Sandiacre Starlets U12s vs Arnold Eagles Lightning U12s

After 4 weeks without a game, finally the wind/rain didn’t get in the way of this great performance from the girls! The starting line up was Olivia, Keeley, Grace, Isla, Scarlett, Chloe, Evie, Molly, Crystal.

Right from the start every single player was fighting for everything, with Evie leading from the midfield, she was the workhorse throughout the game. There was some great play between Grace and Molly on the left-hand side including some great 1-2’s, Molly even passed the ball backwards to start the attack again when there was nothing on further up field! There was also good link up play down the right between Keeley and Crystal, with a shot from Crystal pushed wide by the keeper.

In the 5th minute the ball broke to Evie in midfield who pushed forward and hit a crisp shot past the keeper. 1-0

Halfway through the first half, it was no surprise to those watching on that a second goal would come and from inter-play  between Grace and Molly on the left, a great ball put Molly through, who took the ball on, with some great touches, she found herself bearing down on goal with just the keeper to beat. It was never in doubt as Molly placed the ball past the onrushing keeper, a great composed finish from Molly who has been working hard in training the last few weeks and it’s definitely paying off with a confident finish for the second goal! 15 minutes gone and the score is 2-0.

Isla and Scarlett were calm at the back, never letting Sandiacre’s high press force them into a mistake. These two have different styles, with Isla composed and passing balls through to feet and Scarlett more direct, but effective. Both of them were also confident passing the ball back to Olivia in goal, who would then boom it up field, usually straight to Chloe’s feet, who controlled the ball brilliantly all game.

After watching Molly and Keeley run their hearts out for 20 minutes, we decided they needed a well-earned rest! Sharayand Kiera came onto the pitch with the same hunger for the ball as the rest of the team. As we approached half time Crystal had a couple of good runs down the left and was on target only for the keeper to make two good saves, one hitting the post and bouncing away.

HALF TIME 2-0 to Lightning

During the first half, the wind was in our favour, but we had built up a good 2-0 lead at half time. The fear of Sandiacrehaving the wind in the second half was prominent in the team talk at half time. We had to keep the ball and pass it on the floor as much as possible. Don’t give Sandiacre the chance to take a shot on goal, the wind would make it extremely difficult for Olivia.

At half time Sienna, Mia and Molly came on the field, with Molly going back on the left and Mia on the right, with Sienna taking her place at the centre of defence. The second half began, and it was business as usual from the girls. They were pressing high and keeping possession of the ball with some great passing (The Three P’s!!!). The ball fell to Kiera through some hard tackling and relentless pressing, she passed the ball up the line to Mia. With a brilliant first touch of the ball, Mia then passed the ball into Chloe’s path and with her right foot she swept the ball into the bottom left hand corner! A great finish from Chloe, who has been working very hard at her finishing at training (you should have seen her volley on Friday at training!) So 4 minutes into the second half and it’e3-0.

Now with Sienna and Scarlett at the back, normal service resumed. They kept bringing Olivia into the game with some great back passes, to which Olivia kept calm and trusted in her kick to get the ball away from the danger zone. We then made a change, bringing Chloe off and putting Grace on as a defensive midfielder. Grace was always calm, breaking up Sandiacre’s attacks and creating chances for our forwards.

Sharay was back on the left, taking players on whenever she got the ball and looking for her team-mates in the box. On the 54th minute she decided it was her time to take the chance. Sharay picked the ball up from just inside the Sandiacre half and dribbled with speed towards the goal. She went past 2 players and took a shot, the keeper came up with a good save, but Sharay wasn’t going to give up, she followed up her own shot and put the ball low and hard past the keeper. 4-0, 54 minutes gone. 

This was the only part of the game where we were on the back foot. We took our foot off the gas a little bit and Sandiacre got a goal back with a great shot from just outside the box, Olivia had no chance even though she gave it a real good try to get there! With the score now 4-1 the girls didn’t panic. A flowing move from Chloe to Evie to Mia on the right saw her hit a good shot that was well saved. Seconds later a similar move saw Evie shoot, the keeper parrying it straight to Mia who wasfollowing up, but her first time shot went inches past the post!Shortly afterwards Crystal picked up a loose ball, took a touch, and thundered a shot at goal only to see it rebound off the bar! Keeley and Keira were working effectively as wing backs, breaking forward at every opportunity and tackling back when required.

It was just pure tiredness which allowed Sandiacre to get a second goal. They ran down the right wing and with the best efforts from Evie and Scarlett the ball was crossed into the box to an unmarked player who slotted the ball home. Now it’s 4-2 and 3 minutes to go.

The girls responded perfectly when it could have been very easy to panic. Even though the girls were running on empty, they didn’t want to finish the match with Sandiacre being the last team to score. The girls went straight back to work and once again through determination and hard work in the last minute another goal was score and it was Evie’s second of the day! 5-2 was the final score as the whistle was blown straight after the restart.

A great all-round performance from all the girls today. Special shout outs to Grace, who started at left wing back and was at her best, hardly ever getting beaten down the wing. In the second half she had a change of position and went into the middle, and as ever, Grace adjusted her game brilliantly. Another shoutout to Evie, who is just becoming so consistent with her overall play. She never stops running and her communication today was top class, always letting her team-mates know where she was and that she wanted the ball. Capped off with 2 brilliant goals!

Girl of the game went to Molly. We can all see the hard work she is putting in at training every week, listening to all the advice she is being given, everything came together for Molly today. Some great touches, dribbling past players and great turns, Molly’s game was practically perfect! Of course, to add to all the great touches, turns and passes, Molly added a great goal to her game today!

We are extremely proud of all of the girls today; your hard work is paying off and it’s great to see you all working together as a team and having faith in each other! Keep it up for the rest of the season and it could be a very good ending!