Match Report | Chatham Town Women 1-2 Argyle Women
Chatham Town Women 1
Nicholls (2)
Argyle Women 2
Whitmore (58), Pomfret (90+4)
Plymouth Argyle Women took all three points in a dramatic game of two halves at Bauvill Stadium.
Chatham took an early lead through Letitia Nicholls after pressure on the Argyle defence caught the Greens off guard. Chatham continued to fashion out dangerous chances as the half went on, but Argyle showed signs of improvement. The second half began with Argyle piling the pressure on Chatham, who made it 13 minutes into the half until Charlotte Whitmore brought the scoreline level.
The Greens continued to battle as the game drew to a close, but Chatham equally tried to regain the lead through multiple dangerous chances in the area, but none could find a way past Jasmine Read who stopped each chance. Argyle took their chance to steal victory in the 94th minute thanks to Taya Pomfret, whose late run at the far post met a corner from Whitmore, securing three points in the dying embers of the match.
Chatham began the match with high tempo, pressing Argyle into their half from the referee’s whistle. Their pressure proved to be too much for the Argyle defence who conceded early on following a defensive error outside the 18-yard box that allowed Nicholls to pounce on a loose ball in the area following a save at the far post by Read.
Chatham continued to be a threat throughout the half, but Argyle’s defence stood firm and denied the home side a chance at extending their lead further. Meanwhile, Argyle's determination and grit began to grow and chances to equalise became more common. The Greens closest chance of the half came to Ellie Sara who after regaining the ball from a spilled save in the area attempted to blast the ball home, but Davies and her defence did well to clear the danger.
Argyle's performance in the second half continued to improve and following a sin bin for Chatham, the Greens took their chance to level the scoreline. A superb counter-attack launched by Sara from deep found the run of Whitmore who cut inside on her right foot and placed the ball into the top right corner, sending the Argyle players into joy and stunning the keeper Davies.
Motivated even further by Whitmore's leveller The Greens continued to put pressure on the home side but struggled to convert their chances into goals. As the match drew closer to full-time Chatham gradually began to take control of the game once more and fashioned out numerous chances from set pieces, but the incredible reactionary saves from Read and blocks in the penalty area from the Argyle defence continued to frustrate Chatham’s forwards. Chatham were eventually able to find the back of the net in the 90th minute, but the referee's assistant flagged the goal offside, keeping the scoreline intact.
With 90 minutes of regular play done and 14 minutes of extra time added, Argyle found their chance to take the lead from a corner. Whitmore's delivery placed the ball towards the far post and just missed the head of captain Panagiota Papaioannou, but a late run from Taya Pomfret connected with the loose ball and hammered home Argyle's second in the 94th minute.
Read was called upon on multiple occasions following Argyle's goal, making tremendous last-minute saves to hold on to vital points on the road, one being a stop on the line following a series of scrappy shots in the area from a corner. Chatham continued to fight for an equaliser as the game drew closer to its end, but the Argyle defence proved too strong to beat and following a sensational clearance from Pomfret the referee blew for full time, sending the Argyle players into raptures.
Argyle's long period on the road comes to an end this weekend with a trip to Torpoint Athletics ground The Mill where they will take on league title contenders Portsmouth Town Women FC in the FAWNL Southern Premier Division.
Argyle: 1 Jasmine Read, 2 Katie Dickson, 5 Panagiota Papaioannou (c), 6 Lucy Hack, 7 Charlotte Whitmore, 8 Imy Crawford, 9 Ellie Sara (20 Fern Orchard), 14 Tamsin Medd-Gill, 17 Libby Waylen, 18 Taya Pomfret, 19 Erin O’Shea (15 Georgie Knott).
