Scarily good Foxes serve up Halloween tricks and treat

Limited edition Halloween-themed orange kit..

Sunday 29th October 2017

Westbury Park Foxes U15 Girls 8

AEK Boco 0

The Foxes' October form continued to match the fine Autumn weather, as they ended the month with another clean sheet and a heavy defeat of old rivals Boco.

What pleased the coaches and parents most was not the winning margin, which could have been even greater but for the excellent Boco keeper and at least three contenders for 'miss of the season' from point blank range. It was the style of play which caught the eye. Suddenly Raph's intricate passing drills game in Saturday training made perfect sense, and reaped a huge dividend. The ball was pinged around in all sectors of the pitch- out of defence, in the middle of the park, and via cutting diagonal and through balls to willing runners. By the end, some of the goals being scored had shades of "Pep's City" about them, with everyone contributing.

It hadn't looked that way at the start, with the Foxes kicking uphill and slightly against the wind on the northernmost BAWA pitch. Boco, as expected, contributed to a tough contest in the opening exchanges. The defence were coping with reasonable comfort with the occasional Boco forays forward, but there were some fierce but fair battles for the ball in midfield. As the first half developed, the Foxes began to find their rhythm, with some nice combinations sending Ella down the right and Georgia in from the left, only for the keeper to deal well with early efforts from Ella and Zoe. But a head of steam was being built up, and a superbly centred cross from Ellie was met first time by Ella at the end of a perfectly timed run to put the Foxes into the lead. Further chances came and went, and despite the Foxes' increasing dominance, at 1-0 Boco were still very much in the game. The tipping point came close to half time, when more delightful and quick passing combinations sent the increasingly dangerous Zoe in, to finish from close range for the second.

After the sides changed end for the second half, with the Foxes now having the 'slope', one sensed that Boco's resistance and stamina levels were gradually dropping. The Foxes were increasingly being allowed to pass and move unhindered, with some lovely midfield triangles between Lulu, Olivia and Ellie. On the rare occasions when Boco threatened the Foxes' half, the defence would mop up, often passing their way out of trouble. As time wore on, Abby, Emily and Rhiannon would increasingly drive forward to link with the midfield and create further chances. Ultimately the pressure and movement proved too much for the visitors, and the (imaginary) scoreboard began to tick over. Zoe would ultimately bag a total of five: some from her characteristic powering through at close quarters, but other from immaculate and lightning quick passing combinations, involving virtually all members of the team - even Betty, who claimed a 'semi-assist' for one, with a strong goal kick finished off three touches later. Pick of the bunch was perhaps the eighth and final goal, finished by Zoe going round the keeper but only after a dizzying sequence of five midfield and defence splitting passes. Ellie and Emily also got amongst the goals, the latter with an 'unconventional' finish from Lulu's corner - she definitely wasn't going to head the ball, but got something on it (possibly a hip-shin combination?)

Boco deserve great credit for battling on, and playing the game in such a good spirit, when having such a tough morning. They were perhaps not quite at the level we have come to expect from them over the years, but the Foxes had a particularly good day, when almost everything they tried seemed to come off. There were too many good moments and contributions across the team to list in full. Georgia was particularly impressive, seeing a lot of the ball on the unfamiliar left side and initiating many of the best attacks. Molly came oh-so-close on two occasions to the goal which will, when it comes, quite literally send the crowd wild. But girl of the game today was Abby, who combined her usual exemplary defensive duties with some barnstorming runs forward.

Next up is an intriguing away fixture against old friends and rivals Bradley Stoke, who have had some good early results and currently lie in joint second with the Foxes. They limbered up for that 'North Bristol Classico' by claiming a forfeit away win at Portishead. Don't worry, Stoke, we'll certainly show up next Sunday. Could this be an early 'buffet places' pointer? We shall see....

Girl of the game: Abby

Captain of the week: Ellie

Foxes full of finesse and flair while winning well at warm Whitchurch

Whitchurch U15 Girls 0                            Westbury Park Foxes 6

Wise words from Whitchurch..

Bathed in glorious Autumn sunshine, the U15 girl Foxes overcame a strong Whitchurch challenge to come out comfortable winners, playing some of their best football of the season.

Whitchurch are a much improved side, and the opening exchanges suggested that this would be a tough test. The Foxes only had the bare minimum of 11 players, although reinforcements would arrive later. Coach Martin was confined to his sick bed, with Graham and Mark assuming coaching and tactical duties

Two phrases cut and pasted from previous match reports:

i) "the Foxes always play better when they score an early goal"; and

ii) "Lulu's only gone and scored directly from a corner again!"

So it was that, for the who-knows-how-many/-th time, the Foxes' deadly set piece assassin curled one in from the left corner flag for an early lead. That settled the "Outstanding Oranges" (as they are known to their fans) down and they began to put together more and more incisive and quick passing movements and through balls. Although Whitchurch were playing a high line, and occasionally catching the speeding Ella and Molly offside,  the home defence were struggling to contain the runs of Zoe in particular.

Sure enough, Zoe powered through a few minutes later to add a second. The pattern of the game began to emerge. Whitchurch would occasionally launch a promising move forward, only to be calmly dispossessed by the Foxes defence. On the left side Emily and Millie would pass and play out of defence to launch a counter-attack, feeding Ellie and Lauren down the left. In the centre, Abby was dealing with the aerial threat and Rhiannon was getting into her stride on the right flank to launch frequent counters. As time went on, Lulu and Ellie began to win more and more of the 50:50s in the centre, and it was only a matter of time before they would release Zoe for further finishes. Showing some beautiful first touches and athleticism, the "Golden Boot" had the beating of the home defence, and would power through twice more before the break to complete her hat trick. 4-0 was a little harsh on the hosts, but despite some decent possession they had not really troubled Betty for most of the half.

At the change of ends, the Foxes were reinforced by the arrival of Amelia as a sub, and a slightly 'hamstrung' Georgia who would nevertheless manage a spirited 10 minutes at the end. The home side were flagging slightly, and the Foxes began to glide through the gears and put together some very attractive moves - hampered only by the frequent disappearance of the ball over the right touchline down into the "Slope of Thistles", where Dave R famously took a tumble at a previous fixture. By now the Foxes were dominating possession, and being given more time on the ball, allowing them to ping it around and repeatedly threaten the Whitchurch goal. Ella was dancing past defenders on both flanks, and Amelia made an immediate impact as a sub. The home keeper was unflappable and brave, catching and gathering several shots and crosses to keep the score down. Even she could not keep out the "Orange Crush" forever, and one particularly slick Emily-Ellie-Lulu combination sent in Zoe to finish from an acute angle. A sixth (and fifth for Zoe) would eventually follow, but Whitchurch never let their heads drop and battled to the end.

It was a third win and clean sheet in a row since the defeat to Keynsham, but the manner of the win was more important - at times the Foxes' skill and movement generated appreciative comments from the home support and coaches. The game was played in an excellent spirit throughout, with very few fouls and good "sportsgirlship" on both sides. And no-one had to be reminded of the lessons on Whitchurch's excellent sign (pictured above)...

Girl of the Game: Millie "The Cleaner" Tavener - effortlessly sweeping up any danger at the back

Captain of the Week: Ella

BGL Portishead Town V Westbury Park Foxes

The Girl’s were fantastic yesterday in what was a closely fought and tough game. In the absence of wordsmith Ewan a few words about the game… 

With the game being held on Portishead’s old ground near the school we knew the big pitch and long grass would be a good physical test for the Foxes.

The first 20 minutes produced some of the best football we have seen this season with some slick, quick passing moves down the wings with Amelia, Georgia and Ella combining particularly well. If it wasn’t for some excellent saves from Portishead’s keeper we could easily of been ahead in the first 20 minutes. Zoe made a great run into the box and shot with power from close range but the keeper somehow pushed it to safety with a fingertip save. With both teams playing good football and defending well it wasn’t going to be a high scoring game but the Foxes continued to press and won a number of corners that Portishead defended well. 0-0 at half time and we were confident we could push on.

After a lively first half Amelia moved into goal to replace Betty who had to dash off to her Granny’s 75th Birthday (Happy Birthday Betty’s Granny!) and Olivia came on with fresh legs to keep up the intensity in midfield. With Molly now on the right wing and Mara making her customary runs the foxes kept the pressure on. Our 'famous back four’ reacted quickly to Portishead’s counter attack game-plan with Millie making some great covering runs. With Lulu on a ‘promise of a Swoon trip for a goal’ she made a couple of good long range shots but their keeper reacted well. The game had been fair but quite physical, with the ref letting play flow when other’s might of blown up for a foul but when Zoe was bought down in the penalty area he didn’t hesitate to award a penalty. Zoe dusted herself down and blasted a great penalty to the left of the keeper to put the Foxes ahead. 

Portishead reacted by bringing their keeper out of goal to try and equalise. Although she added intensity to their play the Foxes stood firm with Abby clearing with authority and Rhi and Emily chasing down the threats on the wings. They did break though a couple of times but Amelia was super quick of her line to defend her goal. At the other end Sim had joined Zoe up front to make some great runs and create more chances but the score remained 1-0 to the Foxes. A final frantic 5 minutes of pressure was soaked up and the game finished with the Foxes the worthy winner’s.

Captain - Ella

Girl of the Game - Amelia

WPF Girls u15 v Keynsham and Longwell Green

To use Star Wars analogies, this was Episode 3 and 4!

The Revenge of the Sith came in the form of Keynsham Town, a team on the rise over the last few seasons. Having transformed into the Manchester City of the BGL, picking up 6 ex academy players and sending some of last years to 'train with the u23's', they are now a formidable outfit that any BGL team will struggle to get the better of this season.

The Foxes were hampered by some absences and a fair few with heavy colds, but there was spirit aplenty as they went about nullifying the considerable threat of the slick passing opposition.
For once playing on the back foot, the Foxes held out the early onslaught, but the continuous pressure told and a shot to the top corner saw the visitors take the lead.
A stunned set of Foxes gamely set about rolling up their sleeves, and came back into the game.
Zoe was heavily marked and it  wasn't until Lauren put a foot on the ball and started a slick passing move on the right, that some space was made for the Foxes striker to fire pass the away keeper.
An edgy half was played out and the teams changed ends with the scores level.
The Foxes could and maybe should have gone back to basics and settled for a draw, but having not lost for 16 months, it wasn't really in their minds. Buoyed by the equaliser the Foxes pressed forwards, but were hit on the counter by another shot to the top corner.
With nothing to lose and the injuries forcing an new defensive line the Foxes were wide open to the counter attack, and whilst Betty was player of the game, there was nothing the home keeper could do as a 3rd and then cruelly a 4th went in.

The final scoreline was harsh on the home team, but the better team on the day won the game.
Clearly the passing and movement off the ball needs to improve in time for the return fixture.


So to Episode 4, (A New Hope)!

An away fixture at Longwell Green was up next for the Foxes. Despite being close to Keynsham with their surplus of players, Longwell Green have again suffered for numbers. The game was reduced to a 9 a side fixture. With the Foxes able to rotate players the greater skill and athleticism showed and the the goals flowed.

Not much really to learn, the space on the pitch made for easy passing and the girls helped themselves to a 10-0 reported score. Goals galore, and even a surprise appearance in the opposition penalty box for the Foxes keeper, as Rhiannon kindly stepped into the gloves to give her a touch of the ball.

So a new start, of the next undefeated record, lets hope next week isn't an Empire Strikes Back away at Portishead!