Whitchurch U15 Girls 0 Westbury Park Foxes 6
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| 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
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