Report | Argyle Women 2 Crawley Wasps 0
Argyle Women 2
Cunningham 12, 35 pen
Crawley Wasps 0
Argyle Women bounced back after some early season struggles and secured a crucial 2-0 win at home against Crawley Wasps.
Captain Zoe Cunningham’s two first-half goals were enough to earn The Pilgrims their first win of the season.
The Greens had a clear intent from the offset. They pressed high and chased any loose ball down, ensuring their dominance over the visitors in the early stages of the first half.
It took only 12 minutes for Cunningham to register her first shot of the game, and with it came her first goal of the season. A well-placed shot from the edge of the box flew past the Wasps goalkeeper Hope Smith and into the bottom corner.
Argyle continued to craft out chances for themselves. Cunningham tested the Wasps goalkeeper with multiple efforts from distance, and Amber Pollock almost scored her first of the season from a one-on-one that was saved.
Just after the half-hour mark, Pollock found herself through on goal again but was brought down for a penalty. Cunningham stepped up to take in, and powered home an emphatic penalty that flew into the top right corner.
The second half had a similar start to the first, with Crawley coming under pressure immediately. Cunningham and Pollock continued to cause problems for the Wasps defence with a multitude of attacking threats, but none were able to hit the target.
Crawley had their first major chance in the 54th minute after a mistake from defender Jemma Rose gave forward Iesha Swaby a clear chance on goal. Home keeper Jasmine Read rushed out to meet her and although Swaby got the shot away, Read reacted well and cleared the shot from danger.
A back-and-forth period of chances began halfway through the second half. Crawley hit the woodwork on more than one occasion, but Argyle stayed strong and with fresh legs making their way onto the pitch, the Greens would once again press forward and take control of the game.
Substitutes included debutant Katie Dickson, Kaitlyn Morgan-Hemmens and Beth Ireland, who all added to a solid second-half display. Dickson, Morgan-Hemmens and Lily Greenslade would all get chances in the dying stages of the match, and although they could not add to the tally, enough had been done to enough to secure victory.
After gaining their first three points this season in the FAWNL Southern Premier Division, the team now look towards next Sunday’s match against AFC St. Austell in the FAWNL Cup.
Argyle: 1 Jasmine Read, 3 Rosie Train, 5 Panagiota Papaioannou, 4 Jemma Rose, 2 Sophie Perrin, 18 Imy Crawford (20 Beth Ireland), 10 Zoe Cunningham (capt) (13 Katie Dickson), 8 Kayley Lane, 7 Charlotte Whitmore (9 Kaitlyn Morgan-Hemmens), 27 Lily Greenslade, 11 Amber Pollock.
Photo Credit: QuinnKJPhotography
