Feniscowles & Pleasington v Haslingden U9’s 14th of February

Match Report –Feniscowles & Pleasington v Haslingden U9’s
At Darwin 14.02.16 – Haslingden taken by surprise.
Bright, early morning start against the new team added to the fixture list. Gracie Wilson stepped up as goalkeeper, Lyla Cullen, Ocean Flanaghan & Gabby Rosthorn in defence, Alannah Pollard and Holly Taylor in midfield with Fern Ashworth in attack. Ana Crofts-Berry and Meisha Gamble started as subs.
Both teams started strong from the outset and play was very much 50/50 for quite some time with both teams making good tackles to gain possession and control. Eventually it was Feniscowles & Pleasington that got the first goal under their belt despite being kept at bay for sometime by Rosthorn & Flanaghan. Haslingden did not seem too concerned by this and some good control and passing by Pollard gave Taylor her first goal of the season to make it 1 each. Some rolling substitutions saw Gamble & Croft-Berry come on but this didn’t phrase the opposition. F&P remained on the ball quite literally and made several good runs at goal putting pressure on Wilson and eventually scored their second goal. Haslingden continued to push forward when possible but found this more difficult without the usual enforced halfway retreat line. F&P took full advantage and scored two good goals in quick succession making it 4-1. The new team had clearly got Haslingden stirred up and all players were getting stuck in and trying to get passes together although by now were getting a little tired with running up and down the field. Gamble & Pollard pushed up but couldn’t just place the ball in the net before half time.
Cullen swapped for Wilson who moved up to midfield. Both teams came back with new energy, great teamwork and passing. However, this had the girls running from one end of the pitch to the other with little chance to stop for breath! Flanaghan & Gamble both had runs and attempts saved and Rosthorn was relentless in defence. F&P pushed back and Cullen made some good saves. Finally, Haslingden made some great moves giving Wilson her chance to make it 4-2. Further attempts from Ashworth were followed up F&P who managed to make it 5-2. Both teams grew tired and even the referee looked like he may have been struggling to keep up at times! Pollard took several corners but F&P made sure they dealt with each one swiftly. F&P scored two further goals and Haslingden seemed almost incensed by the 7-2 scoreline and came back full force for a superb final 10 minutes where everyone stepped up their pace and determination giving Ashworth the opportunity to score. Pollard was awarded ‘Man of the Match’ for keeping going throughout a tough game. A disappointing result at 7-3 for the girls but this seemed to give them a shake up and they now know what they need to work on for the future but as a team, they continue to grow stronger as a unit each week which for all is a pleasure to see.