Squad: Poppy, Rishi, Jesmin, Millie, Norah, Olivia, Ellie
Sponsor: LightningTools
This morning saw the U9s host Coalville in a long-awaited home match. After the conditions of last weeks game there was relief when the sun was shining, and it was fairly mild.
With Rugby having 7 players and Coalville only having 5 this made the girls feel at ease knowing they could have rest when needed. We tried a new formation today with having a defensive midfielder rather than 2 defenders, this worked really well for Rugby as it ensured Millie and Ellie didn’t get isolated in the middle. Jesmin took to this position first and found it difficult as it was a lot more running, she gave it a really good go and was a real help in midfield and was great at stopping the ball in the middle of the pitch before it reached our strong defence of Poppy or Norah.
Olivia has been growing in confidence with her huge goal kicks which were really handy for the girls today as from 2 of her long goal kicks saw the Rugby attackers Millie and Ellie celebrate with great delight. Over the last few week Millie and Ellie have been working hard on linking up together which they both did really well today as they were both seen celebrating multiple times today.
Rishi took place for Jesmin in that midfield role and battled for the ball really well and made some good runs and balls forwards. Poppy had her usual string performance in defence and made some good runs up the line to clear the ball. On the odd chance a player got past poppy Norah was there to make some good diving saves which kept Rugby’s confidence high.
In the second half Coalville came out fighting and made some brilliant chances and were celebrating multiple times. The girls on both sides didn’t give up and it was a great game had by all.
Managers player- Jesmin for playing really well in an unfamiliar position.
Parents player- Poppy for a solid defensive performance.
Thank you to young leader Ellie for reffing and big thank you to all the parents and carers for your continuous support for the girls.