Having woken up to driving wind and rain I feared we may have to call off today’s game. Eventually though the weather settled down and today’s game was on.
Having lost Ashley to injury during the week, we had to shuffle the team slightly but today we were conscious of playing you all in familiar positions which I think helped us out there.
Arnold were always going to be tough opposition for us as so it proved in the first exchanges of the match.
With the opening exchanges being very evenly matched, finally the girls started to make their possession pay. With the girls stretching the game wide it was a through ball from Robyn that put Katie M through on goal who dispatched her effort into the top corner to open the scoring. One quickly became two when roles were reversed, Katie M flicking the ball into Robyn’s path who strode on and drove the ball home in off the keeper.
We have played Arnold for several seasons now and we know they will always be well organised and not give up and so it proved. With the girls struggling to clear their lines at the back, the ball was poked home to get Arnold back into the game. Virtually from the kick off they found themselves back on terms when they cut Woodlands apart and coolly finished past Annie into the corner of the net.
Over the last few games this would have seen Woodlands heads go down, but today you showed true character by picking your heads up and getting on with playing football the we you know how.
More tireless work from the midfield saw a great through ball to Lucy W who sprinted through and drove the ball into the bottom corner from fully 20 yards. This seemed to inspire Woodlands who from the kick off, won the ball back, passed it out to Robyn who found herself in the box and stabbed the ball home. 4-2 soon became 5-2 when a brilliant corner from Mia found Emily on the edge of the box who found the net with a great effort. Emily then increased the lead again when a fantastic square ball from Saff put her clear to find the net again.
The second half saw the girls continue to press but without any success. The game became a midfield battle for a long period until a great through ball over the top from Bex put Emily clear who looked up and cracked a stunning shot in off the base of the post to complete a well deserved hat trick. The girls continued to press and a tremendous ball over the top from Lucy P put Katie M clear of the defence who duly dispatched her shot into the top corner to complete the scoring.
Thanks today must go to Martin and Dave for running the line.
Also thanks to Ashley for coming to support your team mates when you are injured, great attitude and I know you would have enjoyed today. Hope you are ok for the cup match next week.
Thank you Alan for reffing again to your very usual high standard and setting up the pitch etc ( Unsung Hero of the U13's)
Player of the match : Katie W
Player of the match : Aimee H
Player of the month : Lucy W
Thank you to all the parents, grandparents, friends etc who turned out to cheer the girls on who have had a tough few weeks but worked very hard with Dean at training and got their passion back.
Thanks Dean and Shannon for your time and commitment with the Under 13's, they listened to what you have said to them over the last couple of weeks and put it all into practice today.
Always proud of you all
