Super Em's Keynsham Clincher Keeps Courageous Foxes On Course

Keynsham Town U14 1

Westbury Park Foxes U14 2

 

The U14 girl Foxes kept their heads, in the face of an occasionally severe physical challenge, to secure a priceless but ultimately well-deserved one goal victory.

 

No frozen pitch postponements here on the luxurious Keynsham "4G", but the Foxes faced an early obstacle before kick-off. While waiting for the highly entertaining men's warm up match on before them to finish (in a flurry of goals, yellow and red cards, and bad language), the Foxes had to change into alternative shirts to avoid a colour clash. The chilly away spectators' usual shouts of "come on the greens!" had to be amended to "come on you slightly baggy whites!". Oh well, our lovely luminous orange away kit will be arriving soon.

 

The Foxes were soon into their stride, moving the ball quickly and frequently attacking on the flanks and in the Keynsham box. The home side, unbeaten on this pitch all season, defended stoutly in front of a strong goalkeeper, but found themselves pinned back in their own half. The young ref appeared keen to let the play flow, and several Foxes' attacks were broken up by some strong tackles and frequent use of 'upper body strength'. But when push came to shove, after a goalless opening 20 minutes the Foxes broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion.

Zoe, back on her feet after a string of fouls, beat her defender and let rip from the edge of the box. The ball cannoned off the inside of the post, but just as the "ooh!s" of the crowd were dying down, Sim gathered the rebound and hammered it in the bottom corner from long range on the left. Further chances and pressure followed before the break, but a 1-0 lead was a reasonable reward for a dominant first half performance.

Clearly fired up by coaching exhortations to 'get stuck into them', Keynsham enjoyed their best spell at the start of the second half, winning more possession and seeking to get their front players 'in behind'. They then took their first and only chance.

A perfectly floated diagonal ball released their dangerous striker down the right. She cut in and beat Betty, who had not yet had a save to make, with a finish from a tight angle. The game was level and now in the balance. How would Bristol's finest respond?

How do you think? No panic, no shouting, no aimless long balls. Just a gradual ratcheting up of pressure, precise passing combinations and an increased combativeness in midfield. The defence snuffed out any further through ball threats, and the outstanding Lulu, Olivia Lauren and Amelia W won more and more of the 50:50s. Zoe's luck was not in today, as several promising moves ended with sweet shots which just crept past the post. But the momentum shifted back, and Keynsham's brave defence began to clear with a hint of desperation, increasingly conceding possession, throw-ins and a series of corners.

Lulu's set piece delivery was particularly excellent throughout the match, although most had been well dealt with by the hosts. But then, she struck a real peach of an inswinger into the danger area, and...

..was it a bird, was it a plane? No, leaping like a salmon (fresh, not tinned), it was Emily, delivering a glancing close range header powerfully to the keeper's left. It was a fitting reward for an outstanding display by Em on the left side of defence, where she had combined typically brave and strong defensive work with frequent attacking raids.

There was still plenty of time to go, but the Foxes saw the game out in the usual professional manner. Zoe endured a couple of further near misses, and the Keynsham keeper did brilliantly to recover a goalmouth scramble that seemed certain to end in a clinching third goal. The home team threatened briefly with a couple of corners and through balls cleared by Betty, but could not muster further shots on goal. The final whistle came as a relief, but signalled a tough but deserved victory. On another day (like last Sunday), three or four of those shots might have rolled in, but credit must go to Keynsham for sticking to their tactics and making it so tough.

In such a stirring victory, there were inevitably several other great performances, as well as those mentioned above.

Abby handled the aerial threat with calmness and authority. Millie and Rhiannon tracked back and broke forward with speed and skill. It was a tough day for Mara and Ella on the wings, but they showed great courage in the face of adversity. Girl of the game, however, went to 'the Mollster' for her tenacious running and harrying up the right side, a great duel with the combative Keynsham left back, and some lovely passing exchanges with Zoe.

So it's twenty (20) league wins in a row, 12 of them this season, and a three point lead as Boco v Wotton fell victim to the cold weather. No room for complacency, though, in a tough series of fixtures leading up to 'the return' against Wotton in March...