A late kick off saw the Phoenix U10s play against Garston Ladies U10s at home. The Phoenix had previously beaten Garston in a hard-fought contest. Today would prove to be a repeat. Both teams pressed for the ball well. It was difficult for either team to get control of the game. Early chances fell to Garston. LS and CD battled in defence to keep them at bay. MK made several crucial saves, one of which was very close range. She ran at the oncoming attacker, palmed the ball away and jumped onto the loose ball before the opposition could get to it. SDB found some space in the middle of the park and made some good attacking passes. Mid way through the first half she narrowly missed the goal from a free kick. AP ran tirelessly down the wing. As soon as she was thwarted by the Garston defence, she would run straight back to help the defence. AW found some space in the box and had a shot blocked by the Garston keeper at close range. YC troubled the defence with her passing. She hammered an effort at goal and was unlucky to see it bounce off the crossbar. It remained a close contest. Both defences were impenetrable, and the attacking players could not get through. Although both teams had chances, the goalscoring opportunities that did open up were closed down by solid goalkeeping. With 18 minutes played Garston scored from a corner. Phoenix were unable to clear the ball and Garston were able to capitalise on this. A good response was needed from the Pheonix. Heads dropped, but only briefly. Spurred on by parents and coaches they dug in and kept fighting for a goal. Their resilience paid off. With only 5 minutes of the half remaining JM, who had been running at the defence, latched onto a long goal kick from MK and slotted the ball into the net. Half-Time. The girls came out fighting. They knew what they were up against, but they were up for the challenge. Garston could have taken the lead again early in the second half. An attacking player managed to get through on goal. MK pushed the ball out of the players path and then quickly sprung to her feet to stop a follow up shot seconds later. SDB and YC broke down the Garston attacks and lead the counterattack by passing the ball out wide to stretch the defence. LS remained a rock at the back for the Phoenix. She continued to intercept the Garston attack and play the ball forward. JM and AW battled away in midfield, stopping Garston runners and tracking back to help the defence. AP continued caused Garston problems with her pace. She managed to break through the defence on a couple of occasions. The teams continued to press one another and cancel out each other’s attacks. The Phoenix continued to push forward. CD led the charge late on. She showed great composure in the box and had a couple of chances to score. With 4 minutes to go, she found a loose ball in the Gartson area and slotted it beyond the reach of the keeper. Having fought so hard to come from being behind, the girls knew that they had to hang onto the lead by fighting for the ball. Every single one of the girls dug deep and found a final reserve of energy to see of the final Garston attempts. A nerve-wracking game, resulting in a well fought win. The girls deserve real praise for showing resilience to see off the disappointment of going behind to go on a win a very difficult game. Girl of the Game was Chloe – a solid all round performance. Kept Garston at bay and netted the winner. Team of the Week is Jessica – Ran her socks off for the team today. Smiled throughout and scored the goal that got the team back in the game.
