Ladies 1st XI Vs Newark 3

Match report Ladies 10 Sept v Newark  (pool of 15 players)  for club

9.30am at the Magnus School Newark saw Captain Eleanor Wallace lead our team on to the superb newly-laid pitch  for an opening of the season friendly.  A fiery pre-match pep talk got us in line for a lot of activity and Eleanor  welcomed new players this season,  Rachael Grupping, Steph Hegarty and Abbie Innocent into our fold. All Stars, lovely news.

 In the absence of Elizabeth (They shall not pass) Turner, Freya (Meteor) Beaumont stepped up to put on the goalkeeping pads,  as if she had been doing it for years. Her meteoric reactions saved any number of goals by a pressing Newark, and she was very much in charge of her D.  Well done, Freya. And conceded no goals even though Newark hit our goal woodwork several times. 

Eleanor (Rock of Gibraltar) Wallace and Jo (Barrier of the Pyrenees) Shaw ,  Steph (Alpine Barrier) Hegarty   and later,  Liz (the Fleet-Footed) Foster were totally prepared for Newark’s pre-planned salvos. Eleanor masterminded our defence and we sent our opponents back , disappointed at being unable to pierce our watchful and very alert Team. Our defenders all played “out of their skins” and  kept creating new opportunities by  shrewd passes up to  our midfield. Welcome, Steph.

Caroline Brackenbury in centre midfield  must have covered miles, back in iron-willed defence, up creating and supporting our breakaway  counter-strokes, while capably organising midfield. Caroline   smoothly switched our midfield players between shutting down opponents’  attacks and setting up our own creative attacks. Becky (Comet) Humphris and  Kate  (Terrier) Parker  were equally energetic  and made very clever use of our  wings. Amazing demonstration of skills.

Running, running, running, our midfield stepped up to the mark, reading the frequent and penetrating Newark attacks superbly. Cleverly switching (and substituting) positions at high speed to try to confuse; cunningly creating open spaces for passes up to our speedy forwards.  But Newark were undaunted and kept coming at us, though they began to pull back and flag under our pressure.  

Up front, we had past-captain Bethany (Strike Force) Marshall in the centre, piercing the Newark defence  in her usual sharp way. Louise (Poacher) Price and Ruby (Rocket) Ryan  on the wings showed  their usual devastating turns of speed, slipping round the back of the Newark defence,  time after time,  with midfield  up  in close support.

Emma (Gazelle) Turner was noted for her sharp dashes through the Newark defenders. Evie (Shooting Star) Bates was doing the same. Both showed a canny thoughtfulness in where best to glide into the most effective position.

Rachael Grupping’s intelligent use of her speed, and clever on-the-ball skills at inside forward were outstanding. She kept “Ghosting” past Newark defenders and appearing (to their surprise) just where they did not expect (or want) her to be.  Well done, Rachael and welcome.

 Abbie  Innocent demonstrated  high levels of speed and highly “Crafty”  field skills, as indeed  did our  entire forward line. Welcome to the Team

And our Team did well. We took advantage of our opportunities   and Newark failed to take advantage of theirs.   Becky (Comet) Humphris slid through from midfield, unmarked,  as Newark’s marking was focussed on our wonderful forwards. Three times and 3 superb goals by Beckyto leave the final score 0-3 to South Notts.

Comment

1.On our own free hits, and in open play, there is need for even more  improvement  for our Team to try to stay unmarked and visible, to receive passes and make our own break-through.  

2.It was noticeable that so many of us were moving and watching, hunting for possession. Wonderful.

3. At this stage of the new season it was remarkable   at our already-attained high levels of fitness. Yes we all came off more than a bit tired, having given 150%  of effort  but the pace of the game was formidable. Yes match-fitness will improve as the weeks go by, but it was a splendid start  by everyone.