A Kate Longhurst brace helped Millwall Lionesses lift themselves out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 victory over Barnet yesterday.
By David Brenchley
Longhurst's strikes, one of which a composed volley one-on-one with goalkeeper Cherie Rowlands, came either side of a Stacey Sowden equaliser and lifted the Lionesses out of the relegation zone and above Watford.
For Barnet, the loss brings to an end a run of nine straight victories in all competitions and leaves them four points from safety going into the Premier League Cup final on Thursday.
Both sides seemed slightly cautious and it took a brilliant point blank save from Millwall keeper Michelle Beazley to keep the scores level after just five minutes.
Bees skipper Danielle Murphy pulled the ball back for Sowden but her shot was parried wide by Beazley, who proceeded to almost gift the Barnet striker a goal 20 minutes later.
A speculative ball out of defence from the visitors saw Beazley rushing out to clear under pressure from Sowden but the stopper miskicked and had to react quickly to make amends and put the ball into touch as the forward was readying to strike at the open goal.
Any nerves the hosts felt, though, were swept away when Longhurst grabbed her first of the afternoon from a corner just before the half hour mark.
Meghan McKeag fed Danielle Puddefoot, whose effort was saved well by Rowlands but from Emma Beckett's resulting corner Longhurst rose highest to head her side into the lead.
The game was a feisty affair and burst into life in the second period with a controversial equaliser from the away side.
Murphy played Zoe Lance through on goal and, with the Lionesses defenders shouting for offside, she squared the ball for Sowden who had the simple task of slotting the ball into the back of the net.
The Millwall protests for two offsides in the build up to the goal fell on deaf ears but, in the end, Longhurst made sure it did not matter as she knocked the ball over her marked and fired the ball past Rowlands to secure the three points.
Murphy had a header cleared off the line from an Eartha Pond corner to wards the end and Victoria Boardman missed a last ditch chance from a Pond free kick but it was not to be for Barnet.
Bees manager Tracey Kevins was disappointed with the result but still feels her side have time to pull themselves away from danger.
"I thought it was an occasion between two teams that played with a lot of caution due to what was at stake - I guess it was a classic six-pointer," she said.
"It wasn't a great football display from either side and we didn't perform to our usual expectations and standards.
"I would have said a draw would have been a fairer result, neither team did enough to say ‘we were the worthy winners' but in fairness to them they took their chances.
"When you get out of the bottom two is irrelevant. We looked at [this game] as an opportunity to get out of the bottom two this weekend when, actually, you have to get out of the bottom two by the final weekend.
"From our point of view, we still have two games in hand over Millwall and we are four points behind them so there is still a lot to play for."
Elsewhere, a Demi Stokes goal fired Sunderland within five points of winning the Premier League National Division after a 1-0 win away to third placed Leeds United.
