Sunday 18th September
Sponsored by Big Wave Campers
Immie – GK
Olivia -DF
Esme – DF
Ava – CM
Ruby – CM
Erin – LM
Sophia – RM
Chloe – ST
Leila – ST
Liv & Annabelle- Subs
A new location for the U12’s and playing against last year’s league winners East Goscote on a cold and windy Sunday morning in Birstall.
Leicestershire schools have been back for several weeks whereas Warwickshire have only just gone back from the holidays, and this was reflected in the energy levels early on as Rugby struggled to get going.
With strong attacking play from a formidable front three, East Goscote were 2:0 up before the girls were able to hit their stride, with Ruby and Ava starting to make an impact on the game. Leila started to make her trademark quick runs and the partnership with Chloe was starting to grow.
Esme and Olivia were both being challenged hard by their opponent’s physical strength and Immie was called upon to make some brave saves, but we’re unable to prevent the score increasing to 4:0 with close range shots.
Last years ‘most improved player’ Erin continued to show how much she has progressed by making some excellent runs and good passing. Annabelle came on from the bench to add some bite and tenacity into the midfield and Liv joined the attack before a robust challenge put her out for the remainder of the match.
In the 2nd half both Sophia and Ruby started to get their wing play going, with chances being created that Leila was unlucky to not have had more time with. The match was becoming a much more even contest until a penalty was awarded to East Goscote. The renowned Management Expert and Business Consultant Ken Blanchard refers to feedback as being “the breakfast of champions” and the crowd made sure the referee received the Full English as the handball decision seemed incredibly harsh. Immie demonstrated her strength of character in facing the penalty and made an incredible save that felt like justice had been served.
This seemed to galvanise the girls, with Olivia and Esme becoming stronger and more confident in dealing with their bigger opponents. Ava, Erin and Annabelle were getting stuck into tackles and some nice passing moves that were unfortunate to not lead to clear cut chances for Leila or Chloe.
As the 2nd half wore on, legs began to tire the strength of East Goscote led to two more breakaway goals and a final score of 6:0.
This was always going to be a step up in quality of opponent for the girls, and the physical play was something they’d not come up against before but they will learn from it. To emphasise the positives from the match, the song ‘Tubthumbing’ was played on the way home with the girls focusing on “..I get knocked down, but I get up again. You are never gonna keep me down”. and the parents focused on “…He drinks a Whiskey drink, he drinks a Vodka drink. He drinks a Lager drink, he drinks a Cider drink” in anticipation of the well earned Sunday Lunch.
Parents & Coaches Player of the Match – Immie