Harpenden Town Women showed their character and attacking quality as they came from behind to beat Bowers & Pitsea Women 4-2 on Sunday.
The Harps were forced to do things the hard way after falling behind early on, but a superb response saw them turn the game around before half-time and ultimately secure all three points in an entertaining contest.
Harpenden started brightly, with Jordan Rockall shooting narrowly wide before Lilly Kelly tested Sophie Hart with a low drive. However, the visitors threatened too, and Ruby Kilden struck the top of the crossbar with a powerful header before Bowers took the lead after 10 minutes.
Following a corner, the ball broke to Ria-Louise Herbert on the edge of the penalty area and she fired a low effort past Izzy Wagstaffe to put the visitors 1-0 ahead.
The lead lasted only a matter of minutes. Sophia Amanor released Rockall with a perfectly weighted pass and the striker raced through before finishing confidently from 10 yards to level the scores.
Both sides continued to create chances. Chloe Farrell and Shannon Drewe were denied by good goalkeeping, while Rockall had the ball in the net for a second time only to see the effort ruled out for a tight offside decision.
Harpenden then took control. Amanor burst into the penalty area and was brought down, earning a spot-kick. She dusted herself down before calmly placing the penalty into the bottom corner to make it 2-1.
The hosts extended their lead just before the break when Seryan Kabongo picked out Kelly, who skipped past a defender and unleashed a superb strike beyond Hart to send Harpenden into half-time with a commanding 3-1 advantage.
Victoria Schelhase produced one of the highlights of the afternoon midway through the second half, collecting a loose ball 20 yards from goal and sending a delightful long-range effort over Hart and into the far corner for 4-1.
Bowers responded immediately through Drewe, whose shot flew in off the underside of the crossbar, but Harpenden stood firm under late pressure.
Both goalkeepers excelled in the closing stages, with Wagstaffe producing several crucial saves and Hart denying Ella Mercer, Leah Shellard and Sophie Hendy as the Harps closed out a deserved 4-2 victory.
Squad: Wagstaffe, Warren, Dinsey, Tucker, Rockall, Amnor, Shellard, Oguntuga, Kelly, Farrell, Kabongo, Shacklock, Hendy, Schelhase, Mercer and Dyett (all played)
Player of the Match: Izzy Wagstaffe (Harpenden) and Sophie Hart (Bowers & Pitsea)
Next up for Harpenden Town Ladies is an away trip to Brentwood Town Ladies, with kick-off scheduled for 3pm on Sunday.
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