The U14's put in a performance which was up there with one of the best we have seen against last years league and cup double winners, Knaresborough Celtic, to secure a hard fought but well deserved 1-0 win.
The game kicked off at much earlier than normal as a result of fixture congestion on the new bigger pitch, but any worries about sleep filled eyes were quickly dispelled with the Scorchers setting off like a rocket and taking the game right up to the Celtic defence. The team dominated the early exchanges and on two or three occasions good work in the midfield and between the strikers resulted in good chances which went begging as a result of resolute defending from a good solid Celtic defence.
At the other end, when Celtic did attack then the Scorchers defence kept the most prolific strike force in recent seasons at bay with the best effort being a strike across the face of goal which went harmlessly by.
Mid way through the first half Chloe chased down a long ball, put the defender under pressure and caused them to make a mistake which Chloe latched onto and hit a terrific shot towards the top corner. The Celtic 'keeper did well to palm the shot over to keep the scores level. From the resulting corner on the left Emily curled the corner towards the top right corner and all the keeper could do was palm it on its way to the back of the net, 1-0 and the whole team joined in the goal celebration.
The job was far from done and the Celtic danger was ever present. However Georgina, Lowenna and Molly worked together as a solid defensive unit and whether the ball came down the left or the right Molly and Georgina were there to get a foot in, block the turn or the shot and generally make a solid wall that Celtic found it very difficult to breach. On the occasions that the striker found their way past they were faced with Lowenna who covered the backs of her defensive partners perfectly and built on her player of the match performance against Ilkley with another very solid display.
Honor played her part in goal, closing down any attacks that made it to the goal area and starting our own attacks time and again with her huge goal kicks.
At half time the team took a well earned rest but were warned not to let all the hard work go to waste and, if anything, the second half performance was even more impressive. The expected Celtic pressure started but was well dealt with. Eloise worked tirelessly to nullify the increasing threat from the Celtic midfield, probably having her best game for the Scorchers, while Sam, Grace and Jayde (as sub) put in so much effort on the wings, both in attack and defensive cover, that Celtic could never really get going. Up front Chloe and Emily played really well together and the inter-passing between the midfield and the front two was, at times, as good as it gets.
The result was that chance after chance came to extend the lead but several shots went agonisingly wide or were competently saved by Celtic keeper. The best chance of the second half came when a free kick was awarded 20 yards out when Jayde and the Celtic defender got into a tangle and Jayde was brought down. Emily stepped up and despite the 6 player wall she curled a powerful shot towards the top corner which just hit the post and from the rebound the Scorchers were unable to find the net.
Chances came and went to Chloe, Grace, Sam, Eloise and Jayde as the Scorchers pushed for the second, Chloe in particular curling a right foot shot only inches wide from 15 yards out, but as the half wore on a legs got tired, the Celtic girls sensed a chance of an equalizer and they pushed hard to break the Scorchers resolve. The defence stayed strong however and as Chloe and Emily dropped back to help out Sam and Eloise provided the outlet to take off the pressure. The resolve to win was illustrated in the last few minutes as Sam chased down a clearance from the Scorchers defence, she put pressure on the three Celtic defenders and forced the error which gave us a throw deep in the Celtic half, from which we were able to run down the clock to the final whistle and victory against the old rivals was secured.
Both teams contributed to a absorbing game. Picking the player of the game was almost impossible as every single player had played at their best and had made a significant contribution, but what was more satisfying was they way in which they played as a team. However joint player of the match were given to Georgina, who quite simply had the single best game she has ever played for the team, and Chloe who led the line superbly and is beginning to find the best way of using the offside rule to her advantage.
Well done girls, you deserved the victory!
