Having been on a good run of form the team were confident of this continuing against Mowbray despite being low on numbers due to injuries and availability.
The players flew out the blocks with Cesca and Charlotte threats from the wings and Molly directing play from midfield and Amber bringing the ball forward from defence. They punished Mowbray with 3 goals in the first 15 minutes from first Cesca, then Charlotte and Molly.
Unfortunately some poor defending allowed Mowbray to walk through the team and grab a goal back. This seemed to spark the team out of any complacency though and the game became more keenly contested and the score remained the same at half time.
Unfortunately a foul not long before the break had injured Amber’s shoulder as she was pulled to the ground when once again defending well and preventing a Mowbray player reaching a pass. This meant the team would have no subs for the 2nd half and would have to dig deep. There was faith however the players could play even better in the second half with the passing in the first half not being up to the standard the players had recently set themselves.
The team stood up to any physical threat from Mowbray once again and their football was of a good quality. Despite tiredness kicking in for some and the need to swap player roles to help combat this and give some experience the players did well til the end. Mowbray threatened occasionally but the defence in general and Ella especially, despite having had to leave the pitch in the first half to ease a muscle strain, Jodie in goal mopped up threats when needed and the team frustrated Mowbray with their superiority all over the pitch.
2 more goals came for the team, first from Estere who made an impact despite playing a year up from the U13s and a second for Charlotte. The last goal in particular was one to enjoy – it sometimes looks easy when perfectly executed but it was a brilliant corner from Molly and a well-timed run and unstoppable header from Charlotte.
No more games now til January but in the first half of this season there have been some good wins and great performances. The start to the season was difficult with the smaller squad and injuries but the team were all detemined and fought hard until they were in a position to dominate games and the squad has grown in strength with the additions of Cesca and Kayla and all-round improvement from the players. I’m sure the upward curve will continue after the break and all the players can be very proud of how well they have done and look forward to building on this when the season restarts.
Rugby Town 5-1 Mowbray Rangers
Player of the match: Charlotte
Goals: Cesca, Charlotte x 2, Molly, Estere