Photo: Chris Foxwell
James Gibson’s 50th match did not get off to a great start as he was forced into a change in Midfield after Keresha Iton was dropped out of the squad due to an underlying injury picked up against Cardiff City in the last game which meant Zoe Rushen would be making her 150th appearance however new signings Nia Evans and Louise Davis made the bench in their first fixture as Billericay Town Players
2 Changes for MK Dons Mitchell and Wilson coming in for McLean and Attenborough who dropped to the bench.
In a game where both teams needed points to reach their league objectives, we knew that goals would definitely be on the agenda today and with a 1-1 draw earlier in the season this was an opportunity to go one step further for both these sides.
The first dangerous attack came in the fifth minute when Rodgers put a deep free-kick into the MK Dons Penalty area and the goalkeeper and Defender both went for the same ball but Billericay couldn’t react quick enough. Both sides had seen a wide amount of possession but neither side had been able to capitalize on the early action.
In the 10th minute, MK Dons did take the lead with a great bit of passing play across the box all made possible by midfielder Wilson as she played the ball outside to the left side where Wood managed to put a low cross into the box which allowed Puddick to drift in towards the front post and place the ball across the face of the goal beating Billericay Goalkeeper Baker.
Billericay did try to find a reply instantly however the momentum of the game dropped when Billericay’s Goalkeeper Baker went down injured off the ball and needed lengthy treatment from the medical team before being able to continue.
Since the break for the injury, MK Dons started to get on top in the game with plenty of chances coming down the left side through Wood who was looking to find Puddick once again but all shots were being fired at the Billericay Goalkeeper or ended up going wide of the target.
As we reached the 19th Minute in the game things started to become a bit more physical and the battle on the pitch was starting to heat up especially when MK Dons Defender Warren committed a very poor challenge just over the halfway line which earned the Right Back a Yellow Card the resulting free-kick was delivered in by Rodgers once again towards the penalty spot but Biggs couldn’t direct it goalwards and put it over the crossbar.
Although Billericay were struggling with the constant pressure of the MK Dons attack there was parts of the game where Billericay fans could be hopeful of some joy mostly when Thomas made a number of dangerous runs towards the MK Dons defenders but the MK Dons defense remained strong for those periods of the game.
As the clock reached 32 Minutes Billericay almost conceded a second goal this time coming from a lack of concentration on the ball which allowed MK Dons’ threat Wilson to collect the ball just outside of the Penalty area. Wilson decided to pass the ball off to Gould instead of taking the shot which resulted in Baker making a comfortable save.
Just four minutes later MK Dons had a corner Kick which went into a dangerous area and Billericay struggled to clear the ball away fortunately the Referee awarded a Free-Kick for a foul inside the box by Gould on Rodgers.
As the half was coming to a close and Billericay were starting to take control of the game Billericay had two excellent chances to get back on level score first of all through Zoe Rusheden who had a great chance to cross the ball into the box but her touch was too heavy as she was put under pressure by Warren.
The second opportunity came just a few seconds later as Rodgers delivered a Free-Kick from 35 Yards out towards goal but it missed everyone and went out for a Goal Kick. From that Resulting Gk it went long and Gould tried to get a shot away but it was blocked by Rogers.
With the last kick of the half Billericay had a chance after Thomas made a great run into the box and pulled it back across the box for Bell. But Guy made a great save and the ball went out of play and the referee blew for Half-Time.
Photo: Chris Foxwell
Just like the first half Billericay made a promising start to the half but they still found themselves a goal behind.
In the 49th minute Rodgers played a great free-kick into the area and a corner kick was given after MK Dons dealt with the set piece. From that resulting corner kick the ball was headed out towards the edge of the Penalty area where Bell had a chance at the goal but it ended up going quite wide of the target.
As the game continued Billericay really forced MK Dons further into their own half and MK Dons were now the team on the back foot and struggling to cope.
MK Dons did manage to take a shot from just inside the box but it took a deflection which gave MK Dons their first opportunity of the half but the corner was poor just like all other set pieces today and Billericay were given a Free-Kick for a foul on Baker.
With Billericay on top but still needing more goal threat they decided to make an attacking substitute as Sealy replaced Rushden in the 57th Minute.
MK Dons did have a great chance when Wilson broke away down the Dons left-hand side but she was fouled by Maddie Biggs 23 Yards out from goal which earned Biggs a yellow card.
With Guy’s distribution in the 2nd half causing problems Billericay were starting to apply pressure further up the field with only one of Guy’s five second half kicks finding a MK Dons player meaning Billericay were looking likely to capitalize on a mistake.
With the game starting to turn in Billericay’s favour it was time for MK Dons to add some fresh legs in the way of Attenborough and McLean who came on to Replace Wilson and Mitchell with just under 20 minutes left to see this 1 goal lead out.
Billericay followed suit and added some fresh energy of their own just a few minutes later as Davies and Evans came on for their debuts but to also give some more attacking options in place of O’Shea and Bell.
Since coming on Attenbrough had been alive down the MK Dons right hand side and was giving MK Dons a much needed lift in the 2nd Half which meant Billericay were still having to be careful they didn’t leave themselves open for a counter-attack.
In the second half Billericay won a lot of the Midfield battles and still looked likely to score but MK Dons remained strong in numbers.
With 78 Minutes on the clock MK Dons were forced into their final substitution as Wood came off with a slight knock and was replaced by Fatuga-Dada.
Up to this point the Billericay subs had not quite made the impact they would have been hoping for and Billericay still found themselves 1-0 down with 7 minutes left to play.
With time running out and the opportunities just not quite falling in their favour Billericay Town elected to make one final change Walsh came off and Doo came on.
With less than 84 seconds of the original 90 minutes left Billericay managed to create an excellent opportunity out of a misplaced pass as Sealey fed the ball through for Doo but Guy made an excellent diving save to concede a corner kick.
The corner kick was whipped into the front post and there was a scramble of heads to head the ball up into the air and as the ball dropped Maddie Biggs headed home to make it 1-1 although the MK Dons players felt there was a foul by the Billericay player the referee awarded the goal and we were now going to be playing 12 minutes of additional time.
The final 12 minutes were just back and forth passing and both teams losing the ball in the centre of the pitch.
Full Time : Billericay Town 1-1 MK Dons
Billericay Town : Baker, O Smith, Williams, Biggs, Rushen, Bell, O’Shea, Beaufort, Rodgers, Walsh, Thomas
Subs : Jones, Doo, Evans, Sealey, Davis
Scorers: Biggs 89’
Mk Dons: Guy, Puddick, Stovold, Creaney, Warren, Biggadike, Rush, Wilson, Gould, Mitchell, Wood
Subs : Samuels, Hayes, Attenborough, McLean, Fatuga-Dada
Scorers: Puddick 10’
Referee: Ryan Bartlett
Attendance: 187 (52 Away Fans)
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