Brentford Women’s First Team bounced back from last week’s defeat to Dorking as they claimed a 3-0 win over Whyteleafe on Sunday at Bedfont Sports Club.
The Bees impressed on the day as they scored all of their goals inside the opening 20 minutes of the match. Kirsty Matthew grabbed the opener on seven minutes before Chloe Logie made it 2-0 shortly after. Just a couple of minutes later Logie then grabbed another to really take the game away from Whyteleafe in what was an impressive day for the side.
Discussing the match, Assistant Manager Sean Hillier was delighted to see the side bounce back. He explained: “The feeling from our side as a coaching staff was all about getting the girls to focus on the job at hand. We wanted to help their self-belief and help them to understand that one game doesn’t turn you into a bad player or a bad team.
“We’re very pleased. We asked them to play with bravery and a will to get on the ball. We also wanted them to focus on their defensive shape and be quick in transitions. They did everything that we asked them to do.”
Having netted three early goals in the match, Sean believes the side deserve credit for their attitude and determination going into the game.
He continued: “From the warm up you could tell that they were focused. They wanted to fix what happened last week and they had the fire in them to show how good they are. It shows their ability to bounce back and the togetherness that we have in our group.
“Questions were asked amongst themselves after the Dorking match and the togetherness really came through and we know we’re all going in the same direction. Everyone believes in the process and what we are trying to do as a team.”
Having now made it two wins from two on home soil, having also beaten Clapton Community on the opening day of the season, Sean says the side want to continue to ensure their home ground remains a tough place for opponents to come to.
“It’s a pitch that we train on which helps, said Sean. “It’s an environment that everyone knows and is comfortable with and the aim is to turn it into a bit of a fortress and pick up as many points there as we can.
“It’s now about picking up some momentum with more wins. We want a good run, and we want to start to try and put some pressure on the teams around us.”
The result leaves Brentford fourth in the league having won two of their three matches of the 2022/23 season. Next up for the side is a Women’s FA Cup fixture with Woodley United on Sunday 11 September. That match will take place at Bedfont Sports Club with kick-off at 3pm.
Brentford Women's First Team: Hadrava, Peters, Graham, Langston-Lloyd (Peters, 58) Webb, Holmes, Edwards (Miller, 64), Palfrey (Troth 45), Matthews, Saunders, Logie (Edema, 75)
It was also a positive afternoon for the Women’s B Team as they opened their Greater London WFL Division One North campaign with a 5-0 win over Actonian Thirds at Gunnersbury Park Sports Hub.
The opening goal came from a Kasey Clifford free-kick as she fired home over the wall on 23 minutes. Seven minutes before the break saw Ruby Sumpter double the side’s lead following a cross into the box. Early substitute Holly Hawkes then found the net to make it 3-0 just before the break.
The dominant performance continued in the second period as Cheyenne Faulkner and Calli Weaver also got on the scoresheet to round off a perfect beginning to the season.
Discussing the match and the preparations for the first game of the season, the Women’s B Team Manager Tommy Maynard said: “From last season we have retained 10 players as we continue to look to improve. We’ve added 16 new players to the squad which is exciting for us. We had a couple of pre-season matches with lots of training.
“It was a perfect start, the scoreline was good, and I actually think we could have scored more goals too. The performance was fantastic and there are a lot of positives to take. We were dominant and continued to look for goals. They had some opportunities on the counter-attack but we dealt with them well defensively.”
The side now look to an away fixture at Enfield Town Thirds on Sunday in their second match of the campaign.
Discussing the next match, Tommy continued: “We have Enfield Town on Sunday and I think it’s going to be a good test. They came down into our division following relegation, but it will be good for the girls to play against their standard as we expect them to be strong.”
Brentford Women's B Team: Boycott, Kaur Boparai (Jones, 45), Edwards, Elsbury, Heavingham Ford (Kaur Boparai, 56), Abou-Abdallah (Sumpter, 63), Clifford (Quinton, 73), Sumpter (Halpin, 45) Weaver (Faulkner, 45), Quinton (Claringbold, 29), Logan (Hawkes, 34 Weaver, 84)