Sat 30 Jan 2010
I'm sure that no team within the club wanted to be the first to go out of the cup this season, especially with all 7 of our age groups still in with a shout on quarter finals day. The Under 13's made sure of their passage through to the semis with a professional performance and 5-0 home win against a Brampton Rovers side who never stopped chasing until the final whistle.
Bearing in mind that the Belles hadn't played for 2 months and the hard ground made the ball tend to bobble uncontrollably, it was a very sound performance. Chloe Boyer returned to the side for the first time in over 2 months after suffering a back injury which had prevented her from even training until 3 days before the match. The visitors didn't even get into our half until 3 minutes into the match and Shona Wright in goal, didn't touch the ball until the 16th minute, such was the Belles' dominance. The scoring opened in the 11th minute courtesy of Jess Lacey, who was supplied with a long ball from Chloe, which went straight through the centre of the park, leaving Jess with little to do but knock home for 1-0.
4 minutes later Molly Ecott, terrorising the Brampton side down the right wing, fired a shot at goal, which was parried by Mollie Archer the Brampton keeper. Grace Sanderson seized her opportunity and got her foot to the ball first to tap home from 1 yard. (2-0)
Molly again proved to be the provider in the 21st minute, when she once again got down the right flank and crossed to the far post, finding Jess 5 yards out for her 2nd and the game's 3rd goal.
With so many of the girls being short on match fitness, the substitutions came thick and fast with the entire squad seeing action in the first half, Molly was withdrawn to give her an extra-long half-time break and at half-time Chloe joined her as the team enjoyed the luxury of being able to play Jordan-Leigh Checkley and Amber Huddart as the strike force for a 20 minute period either side of the break. Jordan was unlucky to find that a half-chance wouldn't settle at her feet to allow her a shot and Amber displayed the new 'physical side' to her game as she challenged for balls against players seemingly twice her size.
5 minutes after the restart, Shona went down injured in the goalmouth after twisting her ankle, compounding the damage by falling and landing full weight on the injured joint. Thankfully x-rays show no break and a bad sprain has been diagnosed; making her doubtful for the next game and the Yorkshire regional 6-a-side finals in midweek at Middlesborough. Thankfully Alicia Garfoot stepped into the breach, proving to be the busier of the 2 Belles keepers, as she deputised with flair and confidence to repel several Brampton attacks as the visitors seemed encouraged at our keeper's withdrawal.
In the 8th minute, Holly Housely picked up a loose ball on the left side and after a great solo run of 35 yards or so, dribbled the ball into the net to make the scoreline 4-0.
On 13 minutes, Jess Lacey, revelling in the extra space that she had been granted as the sole central midfielder, proved that she can do anything that Holly can - another great solo run with the ball tore the visitors defence apart as she punished a moment of midfield hesitance with her hat-trick and what proved to be the final goal of the match.
Brampton started to gain more composure and pressure as the second half progressed and at times they could have had a couple of goals had they enjoyed a spot of luck; however, their attacks tended to break down as the Bellles' defence in depth tended to snuff out any danger at an early stage; those that got through to the danger area were either saved by Alicia or went harmlessly wide of goal. With 15 minutes remaining, it was time for the return of the 'big beasts' as Chloe and Molly returned to the fray to add that extra bit of stability to the defence and push the visitors onto the backfoot with surging attacking runs.
A great performance from all of the girls, especially after such a long lay-off; however, special mention has to go to the defence today, with Ellie Raven, Amber Warren (Capt), Ely Bratten, Olivia Finch and Chloe Boyer, providing a secure foundation for the midfielders and the forwarsd to weave their magic. Niomi Thewlis worked tirelessly up front with a range of partners (Lori Hudson and Jazz Frost among them) all of whom made credible challenges to be included in the next starting line-up against Handsworth Juniors next week.
