Southill vs Bincombe Valley

After school today, Southill FC were out in full force as both the boys and the girls team travelled over the Bincombe Valley for some friendly football matches. Here is how we got on.

Boys

In the early stages of the game, Southill were playing some incredible football. They kept possession brilliantly and the team were camped in the Bincombe Valley half. The possession soon turned into a great goal as Filip passed the ball in the box back to Ashton who smashed it into the back of the net! The team had chances to go 2-0 up and Eli, Gurraag and Ellis were keeping it very tight at the back, preventing Bincombe from finding any rhythm in the game. Unfortunately late into the first period of the game, an awkward ball into the box caused Noah to deflect it in resulting in the half time score being 1-1.

We were however feeling very confident going into the second half and it didn’t take long for our resilience and determination to be rewarded. Some brilliant midfield play between Maxwell, Noah and Max resulted in the Southill wining a throw-in. Cleverly, Max took the throw quickly as he threw it to the feet of Ashton who lobbed the keeper beautifully meaning that Southill once again found themselves in the lead! Layton and Alex played their part in shutting Bincombe Valley out, however a very clever through ball broke our lines and resulted in Bincombe equalizing.

Southill had a couple more chances to take the lead, however a swift counter attack resulted in an unlucky deflection off a Southill defender resulted in late minute heartache away from home. It was tough for the boys today who struggled to get their passing game going due to the long grass. Nevertheless, we can take a lot of positives from the match. Final score…

Bincombe Valley 3 – 2 Southill FC

Girls

The girls were keen to try and improve on last year’s match against Bincombe Valley, however we knew it was going to be a tough match! The girls were a little nervous to begin with, however thanks to Harmony and our plucky defenders Skyla, Harper and Darcie, Bincombe found it difficult to score against us. After 10 minutes, Bincombe finally broke the deadlock.

A mazy run through three players resulted in Bincombe Valley’s most influential player to be in front of goal with the whole goal at her disposal. She confidently slotted the ball into the bottom corner. As the half developed however, Southill grew into the game. Due to the long grass, Southill started to play the ball more directly up to Nancy, Iyla and Eleanor who were working hard to put the defenders under pressure. Some long balls over the top by both Georgia and Flossie were causing all kinds of problems and we were putting Bincombe under lots of pressure. Despite being 1-0 down at half term, there was a lot to admire about our performance.

Playing downhill in the second half really suited us! We had so many touches in the opposition’s box but just couldn’t make the sweet connection needed to beat the goalkeeper. In our desperation to score, Southill were left exposed at the back and another great run saw Skyla having to make a last-ditched tackle which resulted in a penalty to Bincombe. The penalty was hit hard and high into the roof of the net. You don’t save those…

Bincombe then found themselves even further ahead after yet another counter attack resulted in a low shot just inside the box finding the bottom corner. Last year, heads dropped and the children found it hard to find the inner-strength and determination to not give up. I cannot however say the same this year. It would have been easy for the girls to capitulate but the third goal going in resulted in them all gritting their teeth and digging deep.

We would finally be rewarded for our attacking football. Flossie played a great ball over the midfield into the path of Iyla who squared the ball to Nancy. She took one touch, composed herself and smashed the ball past the goalkeeper before she could even more. This goal raised everyone’s spirits and Lacey was winning tackle-after tackle in the middle of the pitch. An outstanding stop by Harmony resulted in the ball being cleared up the pitch to Eleanor whose determination up and down the wing delivered an important goal. She crossed it into the box where Iyla took a touch and placed the ball into the bottom left corner of the net. 3-2!!

The next 5 minutes saw Southill have a number of half chances to draw level in the game, however we just couldn’t quite hit the back of the net. In the final few moments, Southill pushed up the pitch to score and we came very close with Georgia nearly slotting the ball home. However, another break away from the opposition resulted in the final score being…

Bincombe Valley 4 – 2 Southill 

Not the results we wanted, however both teams really enjoyed the experience. Bincombe are very keen to come and play us at home. On our pitch I am sure we can play some attractive football and claim victory! A huge thank you to Tim for coaching the boys, thank you to Mr. Frampton for the create pictures and thank you to the parents and carers for coming to cheer on #TheMightySPS

Tom