Sunday 29th January 2023
Sponsor: FORD Bros building & Electrical and Life Investments Estate Agency
Squad:
Aga, Alice, Amelia, El, Elisa, Katie, Lena, Lola, Macy, Maddie, Matilda, Poppy, Ruby, Tanisha.
Rugby Town u13 Lionesses hosted Nuneaton Blues in the first round of the cup.
Rugby were confident going into the match following a good result the previous week, but were aware that today’s opposition were 4th in the league and would be tougher opposition.
Tanisha stepped up to play in goal today, behind a defence which has been performing well this season. Today Maddie, Ruby, Alice and Lena would rotate, and as usual worked well as unit and limited Nuneaton to only a few chances.
Tanisha however when called upon, did a great job, and looked confident with her 3rd clean sheet of the season.
Rugby started well in midfield with Matilda playing today on the right wing and Poppy on the left. Aga continued to play in a slightly more forward role as the lone striker, supported by Amelia.
El and Katie shared time during the game, in the holding midfield role. Both girls regularly broke up a number of Nuneaton attacks as well, and distributing the ball to kick start a number of Rugby attacks. Both girls share this very demanding role well.
Also rotating into the midfield were Lola, who having returned from a long absence with injury, and a strong game. She was tenacious in winning the ball and supporting Rugby’s forward play.
Elisa and Macy both had a good games, and rotated in nicely showing the flexibility of the squad. Macy being involved in some great one-twos, and Elisa showing her great attitude when asked to play an unfamiliar role up front. We are lucky to have girls who are willing and able to play in different positions, and to take on new challenges.
It was clear from the start that the efforts on the training pitch have paid off, as the girls transferred this to the game day, with some lovely linked up passing.
Rugby Town looked comfortable on the ball, and were attacking well down both flanks. Matilda on the right made numerous strong runs, which Nuneaton were struggling to cope with. This paid off, with 2 great goals. The second of which came from a run starting just outside her own goal area, and she went on to beat 4 Nuneaton players!! before taking the ball into the Nuneaton box to finish at close range at the near post.. It was also fantastic to see her teammates moving forward in support, while she made this run, showing their development as a team.
Final score 2-0 to Rugby.
Parents player: Matilda, for a fantastic performance on the wing, and two great goals.
Managers player: Ruby, for a very strong and confident display, and reading the game well, to step forward to take on a player.
Thank you to Pete for assisting and running the line, and thanks to the parents for their fantastic support of the girls.