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The U11s welcomed Royce Rangers to Kilsby Lane on a much warmer and drier morning that we have had of late. Today’s match plan was to focus on our positional play, something that we have struggled with a little the last few games. I need not have worried, as the girls were focused and driven from the first whistle.
Royce Rangers put Rugby Town under some pressure during the first half with Sophia being called into action. Issy and Ellie worked well in defence, with Ellie putting in some big clearances. Issy did well to stick to some quick Royce Rovers players and she showed very good game awareness today, always being where she needed to be.
Hannah started in defensive midfield and was very keen to get into the thick of the game from the whistle. Hannah’s tackles were much more positive today, her passing forward was also much improved and she made a very strong contribution to today’s game.
The second half was much more in Rugby’s favour. I was super impressed with the whole team and the platitudes will flow from here on in! The girls played their positions extremely well with exceptional combination play from Tash, Evie, Kelsey and Ava.
Tash had phenomenal second half and displayed really intelligent play down the wing with great awareness of her team mates. Some of her crosses into Kelsey were very special indeed. Ava had great period on the wing, moving well into position to allow her to receive the ball. Her tackles were strong and she made some very productive penetrative passes. Ava also had some pretty impressive speculative long range shots on goal.
Kelsey had a strong game up front, her work rate is excellent and she had, in particular, four very positive periods of play. Again, the relationship between the wingers and Kelsey continues to develop and is wonderful to see.
Evie (wing) and Mia (defensive midfield) make a good team, with intuitive play between them. As always, Evie can be trusted to deliver a huge amount of effort during the game, feeding the ball very well up front and reading the game very well. Mia had a very confident game, her tackles and interception stopped Royce Rangers charges numerous times. Mia continues to impress and develop in the defensive midfield position.
Amy had a period in defence where she proved to be solid and reliable. Amy is never worried about tackling and getting into the middle of the action. She fed the ball to the wingers very well indeed and Amy’s work rate was some of the best I have seen in recent games.
Sophia was strong in goal, what was particularly special was the communication by Sophia to the rest of her team when defending corners. All of the team are really coming together well when taking and defending corners.
I was really pleased that the players listened to our match plan and delivered over and above what I expected. Hopefully they can see why I constantly bang on about positions and that when they play with this awareness, they are a force to be reckoned with. Well done Rugby Town U11’s !
Thank you to the parents and supporters s for your awesome positivity.
Coaches player of the match, for great positional play, pressure on the opposition, and a simply sublime goal line clearance: Issy
Parent’s player of the match for positive and productive play: Kelsey