After a week of continuous rain, we were all very grateful to have the sun come out for our second home match of the season. The girls were eager to play and we got off with a really good start by pressing high up the pitch and getting lots of tackles in. The team was looking strong, with Eleanor and Susie in defence, not letting the ball get through to Rosie in goal. But if it ever did manage to get through, we were in safe hands with Rosie confidently handling the ball. We soon secured the first goal of the game. Evie played a lovely ball into the box, which Poppy ran onto and slotted into the top corner. We carried on at the same tempo, with Zoe creating many chances by running the ball up the wing. Shortly after our first goal came our second, with Sophie tackling one of their defenders and taking the ball all by herself into the box and placing it in the back of the net. A couple of quick substitutions brought Niamh on as a defender and Alice on as our new striker. And what a super-sub Alice was, coming on and scoring her first goal for BLUs. A precise cross from Sophie and a wonderful tap in by Alice added another one to our total. The next to take on the role of goalkeeper was Evie, with Rosie coming out of goal and going straight into defence. Other substitutions consisted of Bonnie coming on in attack and Isla coming on in midfield. The girls were confidently passing the ball round and keeping possession, leading to the final goal of the first half. Bonnie played a exceptional through-ball to Sophie, who then dribbled it forwards and passed it into the back of the net.
The start of the second half saw Niamh step up as the next goalkeeper for the team. We started the second half fast and strong, with our midfielders (Evie, Isla and Zoe) taking control of the game by tackling high up the pitch and keeping possession. After only a minute Isla secured our first goal of the second half, taking the ball by herself and dribbling it past the other team, then safely planting it in the back of the goal. Having lost one of our defenders to a birthday party at half time, we had a couple of new faces in defence. With Poppy taking on the role (backed up by our experienced defender Eleanor) many of their attempts were promptly being cleared from the box. Despite Poppy being in defence, this did not hold her back from getting into their box when we had a corner. Isla played a lovely corner into the box which Poppy happily received and placed in the bottom corner of the goal. Demonstrating that defenders are still able to score! Our final goalkeeper substitution placed Alice in goal for the remainder of the game. Our new defenders, Niamh and Zoe, were like a brick wall on the pitch, not a single ball got past them, with some powerful clearances from both defenders. Giving our midfield (Sophie, Susie and Evie) and attack (Bonnie) the best chances possible to secure some more goals. A lovely pass from Susie saw Sophie be the next to stick the ball in the back of the net, securing herself a hat trick this match. The final substitution of the match saw Poppy come on upfront. It didn’t take long for Poppy to secure herself a hat trick this match too, taking the ball all the way up by herself and slotting it into the back of the net. Our confidence in passing and dribbling the ball is what secured us the final goal of the game. The ball was beautifully tapped around, from Bonnie to Poppy and then to Isla who placed it for the final time in the back of the net.
An amazing performance by all of the girls today, it was really difficult for us coaches to pick just two Star Players. But for their amazing hat tricks, our Star Player trophies went to Sophie and Poppy.
Written by Ellie Haines (U10s coach).