wall and on target, but it was caught in the air by the keeper.
Shortly after Hailey Hoare was on the ball again, moving the ball between the midfield and finding space on the edge of the box for a chance at goal.
She hit the ball with power, but it was blocked by the Seaward defence, deflecting it out for a Bees throw in.
After several chances within the first ten minutes of the game the Bees finally had a breakthrough, when Megan Burrows fired the ball into the top left corner of the net, giving the Bees a 1-0 lead in the first half.
Straight after the goal Lily Whitelock found herself with open space in the opposition’s half, driving the ball down the left and cutting inside to curl it into the top right corner, but the shot was too high and flew just over the crossbar.
With just minutes before half-time, Sam Lanza launched the ball high, hitting the crossbar and rebounding to Millie Isherwood, who tapped it into the net for a second.
Sadly, as the ball went into the goal the linesman raised the flag for offside, disallowing the second and bringing the score back to 1-0.
Half-Time 0-1
As the second half commenced, the Bees picked up right from where they left off, pressing the hosts for a second goal.
Sam Lanza connected with the ball from an early corner, but she couldn’t quite get it on target as the ball flew past the right-side post.
Minutes later Sam Lanza responded quickly, as an attempt on goal by Hailey Hoare from the edge of the box struck the crossbar and rebounded to Sam Lanza, who headed it into the back of the net.
The linesman flag stayed down, meaning the Bees had increased their lead by two and had a firm control of the game.
The hosts started to push the Bees back at times during the second half, as a long-range effort from the Seaward attack tried to catch Tia Ginn off guard, but she remained focused, reaching high for the ball and catching it calmly.
Moments later Seaward attempted to catch Tia out again, this time she was unable to reach the high attempt, but the ball was heading too far wide, and it landed past the left side of the post.
With not much time left in the game, the Bees looked to capture a third before full-time, when Hailey Hoare made her way through the team again but couldn’t get the final shot off as it was blocked by the Seaward back line.
After nearly five minutes of additional time the referee blew the whistle for the final time of the night, signalling a comfortable 2-0 win for the Bees.
Full-Time 2-0
Lineup:
Ginn, Heil (Tambula 62’), Durn (McDermott 86’), Isherwood, Lanza (Affri 62’), Burrows, Bartlett, Wozniak, Campbell, Hoare, Whitelock.