First Win of the Season

Today we played Phoenix Inham, in our 2nd League game of the season. Even though it was an early kick off, the girls were on it from the start, with some lovely link up play between Charliee and Cheska making the Inham defence constantly have to run back towards their goal.

Taking the Lead

We pressed and harried the Inham midfield, as both teams tried to get a hold in the game, but gradually we started to get the upper hand, even if it was only slightly. Naomi drove down the right, forcing Inham to give away a corner. Charliee swung in the corner, where Alice connected to it and it looped into the back of the net. This spurred us on, pressing down the left and right, but the final ball was just not falling to us.

Our defence was marshalling the Inham attack well, with Layla, Georgie, Katie and Lillyana being fairly comfortable keeping them at arm’s length overall. So, the half ended with us still 1-0 up.

Extending the Lead

The second half started much the same way, although Inham stepped up and it was a slightly more even game, though we continued to chase and pester as best we could. We continued to have attacks without forcing their keeper to make any real saves, as we lacked that clear chance. Daphnie at one point struck a brilliant shot that was on target and would have been a goal, if it wasn’t for the effort of one of the Inham defenders who blocked it.

Estee was reading their attacks well, blocking and cutting out passes, and eventually she turned and won the ball further forward, and fed in Lily, who looped her shot over their keeper to make it 2-0.

Holding On

But it was a lead that was halved within a few minutes. This led to a frantic last few minutes where Inham threw everything they could at us, but we managed to hold out for our first win of the season.

Player of the Match was given to Charliee, who followed up last week’s impressive performance with an even better display today. She linked up with Alice, Cheska and Lily really well.

Special mention should also go to Georgie in her 2nd competitive game — she continues to develop and improve every week.