19th November 2023
The squad today was Sophie, Maisie B, Charlotte, Flossie, Ada, Primrose and Phoebe.
An early start up the M1 for the girls today, as they were away to Mountsorrel Vixens, a team they played a great game against at home last month. A change of venue meant the teams were playing on a 1990s-style ‘AstroTurf’ pitch. This was a novel experience for the girls and the speed of the ball and feel underfoot took some real getting used to.
The match started out with Floss in goal, alongside Ada, Primrose, Maisie, and Sophie.
The unfamiliar pitch surface initially caught the girls off-guard, allowing the opposition to make a fast and unexpected push forwards within the first moments of the game. After a minute or two the girls were getting the feel for it and turning the initial press from Mountsorrel back in their favour. Ada was making some nice, thoughtful passes whilst Sophie was showing her usual dangerous runs at goal.
Once again, Primrose was playing a fantastic defence, running so much and being persistent, whilst Maisie was supporting Sophie and positioning herself really well on her runs up the pitch.
We were seeing some very nice ball control and passing despite the awkward speed of the pitch, and Ada controlled the ball well down the line and made a lovely thru-ball to Sophie. The girls were always putting the pressure on whenever they had the chance, anticipating passes and throws to get in the way.
Flossie took a turn in goal, swapping with Maisie while Phoebe and Charlotte came on for Sophie and Primrose. Phoebe did a lot of running and tackling in midfield, as well as being conscious to look up and make a couple of clean passes. Charlotte was giving great running support when the attacks happened, but was always conscious to get back to defend when necessary.
Maisie put in a solid performance in goal, whilst Phoebe and Flossie were both demonstrating great ball-control. At this point in the game, Rugby had the upper hand and were putting consistent pressure on the opposition.
Into the second half and Primrose took a turn in goal and performed admirably, coming out to meet oncoming attacks. Floss made a beautiful run along the line and Ada was really getting stuck in with some great tackles and a sheer determination to not give up. Phoebe had the opportunity to take a corner and made a nice clean strike.
The opposition conceded a free-kick, which isn’t something the girls have much experience of, and Sophie stepped up to do her best Bend It Like Beckam impression.
At this point the energy dipped a little. There was a huge amount of running being done by both teams and it was taking a bit of a toll. This allowed the Mountsorrel to make a surging push back against Rugby, with some nice passing and throws which were catching the girls out.
This meant the last quarter of the game was a deadlock throughout, with both teams fighting hard to try and break through. A new push meant every ounce of energy was getting thrown at the game by both teams, culminating in the most exciting 30 seconds we’ve seen leading up to the final whistle. Caught off guard, Rugby let Mountsorrel slip through the defences only to dig in and thwart the attack at the last moment, which led to a breaking run by Primrose and Sophie who worked perfectly together to take the ball all the way down the pitch for their own attack. What a game!
Big thanks to Mountsorrel for such an enjoyable match.
Players of the match:
Coaches – Sophie
Parents – Floss
Players – Ada