The girls travelled to Brayton on Saturday to face a team just above them in the league on a freezing morning and on a bone hard pitch. The conditions made cotrolling the bouncing ball very difficult but we stuck to our task and defended excellently, Vicky being player of the match. We went a goal down in the first half but rallied with an equaliser as Ellie played a through ball to Saffy and her pressure meant the Keeper missed it and it ended up in the back of the net. Just after half time Jess had to limp off but was ably replaced by Charlotte H, while Charlotte Mc gave a masterclass in defensive midfield play. Our hard work was rewarded when we broke and Ellie play Saffy in who shot in the far corner. Now it was all hands to the pump as Brayton pushed forward but fine defending from Olivia and Vicky meant Amelia had a relatively quiet game in goal and she made the saves she had to well.Then came the moment the match turned with an incredibly harsh penalty award for handball, Brayton tucked the ball away and gained in confidence to the extent they found a winner in the last minute, so heartbreak for the girls.
Winning the friendly 5-1 was some consolation and its worth noting that Vicky got a hatrick,olivia finished off a fine move and Ellie added to her earlier goal.
We left feeling very hard done by and must pick ourselves up for next weeks away game in the cup at Stamford Bridge
On the positive side we played some fabulous football and I was very proud of the way the girls conducted themselves during both games.
Eddie
