Under 8 v GSB

Today we played against Gedling Southbank and the girls played some great football. It was an exciting game with both teams giving  it their all. Girl of the game went to Tia who has played consistently well over the past couple matches, she has shown us that she is a versatile player and did not disappoint today with some great defending as well as playing up front.

We have identified some areas which we can work on in training to improve their game further going forward but overall a confident & well played match from the girls. 

Well done!! Girl of the game went to Tia today

Under 9 v Nottingham Forest

Player of the Match: Mia

Under 10 v Mansfield Town

We had a cup game today Vs Mansfield was brilliant game from start to finish. Great defending from both sides. All girls played their part well.

Player of the Match: Mia

Under 11 Rebels v Ruddington

Player of the day: Kiaya

Under 11s v Clifton

The girls played Clifton this week at Calverton. Both Teams showed their respect during the 1 minute silence for Remembrance Sunday. Then the game began, and it was end to end from the start. Both teams played brilliant football and had multiple chances to score. Chloe in goal had a busy day today. However our defenders, Lexi, Tilly and Emily were able to send the ball up field via Violet and Sophie for our forwards Ellie, Charlotte Annie and Abby to have a go at goal, only for Clifton to do exactly the same to us. it was a great game for the spectators to watch. Well done to both teams!

Player of the match was Lexi.

 

Under 12 Lightning v Nottingham Forest

A great game between two great teams!

With all the rain and floods throughout the week, we weren’t sure if the game would go ahead but the pitch was playable at Calverton and the sun was shining, I even had my sunglasses on!

Following our fantastic performance last week, our training session was focused on some tactical thinking and set plays this week. The Super Squad wanted a win today against a very good Nottingham Forest squad, a team we had never beaten.

We started with a similar line up as last week except for Keira who wasn’t feeling well so Edie stepped in to the left back position alongside Kayleigh, Scarlett, Keeley and Olivia in goal – their task was to communicate, hold the line, press the opposition, keep composed and if in doubt, kick it out!

Evie and Chloe were in the centre with Molly and Sharay up front.

As the game started, the Team attacked, showing their intentions to their opposition. The ball was sent by Evie in to Sharay’s running space but instead of her flying the ball, the Forest defender stopped her in her tracks and took the ball from her and then we were defending…. But not for long! Some fantastic pressing saw Keeley win the ball back, take it up the pitch and sent Sharay on her way. This time she knew what to expect and used her fabulous feet to control the ball and then picked up her pace to fly past the Forest defence and headed for the goal. She took a shot but it went wide but she it clear that she was dangerous.

The team set up for the goal kick and some brilliant communication from Evie and Chloe, the attack were primed for defending. The goal kick was short and Evie was on to it straight away and took a shot, which went wide, so they set up again. It was like an instant replay! And so they set up again – the pressure they put on the goal kicks was great to see and the girls are showing tactical awareness of the game which will only help them develop further.

The ball eventually was cleared by the opposition and they were off… but they had to get past our defence and they were ready! Kayleigh went in for the tackle won the ball but it rebounded to a Forest player who pushed it wide and Keeley was ready to challenge for it. She won it and popped it back to Scarlett who ran on to the ball, looked up and thought, “I know what I’ll do”. She powered the ball forward toward Chloe but the ball struck a Forest boot and went straight out for a throw on. Scarlett ran over scooped up at the half way line and saw the lovely wide open space behind Evie and threw the ball in a perfect arc in to that space. Evie reacted quickly and confidently and she turned and ran on to it. She sped toward the goal using her pace and was always one step ahead of the opposition defender. She looked up to see the keeper coming towards her and using skills to control the ball, just tapped it to her right, enough beat the keeper and have a clear lines to goal. She swung her right foot back and powered through the ball make sure it found the back of the net with a brilliant finish. 11 minutes in to the game and we’re up 1-0. 

We started again and continued to dominate the next 15 minutes with attack after attack, it was lovely to watch. Molly on the left wing proved to be a handful for the defence as she showed her much improved ball skills and strength to keep running toward the goal and making chance for not only herself but Chloe, Evie and Sharay. She dug deep in herself to win the ball time after time and did the most amazing turn past two players I’ve ever seen, before whipping the ball in for a cheeky shot. It was saved by the keeper and we were keeping her busy!

The end of the second half, Forest picked up their pace and our defence had to work hard to deny them a goal. Kayleigh and Scarlett made some cracking tackles to win the ball and clear it out. Both also had to do a lot of running as the attack were fast on their feet but all our defenders were there to disrupt the flow. 

Half Time score 1-0.

Forest started the second half well and we were running after them, the tables had turned but we disrupted their flow by pressing, jockeying, tackling, marking, communicating and making saves. We denied them a goal most of it until they broke through with speed and they were one step ahead of us. A powerful strike went past Olivia’s hand and the game was tied at 1-1.

A Forest player nipped passed two defenders and found herself in front of goal, about 6 yards out and Olivia made herself big and tall whilst shouting for a tackle and in came Grace who made the tackle of the game, absolute cruncher! She sandwiched the ball between her feet and rolled it backwards, turned like a ballerina and took the ball away from danger. When my heart started beating again, we were on the attack, Grace pushed the ball up to Sharay and she got her head down and went toward the goal. Tried a shot, it deflected of a Forest boot, it was picked up by Chloe, who passed across to Evie, a shot saved by the keeper but out for a corner. Evie whipped it in but no one could get on the end of it to finish and back we went defending…. This continued a lot in the last 10 minutes but great heart shown by all the players.

Credit to Isla and Sienna who fought for every ball and covered a lot of ground. Scarlett, Edie, Keeley and Chloe all helping defend and Olivia for making some brilliant decisions and saves to keep the game level. It was a massive team effort from them all to keep the ball out of our net and I’m very proud of everyone for what they did on the pitch today!

I thought we were heading for extra time until a sudden break away and we all watched Sharay find the ball at the half way line, she turned, a Forest player on her but that didn’t stop her moving past them as she cut in field toward the edge of the area. The keeper came out toward her, it was all going in slow motion but Sharay was a cool as a cucumber and shifted the ball on to her right foot to fire it past the defender, past the keeper and GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!! With 30 seconds to go, we were up 2-1 and that’s how it ended! A real team performance from everyone today, a real super squad!!

GOTG went to Sharay for her grit, determination and strength as she flew down the pitch and caused the opposition lots of problems. Her close balls skills were on point, she ran the fastest she’s ever ran, held her body strong to keep possession. She put in some phenomenal crosses in to the box and never gave up, not at any time! Sharay is proving to be a whirlwind when she’s on the pitch and she’s working hard in training and listening to the coaches to improve all aspects of her game. I’ve given Sharay her own catchphrase “take it all the way Sharay”, and I think it’ll catch on, especially after that winning goal!

Thanks to Kayleigh’s Dad for stepping in to run the line, a great job😊

A shout out to Evie’s Grandad who reads our match report each week and we all look forward to meeting you in a few weeks 😊

The new league season starts next week and after finishing second this time round, the Super Squad want to go further this time round!

Under 13s v Nottingham Forest

Player of the Match: Maddie

Ladies 1st Team v Sleaford Town

With 9 new signings for this season it was obvious that it would take some time for the squad to gel and the new players to adjust to the way we train, play and manage the team. This was a factor in us losing our first 3 league games. However after good performances in the cup games against Ollerton and Ilkeston we travelled to Sleaford in good spirits and rising confidence.

 

We knew that Sleaford away would be a tough test, they are a hard-working, well-organised and talented side who always try to play good football with lots of character and spirit. It was important for us to get off to a good start but that plan lasted only 50 seconds as a fine through ball and a good strike caught us napping and put the home side 1-0 up. Incredibly we were level almost immediately from the restart as Demi broke into the box on the left hand side and pulled back the ball for Nat to fire in low to the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Despite the heavy pitch the game was being played at a quick pace, we had the better of the chances but couldn’t find the finish and when we did the Sleaford keeper pulled off several good saves. Both teams were really playing to win which made the game very open and Sleaford were particularly dangerous on the break but our defensive 3 were coping with everything thrown at them. 

 

It was from one these breaks that Sleaford had a slice of luck to again take the lead. A mis-hit cross from the left sailed high over everyone and dropped just under the bar to make it 2-1. Showing great resilience and a determination not to be beaten we again responded immediately when a defence splitting through ball allowed Demi to break free and slot a shot into the bottom left corner past the on-rushing keeper. We created more chances to take the lead but the sides went in at half-time with the score 2-2.

 

The half-time team talk was relatively straight forward, we were performing well but were a little guilty of trying to force the game. We asked the players to relax, look after the ball, make 5 and 10 yard passes instead of trying to go too long and keep using the width of the pitch to stretch the game and get in behind their defence.

 

The players were magnificent in the second half, they responded to everything we said at half time and played exactly as we had asked. Our keeper Lou, had been very ill the day before but showed great commitment to travel and play the first half but it was obvious she couldn’t carry on so Amy went in goal for the second half. Amy did really well with everything she had to deal with but the fact that she didn’t have a proper save to make shows how the team dominated the second half. Sleaford were understandably tiring and our pace down both wings and upfront allowed us to dominate. The midfield 3 of Jen, Shell and Hannah were in total control and if Sleaford did break they could not find a way past Alex, Shauna and Chloe in defence. Ellie, Mollie, and Amelia were used as rotating substitutes on the wings to keep the attack fresh. This overall team work provided the front two with the service to really go to town and they certainly did. We scored 4 more goals without reply.

 

A repeat of a pass from Demi and a low bottom corner finish from Nat put us ahead for the first time in the game on 55 minutes and there was no turning back. A sublime through ball from Jen then allowed Nat to break away from the Sleaford defence, take the ball round the keeper and roll the ball into the net to put us 4-2 up.

 

Sleaford are full of spirit and it was no surprise that they kept on battling and produced some great defensive work and good goalkeeping to prevent both strikers from scoring on several occasions. Both teams were working hard but we continued to dominate the play and were able to add 2 more goals in the last 6 minutes of the game. Both goals were almost identical, a brilliantly weighted through ball from Hannah for both goals allowed the strikers to run through and score, the first was scored by Demi and the second was bagged by Nat.

We were delighted to get our first league win and the players deserve huge credit for the way they played. For me the biggest thing is always the performance, if we perform well then the results take care of themselves. The squad is full of talent and we are now building in belief and confidence. Nat and Demi are in fine form and they are both very talented players. However, anyone who thinks the success of the team this season relies on those 2 alone would be making a big mistake, the whole squad working together is allowing the strikers to use and show off their skills. The squad is full of talented players and there is plenty more to come from it. This first win is just the start, we are working hard in training and we expect more improvement and even higher levels of performance in the coming weeks.

 

The opposition gave the Player of the Match to Demi and her overall performance really was worthy of it. However, every player played well and delivered our game plan. Now we must build on this and take it into the next game.

 

Neil Matthews

First Team Manager