WOW – (second night in a row!) on the performances that this group have put in tonight! Two weeks ago, we played our first round robin game of fixtures at OLSC and found it tough, many their first ever football experience/match/competition. BUT tonight, the progress we have made is fantastic!
First game we played OLSC A (one of the strongest teams in the competition) and fought out a 0-0 draw with some fantastic saves from Heaydien! Fantastic result considering they beat us 5-0 last time round!
Game 2 – we sadly lost 1-0 to Heath Park with a goalkeeping mistake but fought hard again! What was impressive tonight was that the group weren’t afraid to show grit and determination to ground out a result.
Game 3 – we gained our first win!!!! 2-0 victory against Coppice with a goal from Heaydien and Captain grafter Bethany! The elation on the groups faces on the pitch and from the subs was something I won’t forget for a while, the same as last night! Unbelievable.
Game 4 – we drew 1-1 to St. Edmunds. We conceded early, but as soon as it happened Heaydien said “sir, don’t worry I will get us a goal”. She didn’t disappoint, within 30 seconds some great link up play between Captain Bethany, Heaydian and Summer bought us level (Barcalona esc. From the magic midfield three). We had two opportunities to gain another win but sadly couldn’t convert! Group genuinely filling with confidence within themselves and the team!
Game 5 – we drew 0-0 against Coppice who only had 5 players, so we changed the team around to allow the game to be played fairly. We also rotated players in different positions to give them a chance to try different positions. We thought we had won as Georgia hit a half volley which hit the inside of one post and bounce off the other one! So close to her first goal! Literally inches!
Thanks to all the staff allowing the group to leave lessons early – they didn’t disappoint us! The growth in confidence, resilience to not give and determination to work together was something to be admired, led by Bethany! Our Defence has significantly improved, Denaya (our defensive rock) commented on how playing last night helped her pick up different things and clearly showed in her performance tonight that she learnt a lot from the experience. She also praised the year 9 team such as Destiny, Amber, Elexus and Rene who have really helped her develop her confidence to play in defence – which is what it’s all about!
We congratulate them on such as positive evening for the group! I can’t award a player of the night because of how well they fought as a team with many great individual performances that contributed to our performance - They all receive it!