Bridge's brace helps Blackheath canter past Canterbury

A tightly contested match at Canterbury ended in Blackheath and Elthamians favour on Sunday.

Blackheath showed promise from the beginning as a run from Ria Bennett-Lee and Leah Davies led to Nell Williams and Amelia Lewis getting lots of shots on goal. However, the Canterbury goalkeeper proved strong and Blackheath found themselves dropping back, requiring strong defending from Amelia Couper and Evie Oakley followed by Ellie Kinch being called on in the fifth and sixth minutes. Ria Bennett-Lee and Leah Davies had an excellent run down the right before crossing it to Isla Campbell who scored the first goal of the match in the ninth minute.

Isla Thomas’ run in the 12th minute led to the first short corner of the game, closely followed by a second. Ellie Kinch was called on in the 16th minute and the ball was quickly cleared away by Orla Wyatt. In the 17th minute, Ria Bennett-Lee got a shot on goal.

In the 21st minute, Blackheath gave away the first defensive short corner of the match but Amelia Couper, Rebecca Anderson, Evie Oakley and Semirah Hart proved strong and nothing came of it. However, three minutes later, a second short corner was awarded to Canterbury. Determined not to be beaten, Blackheath turned it around quickly and Ria Bennett-Lee broke away from the defenders before getting a one-on-one against the goalkeeper that was well saved.

The match continued toing and froing after half-time with Orla Wyatt defending strongly and Ellie Kinch making some valuable saves. Seven minutes after the break, Hannah Bridge soared through the middle with a dazzling run before slotting the ball expertly into the far corner to make it 2-0 to the visitors.

Canterbury pulled one back with 16 minutes left. The next 12 minutes saw strong attacking from Ria Bennett-Lee, Hannah Bridge, Leah Davies and Polly Chamberlain. Hannah Bridge finally extended Blackheath's lead with four minutes left and there was still time for Ria Bennett-Lee to see her shot well saved after a clever short corner routine.

Afterwards, the team unanimously voted Hannah Bridge to be the player of the match.