Bonus point claimed after stunning comeback and shootout win for Women's Under-21s

Our Women’s Under-21s produced a stunning second-half comeback to first salvage a 3-3 draw in normal time before going on to defeat Bristol City in a penalty shootout to claim a bonus point.

Trailing 3-1 at half-time - Mia Endacott’s stunning strike pulling a goal back for us, Under-16s player Cairo Antoine-Eva was introduced at the break and was at the heart of staging the brilliant comeback, first by providing the assist for Under-16s team-mate Eloise Summers-Mee to see us immediately respond after the restart. Creator then turned scorer as Antoine-Eva fired low into the bottom corner to complete the comeback

With five minutes to go, the visitors found themselves down to 10 players following Erin Freeman's dismissal for two bookable offences, which gave us that extra impetus to push for a winner, however we failed to convert a number of opportunities as it finished 3-3 in normal time.

With both sides ensured of at least a point, a penalty shootout took place to determine who would secure one extra point and goalkeeper Sophie Jackson produced the heroics, saving two of the Robins’ spot-kicks before Endacott stepped up to convert the winning penalty to edge the shootout 4-3.

It took just four minutes for the visitors to break the deadlock at Hotspur Way when Maddie Durrant’s low ball across the face of the goal was converted by Macy Walby at the back post. We responded well after falling behind early, Endacott seeing her low cross eventually cleared off the line before Ruby Gaitely’s inviting free-kick was superbly defended.

However, it was the away side who found the back of the net once again on 18 minutes, Ella Smith charged into the box before calmly placing her effort past Sophie Jackson to double their advantage. And they should have had a third just before the half hour mark, Durrant firing wide of the target after going one-on-one with Jackson however, shortly after, a moment of magic from Endacott saw us halve the deficit, the forward picking out the top right corner with a powerful right-footed effort from the edge of the box.

Our hard work to get back into the contest came undone on the stroke of half time though, E. Smith teeing up Jen Smith in the box as she tucked home into the far corner. A double switch at the break saw Antoine-Eva and Persis Oteng replace Cruz Fuller-Fagan and Gaitely and the pair looked to make an instant impact on the game, Antoine-Eva being denied by Ella Stowell after a lovely pass from Oteng to pick out the forward just five minutes after the restart.

Walby fired over the bar while, at our end, Antoine-Eva dragged an effort wide of the target before we eventually pulled a goal back in the 56th-minute, Antoine-Eva’s inch-perfect cross from the right area of the box found Summers-Mee at the back post to direct her first time shot into the back of the net. Antoine-Eva continued to be at the heart of our opportunities, although she failed to show composure when she went through one-on-one, but she brought us on level terms as we entered the final quarter of the game. As the ball bounced on the edge of the box, Antoine-Eva showed her determination to win the ball first and drilled a low shot past Stowell and, one minute later, we thought we had taken the lead when Heidi Hills slotted home but she was judged to be in an offside position.

With five minutes remaining in the contest, Bristol City were down to 10 players after Freeman was dismissed for a second bookable offence, pulling back Oteng’s shirt, as it set up an entertaining end to the already enthralling clash. Two short corners from Endacott in quick succession saw us go narrowly close on both occasions, Blue Bartlett-Antwi and Emily McCaster firing wide from inside the six-yard area, while Oteng’s looping header from McCaster’s cross dropped on top of the netting in what turned out to be our final opportunity of the game, seeing the game end all square as we headed to a penalty shootout for a bonus point.

Despite seeing our first spot-kick from Blue Bartlett-Antwi saved by Stowell, Under-16s’ keeper Jackson was in inspired form to turn the shootout in our favour, keeping out Emily Cadell's and Freya Sherwood’s efforts, before Endacott stepped up to take the decisive penalty as she sent Stowell the wrong way to secure us a bonus point in the league.

Penalty shootout

Blue Bartlett-Antwi ❌

Fran Hamer ✅

Persis Oteng ✅

Emily McMaster ✅

Mia Endacott ✅

“It was a vast improvement from last week”

Reflecting on the performance, Nick Hardy said: “I was really pleased with the character from the squad to come back into the game and that was the big message at the end of the game, it’s something we are working really hard on. We are in a very good place, performance-wise, technically and tactically, but that character and personality is something that we highlighted that tends to fluorescent throughout the game, so it’s very pleasing to see that huge amount of character to flip the game in terms of scoreline and then feeling slightly disappointed we didn’t come away with three points, we had enough chances in that second half. Ultimately I’m really pleased for the girls, it would have been great to get the three points because I think the second half approach and behaviour deserved it, but it was a vast improvement from last week and an opportunity to regain a bit of momentum.

Asked about the impact of the two Under-16s outfield players, he added: “Those two are from a flourishing group we have at Under-16s level, trying to get them the exposure they deserve and the opportunity to come on, be themselves and have that positive impact. We probably got a little more out of Eloise than we thought, in terms of minutes, we pushed the boundaries and I’m glad we did because she played a big part in getting us back in the game and Cairo was a constant threat, she incredible levels of power and endurance, so I’m really excited and pleased for them two now and in the long-term.”