Report | Chichester & Selsey Ladies 2 Argyle Women 1
Chichester & Selsey Ladies 2
Plymouth Argyle Women 1
Knapman 85’
Plymouth Argyle Women fell to a 2-1 defeat away to relegation rivals Chichester & Selsey in the FA Women’s National League South.
Having lost 3-1 to Chichester the last time they faced them Argyle knew they would be in a battle against a hard-working Chichester side.
It proved to be the case as the wind and the rain made the game difficult in the early stages. But after the players adjusted to the conditions both sides started to play the ball around and look to break each other down.
The first chance fell to Alphous in the 10th minute. She rolled her marker and got a left footed shot away just inside the box, but Foster did well to palm her low shot away.
Then in the 16th minute Foster’s goal kick fell to Cunningham who tried an audacious half volley but it dropped wide of Chichester’s far post.
Argyle continued to threaten but mostly got shots away from the edge of the Chichester box. Both Ireland and Pollock drew saves from Foster before Cunningham shot wide again after spinning her marker.
Argyle created two of the best chances of the game, firstly in the 28th minute Train’s cross found Knapman at the far post but her header fell narrowly wide of the post. Then in the 31st minute Alphous again spun her marker before drawing another good save from Foster.
In the 33rd minute Chichester nearly took the lead. Their striker showed good pace to burst in behind the Argyle defence, but Poppy Soper did well to tackle her with her feet and clear the ball to safety for Argyle.
Only a minute later Argyle struck the post. Lane found space inside the Argyle box and cut inside and her right footed shot struck the Chichester post and bounced clear.
Then in the 41st minute Chichester took the lead. A corner was swung into the far post and found a Chichester player who touched the ball in to give the home side the lead at half-time.
Only three minutes into the second half Chichester doubled their lead. Another corner was this time played into the near post and took a touch off an Argyle player before finding the back of the net.
Argyle looked to respond and swapped to a back three with Tiana Campbell replacing Amber Pollock at right wing back.
Argyle began to see the majority of the ball with Chichester understandably sitting deeper and looking to hit Argyle on the counter.
Argyle pushed forward in search of a goal and in the 73rd minute Train found Knapman with a cross but she couldn’t get enough contact on the ball and Foster held her header well.
Argyle had more chances after Knapman set up Ireland at the edge of the box but she fired over the bar. Knapman then herself went close after a loose ball fell to her inside of the box but her snap-shot was well saved by Foster.
Then in the 80th minute Argyle needed Soper to keep them in the game. Chichester hit Argyle on the counter and the shot came in from the edge of the box and despite being unsighted Soper produced a good save to palm the shot away.
With time ticking away Argyle pushed further forward in search of a goal. Then in the 85th minute they found it.
Argyle worked the ball wide to Train who put in another impressive cross. Knapman challenged with Foster for the ball and rose higher then the Chichester keeper to head the ball into the top corner.
It gave the Pilgrims hope with five minutes remaining. They continued to try and push the ball forward in search of one last opportunity, but Chichester held strong to see out the final few minutes to give Argyle their first league defeat of 2022 and close the gap between themselves & The Pilgrims.
There were some positives, as relegation rivals Cardiff also fell to defeat meaning that Argyle’s destiny is still in their own hands as they remain only three points away from exiting the relegation zone.
With another away trip to Gillingham next weekend. Argyle will be hoping to bounce back and get back to winning ways as they continue their fight against relegation.
Photo Credit: Dan Newton
Plymouth Argyle Women
Soper, Perrin, Hack, Papaioannou, Train, Lane, Ireland, Cunningham, Alphous, Pollock, Knapman
Subs: Tiana Campbell, Emily Eaton, Imy Crawford
