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London City Lionesses came from behind to rescue a point on the road against Watford in the Barclays Women’s Championship on Sunday [17 December].
Michelle Agyemang scored twice in four minutes to fire the Hornets to an early advantage, before Paige Culver added to London City’s woes with an own goal three minutes later.
However, the Pride produced a spirited comeback in the minutes that followed, with captain Lois Joel hammering a left-footed shot beyond the reach of Jacqui Goldsmid on the stroke of half-time.
Carolina Morace made full use of her squad after the break, with Grace Jarrett, Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah, Leanne Cowan, and Izzy Groves appearing from the bench in the second-half.
Jarrett, an academy prospect making her maiden league appearance, and Boye-Hlorkah, who has spent the last six weeks sidelined with a knee injury, made especially prominent impressions.
With Boye-Hlorkah occupying vital space in the penalty area, Grace Neville had the freedom to dart into an open pocket and score on the rebound to halve London City’s deficit with eleven minutes remaining in regulation time.
Buoyed by the announcement of seven additional minutes of play, the visitors launched attack after attack in a bid to level the scoreline and were rewarded via the boot of wide forward Lucy Fitzgerald.
With Watford’s defence stretched to breaking point, Jarrett crossed the ball into the penalty area for Fitzgerald to poke over the line and secure a crucial point for the Pride.
“Lucy always delivers a certain level of performance and committed,” said Morace of the 22-year-old. “She is important for us in every phase of play and is very determined when the other team has the ball. I’m pleased that she was able to score.
“Last week, we celebrated the debut of Grace and this week we must talk about her assist. She made a very positive impact and plays with maturity beyond her years. I’m happy that she was able to get her first assist at the professional level.”
London City return from the festive break on 14 January, with fourth-tier Moneyfields visiting Princes Park in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.