Arctic Foxes Battle Bravely in the wild north

Ok, we admit it.
It was cold.
-1 on the Official Foxy Freezo-meter.
3 inches of snow in Sophie McConnells garden.
Several mums and dads refused to get out from under the Duvet as the coaches drove by, picking up their eager Arctic Foxes.
What were most Rising 10 girls doing on that freezing saturday?
Staying in bed.
Playing some daft computer game
Finding a small brother to annoy.
Some even ventured out - to the shops.

Here is the Roll of Honour of 16 Brave Foxes who headed north, to the land of Frost and Falcons.
Ella Thrasher. Phoebe Marshall. Molly Hardwick. Paige Braithwaite. Sophie HarveyRich. Sophie McConnell. Sophie Cliff. Ok that's enough Sophies.
Anna Reynolds. Anna Davis. Emily Thomas. Emily Burbidge. 
Marielle Madieu-Wedande. Bryony Wade. Emily Cowell. 
Megan Gammack. Tia Francis.

They ran. They tackled.
They shot - and scored. They dived - and saved.
One or two even took off their ski jackets.

Now it wasn't just cold football. It was tough football.
Thornbury are the League Champs at the mo, the best in the district. And last time, you may recall, they got rather thrashed by the Foxes ( 14-2 in 2 matches!). This time all parties had been cancelled, top stars recruited, special training organised.
In two matches, the girls held the Foxy name up high.

One team saw Ella, Sophie C, Megan and Tia up front, smattering the Thornbury woodwork, making their (annoyingly good) goalie dive in the snow. Behind them, Anna R and Paige kept the back door closed. Anna R has earned herself a bit of a reputation in this department, and once again she can be proud of her tackling and clearing skills.
But Paige, or "Precision Paige" as she is now known, was a revelation. Her second outing for the foxes, and she tackled like an old timer. Nice one girl!
Occasionally the Falcons got through - but only to find Bryony "safe hands" Wade in goal. No chance.
Sophie, Tia and Ella learnt a lot up front, missing by inches, hitting the post. Eventually when Bryony came up to join them, the pressure told and the goal went in.
1-1 final score - top work girls.

On the other pitch, the frost soon melted in the heat of battle. Thornbury struck hard and accurately, beating a top class defence of Sophie HR, Phoebe and Marielle. Early in the second half, it was 4-0.

And this was when the Foxes proudest moment came.

Not content with coming out in the snow, the girls decided not to give in to defeat. They literally shouted at each other "come on, we can still do this". Phoebe and Sophie HR tackled harder, and cleared more carefully. Emily B deployed her famous "cannonball clearance" to devastating effect. Marielle made some scorching saves.
Emily T was everywhere, Anna D harried and tackled and ran.
Then, up front, Sophie Mac put in a shot made up of pure hunger. The goalie had no chance: 4-1.
"We CAN do this" they cried, and indeed they could. Sophie scored again, Emily hit the post, Anna D put in a fabulous shot and made it 4-3.
All round, a fabulous morning from an unpromising start. Great running, great tackling, several nice passes.
Player of the week is hard to pick. But from Team 1:  for diving, saving, running and scoring - Bryony. From Team 2 : for urging on her teammates, defending and passing, running end to end and making several goals - Emily T.
But every girl who played today is a Foxy Hero.