Bailey’s penalty earns victory over the Blues

Zara Bailey’s late penalty proved to be the difference as our Women’s Under-21s secured a 1-0 win over Birmingham City in the Professional Game Academy League on Wednesday afternoon.

The young defender returned to the starting XI following a positive international camp with England Under-17s, in which she captained the side and scored across the three games for the Young Lionesses, and she made her mark by showing the crucial composure in the game’s vital moment.

For the winner, plenty of credit should go to substitute Blue Bartlett-Antwi as she was felled in the box, leaving the referee little choice but to point to the spot. Bailey then showed great calmness to step up and convert the penalty – her first goal at Under-21s level – earning us a valuable three points.

Alongside a positive result on the road, midfielder Rania Oukriss made her return to action after recovering from an injury that has kept her out of action since October, completing 55 minutes on the pitch, while Ruby Mace continued her recovery to full fitness with another 35 minutes in the second half.

The opening half was low on clear-cut opportunities for both sides as the game was goalless at the break. Persis Oteng saw an effort saved in the seventh minute following a strong run into the box while Riya Mann fired into the side-netting after connecting to Millie Pullen’s low cross to the back post.

We had a big opening on 19 minutes when Emily McMaster’s free-kick from inside our half was taken down by Oteng but the forward was unable to get a shot away before Poppy Irvine gathered the ball before, at the other end, the hosts had a glorious chance as Sophie Jackson raced off her line, however, Mann came out on top with the ball but failed to find the target with an open goal. Jhanaie Pierre, who was also with the Young Lionesses last week alongside Bailey, curled wide from the edge of the box as we looked to finish the first half stronger.

Pierre called Irvine into action within five minutes of the second half, forcing the Blues’ shot stopper to tip her shot over the bar and, from the resulting corner, McMaster rose highest to Bailey’s corner but could only send it wide. We made a double change on 55 minutes as Mace and Heidi Hills came on for Ourkiss and Fran Hamer as we searched for breakthrough in the contest, although the hosts had the better of the chances shortly after, with Mann and Pullen failing to test Jackson from distance.

In the final quarter-of-an-hour, Nick Hardy made a further two substitutes as Cruz Fuller-Fagan and Bartlett-Antwi entered the pitch and, just two minutes later, the latter would have a big impact on the game. The defender, who was positioned in the forward area in the closing stages of the contest, was bundled to the floor and gave the referee no other option but to point to the spot. After scoring a penalty on international duty with England, Bailey stepped up in our colours this time, picking out the bottom right corner to break the deadlock.

We had a glorious opportunity just two minutes later to double our advantage as Bartlett-Antwi’s perfect lay-off to Hills saw her charge into the box before her right-footed effort was tipped around the post by Irvine, although that didn’t prove to be costly in the end as we controlled the closing stages of the game to hold on to three points in the Professional Game Academy League while also preserving just our second clean sheet of the campaign.

"It's a really positive outcome for everyone involved and builds confidence"

Reflecting on the game, Hardy said: "The disappointment and heartache of last week's game after being in control for large parts of the game to concede two late goals was difficult. This game was very similar in terms of the control we had in large parts, with and without the ball, and we could have probably scored in a different period of the game, but the important time was the 20 minutes after we scored that goal, so it was huge to be able to see out the game and manage those final moments to secure the three points, which the group thoroughly deserved, and also the clean sheet. Overall, it's a really positive outcome for everyone involved and builds confidence ahead of our semi-final tie against Dulwich Hamlet next week.

"Another real positive from the game was that we were able to welcome back Rania for her first game since October. She has showed great determination to get back fit after suffering an injury with Morocco and, while we could only give her certain amount of minutes to ease her back in, she showed plenty of quality that we saw earlier in the campaign, so she will be a massive addition for us heading into the final few games of the campaign."