Southill vs St Augustine’s

After the match was postponed before half term (and the Bincombe match cancelled at the last minute last week) the girls were desperate to cross the white line and compete in a game of football once again. Our opponent this afternoon was St Augustine’s…

The game began a little cagey at first owing to the smaller pitch that Southill were playing on. The girls soon however found their rhythm and began passing and moving into space confidently. A cross into the box from Lucie found Sophie unmarked at the back post and she slotted calmly into the bottom corner, eliminating any nerves the girls may have had before kick-off. Some excellent tackling in the middle of the pitch by Ellouise and Isabelle resulted in a through ball reaching Sofia who finished confidently passed the goalkeeper. Sophie’s drive and cross down the wing ended up at Lucie’s feet on the other side of the pitch and she confidently passed it across the box to Sofia who score her second of the game. This really impressed me as this is something we have been working on in training. Instead of shooting from difficult angles, we looked at how we could play the ball across the box to someone in a better position to score. St Augustine’s began to settle and soon we found ourselves defending before half time. Nevertheless, our defenders did a great job at intercepting any through balls that may have caused any problems and provided great protection for our goalkeeper. Just before half time, Josie was called into action, however she ensured that the score at half time remained 3-0 to Southill Primary.

During half time, we discussed the importance of our midfield stretching the game and our wingers staying nice and wide in order to provide more space for us to pass and move the ball into. They did this to perfection! A blistering shot by Lucie was spilled by the goalkeeper and Sofia scored her hat-trick 8 minutes into the second half! Another hard tackle in the middle of the pitch by Ellouise allowed her to then slip a through ball into Sofia who once again scored past the goalkeeper. Despite the scoreline the girls just kept going, keeping St Augustine’s penned into their own half. Every time the ball did end up in our half, Paige, Fern and Nancy were calm in defense. A ball through by Nancy landed at the feet of Lucie who hit it hard and low from outside the box into the bottom corner. Just before the end of the match, Isabelle’s persistence up and down the pitch paid off as the ball landed at her feet on the penalty spot and her shot trickled past the goalkeeper making the final score…

Southill 7 – 0 St Augustine’s

It’s mind-blowing how confident this team have become. Whatever the challenge, they find a way to overcome it and they are turning into a very established football team. Every player represented Southill brilliantly today. Player of the match went to Nancy who, despite being the youngest player on the pitch, played with maturity and confidence all game.

A huge thank you to everybody who came to cheer us on, thank you to everybody who helped with transportation, thank you to St Augustine’s for the match and thank you to the team for playing with enthusiasm and determination.

Mr. Prior