19th December 2021, kick off 09:30
Team – Alexis, Ellie, Emy-Mae , Esme, Phoebe, Sienna M, Sienna W
Sponsor – Lightning Tools
Early morning kick off at home for the team this week. The weather conditions were cold and dry, with a little bit of morning fog hanging around.
Coming off the back of a great performance last week expectations were high and once again, the team show that they improve with every match…
First Half
Nuneaton kicked off and were quickly put under pressure to give up possession by a tenacious Rugby team, many successive attacks from the flanks by Ellie and Sienna W saw a few chances go begging. Eventually with all the pressure on Nuneaton’s defence Sienna W made a successful solo effort count. Halfway through the first half Ellie & Alexis earn a well-deserved rest after relentless running on the left and in centre of attack. Replacing them was Esme on the left and Sienna M in the centre. These fresh legs were welcome as Rugby now needed to weather the storm from Nuneaton’s revitalised attack. An impressive solid team defensive performance as well as precisive tackling from defender Emy-Mae allowed only a handful Nuneaton shots on target. Anything that occasionally passed through the “iron wall” of Emy-Mae was hoovered up by a confident Phoebe in goal. A rare Nuneaton attack at the death of the first half gave the opposition hope.
Half Time
Honours even but Rugby’s coach has the easiest halftime talk ever, something along the lines of… “fantastic team effort girls, just keep doing the same things in the second half” coach knew this was a great team performance and that nothing needed to change.
Second Half
Nuneaton were quick off the blocks and with Esme now in goal she proved that her keeper skills were up to the job with a wonderful save in the opening few minutes. Rugby continue to work as a team, passing, positioning and movement off the ball was excellent, add to this outstanding work rate from the forwards tracking back to help in defence. Sienna W is through on goal and Rugby’s team effort was rewarded once more. Again, Nuneaton react to bring things to an even keel. No worry, Alexis is back on as centre forward and quickly gets a well-deserved reward for great positional awareness in front of goal. Sienna M replaces Alexis and is also rewarded with a successful well worked effort on goal. The team keeps at it and Sienna W is through on goal again to surely put the game beyond the reach of Nuneaton. Nuneaton had a secret weapon they saved until the final moments of the game, but with the Rugby team performance being so high, Nuneaton were not able to recover before the final whistle was blown.
Final Thoughts
This was the finest team performance from all the girls that I have witnessed. They needed very little coaching which shows the progress they are all making. If you remember the last time we played todays opposition, things really didn’t go to plan. Just goes to show how far the girls have progressed over the last few months to turn things around for a totally different outcome. So proud of the whole team today, so much hard work applied along with maturity shown by all.
Well done girls, you were outstanding today.
Managers player of the game – Sienna M
Parents player of the game – Sienna W
One final special mention for our referee today. Sophia took charge of her first match with ease and confidence beyond her years. Well done Sophia, you’re a natural and I doubt anyone realised this was your first time as referee.
Have a very merry Christmas & happy new year, Sara & I look forward to seeing you all in 2022.