Dominant Phoenix Clip Falcons Wings

On a mild September Sunday afternoon, the ECSSC would play host to Mudeford Phoenix’s third consecutive league game of the 2024/25 season. Confidence would have been flowing after back-to-back home wins had seen Phoenix come into this game sitting second in the table on the maximum 6 points, with nine goals scored and just one conceded. But, while last week saw Alton come to town off the back of an opening day 7-0 humbling, today’s opponents Gosport Falcons had won their only game so far, 2-0 over Pace, and so would have been in a positive spirit.

The expectation would have been for a tight, closely fought game that would perhaps be decided by the narrowest of margins. What unfolded, was a dominant performance of which the final scoreline did not tell the full story. Phoenix made four changes from the victory over Alton. Having been injured in the warmup last week, Rosie Abraham had recovered to lead the lineup top, while Sarah Stocker, Jess Ellwood and Tonia Gomez all came into the starting lineup.

Team Line-Up

MUDEFORD: 1 – Maisie Roff, 33 – Tonia Gomez, 2 Hannah Jones, 10 – Megan Smith, 21 – Sophie Matthews, 4 – Micala Angel, 18 – Millie O’Connor, 11 – Jess Ellwood, 8 – Demi Curtin, 19 – Sarah Stocker, 9 – Rosie Abraham

Subs: 7 – Becky Atkinson, 14 – Tavi Henry, 15 – Ella Gregory, 20 – Scarlett Roff

With the two teams lined up for the kick-off, a four-minute wait ensued as everyone waited for the referee to seemingly write a journal entry, before finally getting the game underway! Just like last week, Phoenix looked to start on the front foot, and they set the tone for what was to come after just two minutes, when Sarah Stocker, playing just behind the striker, played a through ball for Rosie Abraham to run onto, but it was a little over hit and picked up comfortably by Gosport keeper Tash Stallard. Abraham though, would not have to wait long for another chance as just two minutes later, Megan Smith drove through the middle of the pitch and played the striker through. Abraham managed to hold off two defenders and get her shot away, as the ball slipped past Stallard and into the corner of the Gosport net. Phoenix had taken just four minutes to get ahead, as our striker registered her third goal of the season. Looking to instantly build on that start, just a minute later Demi Curtin broke down the left and played the ball into the box, where Jess Ellwood got a left foot on it but put it over the bar.

On Seven minutes, Gosport made their first foray into the Phoenix half, but a ball down the line by their number 19 rolled comfortably into the box for Maisie Roff to pick up. Any thought that this might be the visitors starting to build some momentum was quickly squashed however, as moments later another driving run by Smith saw her send Ellwood down the right, as the winger played the ball into the box looking for Abraham, but the ball was put out for a corner. Mudeford would apply intense pressure, as a run of four consecutive corners threatened to bring about a second goal, but a couple of great saves by Stallard kept the home side out, before eventually the fourth corner was scrambled clear by the Falcons. On the 10-minute mark, a brief spell of pressure from Gosport would bring about their first corner, only for the set piece to sail out of play, as Maisie Roff was still yet to be troubled in the Phoenix goal.

Every time Gosport tried to find a foothold in the game, Phoenix would crank up the pressure, this time it was yet another driving run from Megan Smith who played it out to Curtin, as her cross was only half cleared and fell to Sarah Stocker. Stocker’s shot was blocked, and the ball came back to Smith, who recycled it out wide to Sophie Matthews, only for her cross to be knocked behind for another corner, which would result in a shot just wide.

The opening seventeen minutes had been all about driving runs from Smith, feeding Ellwood and Curtin on either wing, but now it became the turn of Sarah Stocker to cause problems down the middle. First off, some good footwork opened up some space, but her shot was straight at Stallard. A minute later she played a great through ball for Abraham, only for the ball to hit the back of her legs. Then on twenty minutes, another piece of great footwork saw Stocker get clear of two defenders, only for Stallard to save once again. That last line would become a regular feature of the afternoon, as it became clear that Gosport could not match Phoenix for pace and movement, and through balls split them open time after time,

The chances kept on coming, as Stocker found Rosie Abraham again in the box but Stallard saved, before a good cross by Demi Curtin somehow cut through everyone in the box before finding Jess Ellwood, who took a touch but shot over. Gosport were on the ropes, as minutes later Stocker showed great intelligence. A Mudeford clearance up to her was well controlled just inside the home half, before she then turned and pushed over the halfway line. Quickly realising there was only Falcon defenders ahead of her, Stocker stopped and shaped to pass out wide to Demi Curtin, before instead playing a delightful through ball that caught the defence unaware. Megan Smith charged through onto it, only to be stopped by a recovering tackle in the box that brought about another corner.

A rare moment of rest bite came for Gosport when their number 12 looked to be put through on goal, only for the ball to be over hit and run safely into the hands of Roff, who had spent nearly forty minutes being a spectator. Not long after, Mudeford were to suffer a blow, as Stocker got into the box and got a shot away, before going down injured. The injury would sadly see her carried out of the game, not to return as she was replaced by Millie O’Connor. Gosport would have been forgiven for thinking Stocker’s departure would ease their struggles given the problems she had been causing them, but step forward Becky Atkinson. Atkinson had earlier come on for Abraham, and had started her first battle of the day, against the Falcon’s offside trap. Falcons were playing a high line, and Atkinson was positioning herself right on the edge of it. A few times in a row she clearly strayed beyond and was penalised by the touchline official. Then, she timed it perfectly and looked to be clean through, only for the flag to once again go up, this time wrongly so. Eventually, Atkinson broke the trap, this time the flag stayed down as she drove into the box and fired off a shot, only for Stallard to save it. The striker and the keeper would then scramble for the rebound, as Stallard would poke it out for a corner. This would start Atkinson’s second battle of the afternoon, this time versus Stallard.

A few breaks in play from injuries meant the half was going longer than expected, but with half time approaching, for all the dominance by Phoenix, the scoreline remained 1-0, largely thanks to the heroics of Stallard in the Gosport goal. It would not stay that way however, as Ellwood broke into the box only for Stallard to clear. The clearance fell to Megan Smith, and she drove forward once again, this time going it alone and drilling It low past Stallard to net her first of the season and make it 2-0 to Phoenix. With time ticking on, Mudeford still found more opportunities to extend the lead before the break, as both Smith and Atkinson broke into the box, each of them firing wide, while a cross from Ellwood was met by the right boot of Millie O’Connor, only to go just wide of the post.

The halftime whistle brought about a welcome relief for the visitors, who found themselves very fortunate to be just 2-0 down after 45 minutes. The last twenty minutes had seen what appeared to be a Coastguard helicopter flying round and then hovering in the backdrop of the Gosport goal, and there was every chance they were looking to recruit Falcons stopper Stallard given how many times she had rescued her defence in that half.

Given how dominant Phoenix had been in the first half, it would have been no surprise if the second half saw the tempo drop a little, but it didn’t. It was though, Gosport who made the first move, as some good work by their number twelve moved the ball out wide, only for the cross to fly through the box and out of play. Natural order was swiftly resumed, and just a minute later, Scarlett Roff played a delightful ball down the left that O’Connor ran onto, driving forward into the box. It looked as though she might shoot from the tough angle, but instead she cut inside, seating the defender on the ground in the process, before drilling a shot past the keeper into the bottom corner. Just like in the first half, it was an early goal and now 3-0 to the home team. Phoenix were in complete control, with Gosport yet to force a single save from Maisie Roff, yet minutes later she was picking the ball out of the net. Gosport had moved into the Phoenix half and sent the ball out wide, before a long range hit by Amelia D’Arcy caught everyone out and sailed into the top corner, giving Falcons the unlikeliest of lifelines.

The goal from nowhere would have given Gosport hope of finding a way back, but that hope was soon crushed. They avoided a scare when Smith drove forward and clear, only she chose to pass instead of shoot and the pass brought about an offside. Minutes later though, Megan Smith would shoot. She ran through the middle of the pitch and laid the ball off to Atkinson, who returned it with one touch that put her through, and her strike beat Stallard and went in off the post to restore Phoenix’s three goal advantage, making the score 4-1.

Atkinson’s personal battle with Stallard would then continue, as some great play saw her beat her defender and push clear into the box, only for her shot to be saved by Stallard. Not long later, she would seize on a mistake by the defenders and poach the ball off them, but her touch was heavy and saw the ball through safely to Stallard. Atkinson though, wasn’t the only one finding Stallard impossible to pass. Next up was Curtin, as she picked the pocket of a defender and got into the box, only for Stallard to save her shot. The rebound would come back to her but her header would go back into the hands of Stallard.

Bar that one moment of either luck or brilliance, it had been a bleak afternoon for Gosport’s forward line, and this was echoed when they had a free kick just inside their own half, and their No.19 opted to take a shot, but the distance was vast and in the end the ball fell to no one in the box and Roff was quick to scoop it up. Rosie Abraham then returned to the pitch and was quickly into the action as she was put through, but a defender got back to tackle for a corner. Down the other end, Gosport tried a break away, but Micala Angel defended like a rock, beating the attacker off the ball and getting it clear.

Remember that battle between Atkinson and Stallard? Well, another round of it took place as the striker got through once again, only for her shot to be saved by Stallard. The chances continued to come for Mudeford, as first a corner fell to Ella Gregory just outside the box but her shot went wide. Then Rosie Abraham was put through, fighting off a defender, she took the ball round the oncoming Stallard, but lost her balance and her shot rolled agonisingly just the wrong side of the post. Abraham would then turn provider as she ran down the left and cut into the box, playing a tempting ball into the six yard box for Sophie Matthews. Matthews hit it with her left foot and we waited for the net to bulge, only for a defender to get in a block and send it out for a corner. The two would then link up again. Matthews had pushed further forward on the right and was causing a lot of problems, as on this occasion she fed the ball through to Abraham whose shot was, you guessed it, stopped by Stallard! Now our other striker had become embroiled in a battle with Stallard, with the striker searching for her second goal of the afternoon. A ball was played up to Matthews who played the pass of the day, a first time curved ball layoff with her back to goal that put Abraham in, only for Stallard to make yet another save.

Gosport would manage one more push forward, but a free kick would lead to a tame effort that safely trickled into Maisie Roff’s path. Time was almost up, but the chances weren’t quite yet. Some great play by Becky Atkinson down the left saw her poach the ball off a defender and play a pass to Smith on the edge of the box. She took a couple of touches and then likely saw the chance of a hattrick and so hit a shot from outside the box, but it was comfortably saved by Stallard. Millie O’Connor would be the last to have a chance, as she was played in by Abraham, only for her shot to be the last to be stopped by Stallard, before the full-time whistle blew.

For Gosport, the whistle would have come as a huge relief, and their goal difference a lot healthier than it could have been. For Mudeford, it was three wins from three to start the season, with the ECSSC looking like a fortress. Phoenix’s play has been superb to watch, with pace, wing play and through balls tearing Gosport apart time and time again. On any other day, this match would have ended in double figures for Mudeford, but on this day, Tash Stallard came to town!

My Player Of The Match: Tash Stallard (it had to be).