Our Under 11 team made the long and arduous journey all the way across town to face our local rivals for the first time. All of the girls were excited to return to their old stomping ground and determined to put on a fine performance in what was likely to be a competitive game played in high spirits.
Rugby Town had a huge squad and they started the game in the windy sunshine at a breakneck speed, gaining the advantage within the first minute. However there seemed to be a few nerves as the early parts of the game proved to be largely even with chances at both ends. Borough had a speedy winger on the right and it was clear that the Town defence would have to be on their toes from the outset.
Layla was a safe pair of hands in the Town goal, making some exceptional reflex saves and valiantly keeping Borough out with an incredible goal line stop; she distributed the ball well with some excellent kicks and can always be relied upon as our last line of defence. Aurora demonstrated her energy and pace on the Rugby wing, passing players with ease with her natural determination and she created some amazing scoring opportunities for Rugby Town, showing some clinical finishing when it counted.
Lexie was relentless in the centre of midfield on a small pitch, making some strong tackles and intelligent interceptions to protect the defence whilst showing great vision and selfless passing to put Town on the front foot and carve out opportunities for her teammates. Poppy showed great confidence on the ball and used her superb dribbling skills to bypass the Borough defence and create chances, whilst battling back and getting stuck in to break up the home attacks.
Isobel was resilient and determined in the Rugby defence, making some brave challenges and tracking back well; her big clearances are a huge asset to clear the danger and she did well to work herself into some shooting positions. As the first half progressed there were a few nervy moments but Town quickly asserted their dominance and the result was never in doubt by the time the interval arrived.
Izzy had the toughest task of the game; marking Boroughs star player out of it! She came under intense pressure and was more than up to the task as she realised she could be first to every ball; it was a mature performance and she showed great discipline when required. Katie put in a dominant display in the centre of midfield, demonstrating her fitness and energy to break up play well whilst also getting forward to create chances; she later slotted effortlessly into the Town defence to ensure we didn’t concede in the second half.
Beth came on up front and showed how good she is at holding the ball up, battling with the Borough defence and using her strength and resilience to lay the ball off to her teammates; she also had a number of long range efforts which could have gone in on another day. Ria looked assured and confident in the Town goal in the second half, distributing the ball well out of her hands with some fantastic kicking and she was always alert to the Borough threat, commanding her area bravely.
Sofia was dogged and hungry up front against a defensive formation, hounding the Borough back line and chasing down every loose ball; she worked incredibly hard to carve out opportunities and get shots on target to test the opposing ‘keeper. Matilda put in a dominant performance on the Town wing, using her strength and competitive spirit to get stuck in from the outset – she shored up the left hand side and got herself into some fantastic scoring positions, it was great to see her rewarded!
Eleanor showed a cool and calm head in the Town defence, always playing it safe and clearing the danger before it had begun; she shows great positioning and tactical awareness to react quickly to any threat. The second half was largely even, but Rugby Town’s experience and ruthless finishing in the final third proved to be the difference as they extended their advantage to see the game out.
All in all it was an entertaining spectacle played in the right spirit between two talented local teams and it’s fantastic to see so many girls playing football in Rugby – long may it continue! Thank you to Rugby Borough for being fantastic hosts and to everyone who came along to support the team.
Player of the Match: Aurora thoroughly deserved the award this week as she proved to be the difference between the two sides in the early encounters; using her aggression and determination to put Rugby Town on the front foot.