Played in bright but blustery conditions, today's match saw a confident performance from the U14s against a spirited Heworth side.
From the outset the Scorchers took the game to Heworth, with Georgia, Georgie and Molly constantly pushing forward with able support from Becky C and the back four of Ellie, Emma, Becky S and Hannah. During the first fifteen minutes the ball barely moved out of the Heworth half, but determined defending and some good goal keeping kept the score at nil-nil. Then finally the pressure paid off and Molly found some space on the right, enabling her to go off on one of her characteristic sprints that beat both defender and keeper for Scotton's first goal.
A couple of minutes later Georgie had a shot at goal which was just blocked by the keeper. Scotton's first substitution was then made, with new signing Ciara coming on in midfield. The team continued to push forward until Molly again found room on the right and was able to put in a lovely cross to Georgia, who found goal with her second strike (the first having rebounded from the keeper).
Pressure continued to be maintained after the restart, culminating in a well-earned goal from Georgie that brought the score to 3-0 by half-time.
A few changes were made after the break, with Becky C going into goal, Katie coming on in midfield and then Riah joining the defence. However the run of play continued much as before, with the Scorchers having the bulk of possession and Heworth finding themselves constantly on the back foot, but battling doggedly. Then five minutes into the second half Georgia broke clear and put in an angled shot with her left foot that brought the score to 4-0.
Still the girls continued to push forward, moving the ball around well (with Ciara impressing on her debut outing in midfield) and freeing Katie to run in and have a shot at goal. Then once again the ball came to Georgia, who powered through to score with a beautiful strike: 5-0.
A further change was then made, with Jayde coming on to join the attack in place of Georgie.
By this time Heworth could have been starting to look despondent, but far from sagging they rallied and began to come back at Scotton more forcefully, culminating in a good move down the right and a well-taken goal twenty-five minutes into the half. Evidently energised by this success the Heworth girls pushed the ball forward again, gaining an unfortunate free kick a couple of minutes before full time: Despite the best efforts of the Scotton 'wall' nothing could stop the subsequent cracking strike, which brought the score to 5-2 as the final whistle blew.
Despite this late rally by Heworth, the Scorchers can feel very pleased with their performance - they dominated the vast majority of the match and put in an excellent team effort to gain a well-earned victory.
Player of the match: Ciara
