Ladies 1st XI Vs West Bridgford 4

Captain Eleanor (Rock of Gibraltar) Wallace welcomed team members Freya (Meteor) Beaumont, (Jet-Propelled) Gemma Robinson, Tigress Sophie (Swift to Pounce) Atkinson, Poetry in Motion Liz Foster,  the Incomparable Caroline Brackenbury, (Bounding Leopardess) Sophie Runciman, (Rocket) Ruby Ryan, Steph (the Wall) Hagerty , Barrier of the Pyrenees) Jo Shaw , (Unseen Raider) Rachael Grupping, Jo (Foxy) Foxall  and in particular welcomed back Emma (Speedy Gonzales) Roberts,

plus welcoming the enthusiastic, noisy, happy members of the various supporters’ clubs of All-Stars Sensations,  Freya Beaumont, Sophie Runciman, and Gemma Robinson.

In the absence of Elizabeth Turner, Freya Beaumont stepped up to don the keeper’s pads and used her Meteor acceleration in control of her own D

In front of shivering Freya, were Captain Eleanor (Rock of Gibraltar) and Tigress Sophie (always Swift to Pounce) Atkinson. Totally justified their nicknames.   

West Bridgford are never a pushover and several familiar very experienced faces were recognised in our opposition.

So we arrived 35 minutes early and were seen by our opponents to be having a particularly vigorous warm-up in anticipation of pressing our feet on the accelerator right from the start. We had hoped that our opponents would see and quake but instead they did see and were seen to be even more vigorous in their warm-ups.

They were also heard to have been plotting tactics to try to counter our identified strengths, just as we had been carefully plotting exactly the reverse, in detail.

This was clearly expected by both sides to be a CONTEST !

Our doughty defenders never lost lose touch with our attacking midfield and were up in support all the time. All were outstanding at positional play, resolute, determined and able. In fact, that scenario applied to the whole Team

Turning to midfield, we started brightly but failed for some time in the first half to turn our dominance into goals. But just before half-time, Ruby Ryan was suddenly seen to accelerate faster than a Lewis Hamilton F1 racing car. She rocketed with explosive elasticity round the back of the hitherto impregnable West Bridgford defence.

 And yes, as usual, Ruby hit a thunderous drive on the run, which netted the ball. 1-0 but that was just a trigger unleashing every upgraded fibre of heavy contest in the West Bridgford side.

We noticed that a new tactic had been introduced by our opponents, namely in attack putting an extra player in their forward line to make it difficult for us to mark player-to-player, and they also put a defender up into their midfield when attacking.

We did not want to pile too much forward in attack leaving Freya over-exposed in goal, but nor did we wish to sit on a mere 1-0 lead. So we were pushed in defence. Luckily Rock Eleanor and Liz Foster were not over-awed by West Bridgford’s blitzkrieg of attacks, like snowflakes in a heavy storm.

Stout defending by Freya in goal and by Rock Eleanor, Fleet Footed Liz Foster, Steph (the Wall) Hagerty and Tigress Sophie A kept up our spectators’ optimism, by weathering our defensive storms so capably. Stoic in defence.

But West Bridgford’s piling forward had given us chances to try for breakaway goals as their defence had become over-exposed. The thrusting pace of Emma (Speedy Gonzales) Roberts looked as if she had never been away. Emma kept being just foiled unluckily, at the very last minute, by our opponents double-marking her dangerous forays, or we might well have seen Emma scoring a sensational hat trick.

Bustling Foxy Foxall kept our left wing area intact with her mercurial and persistent challenges for every loose ball, getting unmarked to receive passes,  and by setting off on quicksilver penetrating runs to try to get round the back of their defence.

Sophie Runciman and Gemma Robinson were constantly pressing to win the ball, pinning West Bridgford back into their own 25 but our opponents kept having counter- ideas of their own. We had lots of moments and lots of chances but we still were unable to score again.

In the meantime Rachael Grupping had been quietly beavering away as an Unseen Raider, getting unmarked to receive passes and looking for openings to enable her to make a breakthrough pass. West Bridgford’s attention  had been diverted away from Rachael whose high work rate had been exceptional, as always.

Eleanor Wallace set up a cunning multi-phase attack, up to Steph Hagerty, out to Ruby Ryan, inside to Emma Roberts, inside to Rachael who exploded through like a Winged Victory. On her own and “only 3 players to beat” before she met the keeper.

Our Winged Victory set off with an ominous confidence that our supporters were quick to label artistry in motion. Her series of swaying dummies, clever side-steps, fast accelerations, with her superb balance, left 3 defenders shaking their heads, seemingly unable to comprehend what had been happening.

Then “all that had to be done” would be for Rachael to beat the West Bridgford keeper. Completed in stunning fashion, with surgical precision and total accuracy as she lashed the ball into the far corner.  She performed on a very high level but so did everyone else.

2-0 up and not long to go till the final whistle. Drama right to the end. We showed grit and determination, coolness under fire, and thoroughly deserved our result. We are still unbeaten this season Our Team is still unbeaten this season, just ahead of Trent Vale in ;points.