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Immie – GK
Elsie – DF
Esme – DF
Annabelle – DF
Sophia – RM
Ava – LM
Ruby – CM
Chloe – ST
Liv- ST
Subs
Erin
Emily
Leila
Our guests today at Butlin Road were from Quorn for the Remembrance Sunday fixture. Prior to kick off, an impeccably observed 2 minutes silence from all players, coaches and parents demonstrated the importance of respect. The match kicked off and within 3 minutes the first substitution had to be made, but fortunately for all concerned it was for the referee who had been delayed.
Rugby made a fast start and a noticeable improvement in the passing being crisper, faster and more direct. The defenders in particular made a great start with Esme and Annabelle demonstrating an excellent understanding and strong tackling, with some quality passes out wide to Ava and into Ruby.
The Quorn tactics appeared to focus on their impressive No.11 and getting the ball to her as quickly as possible, and in their first attack she finished from long range to make it 0:1 and somewhat against the run of play.
Erin came on and immediately started showing her close control and tenacity by taking on defenders, finding space and creating chances with both Chloe and Leila coming close. At the other end, Elsie was continuing to show her excellent positional play and strength against girls much bigger than her by making some crucial interceptions.
Emily came on and immediately began putting pressure on her midfield opponents and Rugby were pushing hard for an equaliser. A ball out to Erin and an excellent cross to the near post found Chloe, who was unlucky to see her near post flick go over the bar. From the resulting goal kick, great tackling from Ruby and superb passing to Leila meant the ball broke to Emily on the edge of the area who hit a superb shot into the back of the net and make the score 1:1.
More frequent substitutions kept the intensity levels high in the midfield, and Quorn struggled to cope with the quality of passing out from defence. On a rare attack, Immie showed great technique in command of her area and a superb save. A quick clearance set Sophia free from the halfway line and she was unlucky to see her long range shot just clear the bar. The final chance of the half came from one of Liv’s incredible throw-ins, that go further than some of us could kick the ball. Erin showed great anticipation of where the ball was going and was unlucky to shoot just wide.
The 2nd half started in the same manner, with Leila continuing to make the darting runs that defenders struggle to deal with. Linking up with Chloe as a great partnership, both created chances for each other that required some excellent saves from the goalkeeper. At the other end, continued excellent defending caught the attackers offside on a number of occasions with some easy decisions for the linesman to make. This created some frustration for the Quorn forwards and the referee did an excellent job in just having a little word to calm the situation down.
From the resulting free kick, Immie made a great long pass out wide to Ava, who showed great skill in controlling the ball, an outside of the foot pass inside to Chloe and a superb finish to make the score 2:1. Confidence was high, with Annabelle heading the ball (apparently quite painful when wearing an Alice band) nutmegging her opponent and finding Sophia out on the wing. A great run and shot from Sophia brought out another good save, and from the corner she demonstrated excellent close control to create a chance that went just wide.
As the game went into the final stages, Ruby continued to show how she’s grown into her midfield role by being the link between defence and attack. A superb through ball from her found Liv, who showed great strength in holding off her defender and hitting a tremendous shot into the net for a well deserved 3:1 lead.
In a rare attack, Quorn made a fast break and a shot from the edge of the area was well saved by Immie, who was unlucky to see the ball fall to the impressive No.11 whose shot she was powerless to stop.
With the score at 3:2, Rugby played some excellent football in passing the ball around and even created more chances for Liv, Erin and Chloe. The referee played 3 minutes of added time in order to provide full value for his appearance and a well earned victory for Rugby at the end of an entertaining match.
Coaches Player of the Match – Erin
Parents Player of the Match – Emily
Thank you to both referees, both linesmen and the coaches of both sides for an excellent match played in the right spirit.