As Strictly Come Dancing Judge Craig Revel Hallwood would say....A..MAZ....ING!
What a fantastic result Starlands Girls managed to get today v Warwick Angels....A 2-2 DRAW...Well Done Girls!
The day started off with an early morning call from Angels Management asking if the game was off due to snow...
Although it was bitterly cold for the girls, the pitch stood up well and the game went ahead without any problems.
Today, was the official opening of our NEW Dug out , and judging by todays sickness and injuries it may come in handy.
We were missing Grace through illness and Jade was away. Alex bravely turned out to ensure we had 11 players.However, following the warm up our trusted right back wasn't feeling very well and had to withdraw. A last minute change meant Kiera was put into defence in her place, and Rosie who was freezing decided she'd rather keep warm in the dug out.
Starlands lost 6-3 last time out against the 9 players of Warwick. Today, the girls arrived early , warmed up and were ready from the off!
Starlands enjoyed most of the early possession - infact it would be fair to say we DOMINATED! and were unlucky not to score with a lovely wing run by Amber resulting in superb cross to Ellie. Her shot was cleared off the line by the covering defender! Unlucky!
This was followed up by a great kick out of her hands by Holly, which flew into the oppositions half. Warwick were in all sorts of problems and did not expect to find Starlands playing like this.
All that practice on Tuesday using the ball down the wings was paying off...Well done girls!
Then Starlands made the pressure count. A good attack was not cleared properly by Angels, the ball fell to Samantha who played it across to Ellie who turned and shot from just within the box...like a bullet it flew in the far corner! Fantastic goal!
The girls were obviously excited and pleased with their efforts - but for all their great play, the Angels defence did not buckle and they held it to 1-0 at the break.
Kiera normally is like a headless chicken...running everywhere, in her new role with a little assistance from the sideline was far more measured. She tracked back in defence , made telling tackles playing the ball down the line or out of play.
Laurice and Sinead were rock solid in the heart of the defence, clearing every danger! For once Starlands were not contributing to their own downfall.
Sam,Hafsah and Ellie were trying to get the ball forward at every opportunity. It was a great first half, and not to ignore the immense effort of Hannah and Ruby who were playing really well. Strong in the tackle and tracking back to cover.
The second half, Starlands did what they usually do at the start of the game...They went to sleep. They failed to clear the ball and they failed to track back and make a tackle. Somehow, Starlands allowed Angels back into the game - in only 5 minutes , Starlands were trailing 2-1. The writing looked to be on the wall, a collapse looked likely, were the girls heads going to drop?
Chloe was struggling to keep up with play , she had appeared to pull her hamstring. She had come off half way through the first half, replaced by Rosie. But, Ilness struck Rosie who had to be replaced - and Chloe bravely struggled on for her team mates.
Starlands, started to get back in the game - but Warwick heads were up, and their half time team talk had done the trick. However, the girls must have been listening because a good clearance from defence fell to Ellie who looked again to play the ball first time to Amber - threaded it through the Warwick defence. Amber ran on, bustling and jostling with the defender. The on rushing goalkeeper came out - but Amber expertly slotted it home in the far corner! 2-2
Brilliant effort girls. Now, some might have noticed that Warwick only had 9 players against our 11. However, we lost 6-3 last time out.
The last 10 minutes were end to end stuff. Starlands were unlucky to be caught off side a few times. The Starlands defence held firm, a number of great saves from Miss Reliable ' Holly' kept Starlands right in the match. They also defended corner after corner - great work from Kiera, who even managed a few runs up the wing.
Hannah and Laurice were heading the ball clear, and Hafsah was starting to get into the game and use her energy to get around the pitch. Likewise RUby was featuring heavily towards the end of the game - and was unlucky not to break clear a couple of times.
In the dying moments, Holly came off her line and made a superb save to ensure Starlands drew the match!....phew!
The match finished 2-2 - A superb effort from all the girls.
Girl of The Game went to Kiera for a superb match in her first game in defence.
I know it was cold out there for the girls, but they worked their socks off. They did what they were told before the match...
1.USE THE BALL 2.CLEAR THE BALL 3.PLAY IT WIDE 4.KEEP WORKING FOR EACH OTHER.
Well done, and for once......I can enjoy my Saturday afternoon!....THANK YOU GIRLS! :) To the other Girls who fell ill...Get Well Soon!
