Arnold Eagles Lightning v Belper CX U12 Girls, Sunday 22nd September

 

A change to the usual morning KO we’re used to which meant we avoided the rain! We’ve always had great games against Belper CX and this was to be no different in an 8 goal thriller…

This week, the squad have been working on their fitness, keeping possession of the ball and providing options for attacking play.

 

Isla and Sharay featured in the starting line up for the first time, reward for all their hard work since joining the squad. A good start to the game with plenty of passing, communication, tackling, pressing and attacking. 

It really was a game of two halves this week, the first half was a bit shaky with sporadic patches of beautiful football and the second half was full of gorgeous shape, sublime passing, vocal communication, high pressing, crunching tackles and goals galore!

A loss of shape with the starting nine left us exposed for Belper to put pressure on our defence so cover a lot of ground and bodies, for the most part they did an amazing job to get back, tackle and slow down the opposition attack enough for the rest of the team to get their defence hats on. Sienna, Isla and Kayleigh all worked their socks off and Olivia to make some phenomenal saves, including the classic “stick one hand out to the side” move – one of my favourites! 

 

At the other end of the field, Sharay and Grace we’re the pairing up front and with support from Keeley and Chloe, they had oodles of confidence to attack the ball. Chloe put some perfectly placed passes through the opposition defence for Grace to run on to and control before making her move in field or whipping it across to Sharay. And if it wasn’t Chloe, it was Keeley slipping those balls through to set Sharay off flying towards the goal. Great movement from both of the girls up front!

 

Half time score 1-1.

 

The second half showed us two new wingers in Molly and Mia, who had support from Keira and Grace – and what a quartet they were. Determination and tenacity from the two backs who not only defended but transitioned in to our attack like poetry in motion. Molly and Mia we’re primed and ready, constantly looking around where the defenders were to remain onside whilst waiting for the ball to be released so they could pounce and drive to the goal. The best performance from Molly and Mia that we’ve seen from them with their confidence and skill set building every game. Keep up the great work girls!

We also saw Edie and Chloe in the centre this week and they held the shape beautifully in the second half with Edie communicating to everyone and Keira directing the defence and attack, who all obliged! For two 11 year olds to have confidence to tell their peers where to be and what to do is amazing and is testament to the bond that this super squad has.

 

Lightning Strikes…

Scarlett scored her first league goal since joining the squad and opened up the scoring in the game with her fantastically powerful right foot after jumping on a loose ball after the keeper saved Chloe’s attempt at goal

Chloe got the second goal by pressing the defence from their goal kick, strong, determined, controlling the ball, looking at her options and making great choices to blast it past the keeper with a great finish

Keira took us up to three goals after stealing the ball from deep within our own half and flew like an eagle down the wing, taking the ball past everyone that came her way to fire off a beauty in to the back of the net

 

Sienna, Isla and Kayleigh were on fire in the defence, tackling, clearing, holding up the opposition defence and marking incredibly well. They’re all getting used to the offside rule but never ever give up! They had a lot of opposition attacks to contend with but thought about their movements and actions before implementing them. With support from the wing backs it was tough to break through but Belper did come at them a lot and equalised….with 8 minutes to go it was 3-3.

 

Lightning Strikes Again…

Molly scored her first goal of the season with some fantastic tactical thinking by marking the space and pressing the defenders high up the field, it looked like she was setting up Mia for a goal but showed her amazing strength and control to take the ball past the defender before whipping it in to the corner!

Chloe scored Eagles’ final goal by reading where the goalkeeper was going to send the ball and intercepting it, with clear line to goal she took it closer, looked at her options but went for it and it hit the back of the net.

GOTG went to Chloe for reading the game, controlling the ball, decision making, pressing and brilliant finishing for her two goals. I can see a bright footballing future for Chloe who works so hard to be the best she can be for her and her team. Chloe’s understanding of the game grows weekly, it’s amazing to see this at such a young age! #proud

 

Overall, a great game with lots of action. The squad learned quickly that losing shape means losing control and exposure in the defence which teams can score from. But they also learned that team work, communication, hard work and the support from each other means that you can achieve whatever you want to achieve whilst having the time of your life with your mates!

 

The final score was a 5-3 win for Lightning.