Beeston U16 Girls v Lichfield U16 Girls – 20 November 2016
The girls made the short trip to Lichfield this morning knowing that they needed a positive result if their hopes of reaching the regional finals for a third successive year were to bear fruit.
In quite chilly conditions the opening exchanges were very scrappy with both teams guilty of giving the ball away cheaply. However a super run down the right hand side by Jenna ended with a great cross into the D which found its way to Nina who made no mistake from close range to put The Bees 1-0 up after 8 minutes.
The girls were starting to settle into the game with some good possession play around the back four. Hattie and Emma G doing well down the left, Charlotte T in the middle and Fran on the right. The midfield of Gracie, Emma W and Jess were also starting to get their passing game going.
The Lichfield keeper was certainly one of the busiest players on the pitch making a number of fine saves – the pick of which was from a cracking short corner shot from Nina. Jika and Emma W then combined well down the left hand side and were unlucky not score as the keeper again made a good stop.
It really was one way traffic as the girls were dominating possession although failing to add to their total. Aoife, Phoebe, Hanna and Eleanor were all busy in possession and tackling very well. The girls were then made to pay as a rare Lichfield attack down the right led to a goalmouth scramble and their striker calming putting the chance away to make it 1-1 after 25 minutes.
It was rough justice on the girls as the Lichfield keeper was certainly having a great game. However it wasn’t long before the girls restored their lead though after some good work by Jenna, Nina was on hand to lift the ball into the roof of the net to make the score at half time 2-1 to The Bees.
The second half continued in much the same vein as the first with Jika and Jenna looking dangerous in attack and Hattie, Fran and Charlotte T controlling things at the back. The Bees were awarded a short corner after a super pass by Hanna found Jenna who then beat two players before drawing the foul. Jess and Emma W then combined well to force another short corner however the excellent keeper was again on hand to keep out the resulting shots. Nina and Jika then combined well to find Gracie who made no mistake to settle some nerves and make the score 3-1.
Some super interplay between Jess, Nina, Jika and Jenna led to the fourth goal being scored by Jika. Not to be out done Nina made it 5-1 after some more excellent play by Jenna.
The midfield off Emma W, Gracie and Phoebe were working hard and Hattie made a superb run down the right beating three players. Emma G then made a great interception in the D to stop a rare Lichfield attack. Aoife and Charlotte T were doing well passing the ball nicely as the girls maintained their dominance right until the final whistle.
Final score – Litchfield 1 – 5 Beeston
Massive thanks to Colin and Phil for organising everything so perfectly, Helen for the coaching (get well soon) and the parents for supporting and cheering the girls on so well. Special thanks to Gwynnie and Mel for the second half “commentary.”
Well done Tom for some outstanding whistle blowing.
All the info can be found by following this link:
http://www.englandhockey.co.uk/fl/comps/cv.asp?d=53453
Pedro.