Westbury
Park Foxes U15 Girls 4
Fry
Club FC U15 Girls 0
Sunday 26th November 2017
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| A very difficult 'spot the ball' competition... |
Cough! Splutter! Brrr! The Foxes' warm up
did not sound too promising. With seemingly half the squad suffering from various
stages of lurgey, and the usually fighting fit Ella and Ellie confined to the
bench as a result, what would the doctor order? Eighty minutes on a muddy
pitch, strafed by an icy south-westerly wind, of course.
The coaches hoped that once they crossed the
barely-visible white line, the ailing Foxes would perk up and get into their
usual stride. But illness/tiredness/'feeling a bit rubbish' was not a
sufficient explanation for a curiously lethargic and directionless opening. Fry Club FC sit squarely in mid-table, but immediately showed
real quality and purpose coming forward. First to almost every ball, and
passing with ease through the Foxes midfield, they were distinctly on top. One
looping effort rebounded off the junction of post and bar. The usually calm home
coaching team were forced to be unusually critical and shouty during this
spell, as the Foxes frequently failed to make challenges or even simple passes.
Only some cool defending from Abby, and some even cooler defending and elegant
strides forward from Lauren, kept the visitors in check and the game scoreless.
Finally, a direct through ball from Lulu found Zoe,
who rounded her defender and appeared to have shot narrowly wide..hang on,
there's a hole in the net and the ball's gone in and straight through it! The
opening goal was somewhat against the run of play but all the more welcome for
that. The coaches' exhortations - "keep hold of the ball!...just pass
it!..you're standing still!..you're not playing well at all!" - appeared
to have some effect, despite Lulu's quite reasonable counter-argument from the
pitch that negative comments are not always helpful. The Foxes very gradually
got the ball under control and began to launch combinations down the slightly-less-muddy
flanks, with Georgia as always a lively raider on the left, and Olivia
beginning to win the ball more in midfield to feed the front players. The
second goal had an element of Fry misfortune about it. Zoe made another
excellent run on to Georgia's pass. The finish was not one of her strongest,
but squirmed under the unfortunate keeper to give the Foxes some breathing
space just prior to half time.
As so often before, the coaches earned their corn
with an inspirational half-time team talk, to a squad mostly wrapped in hoodies,
coats and even tartan travelling blankets to keep out the cold.
"The good news is
that you're getting better, because it couldn't have been much worse in those
opening 15 minutes!"
Harsh - but
fair, perhaps. In any event, it seemed to do the trick. The second half Foxes,
now playing against the wind, were much more like their usual selves. Fry never
stopped launching attacks, but the iron defence was mopping up everything, with
Abby more than usually outstanding in her tackles and breakouts. Rhiannon,
playing with cold wind-induced breathing difficulties, was increasingly able to
glide forward on the right, while Emily on the left was exceptionally busy and
always effective against the dangerous Fry attacks on the wing. If anything Lauren
increased her touches and effectiveness as the half wore on, and finally the
midfield short pass combinations which were missing in the first half began to appear
as the Foxes got on top. Lulu and Olivia took control in the centre and began
to drive the play forward, while Molly was an effective and constant nuisance
to the Fry defence on the right. Ella and Ellie were able to shed their
blankets, take deep breaths and come on for very effective brief spells as
subs.
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| Emily tackles and clears |
Goal number three came when a smart combination of passes released the
ever-lively Amelia in the box. She took a nice touch, pirouetted on to her
right foot and slammed home, effectively securing the win. Minutes later Zoe,
released into the left side of the box by Georgia, appeared to be at an
impossible angle for a right footer, but opened her body and side-footed it in
by the near post, for a hard-earned but very well-deserved hat trick.
Fry, some of the toughest opponents faced all
season, never stopped trying, passing and coming forward. Only some smart work
from Betty, coming off her line to clear and impeccable in her handling and
distribution, preserved the clean sheet, as the video evidence from the
"GoPro" behind the goal will undoubtedly confirm. A final score of
4-0 was a little harsh on the visitors, but the Foxes could reflect on a
satisfying win, achieved in tough conditions after a very difficult start.
The coaches' decision on "girl of the
game" was a tough one. It was effectively jointly bestowed on hat-trick
Zoe, ice cool Abby (at times quite literally, so cold did she look) and the
always calm, decisive and intelligent Lauren, whose performance earns her the
mention in the box below (and possession this week of the imaginary trophy...)
After a winter mini-break next weekend, the Foxes
have two more home games in the run-up to Christmas, and may even fit in
another morale-boosting and team-building Christmas fun activity. Yo ho ho! But
first, get well soon to all ailing and injured Foxes - hot baths and warm onesies by the fire all round...
Girl of the game (official): Lauren
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| Virtual 'girl of the game' trophy |
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