Finally we had a sunny Sunday morning! Everybody arrived at the pitch nice and early, to warm up and get ready for the match. We started off strong, settling straight into the game and showing the other team what we were made of. We were attacking constantly, keeping the ball in their half, with shots coming from Poppy, Isla, Zoe and Evie but none quite managing to hit the back of the net yet. Zoe played a beautiful ball right across the goal mouth but nobody managed to get their foot on it and tap it in. But don’t worry, it didn’t take Poppy long to send a powerful shot into the back of the net. After receiving it on the edge of the box she fired it straight into the back of the net. The whole team was looking strong, Susie and Eleanor started in defence and were clearing it with power across the half-way line, but we had Abbie’s safe hands in goal if they did manage to sneak through. Evie and Zoe were quickly dribbling the ball up the wings, placing it in the box for Sophie (our striker who had just come on for Poppy) to run on to. Fry Club were fighting back, but we kept our heads up and stayed in the game. Isla had a strong chance, firing it towards the goal but the keeper managed to get her hands to it. New substitutions saw Niamh come on in defence and Alice try out a new position of midfield. Both players got stuck in, tackling any opponents that came near them with the ball. Our hard work soon payed off and our second goal came. Sophie tackled their defender next to the goal and slotted it in the bottom corner. A final first-half substitution saw Leah come on in defence, tactically passing the ball up the line to Alice if it got through our midfield. The half-time whistle was soon blown.
The girls were feeling confident following the first-half, so we entered the second-half ready to score more goals and win our individual battles. Not long after the second-half whistle was blown, Isla scored a well-deserved goal. Zoe tackled their defender and the ball landed at Isla’s feet, she then hit it with the outside of her foot and curled it round the goalkeeper. Fry Club responded well, putting pressure on our defence, but our midfielders (Zoe, Isla and Evie) tracked back, making sure Susie and Eleanor were not overloaded in defence. Substitutions saw Leah come on in defence and Sophie come on in midfield. The girls were working well together, supporting each other when trying to win back the ball and when in possession passing it around their players. Fry Club had a couple more chances, but our defenders (Leah and Susie) were ready for it, passing it back to our midfield when the ball was won. Poppy’s second goal soon came, Zoe sent a small pass to Poppy, who dribbled around their players and placed it in the bottom left corner. This was followed by an amazing piece of play by Poppy and Isla, who were passing it around their defenders, Poppy then had a shot on goal but their goalkeeper was strong and got her hands on it – denying Poppy her hat-trick. Final substitutions saw Niamh come on in defence and Alice on upfront. Niamh was looking comfortable at the back, pushing up the pitch to close the gap between defence and midfield, so if they started an attack, Niamh was there to close them down quickly and win the ball back. After a few more chances, the referee blew the final whistle.
Strong performance by all of the girls today, big shout-out to Rosie who still committed to turning up to the match and doing the warm up but then had to go home because she wasn’t feeling very well and also to Abbie for turning up and playing the full match despite not feeling very well either. Our Star Players went to Susie (for an incredible performance in defence, covering every inch of our half and powerfully clearing away the ball) and Zoe (for making strong runs up the wing and making lots of chances for her teammates).
Written by Ellie Haines (U10s coach).