The Barclays Women’s Championship continued its return from the international break this afternoon, as Charlton Athletic hosted Southampton at The Valley.
Remi Allen made several changes to her Saints starting eleven as the south coast outfit looked to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat against Birmingham City last time out. Megan Collet, Chloe Peplow, Rianna Dean, and Rachel Brown all took their places in the lineup.
Following a late comeback to draw with Newcastle United last time out, Sophie Whitehouse was back between the sticks for the Addicks. Karen Hills also brought in Mary Bashford and Ellie Brazil, hoping to add three points to Charlton’s tally and stay close to the top of the table.
A tightly contested fixture was put to bed by Southampton summer signing, Tara Bourne. The centre back’s defensive efforts had kept the Saints in the game, and she took her contributions a valuable step further by making the most of an opportunity in the box.
The Lineups
CHA: Whitehouse; Newsham, N’Dow, Bradley, Filis, Brazil, Hutton, Barton, Skeels, Bashford, Roe
SOU: Stenson; Brown, Kendall, Bourne, Gregory, Peplow, Dean, Pike, Purified, Collett, Palmer
The Action
Southampton got proceedings underway at Charlton’s home ground, and spent the opening minutes of the match driving forward into the final third.
Charlton managed to break through the lines after 10 minutes of Saints dominance. The home side were close to getting themselves on the scoresheet, but a clearance by Bourne kept things level.
Both teams challenged, but neither could capitalise on opportunities as the half-an-hour mark neared. A strong chance for Hills’ side arose in the 29th minute, with Kayleigh Barton winning possession in the midfield to pick out Brazil, whose shot was swiftly gathered by the gloves of Fran Stenson at the near post.
Allen’s side were determined to threaten their hosts as time on the first half ticked by. A strategic long pass from captain Jemma Purfield to Freya Gregory on the left wing looked promising, but the effort was narrowly nullified by the Charlton centreback duo of Elisha N’Dow and Kiera Skeels.
The Addicks had grown into this game, and retaliated by generating the best chance of the opening half. Stenson pushed Charlotte Newsham’s strike up and into the crossbar, its deflection eventually sent away by Bourne.
A stop-start first 45 minutes went by without a goal at either end of the pitch, and both sides would remain on the hunt for the opener after half-time.
Despite having started the Sunday afternoon clash on the front foot, Southampton re-emerged from the tunnel looking slightly less confident in their ability to contain the home side. This time, it was Charlton who spent the first 10 minutes of the half pushing up.
A sacrificial yellow card had to be picked up by Bourne, who took down Brazil on the fast break as Charlton were in pursuit of the lead.
The Saints were undeterred by the close call, and were quick to launch their counterattack. A long-range effort from Aimee Palmer was saved by Whitehouse after some strong buildup play was showcased by the visitors.
The guests attempted to make the most of their spell in possession around the box, but an eventual Addicks clearance and a brief pause in play looked as though it might disrupt their flow.
However, substitute Rachel Rowe’s left-footed shot following a Southampton corner soon had to be blocked by Charlton. Bourne picked up a deflection and fired it beyond Whitehouse and into the back of the net with her right foot to finally put the scrappy Saints ahead.
Late comeback efforts were not enough for Charlton on this occasion, as Stenson continued to be called into action in the dying minutes of the match. Hills’ drop side three points at home against a much-improved Southampton side, finding themselves fifth in the league standings.
