Cardiff Met continued their Adran Premier title charge with a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City.
This was Met’s third win of the season against the Bluebirds, and a screamer from Elianna Chavez along with a penalty from Lauren Hutton Townsend was enough for the three points, but City were the better team for much of the game and were unlucky not to get at least a point.
The victory moves the Archers into second place on 39 points, four behind leaders Swansea City. Cardiff City drop to third and are now three points behind Met.
It was a quiet opening 15 minutes, with City imposing themselves as the dominant team. The physical aspect of their play had been lacking in their first two matches against the Archers, but they were bullying their opponents at times and looked in full control.
However, Elianna Chavez sparked the game into life in the 17th minute. She picked up the ball on the left, before being allowed to move across the pitch and unleashing an unstoppable curling effort over Ceryn Chamberlain to put the home team 1-0 up.
Things got worse for City a few minutes later, as Catherine Walsh was forced off with a nasty looking injury.
But the Bluebirds refused to lie down and controlled the rest of the half. Phoebie Poole with their best effort, but her half-volley flashed wide of Annabel Sweeney’s goal.
City started the second half where they left the first, on the front foot.
A rare mix up in the Met defence almost lead to an own goal, while Hollie Smith narrowly headed wide from a corner.
The game then went into a lull, with neither side really being able to break down the other.
Met got their second however in the 79th minute. After great one-touch play on the edge of the box, Laura-May Walkley was played through and was cynically challenged from behind by Smith, leaving the referee with no option but to point to the spot. Lauren Hutton Townsend was tasked with converting the penalty, and she did so by putting it into the bottom corner.
The second goal proved to be a dagger to the Bluebirds push, and they couldn’t create anything in the final ten minutes, leaving Met to claim a vital three points.
Met will now travel to Swansea in what could be a title decider on Wednesday night. City’s next game will be away to Aberystwyth Town.
Player of the Match: Seren Watkins
While the Archers prevailed on the pitch, I thought Seren Watkins was superb today. Her tenacity in the midfield and her vocal presence did not go unnoticed and she was unlucky to be on the losing side today.
Cardiff Met: Annabel Sweeney (GK), Lauren Hutton Townsend (Ellie Preece, 89’), Lucy Finch, Tija Richardson, Stephanie Turner (C), Sophie Hancocks, Amy Long, Laura-May Walkley, Emily Allen, Emily Richards (Shannon Evans, 55’), Elianna Chavez
Unused Subs: Charlotte Smith (GK), Ellie Preece, Tiggi Webb, Hannah Mills
Yellow Cards: Lauren Hutton Townsend (58’), Stephanie Turner (82’), Tija Richardson (85’)
Cardiff City: Ceryn Chamberlain (GK), Hollie Smith, Hannah Daley, Siobhan Walsh (C), Ffion Price, Seren Watkins, Danielle Broadhurst, Catherine Walsh (Amy Williams, 21’), Phoebie Poole, Lily Billingham, Zoe Atkins (Megan Saunders, 67’)
Unused Subs: Amelia Forkings (GK), Emily Bayliss, Summer Bowen-Quirk
Yellow Cards: Hollie Smith (78’), Megan Saunders (90’)
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