10/10/09 - Friendly
Barking & Dagenham 4 (Richardson, Thomas, Watters, Welch)
Woolwich 0
BOUNCING BACK FROM last week's defeat to Thurrock, Barking & Dagenham showed impressive resilience to overcome Woolwich in a comprehensive 4-0 win.
They got off to the best possible start, taking the lead after 60 seconds. A Frankie Naidoo corner was swept home by Jack Richardson at the front post for his first District goal.
That allowed Barking & Dagenham to settle and they were in total control during the opening exchanges. Midfielders, Ricky Morris and Jesse Amoh were first to every ball in the middle of the park and Naidoo and Nathan Casey were providing a threat out on the wings.
The lead was nearly doubled when Michael Turner released Sorba Thomas but he was denied by a well timed tackle.
Imperious
Woolwich were struggling to get out of their own half and, when they did, they found skipper Richardson in imperious form. He won everything in the air and was solid in the tackle. With such dominance, full backs Daniel John and Jayke Welch were happy to join in the attacks as the one way traffic continued.
Woolwich, to their credit, continued to battle away and they forced the under-worked Jack Kemsley into a smart save just before the end of the first period.
Woolwich then made eleven changes but this failed to stop Barking & Dagenham controlling the game.
Amoh was now dictating things just in front of the back four and, with Max Watters and Michael Folkes pushing forward, it seemed only a matter of time before the home side extended their lead.
Folkes was particularly impressive on his debut, his direct and powerful running causing problems to the Woolwich back four.
Delightful
With confidence growing, the side continued to play some delightful football and Aaron Molloy forced the keeper into a good save, with a smart turn and shot.
The William Ford man then could have made Woolwich pay for some slack defending but he failed to connect and the chance went begging.
Woolwich offered very little going forward and, whenever they did, they found defenders Scott Mitchell and Daniel Parish in impressive form.
Despite dominating the game, Barking & Dagenham were still only one goal to the good and this slender lead was almost wiped out until Richardson produced a superb tackle to deny the Woolwich forward.
The third period continued in the same vein although Woolwich made a series of subs, which interrupted the flow of the game.
However it didn't take long for the home side to double their lead. Morris and Folkes combined, some neat passing splitting open the Woolwich rearguard and Sorba Thomas applied the finish for his second goal of the season.
Quality
With the breathing space of the second goal, Barking & Dagenham seemed to relax and then soon scored a high quality third. Morris surged into the Woolwich half, exchanged passes with Molloy, before ghosting past three Woolwich tackles. He then chipped the ball into Watters, who superbly chested the ball past the Woolwich defender, and volleyed the ball past the helpless keeper.
There was still time for a fourth, one which put a fairer reflection on the game. Jayke Welch scoring his first District goal, tricking his way past three defenders, before arrowing the ball in from a tight angle.
Barking & Dagenham were good value for their win and will go into their first competitive fixture with confidence sky high. The side open up their Crisp Shield campaign with a tough test against South London next week.
