U16 Whites Progress In County Cup

Penistone Church Whites progressed into the Quarter Finals of the County Cup after edging out division 2 rivals Dearne in a closely contested game at the memorial ground.

Penistone started the match much the brighter team and were unlucky not to be ahead in the opening minutes when a header from Akira White hit the crossbar. More opportunities followed as Dearne struggled at the back to deal with the bobbly surface and it was no less than Penistone deserved to take the lead when Izzy Lomas confidently finished mid way through the half.

At half time the only possible concern for Penistone was their prolifiglarcy in front of goal but with Akira White everywhere in the midfield and the emergency centre back pairing of Molly Thompson and Daisy Sykes looking solid the team were confident of finishing the job.

And so it was that within 2 minutes of the restart Dearne rifled in an unstoppable drive from 25 yards to level the scores. With Penistone seemingly jolted by this unexpected turn of events Dearne enjoyed their best spell of the game and had a 15 minute period where all momentum appeared to have swung.

As the half wore on Penistone regrouped and the remainder of the second half was closely contested. The defining moment in the game came when Ella Darrington showed great composure to slot home from 20 yards into an open net after the Dearne keeper had flown off her line to make a smart save at the feet of Macy Jones.

With their noses in front Penistone played out the rest of the game with relative comfort but had to work hard against a strong Dearne team featuring many new faces from previous encounters.

The game was an excellent advert for the 2nd division of the SHGWL and set up the upcoming league matches between the two teams brilliantly.

Both sides had faced adversity in the run up to the game with 3 players missing from each squad, including both of Penistone's recognised centre backs.

The win puts Penistone into the QF of the County Cup for the first time. They are now the lowest ranked team left in the tournament and face the daunting prospect of facing a top Div 1 side such as Sheffield Wed or Rossington, JPL big hitters Huddersfield Town or even Sheffield Utd Academy in the next round.

Regardless of what happens next the Penistone team are extremely proud to reach this stage from the second division of the SHGWL.

Girls of the Game for Penistone were Akira White who registered her best performance for the team to date and makeshift CB Daisy Sykes who answered an emergency requirement of the team with no hesitation.

The Church girls next return to league action on the 7th November when they travel to Doncaster Belles.