Teamwork!

A gloriously sunny morning in Gillingham, and the two teams were in good spirits. The story of the day was that whilst the score lines weren’t what we’d hoped for, there were a lot of positives to take away, these young teams have plenty to look forwards to.

Against the rather good Hearne Bay A-team, both our reds and whites were shocked by their rather spectacular striking skills – Penny made some great saves and has the bruises to attest to their hard-hitting approach. But both our teams quickly discovered that they could match them for skills on the ball. We soon learned to close them down quickly, but unfortunately a few goals slipped past. Against Canterbury Greens, both our teams defended well, held intelligent field positions and applied good pressure. I feel we were a little unlucky to come away without a win in both games. Canterbury Whites played really well against us and highlighted some areas we could improve: we struggled with 16s and more generally getting players close enough to receive a pass – often necessitating a pass through heavy traffic; we also seemed to be too polite at times (especially in the opposition half), holding off the ball and allowing a hungry opposition to take advantage. But even here, we held good shape and battled hard in defense – some important positives to build on. On to the games against Hearne Bay Blues. Our White team played extremely well, very unlucky to be held to a 0-0 draw. Our Red team, in their final game of the triangular played their socks off, showing some hunger for goals! Alyssa and Alexa linked up extremely well, setting up Nicole to tap in their first point. More good linking play and a lovely pass from Rebecca gave Daisy the opportunity to score their second. And right near the end of the game, Libby put in another great pass for Daisy to score the third for the team.

At this point, it’s important to point out that both teams really did play as teams! They supported each other when things didn’t go so well, their heads never went down and they all worked hard to the very end. Both teams worked especially hard in defense and kept their field positions well, only rarely getting out of shape and crowding around the ball. Lyra and Esme’s hard work in defense, Amy’s runs up and down the wing, Shyla working the whole pitch, Livy covering all the attackers; I could mention every girl’s name here, they all played with positivity, energy and a strong battling attitude. Well played girls!