Ladies v Basildon report

National League Premier Southern Division

Argyle 5 C&K Basildon 3

THE Argyle players came off the park wondering how they managed to concede three goals in a game they totally dominated.

Joint-manager Trevor Rodd said: "We were not happy - cruising at 4-0, and it could have been an awful lot more - and then the roof caved in as we conceded three silly goals."

Argyle had been in total control after spending most of the match taking pot shots at the Basildon goal and scoring through Helen Bleazard (2), Kayley Lane and Amber Pollock, with the visitors' rare attacks easily held by a solid defence.

Basildon's Raquel Murray and Patricia Gimenez cut the arrears in half before Kate Middleton claimed the Pilgrims' fifth from the penalty spot, with Giminez later completing the scoring.

Mollie Taylor shot over for the Pilgrims and Bleazard had an effort cleared from the goal-line before the first goal came in the 17th minute when Pollock controlled a cross to set up Bleazard to fire in a left-foot drive from the edge of the penalty area.

Pollock hit a post and Bleazard had an effort ruled out for offside and it was no surprise when Pollock and Bleazard combined to set up Lane, who raced clear to make it 2-0 in the 29th minute.

The Basildon goal continued to come under siege in the second half and, 20 minutes into the second half, Argyle's hard work was rewarded when Pollock ran on to a long through ball to race clear of her defender before smashing the ball into the net to make it 3-0.

Argyle were relentless and the score became 4-0 when Lane fed Bleazard, who steadied herself before firing in.

Argyle were then stunned when, nine minutes before full-time, a defensive error let Raquel Murray. Almost immediately, Basingstoke scored their second when goalkeeper Lindsay Rogers dallied on the ball and Patricia Gimenez nipped in to dispossess her to score.

Argyle responded immediately and Zoe Cunningham's surge into the penalty area ended with her being upended, leaving Middleton to slam in the penalty. 

Again, the Pilgrims shot themselves in the foot when a mix-up between Rogers and a defender left Gimenez with a simple tap in.

Rodd said: "At times, we were scruffy but all three goals came from silly errors. I appreciate we could not train this week, but it is no excuse and the players were given some harsh words after the match."

Argyle: Lindsay Rogers; Ebony Dover (Faye Ivall), Kate Middleton, Becca Wakley, Helen Bleazard, Kayley Lane, Zoe Cunningham, Becky Dandridge (Tamsin Medd-Gill), Amber Pollock, Steph Beck, Mollie Taylor.

South West League Western Division

Argyle Development 5 St Agnes 3

ARGYLE'S youngsters got off to a terrible start when, in the first minute, Kayleigh Brown suffered a knee injury which saw her take no further part in the game: within 90 seconds they were a goal down through Debbie Duncan and then lost defender Becky Parkyn to an ankle injury.

They slowly got themselves back into the game and a decent passing move, starting with Amy Darnley in the Argyle goal, ended with Nicola Champion finishing off an eight-pass move with a shot from outside the penalty area to equalise.  

Argyle improved in the second half and, ten minutes in, a ball from Kelly Vinnicombe found Gabi Alphous, who lobbed the St Agnes goalkeeper. Vinnicombe then latched on to a loose ball inside the penalty area to make it 3-1 and the ever dangerous Lucy Solloway increased the Argyle lead with a clinical finish.

It all seemed to be plain sailing until the last few minutes, when St Agnes scored two goals in a minute, through Duncan and Jodie Hood, to make it 4-3.

In a nail-biting finish, St Agnes got caught on the counter attack and the pacey Alphous had her first effort saved but reacted the quickest to tuck away to seal the win.

Head Coach Si Parnell said: "The girls were really up for the game after last week's setback. The early stages of the game seem to affect us and we really struggled to hold on to the ball and play our normal possession game. 

"After building up a healthy 4-1 lead, we lost our concentration and conceded two late goals but hold on for a hard-fought three points."

Argyle Development: Amy Darnley, Jodie Randell, Becky Parkin, Vicky Fannon, Maya Ridge, Kayleigh Brown, Gabi Alphous, Kelly Vinnicombe, Alex Hugh, Lucy Solloway, Nicola Champion.