Westbury Park Foxes
U16 Girls 11
Portishead Town FC 1
14th April 2019, BAWA Sports Ground
Blah blah blah “eager spectators gathered at a sunny but
wind-chilled BAWA in anticipation of this longstanding Bristol Girls League fixture”….
Blah blah “…conditions were firm and fast underfoot on an ideal
day for football, and the Foxes could field an almost full strength squad. The coaching
team set them up in a modified 4-3-2 formation with the aim of securing another
clean sheet for Betty ‘The Cat’…”
Blah blah “The Foxes kicked off from right to left, with the
prevailing wind, making a strong start with early goals for…..”
Enough. Stop. No more clichés. This was not an ordinary
match, so there can be no ordinary match report.
IT’S THE LAST EVER FOXES GAME!
Last. Game. Ever.
How about a quiz, to take our minds off the sadness. Name the lyrics
and artists:
“This is The End, Beautiful Friend[s]”
“And as it was in the beginning, so shall it be in the end..”
“But how can they know it's time for them to go?
Before the winter fire, I will still be dreaming/I have no
thought of time
For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?”
It’s been a crazy and glorious trip. Seven seasons of League
football, and 2 years of friendlies and kickabouts before that.
Two Bristol Girls League titles (2013-2014 and 2016-17, of
course), and runners-up four times. More BGL buffets than you can shake a
sausage on a stick at.
And the tournaments. Far too many to count, but at some
point we’ll tot them up properly and do a final “roll of honour”. Quedgeley. Keynsham.
Carterton. Barry. The FA Peoples’ Cup at Basingstoke. The “Aces” at Nottingham.
That one in Dorset. The blazing hot one in Somerset, with the shouty man who
lost it when a ball hit him on the head. Butlin’s at Minehead with Matt Le
Tissier giving out the prizes. Trophies, trophies, and medals: some big, some
small, many of them ugly.
Remaining undefeated in the Gloucestershire Cup for 4 seasons
- because each year we forgot to enter it. Being robbed on penalties in the
2018 tournament final when we finally played in it.
Martin’s tactics and whiteboard. Statto Mark’s inspirational
team talks. Freezing Saturdays and Sundays on the sidelines. Scorching
afternoons beside Tamsin’s Tournament Tent.
But above all – fun, laughs, chat, enjoyment and friends for
life. And that’s just the parents. I’m welling up now.
What about those girls, though?
From the first few tentative kickarounds of the “founding
Foxes” aged 7-8, to this very last season aged 16, they have been absolute
stars, one and all. They began as a handful of Westbury Park girls neglected in
a boy-dominated Foxes year, who struck out on their own. And then we discovered
they could really play. The team grew, but so did something really special.
Word spread of their unique blend of skill, enthusiasm, fun and laughter,
fostered on and off the pitch. Raph sprinkled a little bit of magic
stardust on the Downs. Soon girls were flocking to join them, from everywhere. Well,
initially just from Bradley Stoke, but others followed, right up until this
final season (thank you Jess).
They were all “girls of the game” and “captains”. Every
single one contributed to a rich tapestry. This is not the place to list those
contributions and achievements, or even name names. You know who they all are.
Some of their achievements and days in the sun (or more often rain, wind and
sleet) are preserved for electronic posterity in this blog’s archive. One day
someone may write a fuller history.
In the meantime, what is there left to say to all those
brilliant girls, and to Tamsin, Martin, Mark, Graham, Raph and every single
parent and coach who helped make this happen – apart from:
“Thank you for the days/Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me
“Thank you for the days/Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me
I'm thinking of the days
I won't forget a single day, believe me.."
PS – Match Report:
Goalscorers: many and various. Georgia got the last ever Foxy goal. Well done to Portishead for getting a team out, and a well deserved consolation strike.
Girl of the Game: Don't be silly
Captain of the Week: Raph
