Report | Argyle Women 1 Portsmouth 3
Argyle 1
Whitmore 55
Portsmouth 3
Lumsden 17, 58, Quirk 78
Argyle Women suffered a narrow defeat, losing 3-1 to Portsmouth Town in the FAWNL Southern Premier Division on Sunday at Torpoint.
Portsmouth took the game to Argyle from the minute the match began, netting in the 17th minute through Beth Lumsden. Portsmouth continued to dominate the majority of the first half; Argyle showed signs of danger through counter-attacks but struggled to register a shot goalwards.
The Greens equalised ten minutes into the second half through Charlotte Whitmore, igniting Ryan Perks' side into action. Portsmouth responded swiftly regaining their lead and secured the victory with a third goal 20 minutes later.
The fixture began with early chances for the Portsmouth forwards, who drove numerous crosses into the area in the hopes of finding a blue shirt, but Argyle held their own and dealt with the danger comfortably. As the match continued, and after several counter-attacks from the Greens, Portsmouth found the lead through Lumsden who belted into the back of the net.
Argyle continued to attempt to catch Portsmouth off guard with swift breaks from deep as the half went on, but struggled to register shots before the referee blew for the break.
Encouraged by a superb turn-out at The Mill, Argyle took the game to the visitors as the second half began, pinning Portsmouth into their half in their search for chances on goal. Argyle’s perseverance paid off in the 55th minute after high pressure from Whitmore allowed her to snatch the ball off the defence and slot it past the oncoming keeper.
Parity only last three minutes, however. Following a dangerous corner that ricocheted out, Lumsden hammered the ball home once more, securing her brace and the lead again for her side. Both sides continued to battle hard as the half went on, with chances presenting themselves for both teams, but it was a close-range effort from Sophie Quirk that clinched the match for the visitors.
Argyle’s final major chance came in the 89th minute following a free kick from Ellie Sara who tried to beat the keeper from the set piece. Her shot ricocheted off the head of a Pompey defender but fell into Sara’s path who delivered the ball back into danger. The pass fell to the feet of Imy Crawford who scrambled to try and convert from close range, but the referee’s assistant flagged her offside before the whistle blew for full-time.
The Greens now hit the road once more and travel to Essex, where they will look to bounce back with a result against Hashtag United.
Argyle: 1 Jasmine Read, 2 Katie Dickson, 4 Jemma Rose, 5 Panagiota Papaioannou, 6 Lucy Hack, 7 Charlotte Whitmore, 8 Imy Crawford, 10 Rebecca Dandridge, 14 Tamsin Medd-Gill (9 Ellie Sara), 18 Taya Pomfret, 29 Mia Endacott.
