Super Stalley's Goal Statistics Make Woodley So Vivacious

This Sunday BotP headed back to The MGroup Stadium, home of Oxford City having only been there last week watching my own daughter play. With City's first team at home to Woodley United and their Development team at home to Farnborough, on an adjacent pitch, it was a rare opportunity to keep an eye on two Southern Region games at the same time. My main focus was the Premier League clash but I was also able to see the Division One North game through an open gate between the pitches.
The lead up to the game saw City in eighth spot with twelve points form their ten games. However, they were on a poor run of form, having lost their last four in all competitions, including three league games and a Chairman's Cup exit to lower-ranked Wimborne Town. Woodley were arriving still looking for their first league win of the season, although recent performances had started to improve as the squad rebuild continued, and they had progressed in the Chairman's Cup with a 6-3 defeat of Chesham United Development.
This was the first time I had seen Woodley play this season. Good to bump into Mark Rozzier prior to the game too. Thanks for sharing the team sheet with me.

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City attacking

​City made three changes to the starting line-up that began last week's home defeat to Reading and it was one of those players, Georgina Tayman, who had the first strike in anger. Her 7th minute strike was very well hit but flashed wide of the goal. A few minutes later, with City looking quite lively, Ellie White got down the left and fired over a low cross, only for Jo-Anna Nowak-Allum to make a good stop, preventing the ball reaching its intended target, Lucy White, on the back post.
Oxford were using both flanks to good effect with both Lucy White and Kira Ranxha finding space behind the Woodley defence. However, the next opportunity fell to the visitors after a left-wing corner was looped goalward by the head of Ellie Stalley only for the ball to be hacked off the line.
Approaching the midpoint of the half, Ellie White found Lucy White with a delightful through ball. City's number 14 looked odds-on to score before Nowak-Allum pulled up a tremendous, one-handed save to keep the game scoreless.
Grace Craven was the next to try her luck, after being set up by a deft lay-off from Emily Harris, she could only loop her shot over the bar. 
City were looking the more likely to break the deadlock, although a cross from a quick break, that narrowly evaded Stalley, just past the half-hours, was a warning to the home side. Ten minutes later that warning became reality, as the visitors took the lead, somewhat against the run of play. It came from a long ball that cleared the City defence, leaving Ellie Stalley to race on, narrowly beating the onrushing Kiera Maskell to the ball, and lobbing it over the keeper into the net. 0-1. The collision between striker and goalkeeper left the City stopper requiring attention, but she was soon back on her feet.
Stunned into action, Oxford pressed to get back on level terms before the break and, with a minute of normal time remaining, briefly thought they had done just that when Kira Ranxha ran onto a Harris through ball and slotted past Nowak-Allum. However, the flag had gone up long before the ball crossed the line. Offside.

HT Oxford City 0 Woodley United 1. Whilst Oxford would be unhappy to be behind at the break and were marginally the better team, Woodley dealt with the game well and took their big chance when it was presented.
On the other side of the fence, City's Dev team and Farnborough were goalless at the break.

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Yasmin Edwards about to level the game

​In response to going in behind at the break, Oxford made a couple of changes, bringing on Yasmin Edwards up front and Kate Parsons in midfield, and the hosts were back on the front foot right from the kick-off.
Ellie White, with a great strike, tested Nowak-Allum but, once again, the Woodley stopper was equal to the task, producing a save to match the shot. However, seven minutes into the second half, even Nowak-Allum was powerless to prevent the equaliser, and it was the half-time changes that did the damage to Woodley. Kate Parsons sent over a left-wing corner, met at the near post by a powerful Yasmin Edwards header. 1-1
The goal immediately gave Oxford a lift, an extra yard and a little more bite in the tackle. You felt that they smelled blood, and set about the task of getting another goal. 
Stalley's long-range effort on the hour, which flew wide, was just a small piece of relief form the City attacks. A few minutes after that Ellie White and Yasmin Edwards combined well, with the former's turn and shot going wide of the mark. Emily Harris then saw her shot blocked but was quick to latch onto the loose ball inside the area. She was immediately closed down and, as a group of players came together, Harris ended on the ground. There were calls for a penalty from the home side, but nothing was given.
That could have proved to be a big turning point two minutes later when Stalley was once again left in the clear. However, Keira Maskell was out quickly, narrowing the angle and making a good block with her legs. That break aiside, Oxford were soon pressing at the other end. Captain Billie Bough-French displayed some excellent ball-juggling skills to make some space on the edge of the box, only to fire over the bar, as City kept Woodley pinned inside their own half. Then Grace Craven pounced on a loose ball some 25 yards out and let fly, only for her dipping drive to graze the roof of the Woodley net.
A short stoppage in play saw Woodley's captain, Shannon Hobson, require treatment and have to leave the pitch after a brilliant, battling performance in the centre of midfield. Another former Caversham United player, Caitlin Levy, took her place in midfield and, right on the stroke of full-time, yet another former Goat made the telling contribution. Once again, Ellie Stalley was central to Woodley's raid, slipping a short, precise pass inside for Sumayah Zayadi to run on and lash a shot past Maskell form just inside the box. 1-2


FT Oxford City 1 Woodley United 2. The result sees Woodley move off the bottom of the table for the first time since late November. Their recent revival is in no small part thanks to the firepower provided by recent signing Ellie Stalley. Since coming in from Farnborough, where she had scored twelve goals in nine games, the striker has added five goals in three games. That's one hell of a return.
Oxford remain in eight spot, but their recent run must be cause for concern. Next weekend The Hoops have a break from the league, as they welcome Thames Valley Division 2 North side Easington Sports to the MGroup in a county cup semi-final. Woodley have another crucial league encounter to look forward to as the team directly above them, Sholing, come to Bulmershe Pavilion. Sholing are five points ahead of United, but have played three games more.

The game next door ended Oxford City Development 0 Farnborough 0.
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Oxford City: Maskell, Durham, Davis, Bough-French(c), Ayres, Gorman, Harris, Craven, Ranxha, L.White, E.White. Subs: Edwards, Lyne, Parsons, Wellington-Faissal, Barrett
Woodley United: Nowak-Allum, Thorne, Kehayova, Sharp, Griffiths, Evans, Hobson(c), Giles, Mayani, Kemp, Stalley. Subs: Bynoe-Gittens, Browning, Hamblin, Levy, Zayadi

Ground Number: Re-Visit
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