Sunday 8th January 2023
Sponsored by Big Wave Campers, Oxygen Graphics, Kelsey Living, Ados Group Ltd, Eclipse Clean and Life Investments Estate Agency
Immie – GK
Olivia – DF
Esme – DF
Elsie – DF
Ruby – CM
Annabelle – LM
Sophia – RM
Liv – CF
Chloe – ST
Subs – Ava, Erin, Lelia, Emily
A cold and windy Sunday morning welcomed the visit of our guests from Rothwell to Butlin Road, in the first match of 2023. The previous match between the two sides had been a relatively one-sided affair, with Rothwell boasting players from both Leicester City and Peterborough United’s academy, and the Rugby girls were determined to demonstrate the improvements they had made since the last encounter and the manager had a full squad to choose from with the Christmas break providing an opportunity for some knocks and strains to rest and heal.
Both teams were raring to go and made a fast start, with Rothwell having the first shot at goal a few minutes in. This brought out the first of what was to be a string of saves from ‘Safe-Hands’ Immie in the Rugby goal. With a full squad to choose from, substitutions were always going to be important, and the first change saw Leila come on up front, and she instantly made an impact with her pace and direct running. Set pieces have become one of Rugby’s main weapons with Liv possessing an incredible long throw that caused havoc in the Rothwell defence leading to a goal mouth scramble that was fortunate to be cleared for a corner; Ruby showed her terrific technique at these with an excellent kick into the box that was well saved by the opposition goalkeeper.
The first half continued to be evenly matched, with great runs being made by Leila, and an excellent shot from Elsie in a rare foray forward into the box from her usual position at the heart of the defence. Momentum really was with Rugby and Emily came on to the left of midfield to bring her energy and tenacity into the middle of the pitch.
This was needed as Rothwell began to show their quality and the defensive unit of Elsie, Esme and Olivia showed the positional sense and tackling ability that has become the platform on which Rugby’s recent form has been built upon, and on the rare occasions that the attackers had a shot on goal, Immie was able to deal with these.
Ava and Erin came on to bring their energy and running to the midfield and kept the attacking pressing forward. A foul on Emily brought the opportunity for Ruby to show here abilities from free kicks that was well saved by the goalkeeper. Another attack was started with a superb pass by Ava through to Leila, who was unlucky to shoot just wide of the goal. A quick break by Rothwell again brought out some excellent defending with Olivia and Elsie working together and Annabelle and Emily showing fantastic running and commitment in providing support from midfield.
With the scores at 0-0 at half-time, Rothwell made a couple of key changes in their team and in their first attack of the 2nd half scored the opening goal. In what has become a characteristic of the U12’s team, this was the spark to a second half of hard tackling and battling in order to find the equaliser. Terrific wing play from Sophia and Annabelle led to chances for Chloe and Liv that were well defended, and the ball just wouldn’t fall kindly to Erin on a couple of occasions for her shot to be on target.
With Elise and Esme getting in some tremendous tackles and Olivia showing her usual calmness in clearing the ball to midfield, Rugby continued to press in order to get back on even terms. With the midfield being dominated by Ruby, Annabelle and Emily, the passing continued to be more effective and with 10 minutes to go the equaliser was scored with a superb strike from Sophia. As the game entered its final moments, Ava was linking up superbly with her teammates in creating chances that wouldn’t quite land for Chloe or Liv to finish. As the game entered the last minute, a Rothwell counter-attack finally evaded the defence and a smart finish led to the winning goal being somewhat against the run of play when a draw would have been a fairer result.
Whilst unlucky to lose, the improvements made since the last time the two sides met were clear and confidence remains high for the remainder of the season.
Parents Player of the Match – Elsie
Coaches Player of the Match – Sophia
Thank you as always to the referee and officials for their handling of the game, and special mention to Lindsay in her role as guest match reporter.