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# Ironworks 3-0 Saltmarsh: revenge, and a record crowd
- URL: https://pitch.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/ironworks-3-0-saltmarsh-revenge-and-a-record-crowd/
- Published: 2026-08-18T17:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-18T17:30:00.000Z
- Description: Three goals, a clean sheet and 1,840 people at Foundry Lane. Ironworks did not let the champions play.
- Author: Ellie Bramwell
- Tags: Match reports, Women’s game, #score Ironworks 3-0 Saltmarsh, #comp Women’s League, #venue Foundry Lane, #Import 2026-10-02 15:58

Ironworks took their revenge for last season in the best possible way: three goals, a clean sheet and a performance that made the Women's League champions look a step slow. Saltmarsh took the title from them on the last day in May. On Sunday, at Foundry Lane, they never got close.

![Hana Sato's second goal, a left-footed shot from the edge of the box.](https://pitch.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/content/images/2026/10/iron-goal-1.jpg)

Hana Sato's second goal, a left-footed shot from the edge of the box.

## A fast start

Ironworks scored after four minutes, and it set the tone. Their right-back, Precious Adeyemi, won the ball on halfway, ran forty metres and crossed low for Hana Sato, who scored from six yards. Saltmarsh had not touched the ball in their own half.

Saltmarsh are a patient side. They like to build slowly from the back, and they usually take twenty minutes to find their rhythm. Ironworks did not give them twenty minutes. Every time the Saltmarsh centre-backs had the ball, two Ironworks forwards ran at them. Three times in the first half, the pressure forced a long ball that went straight out of play.

## The match

- 4' Goal. Hana Sato finishes Adeyemi's low cross.
- 22' Yellow card for Saltmarsh's Lucy Fenwick, a late tackle on Sato.
- 38' Goal. Sato again, a left-footed shot from the edge of the area after a short corner.
- 46' Half-time whistle at 2-0.
- 58' Substitution. Saltmarsh bring on their cup-final hero, Bea Lindqvist.
- 71' Goal. Ironworks captain Maria Costa heads in a free kick at the far post.
- 90+2' Full-time whistle.

## What changed since May

In the title decider, Ironworks sat deep and hoped to counter. It nearly worked, and they lost 1-0 to a late goal. This time, their manager, Joanne Pike, did the opposite. "We watched the decider four times," she said afterwards. "We realised we let them play. Today we did not let them play."

> We lost the league by one goal on the last day. That hurts in a particular way, because you nearly won. Today we wanted to win properly.  
>  
> **Maria Costa, Ironworks captain**

## Saltmarsh's problem

Saltmarsh have now lost two of their first three league games. Their goalkeeper, Ingrid Holm, who kept nine clean sheets last season, made four good saves and could do nothing about the goals. The problem is further forward: in three games, they have had only five shots on target.

![Foundry Lane: a record league crowd of 1,840.](https://pitch.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/content/images/2026/10/iron-crowd-1.jpg)

Foundry Lane: a record league crowd of 1,840.

## Pike's changes

Pike made two changes to the side that lost the title. She moved Adeyemi from left-back to right-back, where she can run onto her stronger foot, and she put Costa, usually a centre-back, in front of the defence. Costa won eleven of her fourteen duels and made more passes than anyone on the pitch.

The other change was harder to see. In the decider in May, Ironworks' forwards stopped pressing after an hour. On Sunday they pressed until the 85th minute, and then Pike brought on two fresh forwards to keep going. "We trained for this all summer," Pike said. "Short sprints, every day. The players hated me in July. They like me today."

|            | Ironworks | Saltmarsh |
| ---------- | --------- | --------- |
| Shots      | 14        | 6         |
| On target  | 7         | 2         |
| Possession | 46%       | 54%       |
| Corners    | 6         | 3         |

## The crowd

The attendance was a league record for Ironworks: 1,840, most of them in the main stand, many of them children. The club opened the second stand for the first time for a women's game. "We will need it again," Pike said, "if we keep playing like that."