Women's football news
Lewes welcome London Bees to The Dripping Pan on Sunday in the FA Women’s Championship. The Rooks will be looking to end the month unbeaten. Kick-off in East Sussex is scheduled for 2:30pm.
Last Time Out
The Rooks travelled to Lancashire to take on Blackburn Rovers in the most recent FA Women’s Championship game and won a valuable three points. It was the in-form Ini Umotong who opened the scoring for Lewes. A free-kick routine allowed Mollie Rouse to play a quick and clever pass to the No.15 who was pulled down in the area and won a penalty. Umotong stepped up and made no mistake from the spot, giving the Rooks the lead. Captain Rhian Cleverly then doubled the lead in the first half. A free-kick wasn’t cleared fully by Rovers and Cleverly won the second header, which clipped the post and found the net.
The visitors came out on the front foot in the second half, but it was substitute Danielle Lane who came on from the bench to score Lewes’ third goal. Lane entered the pitch on the hour mark and nine minutes later, scored her first goal of the season. The midfielder made a driving run from the halfway line to the edge of the Blackburn penalty area and fired a low shot into the bottom corner, sealing the points.
The Opposition
It’s been a difficult season for London Bees as they sit bottom of the FA Women’s Championship with only eight points after 17 games. The north London side have had a difficult campaign and have lost their last five games, while their last point came against London City Lionesses in a 0-0 draw in January. The Bees have only managed to pick up two wins in the league this season, one of those coming against the Rooks and the other at home to Charlton Athletic. Sian Osmond is currently in temporary charge of the Bees until the end of the season after the Club parted ways with Lee Burch in February.
Previous Meeting
The Rooks and the Bees last met back in November at The Hive London. After a goalless first half, the hosts scored the winner on 56 minutes. The referee pointed to the penalty spot after Cleverly had pulled down Lauren Pickett inside the area, Pickett then stepped up to take the penalty and scored to give London Bees the lead. Lewes had chances to equalise, with Emma Jones firing straight at the goalkeeper and Megan Mackey rattling the crossbar from range, but it was the north London side who took the points.
One To Watch
Pickett has scored twice against Lewes this season. The London Bees attacker scored from the penalty spot in the reverse fixture in November to earn three points for the north London side. When the Rooks and the Bees clashed in the Continental Tyres League Cup, it was Pickett again who found the net to win the game for London Bees.
How To Follow
Sunday’s match will be available to watch live at lewesfc.com/live and The FA Player. Live updates will also be provided on the official Lewes FC Women Twitter account.