Second against third in the league was always going to be an interesting game for the U15s. Especially with just 2 points separating them, and Coalville having a match in hand.
Making the most of the home advantage, Rugby, perhaps somewhat unusually, came out fighting from the off. Taking on board the pre-match team talk, they were determined to keep the ball in Coalville’s half. The strategy paid off as Hollie found herself on the score sheet twice in the first 6 minutes.
Coalville weren’t there to be beaten though and proved they could be dangerous on the break. A quick run down the right wing saw Rugby having to chase back. Eggy stood firm and the break was dealt with without loss. A reminder to Rugby not to take things easy.
Keen to prove they were in control, Rugby again pushed the game back to Coalville where it stayed for the most of the remainder of the half. A goal from Flick in the 11th minute saw Coalville’s heads begin to sink and a change in formation was called for. The change of formation didn’t work and with Rugby keeping the pressure on the half time whistle saw Rugby up 3.
The second half saw Coalville ready to push play back into the Rugby half but whilst opportunities came their way they just couldn’t find the back of the net. Just two minutes into the second half Rugby scored again with a great goal, straight down the middle from Flick.
As time drew on the possession was much more 50/50 and Coalville were unlucky not to convert any of their chances. But they were making Rugby run on a pitch that was tiring and Rugby’s momentum dissipated. With lots of strong tackles, substitutions were frequent and allowed for plenty of positional changes. Mid-half Lauren found her form bagging 2 goals in the space of 4 minutes to take Rugby to 6.
It was all about keeping a clean sheet from here on in and an increasingly frustrated Coalville could only wonder at how they hadn’t made it on to the score sheet at all. All that was left was for Flick to bag herself a hat trick, practically on the full time whistle.
Full time Rugby 7 Coalville 0