U10

Bristol Ladies Union U10s vs Bath City Youth U10s

After a 4 week gap in our fixture list, we were back and raring to go for our home match against Bath City. We started the game strong, closing down their players and applying pressure from the front. Our starting midfielders (Zoe, Isla and Evie) were quickly moving the ball around with lovely clearances from our defenders (Rosie and Susie) when it got into areas of danger. Alice started the match upfront, playing well by getting into good positions and ready to tap the ball in if the opportunity came. Not forgetting about our wonderful new goalkeeper (Abbie) who’s confidence in running out and picking the ball up grew throughout the game. Despite Bath City getting a few goals in the bag, we kept our heads up and continued to play good football. Substitutions saw Poppy and Sophie come on in attack, with Eleanor and Leah coming on in defence. Our patience soon payed off when a wonderful volley from Zoe saw the ball land right at Isla’s feet in the box. Isla then took the opportunity and fired it into the back of the net, securing our first goal! We continued to play good football for the rest of the first half, with many close chances from Poppy nearly adding her to the scoresheet, but none quite managed to sneak into the back of the net.

We entered the second half ready, knowing that Bath City were a strong side, we were determined to win each of our individual battles and show our strength on the ball. We started off the second half with Leah upfront (for the first time ever!) after she showed us some powerful shots in training. Despite it being a new position, Leah threw herself into the role and got into some amazing positions for passes from midfield. When Evie got the ball on the left wing we were fast to counter attack, dribbling around all of their players with some beautiful stepovers and other skills to deceive the opposition. A quick switch around saw Eleanor, Leah and Alice come on in defence. Alice took notes from our halftime talk and came on to demonstrate some amazing strength in her tackles, putting everything in to stop them getting past. With Eleanor powerfully clearing the ball, we were well composed and playing our best. This lead to a well deserved second goal, again being scored by our star scorer Isla! Poppy played a lovely ball through the middle of their defenders, which Isla then ran onto and placed in the top left corner of the net. Even though we continued to give their goalkeeper lots to do and had some amazing shots, we weren’t able to get anymore in the back of the net, leading us to the final whistle. Throughout the whole match Abbie consistently made incredible saves, stopping shots from all distances and diving into every corner.

Although the game did not go our way, the girls didn’t let the score get them down and kept going until the final whistle. They were a credit to themselves and should be really proud of their performance. Our Star Players today were Abbie (for her insanely good club debut and performance in goal) and Evie (for her cheeky skills to get past the other team).

Written by Ellie Haines (U10 coach).

By elliehaines, ago

Bristol Ladies Union U10s vs Fry Club Junior Youth U10s

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).

By elliehaines, ago