The U10’s took on Mountsorrel at home today with a large enthusiastic squad as always, made of girls from the U9 and U10 teams, on a cold, bright morning at Kilsby Lane.
Captain Lexie led the attack against a physical Mountsorrel defence and the game was very competitive from the first whistle. Backed by confident goalkeeping from Frankie the defensive partnership of Darcy and Isobel came under pressure in the opening minutes but both girls rose to the challenge, showing great awareness and determination to keep Mountsorrel at bay. Poppy once again showed excellent footwork and silky skills on the Rugby wing, with Aurora and Beth non-stop energy and running in midfield support, covering the whole pitch. Despite countless excellent saves from Frankie and relentless effort from the home defence the girls were unlucky to find themselves two behind before half-time.
The physical nature of the game meant a couple of knocks to the brave Rugby team and substitutions were needed. Connie slotted in effortlessly at the back, again showing intelligent, assured defending against the older girls; her and Isobel never give up and always play it safe as they continue to develop into a dependable partnership. Katie never stopped running in defensive midfield and showed great strength and power to effectively break down the Mountsorrel attack. Indie and Sofia came on to provide fresh legs and superb energy in support of Lexie up front and the girls didn’t stop trying to find that killer pass before the break.
The second half saw Rugby pile on the pressure and they showed great determination and energy going forward. Sofia didn’t stop trying to find a way past the last defender and Lexie, Poppy and Aurora never gave up trying to find an elusive way through the strong Mountsorrel defence. Frankie continued to make some fine reflexive saves and her powerful kicking saw every broken down attack put Rugby back on the front foot.
Both Frankie and Darcy showed great bravery in defensive scrambles, putting themselves in harms way to courageously protect the team, In the end the physical advantage held by the opposition meant that it wasn’t to be and the girls were unlucky to concede further before the end. Indie and Beth kept plugging away in midfield, fighting for every ball until the final whistle but the Rugby attack just couldn’t find the breakthrough they deserved.
This was a brave, resilient performance from every girl on the pitch against an older, more physical opposition and they should all be extremely proud. The whole team showed great determination throughout, never gave up and played the game in the right spirit as they always do. Their enthusiasm, effort and courage couldn’t be faulted and they were unlucky not to emerge with more from a largely even contest. Well done girls!
Parents Player of the Match: A brave performance in goal from Frankie who made some exceptional saves and distributed the ball well
Managers Player of the Match: Aurora again played with extraordinary energy and could have been playing in midfield, defence and attack all at once!
Thank you to Chris for refereeing