Women's football news
Written by: Jack
Lewes lose to a stoppage time Charlton Athletic penalty in a game where both sides saw red.
With the backdrop of this game providing fireworks, it’s no surprise that both teams put up a fiery performance.
It all came to a head when in the 65th minute of the match Kate Longhurst made a less than desirable challenge that saw some after’s, the referee was quick to send her off and shortly after Shauna Vassell of Lewes followed suit.
This was coming for a while though with Longhurst’s challenge being the straw that broke the camel’s back as both sides looked up for it and competitive throughout.
The late penalty awarded to Charlton was fiercely protested by the players and fans of The Rooks but it was to no avail as Kayleigh Green cooly dispatched the ball to the left of the goal.
At the start of the match, it was a low-key fixture with the only highlights being some nice interplay between Rebecca McKenna and Freda Ayisi of Charlton, this link-up was interrupted by McKenna getting a yellow card in the 15th minute.
Sophie Whitehouse was immense throughout this period as she had complete command and control of her box with every cross, through-ball and shot seemingly finding her gloves.
The first big opportunity of the match came in the 32nd minute following a Lewes corner which saw the ball bounce around the box before Hollie Olding was denied by the Charlton goalkeeper Sian Rodgers.
Just a few minutes later Reanna Blades dazzled her way into the Charlton box before seeing her attempt put out for a corner.
Ayisi of Charlton was also finding herself consistently in good goalscoring areas but just couldn’t quite find the quality that she and her team desired.
The second half got underway which saw The Rooks start to control and dictate the play with some good opportunities falling to the likes of Grace Garrad.
Both sides made use of the bench with them making very little impact apart from Freya Godfrey who looked lively when she came on in the 58th minute which ended up with her winning the crucial penalty.
This all changed with both teams down to 10, which opened the game up more for a potential opener with both sides going back and forth on the counter but neither team could quite find the golden shot.
However, the late penalty sees Charlton soar up to 2nd place with Lewes down in 12th, It’s a game where Lewes will surely feel hard done by.
(The match attendance was 947.)
Lewes FC: Sophie Whitehouse, Grace Riglar, Amelia Hazard (Maria Farrugia 90+5’), Grace Garrad, Caragh Hamilton ©, Grace Palmer, Anna Grey (Kate Mooney 81’), Shauna Vassell (sent off 65’), Reanna Blades, Hollie Olding, Sarah Brasero-Carreira.)
Subs not used: Emily Moore, Rhian Cleverly, Valentine Pursey, Kate Oakley, Ellie Hack.