Women Book Their Place In The Final

By David Hansen

Margate booked their place in the final of the SECWFL Cup, after a convincing 4-1 win against Parkwood Rangers at Hartsdown Park.

Margate began the game on the front foot, with some nice runs from Shannon King and Esmee Kew- Stroud. This early dominance eventually gave the 'Gate the lead when a ball was played low and hard across the box by Rebecca Niblett and turned into the top corner of the goal by Parkwood defender, Faye Tompsett.

From one own goal to another, this time in favour of Parkwood. A corner towards the near post hit 'keeper Nicole Adams and travelled into the net as Fleur Charman was unable to clear it off the line.

The half would end perfectly for the ‘Gate, when Adams smashed the ball up field, which was knocked on by Kew-Stroud to fall just in front of striker, Paige Godden. With the 'keeper coming out to close the Margate forward down, Godden was able to drive forward before she delicately chipped the ball over the 'keeper to give Margate a 2-1 lead at the break.

It took until the 85th minute to seal the deal for the ‘Gate. A well worked piece of play from the home side saw the ball come tantalisingly close to the 6-yard-box before they played all the way back to defence, peeled wide and found a clear pass through to Kew-Stroud on the edge of the box. It was with some nice skill from Kew-Stroud to turn 2 defenders before putting the ball in the far corner of the net to making it 3-1 heading to the final whistle.

Another goal came for the Blues in added time, as a corner at the near post again from Niblett was put into the goal by the visiting side, as they attempted to clear the ball from any danger. With the score at 4-1, it told more of a story of how the game went with Margate dominating the field.

The game ended only a couple of minutes later, and Margate proudly took their place in the SECWFL Cup Final at the Gallagher Stadium. The ‘Gate will take on Tonbridge Angels in the final towards the end of April.

Manager Steph Meek said:

"Some games you just have a feeling in your gut that there's a positive result on the cards. This was one of those games. I couldn't tell you why it felt like that, but it just did. The players arrived positive, and with smiles on their faces, following what was a really effective training session during the week.

"Bringing in a new coach, with a new way of thinking, always takes some transition. For the last couple of weeks our fixtures have been stacked, and we haven't been able to train as we would have hoped.

"The players have been adapting to new styles of play through verbal communication and tactics boards only, and that's been reflected in recent results. It was clear to see though, despite the results, that they were the more dominant and capable side, but, it simply hadn't clicked and we were unfortunate not to net some goals on the way. This week we saw the click we were waiting for. Everything came together nicely, and the team were able to transfer their play direct from the training pitch and into the game.

"It's credit to their resilience and patience that they have come this far in the cup, yet again putting themselves in the history books as we've never made the final of this competition before. They knocked out the current cup winners and current plate winners on their way!

"The final for me is about the players and the fans. They deserve every inch of this success and some recognition for what has been a truly remarkable season. I hope that the build up to this fixture can give the fans something to look forward to, as without them, we would never have got through some of the fixtures we have. Rain or shine, win or lose, they've shown their unwavering support to the team, they are without a doubt our 12th man, and we're extremely grateful for that.

"I hope to see lots of familiar faces at the Gallagher in late April, and that you'll all get behind the girls to give them that one last push to success that they so deserve!"

Margate Starting XI: Adams, Charman, Kemp, Coltham-Lai, King, Slevin (C), Speller, Luby, Niblett, Kew-Stroud, Godden.

Subs: Scales, Hall, Blythe, Meek, Mann

Goals: Own Goal x 2, Godden x1, Kew-Stroud x1

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