Haslingden Girls Under 9s v Burnley Under 9s

Match Report – Haslingden Girls Under 9’s v Burnley Under 9’s
At Fearns 29.11.15 – Windy and Wild!
It was a very cold, wet and wildly windy day but after a few weeks without a match, Haslingden were more than ready to take to the pitch with a record eleven players lining up to start!
Not wanting to be stood around, it was agreed to give all the players the match time they wanted and so the girls got their first taste of 11-a-side football. Lyla Cullen stepped up for goalkeeping, Holly Taylor, Gabby Rosthorn and Gracie Wilson were in defence. In Midfield was Alannah Pollard, Missy Lou Harvey, Ana Crofts Berry and Ocean Flanaghan made her debut. Meisha Gamble, Poppy Millard and Fern Ashworth in attack.
Burnley were well organised from the start and were eager to get cracking, however, defence team held strong and wouldn’t let Burnley in. Haslingden quickly settled into the game and strung together some good passing down the lines and teamwork as told by coach Steve. Play became dominated by Haslingden who had several attempts go wide before Ashworth finally made that first goal her own. Pollard and Gamble followed with the some great footwork but Burnley players 6, 8 and 12 put in strong tackles to break them down and came back to put the pressure on. Good work from the defence team gave Pollard the opportunity to put a great throw in down the lines for Crofts-Berry who passed onto Gamble to score – 2-0 Haslingden. The wind became so strong it even blew the goals over. Both teams realised they had to work twice as hard today and keep the ball close. Every player kept moving and pushing forward, showing how well they work together allowing Gamble & Ashworth to both score in quick succession making the score to 4-0 at half time.
Some subtle changes at half time showed some of the girls up and bring Millard into goalkeeping duties. She was quickly put under pressure by Burnley who had two good attempts but couldn’t quite get across the line. Player numbers 2 & 5 kept on challenging Haslingden but Taylor kept the watchful eye on game and knew exactly when to shut them down. Flanghan was keen to get stuck in throughout the match and took quite a knock at one point but showed great team spirit and fought on. Recent training time in the wind and rain was beginning to pay off as despite the wind, the girls kept on passing up and Harvey almost got her name on the scoreboard. Not to be defeated, Burnley were determined and number 12 was keen to put Millard to the test. After some great saves, Burnley fought back to make it 4-1. Spurred on by Burnley, Pollard & Ashworth pushed back against Burnley’s defence with good corners and shots at goal but eventually it was Pollard who scored, with a helping hand from the wind, making the final score 5-1. Gamble was awarded Player of the Match.