Gwalia United came up short in a thrilling encounter at Home Park, falling 4-3 to Plymouth Argyle. Despite a brace from Cori Williams-Mills and a goal by Ellie Sargent, the Welsh side was unable to secure any points.
Williams-Mills opened the scoring in sensational fashion in the 11th minute. The captain took down a high ball in the box, flicked it over a defender, and volleyed home to give Gwalia an early lead.
Gwalia had further chances, with Ellie Sargent and Casi Gregson both testing the Argyle defence, but the home side found their equaliser in the 30th minute. Ella Stephens beat Emily Poole on the right and delivered a pinpoint cut-back to Ellie Sara, who finished confidently from the penalty spot to level the score.
Just before halftime, Gwalia regained the lead. Elena Cole won the ball high up the pitch and played in Sargent, who sped past full-back Amii Kearley and slotted it home to make it 2-1 at the break.
Four minutes into the second half, Williams-Mills added her second of the match, brushing off her marker and lifting a half-volley over the keeper to extend Gwalia’s lead to 3-1. It seemed like the perfect start to the second half, but Argyle quickly responded.
Ellie Sara struck again after Ruby Scahill, who had just come on, lost possession. Sara pounced, going one-on-one with Laura O’Sullivan and calmly sliding the ball past the Gwalia keeper to pull one back for Plymouth.
With ten minutes remaining, Plymouth completed their comeback. Charlotte Whitmore continued her scoring streak, netting her fourth goal in as many games to draw the game level. Then, in a dramatic twist, Argyle took the lead for the first time. Sara sealed her hat-trick as her right-footed shot was initially saved by O’Sullivan but ricocheted off the post and into the net.
In just four minutes, Gwalia went from leading 3-2 to trailing 4-3. Despite their best efforts, they couldn’t recover, and the three points stayed with Argyle.
Gwalia United will look to bounce back next Sunday when they face Billericay at home.
