After an extended break from BWSL2 action, the league was back with a bang this weekend, with plenty of action and goals across its six fixtures. As Nottingham Forest held Newcastle to a draw to deny them a sixth consecutive league win, and Ipswich Town climbed to second place after defeating a 10-man, and previously unbeaten, Sunderland, there were plenty of individual performances to get excited about.
The players in the Team of the Week this week gave everything on the pitch for their sides and earnt their place through undeniable brilliance in their fixtures.
Sian Rogers – Sheffield United
Sian Rogers was steadfast and vital in Sheffield’s goal, ensuring a 4-3 win away from home against Burnley, despite the hosts having 22 shots on goal as opposed to Sheffield’s 18. Rogers made 6 important saves to get her side the 3 points, including two in quick succession in the 44th minute, meaning that Sheffield’s 2-1 deficit before half-time was not widened. Her double save stopped threatening efforts from Burnley’s Emma Siddall and former Blade Alethea Paul, meaning that Sheffield was able to come back from behind and claim the win in the second half.
Georgia Brougham – Nottingham Forest
Forest managed won the weekend to do what no team had yet managed this season, and stopped Newcastle from claiming a win by holding them to a 2-2 draw. This result was no doubt largely in part due to the work of Georgia Brougham, and the 11 defensive contributions made by her. Her efforts in the backline meant that the Magpies could not come back from behind in the second half, as their threatening attack failed to bypass Brougham sufficiently to gain a win.
Brougham makes her return to the BWSL2 Team of the Week having made the second highest number of accurate passes, with 63 in total.
Georgia Hunter – Ipswich Town
Another defender to be making her second appearance in the BWSL2 Team of the Week is Ipswich Town’s Georgia Hunter. The Blues ended Sunderland’s unbeaten start to the season, claiming a 3-1 victory. Alongside having the highest number of accurate passes with 67 in total, Hunter made 10 vital defensive contributions in order to acquire this result and maintain Ipswich’s own unbeaten start. This included blocking two shots, and making six clearances, repeatedly stopping Sunderland from coming close to breaching the goal-line and giving Ipswich a key win at home.
Gemma Lawley – Bristol City
Alongside assisting Brooke Aspin’s goal, Lawley made six defensive contributions, including two tackles and two interceptions in Bristol City’s 4-2 win over Wolverhampton.
Her assist came in the 42nd minute, to give the Robins the lead just before half-time, following Dafeur’s free-kick, passing the ball to Aspin in a prime position to the left of the goal area, who scored to the top right of the goal. Her contributions at both sides of the pitch earnt her a place in the Team of the Week, as well as earning her team three points.
Jorja Fox – Ipswich Town
Jorja Fox was another Ipswich defender to have made a number of indispensable contributions at the back for the Blues, with her defensive contributions totalling 13, the highest number of any player on the pitch. Fox made an impressive eight clearances and with two key interceptions, stayed calm and collected to stop the dangerous runs of Katy Watson on the left wing from materialising into a goal, as Sunderland stayed limited to the one goal scored by Hughes in the game’s opening.
Aoibheann Clancy – Watford
Watford claimed a 4-2 win over Durham in their first BWSL2 win, and Clancy was the one to record their third in the 61st minute of the game.
Her goal was certainly spectacular, an Olimpico straight from her corner kick directly into the top right-hand corner of the net, unsavable and daring. Clancy’s strike at that point extended Watford’s lead to 3-0, as the Hornets’ goal-fest gave her an opportunity to show off her incredible skills.
Marine Dafeur – Bristol City
Marine Dafeur had a stellar performance for their Robins, recording two goal contributions, with an assist, and then a goal of her own. Bristol City’s leveller came about in the 23rd minute as the result of her assist, with Dafeur crossing the ball over to Katie Robinson to the right of the goal, who struck into the top right of the goal.
Then, in the 56th minute, Dafeur got one for herself, and her first ever for the club, by dispossessing Wolves’ defence after they had made a recovery in the box, and shooting from the centre into the goal to give Bristol a fourth to ensure their victory. Her contributions in both halves led her to have direct involvement in half of Bristol’s goals.
Madison Perry – Watford
Madison Perry was another player to record both a goal and an assist on Sunday, in another 4-2 win, her goal contributions pushing Watford to their win. The opener, scored by Pheobie Poole, occurred due to Perry’s cross from the left of the goal, placing the ball perfectly for Poole to tap it in.
Her goal came as Watford’s fourth and final, where she pounced on a mistake from Durham’s attempt at intercepting her run, and with a fantastic touch, she struck the ball from the left of the box into the top right of the goal to seal the Hornet’s dominating and attacking performance.
Mollie Rouse – Sheffield United
Also having a goal and an assist on the weekend was Sheffield United’s Mollie Rouse. Her goal came first, where after Sheffield’s corner the ball fell to her in the centre of the box, where Rouse did not falter to put her team ahead in the 8th minute of the game. She then took a corner in the 47th minute and placed the ball perfectly for Houssein to get her shot in from close range, putting the teams back on an equal level and starting Sheffield’s comeback from their 2-1 deficit before half-time.
Freya Jupp – Southampton
Despite Southampton settling for a draw after conceding late, Jupp has given her team real hope with a brace in the first half, her two goals coming within nine minutes of each other. Bashford assisted her first, chasing after the ball and crossing it for Jupp to complete a perfectly timed tap in to put Southampton back level after Leicester had opened the scoresheet just three minutes in.
Brazil then assisted her second, placing the ball for Jupp to the centre of the box, where it rolled past the keeper and into the bottom left of the box to put Southampton ahead. Jupp’s timing and positioning proved her integral awareness of her team’s work in the opposing half, giving her and her team two goals on Sunday.
Princess Ademiluyi – Ipswich Town
Ademiluyi’s performance on the weekend needs little explaining as to why it has earnt her a place on the Team of the Week for another time, with the striker giving her team a brace to give them a lead against Sunderland and eventually ensuring all three points. She ran rings around Sunderland’s defence after Leah Mitchell’s pass set her up well to the right of the goal and finished perfectly to give Ipswich the lead.
Her extension of this lead came just ten minutes later, with Maria Boswell’s assist not going to waste after an excellent run from Ademluyi saw her easily bypass Sunderland’s backline and strike the ball into the net for a second time.
