Starlands 1 - Kingshurst Diamonds 5 (h) 24/3/12
Kingshurst Diamonds travelled in convoy to Aldridge - and looked up for it from the moment they arrived. Coach 'Becky' was away in London and your Match Reporter was promoted to Morinho status..but it was more AVB at the end :(
Starlands Players with the exception of 1 arrived way after the meet time of 10am.Meaning that all the administration and warm up had to be rushed.
From the kick off, Starlands were half asleep. Yes, it was a little foggy to start with..and Yes they were kicking off into the bright sun - but there is NO EXCUSE for what was about to happen.
From the off, Diamonds came straight back at Starlands and a long range effort found its way into the corner of the Starlands net. The home side were far too slow to react, they seemed to be bewildered..
From the resulting kick off, Diamonds had a long range effort from inside their own half!..It went high and towards goal. Holly, came off her line and lost sight of the ball in the sun. It went over her head and Diamonds found themselves 2-0 up!
Only now did Starlands seem to wake...but it was always going to be hard to come back from that start.
The girls looked to push forward. There was a risk that it could have been a landslide, but true to form - Starlands are no quitters and tried their hearts out.
The formation started with 1-2-3-1 , with the usual 3 in defence of Holly,Laurise and Sinead and Georgia playing up front and the midfield trio of Hannah, Sam and Martha.
Georgia seemed to thrive on the lone striker role and was having an excellent match.
Diamonds - were a big side and looked more like 13/14yrs of age. Their main striker was dominant in attack but our defence stood firm. Starlands seemed to have weathered the early storm - and the fog was lifting! Yet, following a promising attack, Diamonds broke and within a matter of passes were putting the ball in our net 3-0!
3 turned into 4 when unbelievably, another half way shot come deflection high into the air travelled goalwards. Surely it could not happen again?...but it did!..the ball bounced short of the oncoming Holly and over her head and into the net. 4-0 at the break.
The report may read like Starlands weren't in this game,but this is not the case. There were a high number of substitutions to enable all the girls to have a game. Alex,Hafsah and Jade making appearances from the bench- and all the girls were rotated. It is difficult to remember your positions and a few times players were playing in unaccustomed positions.But, they gave it a go...and never moaned about making way for another girl,so well done!
Starlands looked to push forward - and were surprising fans with their positive play and attacking attitude. They swarmed forward - and bullied Diamonds into retreating.Every attempt to clear was chased down by Hafsah, Sam and Georgia. Eventually, they could retreat no more and somehow put the ball intot heir own net!...Who cares who scored? Starlands had got a goal!...A goal drought longer than Fernando Torres!
2 noteable chances for Starlands came from a lovely solo effort from Georgia which was pushed high and over by the Diamonds goalkeeper. The other was a lovely one two, Georgia unselfishly layed the ball off to the on rushing Hannah - who just miss kicked. They were 2 glorious opportunities - and should have made it 4-3.
Hafash was everywhere - her football has come on leaps and bounds and was looking for passes into space.
Surprisingly Laurise got through the match unscathed - and it was her sister who took a blow to the nose...and Martha who limped off late on.
Jade showed signs of improvement - and is benefitting from watching the other girls positional sense and marking.
Diamonds finished it off with a 5th goal - another breakaway goal following a Starlands attack.
It was really great to see Starlands score a goal and have some shots! Holly did very well to regain her composure and make some terrific saves by coming off her line at the right time!
Sinead realised that Midfield is hardwork and knows that 'her' best position is Defence...whilst Alex once again is growing in stature and put in 100% effort despite her injured knee.
Well done girls - You can be rightly proud - a win is not too far away.
Next years sponsor Jo from 'Butter Cream & Bows' presented the Girl Of The game Trophy to Hafsah.
Jo,also brought along some lovely cup cakes for supporters and players to sample. However, I am not sure trying to give them at half time was a good option! ... :)
