Millwall Lionesses make it nine wins on the spin

By Kai Bennett

Millwall Lionesses first-team coach Adam Rowland reckons there is a “target” on his side’s back after they recorded their ninth straight win.

The Lionesses defeated Aylesford 3-1 on Sunday in the London and South East Regional League, scoring two goals in the last 10 minutes.

Maisie Joyce put the South London club ahead, hitting home from six yards out to score her fifth goal in two games.

The hosts equalised when a free-kick into the box was headed past Serena Hand.

After the restart it was one-way traffic and that pressure finally paid off when Otesha Charles picked up the ball in the area and struck past the Aylesford keeper.

The three points were sealed in stoppage time as Lucy Jellett pounced on a rebound.

Rowland said: “There’s a massive target on our backs – people want to beat us now. We just have to keep doing our best to get the win, keep striving and keep working hard.

“To be able to keep going and keep going, it was like attack versus defence in the end. Chance after chance, we couldn’t seem to get it [the goal]. That character shines through when you keep on trying.

“It’s great to be there [top of the league], but it’s a lot of pressure and all we can do is keep trying to win every week and stay there.

“We had to dig deep today. The other team sat in, they had quite a low block and tried to nullify us, but we dug deep and eventually got the win.

“There’s a lot of strong personalities but each and every one of them has got a strong character to be able to deal with that.

“We’re looking at Richmond but we’re also looking ahead to Gillingham in the cup, that’s quite a big game for us, we want to prove a point there.”