Bristol Rovers 3-2 Moneyfields
FA Women’s National League, Memorial Stadium, Sunday 20th September
Bristol Rovers Women came out on top in a five-goal thriller at The Memorial Stadium, beating Moneyfields 3-2 to secure back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.
Libby Davies came into the side for her full debut after netting late last week against W3, and put Rovers ahead with just over half an hour gone, following a busy start to the game for the striker.
Moneys then levelled through Amber Howden’s header on the brink of half-time, before Lashai Mcnama restored the advantage on the hour mark with a poised lob.
Once more, however, Moneyfields found an equaliser, this time through Libby Hester’s close-range finish. That set up an exciting final 20 minutes, and with half of that gone, Gipsy Viveash was flicked through on goal by Davies, finding the corner to claim all three points for the Gas Girls.
Davies was a threat throughout the afternoon and got her first shot of the day away just a few minutes in, attempting to go across goal from inside the box. Keeping the pressure on, Rovers again looked to take the lead as Davies aimed to catch the keeper off her line, but couldn’t quite get the required elevation on the shot.
20 minutes in, it was once more the Rovers number nine who was the likeliest to open the scoring. Winning the ball back next to the opposition dugout, Davies set her sights on the far corner, her effort just missing to the right.
Going the other way, Moneys often looked a threat with their tidy passing play, though George Hunt remained well protected by the backline in front of her. As Rovers kept pushing for an opener, Anais Trinci’s free kick from the right saw both Davies and Mcnama have shots blocked from inside the box.
But no sooner had that set piece been cleared, the Gas finally had the ball in the back of the net. Davies received a square pass from Ruby Scahill on the left of the area, letting the ball roll across her before finding the top right corner to put Rovers ahead against the league leaders.
Not letting up, Trinci sought to double her side’s advantage. Her free kick from a more central area just evaded the left post this time, with a deflection seeing a corner awarded.
It seemed that Rovers would carry their lead into the break, but moments before the whistle, Moneys got themselves level as Howden headed in from just a few yards out.
That gave the Gas work to do in the second half, and it was Mcnama who reinstated the lead for her side with 60 minutes on the clock. Finding herself with plenty of space in behind, the attacker looped a shot over the keeper to get her second goal of the campaign.
But less than 10 minutes later, Moneys again got themselves level. Hester drifted into a good position inside the box and finished from close range to give the visitors a chance of a late winner.
Rovers kept probing though and seemed to be the side most likely to take the points, as Moneys struggled to string too many moves together in the latter stages.
And that became reality, with the goalscoring continuing as the Gas took the lead for the third time in the day. With some slack Moneyfields defending allowing Davies to flick the ball into space behind the defence, Viveash was on hand to run through on goal and coolly finish to restore Rovers’ lead once again.
Showing their street smarts as well as their goalscoring prowess, the Gas were able to hold the ball in the corner as part of seeing the game out, securing another three points and wrapping up a successful afternoon to move Rovers up into 4th.
HALLETT-YOUNG: WE'VE SHOWN WE'VE GOT GRIT, TENACITY AND A REAL RESILIENCE ABOUT US
Nathan, an entertaining win at the Mem. How do you look back on that?
Like I said on Thursday night, our job was to put in another big performance, just as we've been doing over the last three or four weeks, and keep building. I think we've clearly shown that again today and probably upset the odds a little bit.
Moneyfields are a really strong, physical side, so to come away with a victory there is fantastic. The performance and togetherness across the group is only going to help elevate us even more.
From a game perspective, it was a difficult one to watch from the sidelines with it going back and forth, but I think we set up with a game plan and executed it perfectly.
Goals coming from across the front line as well - that must be really pleasing?
Absolutely. First and foremost, though, Libby showed exactly why we brought her in. She's going to score goals, she's going to catch people out, and she's a strong physical presence at the top end of the pitch.
Additionally, Lashai was unbelievable today. She's someone who's been growing as a young player over the last few weeks; she deserved her start and made the most of every minute she was on the pitch. It's great to see that trajectory and development from her.
The same goes for Gipsy as well. At the moment, that front line looks really dangerous and hopefully we can keep building on what we're doing.
I also can't leave here without mentioning the back line and midfield. Everyone is putting in a massive shift. As I've said before, this is about us as a group, as a family, as one squad working for each other, and I think that was evident again today.
As you said, another goal for Libby, but how important is her all-round play in a win like that?
Huge. We can get the ball into her, she can hold it up and provide that physical presence at the top of the pitch.
She's a real nuisance for defenders. The number of times she rolled the centre-half, created opportunities for others and brought people into the game was excellent. That's exactly why we brought her in.
We knew she'd be dangerous in that forward line, and I'm really excited by the way she's started. Hopefully she can keep growing alongside the rest of the squad.
The games keep coming, but how much confidence will a performance like that give everyone?
It's a massive confidence boost. If you'd looked at the fixture beforehand, we probably would have taken a point.
Given where we started the season and how things have progressed, I think a lot of people in the league would have expected a comfortable Moneyfields win. They may even have turned up expecting that themselves.
But we've shown we've got grit, tenacity and a real resilience about us. That's probably the most pleasing thing.
It's a huge boost because we've just beaten one of the title favourites. Now the challenge is to continue on this trajectory. Can we keep building? Can we keep growing? Can we push ourselves towards the top end of the table?
If we can, brilliant, but there's no pressure on us. We know we want to improve on last season's finish, and we'll keep working hard to achieve everything we can.
VIVEASH: WE WORKED INCREDIBLY HARD FOR THOSE THREE POINTS
Gipsy - scoring the winner at the Mem. How enjoyable was that?
It was a great feeling. We worked incredibly hard for those three points, and it was a real team performance from start to finish. Getting the winning goal made it even more special, but the result was down to everyone's efforts. I'm delighted to have scored, but the credit goes to the whole team.
The link-up with Libby seems to be really good at the moment. How good has she been since coming in?
She's been fantastic. I'd been trying to get her in for a while, so I was delighted when she finally made the move.
We know each other's games really well. I know she's going to hold the ball up and she knows I'm going to make runs in behind. We built up that understanding during our time at Swindon, and it's great to see that partnership working so well here too.
Goals for all of you across the front line. That must be really pleasing.
Absolutely. Lashai was outstanding today as well. She was sharp, reacted brilliantly to the opportunities that came her way and fully deserved her goal. Considering she's only 16 or 17, it's fantastic to see her making such a big impact.
The confidence must be flowing now. Does that show what this group is capable of?
Definitely, we had a difficult start to the season, especially with the defeat to Bridgwater, but we've improved week after week.
We're growing together as a team, becoming more connected and building momentum. I think we've shown what we're capable of, and we're definitely a side that teams need to be aware of this season.
