Saturday 8th September 2012 - was STARLANDS first League game of the 2012-13 season.
It was not going to be easy - playing GORNAL GIRLS who have won the Stourbridge League & Cup in back to back seasons.
Following on from the 17-0 Kingshurst defeat - STARLANDS knew they were in for a game - and when they discovered GORNAL had beaten Kingshurst?!!!....Well, we thought we might be in trouble!
STARLANDS started with the same formation that finished so strongly against Woodstar Rangers.
From the off, Gornal were right at Starlands - but, the girls dug deep and refused to concede that trade mark early goal.
The defence were supporting each other - and clearing their lines and closing the opposition down.
Gornal were limited to shots from outside the area - however, such was their strike power that Holly was helpless to stop a couple of top corner efforts.
Another, was stuck in the far corner giving Holly far too much distance to cover.
Following on from this Holly made a save from a long range effort, but this season the goals are full size - and what would have been pushed over the bar, ended up in the roof of the net.
Hafsah was covering plenty of ground - and closing down the wide players blocking crosses.
Kiera, was again strong in the tackle - and got back to help out covering in defence.
Chloe and Laurice were solid in the heart of defence - and the 1st half finished 4-0.
Early into the second half, Laurice bravely went for a header and ended up colliding with a Gornal player. She was forced to come off with a nasty head injury.Unfortunately for the Gornal player she had to go to hospital with a cut to her nose.
Holly was now coming off her line to good effect,coupled with a bit of luck - and Gornal were struggling to break STARLANDS down in the second half.
A couple of nice moves from Gornal and again STARLANDS were punished from the edge of the box.
As the match went on, STARLANDS had a couple of attacks - but as usual the ball would just not fall to a STARLANDS player. Amber and Ruby were working hard upfront - and Samantha had started to play up front was hassling the Gornal defence.
Rosie and Alex were making useful contributions down the flank both in attack and defence.
The game finished - We thought 7-0...However, to our surprise we were informed it was 9-0????? It did not matter - It was nowhere near the the 17+ we had expected.
Gornal will be one of the strongest teams in the League - and will get better as the season progresses.
The girls may be disappointed with the scoreline, but if you look at other results in The Central Warwickshire League this weekend there was plenty to be positive about.
Warwick Angels who we narrowly lost to last season won 10-0 and a couple of other teams lost in excess of 12.
So, beleive it or not there is plenty to be POSITIVE about.
GIRL OF THE GAME - Hafsah
The girl of the game trophies have kindly been donated by Ambers step father Steve Noctor. trophystore.co.uk
