5th November 2023
Team Sponsors: Kelsy Living and Life Investment EstateAgents
Off the back of a few fantastic performances in a row, the U8 girls were ready and raring to go for their away game at Dunton Bassett. They certainly remembered it was the 5th of November and brought plenty of fire and sparkle to the match. The squad today was Ada, Imogen, Paige, Flossie, Primrose, Maisie B, Charlotte, Phoebe and Sophie
The opponents were a team that the girls had only met once before (at Sileby’s football tournament at the end of last season), so there was plenty of scoping out during warm-ups. The match started with Paigein’s goal and Phoebe, Maisie, Sophie and Primrose on the field. The last few weeks’ matches saw the girl take a few minutes to settle in, but there was no sign of that this time with energy from the first whistle. Phoebe and Sophie were taking the time to look up and make a good pass which really worked in the team’s favour. Primrose and Maisie started out so well in defence. They both have a lot of speed and determination and can really frustrate opponents’ attacks.
During the first 5 minutes, there was a lot of back-and-forth, with both teams working hard to find the measure of the other and press forward when the chance came. Primrose and Paige had a fantastic moment of teamwork when Prim communicated with Paige and let a loose ball run onto her rather than chase it down. It was the right play and showed great maturity from the 2 girls
There were a few more beautiful runs by Maisie and Sophie, and more demonstrations of the thoughtful passing the girls started the match with. Phoebe was doing lots of running and placing herself perfectly to pop up out of nowhere and intercept passes and throws from the opposition.
Maisie also showed great intuition when Sophie was making a run, to run alongside and place herself in front of the goal ready for the square pass.
An all-change substitution saw Floss, Charlotte, Imogen and Ada come on (and it was all smiles from the girls coming off who’d just played a fantastic 10 minutes). Ada brought a real determination to the game, chasing down tackles and loose balls, and Floss and Imogen stood a solid defence. Floss was such a persistent marker and the opposition found it very hard to get past her.
There was a long spell of pressure and possession by rugby heading to the end of the first half, with every player working their hardest. It seems like we report this every week, but the girls are showing growth every week in the way they work together as a team.
Ada made an incredible run down the line, almost the full pitch length keeping the ball at her feet and away from the sideline with skill and getting past a number of the opposition. It was an amazing run that Messi would have been proud of.
Imogen never missed a chance to press the opposition and made a beautiful through-pass to Flossie who took up the ball for another great run. Charlotte was also growing in confidence and getting stuck in, as well as making a couple of nice long throw-ins. The opposition had a strong forward who was having a great game too but couldn’t quite get through Determined defence. However, just before the half-time whistle she finally broke through and made a lovely run at Rugby goal, but was met with a strong performance by Paige.
Into the second half, we were back to the starting team, and from the first touch, Sophie made a dashing run upfield catching everyone off guard. A perfectly placed throw-in from Phoebe gave Sophie yet another chance at the long run. Phoebe was very strong in her favoured midfield position, running really hard and making good tackles. Maisie yet again showed how great she in in defence with her constant-pressure, and Primrose again was showing her mature understanding of the game, with clever positioning and skills on the ball to turn inside of her marker and be free to make a run.
Imogen took a turn in goal and Paige, now outfield really got stuck in with a lot of running and much more confidence and thoughtful making. Imogen also delivered a fine performance as the opposition seemed to be finding a second wind. Dunton had a burst of energy and determination to turn around a game that was, until this point, very much controlled by Rugby.
Ada, Floss and Charlotte came on and Charlotte seemed to be positioning herself really well. Both she and Ada showed some fantastic skills with perfect examples of how to turn and wrongfoot your marker. Floss was back to showing her resolute determination with two amazing runs – she was like a steam train and nothing was going to stop her. Ada also showed the same skill and passion that we saw in the first half with some really nice running and ball skills.
The pace of the game kept building and was non-stop right up to the final whistle. The opposition never gave up and worked so hard and admirably, but the tenacity of the Rugby team made for a very tough opponent. Well done to both teams for an incredible game. The Rugby girls should be very proud of how well they worked as a team and the performance they put in.
Players of the match:
Coaches – Flossie for her sheer determination and strength
Parents – Ada for passion, skills and that top-notch run down the line
Players – Sophie for her wonderful performance up-front