Foxes grind out win in tough Bristol..actually, South Gloucestershire...derby

Westbury Park Foxes U15 Girls 3

Bradley Stoke YFC 1

[action pictures to follow once video stills processed....]

It only takes a sprinkling of rain, even in a mild January, to waterlog most of the pitches in Bristol. This weekend was originally scheduled to be the final round of fixtures in the U15 Bristol Girls League, but after a series of soggy postponements the Foxes still had six games to go.

So it was that the eagerly awaited return leg of the 'North Bristol Classico' was moved over the 'county line' to the Gloucestershire FA 3G pitch, just off the M5 at Almondsbury. Bradley Stoke had come close to a famous fightback in the previous meeting, and their good form had continued into 2018, running league leaders Keynsham very close in a 0-1 defeat. Yet the blues of 'Stoke', now sponsored by "Muzzy's Kebabs" had never recorded a league victory against the Foxes. With neighbours and schoolmates on both teams and in the grandstand, this was set to be a friendly but competitive fixture.

In an exciting first for Foxes football, which may have had something to do with GCSE PE, the whole match was being professionally video recorded. The budget did not quite extend to "video assistant referees" and instant replays, but the capable Archie would not need them as he took charge of the whistle once again.

With a bracing wind blowing across the speedy big pitch, conditions were difficult for both sides. Many through balls both ways were overhit, either running through to the keepers or going out for goal kicks, and the opening 20 minutes were tight. Both teams had a couple of sights of goal, with Betty tipping one shot round the post for a corner, and more than once having to be off her line smartly to clear or bravely gather at the striker's feet. But overall, the play was a little edgy and broken. The Foxes struggled to get much of a passing game going, due in no small part to the quick pressing of Stoke, and frequently resorted to balls down the channels in an effort to spring their opponents' highly effective offside trap.

The breakthrough came in slightly unexpected fashion, when a Bradley Stoke defender handled a chipped through ball just inside the box. Zoe blasted home the resulting penalty to calm the Foxes' nerves. Their play improved significantly after that, with the terrier-like Amelia chasing everything up front and posing a constant threat. Her efforts were justly rewarded close to half time, when some excellent pressure from Molly on the right forced a hasty pass back. The otherwise unflappable Stoke keeper made a rare error, slicing her clearance straight to 'Meli', who finished powerfully in the bottom corner.

A 2-0 halftime lead was a decent return from a difficult first half, but the coaches warned that just as in the previous match, Stoke were certain to come out firing after the break. And they did. Almost from the whistle they put pressure on the Foxes and pinned them in their own half for 10 minutes. Only a series of timely defensive interventions, and strong clearances of dangerous corners, kept the blue team at bay. Eventually, the pressure told, and when the Stoke striker rode a couple of missed tackles to finish from an acute angle, it was 'game on' once again.

The goal spurred the Foxes into action, and they began to move the ball nicely. With Lulu, Lauren and Ellie winning some of the 'second balls' they had been missing previously, the Foxes were able to launch several dangerous raids on both flanks. At various times it seemed that Ella, Zoe or Amelia were in, only for the final ball or shot to be safely gathered. The game could have been put to bed by any of these chances being taken, but at 2-1 Bradley Stoke were very much in it. As time went on, the slightly match-rusty Foxes began to concede control and space in midfield once again, and the 'visitors' began to exert pressure and create some half chances.

Then, in what was almost an eerie echo of the wonder goal in the previous fixture, a Stoke midfielder tried her luck with a high ball from outside the box, which always looked over but dipped at the last second. This time, rather than dropping in, it rebounded squarely off the crossbar to safety. Shortly afterwards, a potentially goal-making through ball to the quick Stoke striker saw her flagged for being marginally offside (correctly - as the video evidence will confirm).

With time running out, yet again Amelia chased an apparently lost cause down the left to win back possession. A Stoke player was temporarily winded by a ball to the chest, but play continued and the ball found Zoe on the edge of the box. After what had been an occasionally frustrating afternoon for her, Zoe powered into the box, beat her player and finished well to secure the points for the 'Hoops'.

The Foxes may have been suffering from a lack of match sharpness, on top of a number of niggling injuries and illnesses, but Bradley Stoke deserve great credit for the way in which they took the game to the champions. At times they cut through the midfield with pace and skill, and the defence were made to work extremely hard. This was one of those games in which the result was all-important, and perhaps exceeded the overall team performance. That said, there were some superb individual efforts, recorded for posterity (and GCSE assessment) by the camera. Emily was heroic in defence, and time and again Betty's handling and gathering was rock solid, but girl of the game by some distance was the tenacious and perpetually mobile Amelia.

This win probably (but no guarantees, no complacency, take each game as it comes etc.) secures a "buffet placing" (i.e. 1st or 2nd place) for a fifth consecutive year, a hugely impressive achievement for a team which has evolved considerably since those first competitive outings. There were only four players on the pitch today who have been present for all of those years - can you name them..?

The remaining postponed fixtures are still all to be arranged, but a potential Friday night league decider is scheduled under the floodlights of Keynsham on 9th March. While the GCSE cameras may not be there, Sky Sports may well be interested...

Girl of the Game: Amelia

Captain of the Week: Abby

A match! What's that? Foxes shake off the rust with winning start to year

Westbury Park Foxes U15 Girls 4

Whitchurch Sports 0

The Foxes model the new home shirts

Every season without fail, when the pampered millionaires of the Premier League moan about having to crawl out of their luxury beds and play 3 matches in 8 days over Christmas, there are "calls for a winter break".

The Foxes are, of course, ahead of the game in this respect. With their last match having been as long ago as 26th November 2017, they had practically forgotten what a full-sized pitch looked like. Two postponements, a 'bye week' and the intervening Christmas period gave the girls ample time to reflect on their stellar 2017, fuel up on food and drink and even frolic around in the brief dusting of snow over the holiday. They also fitted in a riotous Christmas activity fun day at Mojo Active, at which Millie showed a rare talent for 'football golf', and no-one showed much talent for 5-a-side while suspended upside down in plastic 'Zorbs'....

Zorb football at Mojo Active, December 2017

After a 2 week warm weather break in Lanzarote, to participate in a prestigious four-way tournament with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Bristol Rovers...or maybe just a bit of training on the Downs...they were finally back into action on their home turf of BAWA, with a new year fixture against a much-improved Whitchurch side.

"Turf" might have been putting it a bit too highly. With a 'full house' of boys' teams on the front pitches, and some middle-aged men kicking lumps out of each other next to us, we were ushered onto the far away sloping bog, with scenic views of industrial buildings and a quantity of cigarette ends dumped in the goalmouth. No matter - with a full squad, resplendent in the shiny new kit [pictured] courtesy of our lovely new sponsor BPC (Bristol Property Centre) - for all your estate agency needs in Redland and the wider Bristol area-  the first match of 2018 was eagerly awaited.

Kicking off uphill and into a slight breeze in the first half, the Foxes' build up play was at times intricate and pleasing on the eye. Rhiannon, Lulu and Ella combined nicely on the right, while Emily and Ellie were frequently putting Georgia in down the left. There was just one problem. What were those big white wooden things with the fishing nets hanging on them? Might the object of the game be to hit the ball towards them in some way? Perhaps, but let's pass it around in the box a bit more, then politely let the Whitchurch keeper have some more touches and holds of the ball. As the half wore on, and the game remained goalless, the old saying in these parts - "the Foxes are always a lot better when they score an early goal" - began to enter the spectators' minds. Whitchurch had not created much, and either Abby or the offside flag were dealing with their occasional long balls forward, but the Foxes were not taking enough shots or gambling on rebounds. One counter-attack or rare error and they could be facing a very uncomfortable morning.

Then Georgia, showing no nerves despite her every move being filmed by Mum Karen for GCSE assessment purposes, took matters into her own hands. Breaking through once again on the left side, then cutting in onto her right foot, her first shot was bravely parried by the keeper, but she followed in to lash home the rebound - for a 1-0 lead and surely an A* (or an 8 or 9 in modern currency) for "taking the game by the scruff of the neck, while also displaying the advanced skills required by the syllabus".

The teams turned at half time with the Foxes just one goal to the good, but one sensed that the brave visitors had put in a lot of effort to keep it at that, and might tire in the mud in the second half. So it proved, as the Foxes gradually took control and began to break through with increasing menace and speed. Zoe, after a frustrating first half being heavily marked and shadowed, was finding more freedom, and was joined by the lively raids of Amelia and Molly. With attacks on both flanks, increasing midfield dominance provided by Lulu, Ellie and Olivia, and the speedy 'Mill-Ab-Rhi-Em' defence effortlessly mopping up any through balls then launching immediate counters, it was only a matter of time. The second goal came immediately after the visitors' most dangerous attack, when a rare beating of the defensive line forced Betty into a comfortable but important stop. From the roll out, a lightning succession of passes down the right between Abby, Rhiannon and Lulu sent Ella speeding in, to finish in style. Whitchurch heads never dropped, but as they became increasingly camped in their own half, facing a succession of corners, number three followed when Zoe deservedly slammed home from close range in the aftermath of an uncleared corner.

That seemed to kill the game as a contest, and the Foxes could relax into their game a little more, enjoying the increased time and space to make some very fine multi-pass moves and test the excellent Whitchurch keeper several times. The icing on the cake was provided when Abby, powering forward from the back, received a short pass in space just outside the box then leathered an unstoppable shot into the corner of the net.

The remainder of the game was played out without too much drama. More chances came and went, but a heavy beating would have been harsh on the visitors, who contributed greatly to an entertaining and sporting game, and were very much in contention for most of it.

So a winning and eventually comfortable start to 2018, but with quite a bit of fixture catching up to do before the season's end. There were many good performances throughout the team (immortalised on video by Karen, presumably with commemorative DVDs on sale later in the year), but for her usual ice-cool, strong and authoritative defensive mastery, capped with an outstanding goal, the first 2018 girl of the game was Abby.

Next match: AEK Boco (away)

Girl of the Game: Abby

Captain of the week: Lulu (despite her black shorts)

Foxes fragile at first, but find form to fend off feisty Fry by four

Westbury Park Foxes U15 Girls  4

Fry Club FC U15 Girls 0

Sunday 26th November 2017

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.

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

Virtual 'girl of the game' trophy

Captain of the week: Lulu

Slick Foxes shoot six for win number seven

Westbury Park Foxes U15 Girls 6

Emersons Green YFC  1

(pictures to follow...hopefully)

 

After last week's home fixture against these opponents fell victim to traditional November pitch-waterlogging, there was relief when this match - which should have been the away leg- could be switched from an unplayable Emersons Green surface back to BAWA. An afternoon kick-off allowed the use of the only-slightly-muddy middle pitch. With the low winter sun shining, everything was set fair for a good match against opponents who always pose us a challenge (we still haven't forgotten the shock 4-2 home defeat in 2015, so traumatic at the time that no match report was written...)

The opening exchanges saw the Foxes absorbing the visitors' initial through balls aimed for their star no. 9, and gradually getting the passing game going. After a few minutes the ball was being pinged through the midfield regularly to release Amelia on the right, or Georgia on the left. The first goal came on 8 minutes, with Georgia cutting in from the left, evading challenges and finishing smartly. Before Emersons had time to recover, a second was added, when a brave save from Georgia's shot was diverted straight to Zoe, who burst through the box and finished low in the corner.

By now the Foxes were moving the ball very nicely. Maybe their opponents were allowing them a little too much time, but moves were typically beginning from the back, frequently from a calm touch and pass from Millie, or Abby effortlessly 'bringing it under', stepping around the striker and feeding Rhiannon or Emily to power forward. Ellie was hitting some beautiful raking crossfield passes, and as the flying wingers or wing backs frequently got in behind, the corner count began to climb. After a few 'sighters' Lulu was whipping them in with increasing menace, and while the brave Emersons keeper parried and caught some of them, the pressure eventually told. Goal number 3 came when the Emersons defence could not clear the box, allowing Emily to swivel and blast high into the net. Number four came from a familiar source: Lulu's corner was bent in to the near post with such pace and height that the unfortunate goalie could only claw it into the net.

The teams turned for the second half with the Foxes comfortably in charge, and subs Ella and Molly on to provide even more attacking momentum. The short passing combinations were still working well, often from defence to flanks to attack in three or four steps, with Lulu, Ellie and Olivia linking the play beautifully. Emersons were by now slightly better organised in defence, and keen to limit their losses. Their keeper made a number of excellent stops and catches when further goals seemed certain, and several last-ditch tackles and clearances kept Zoe at bay for much of the half. Then a delightful 'give and go' pass on the right from Amelia sent Rhiannon slaloming into the box at speed. When she beat the third defender it looked as if she might have taken too many touches, but had just enough space left to steer it beyond the keeper for her long-awaited first goal of the season. Georgia continued to have joy, and the beating of her defender on the left side, and soon afterwards cut in to finish in the corner for number 6 and her second to cap a fine performance.

In the final 10 minutes or so, the Foxes had earned the right to relax, and with Zoe and Ellie subbed and rested, the game took on a slightly laid-back and light-hearted atmosphere. With a few comedy tumbles in the mud, and a general lowering of intensity, the Foxes sat back a little as Emersons Green tried to finish strongly and at least test Betty in the home goal. To their credit, they kept going and gained their reward when defensive indecision allowed their speedy midfielder to feed no. 9 in the box, just beating the offside for a well-deserved consolation goal. The final whistle shortly afterwards brought an end to a good natured and sporting encounter, played throughout with smiles on faces.

This was another excellent team performance, with the slick short passing and pace on the flanks sufficient to secure the win in the first half. The coaches were also encouraged to see the goals shared around, and on another day against a weaker defence and keeper there could have been three or four more. There was skill and strength on display all over the pitch, but the coaches decided that for her neat and calm tackling and passing out of defence, Millie merited the prestigious 'Girl of the Game' award*

 (* there used to be an actual trophy for this, which is now long since 'missing in action'...the management are offering a Christmas amnesty for its safe return)

With half the season done and all opponents played once, only the tough defeat by leaders Keynsham blots an otherwise perfect record. There is a long way to go, and surely many twists and turns to come. With the return fixture at Keynsham now postponed into the New Year, the Foxes will look to continue their winning run up to Christmas and beyond. Next up are tough season-opening opponents Fry Club, against whom the initial aim is not to concede in the first minute....

Girl of the Game: Millie

Captain for the Week: Rhiannon