Sunday 12th October
A cold and misty morning greeted the Under14s on Sunday morning as they made the short trip across town to face last year’s Platinum League winners and fierce local rivals Rugby Borough Panthers.
Injuries meant that we only had the bare 11, so an already tough task became gargantuan. The first half kicked off and Borough were immediately on the front foot. In the first 15 minutes, Rugby Town found it very difficult to get out of their own half, having to rely on some immense defending from Abbey, Nancy, Emily and Iz, coupled with a string of amazing saves from Amber in goal – one of them was truly Pickford-esque.
Unfortunately, after 20 mins, the pressure told, when Borough slipped in behind the defence and the striker slotted home to make it 1-0.
The reality of going one goal down against a strong team in foggy and cold conditions, having hardly touched the ball for the first 20 minutes, would have seen most teams’ heads drop. Not a bit of it! Within 5 minutes, a swift counter attack saw a cross come in for Maddie to get the finishing touch into the bottom corner. We would like to give a mention to the player who put the cross in, but unfortunately due to the thick fog, we couldn’t see who it was!
Borough were clearly shell shocked, however, nothing could prepare their players or the fans for what happened next. Following a swift breakaway, the ball broke to Jess just outside the box and with a composure that is becoming the norm for her now, struck an unstoppable shot into the top corner. The crowd went wild!
Coming in at half time leading 2-1, the girls required no half time team talk and were just keen to get straight back out there. This strategy must have unnerved the opposition, as once the second half began it was Rugby Town in the ascendency. What happened next was real Roy of the Rovers folklore.
Iz played the ball forward to Sophie, who drew the defender towards her, sliding an inch perfect pass to Freya on the edge of the box. With her nimble skills, she put the ball onto her favoured foot and slotted home from 12 yards. 3-1 to Rugby Town! The cold morning suddenly became a cauldron as emotions from both sets of supporters and players sent the temperatures soaring.
With the realisation that there was 25 minutes to play, some minor tactical adjustments were made to try and protect the lead. Unfortunately, the pressure told as Borough scored two goals in quick succession to get back into the game with 15 whole minutes to go. The writing seemed to be on the wall as the league title holders were on top against the Town girls who, with no substitutes to draw on, were becoming more jaded by the minute.
However, they had other ideas. The forward three of Freya, Maddie and Soph dropped back to help the midfield battle. The midfield trio of Jess, Willow and Liss seemed to find a second wind, fighting for every ball and hunting down the opposition players at every opportunity. When the defence was occasionally breached, the presence of Amber in goal proved too much for Borough to get past.
When the girls were told there was only a minute to go, they mustered up every bit of energy they had to hold the opposition at bay, despite calls for Fergie-time from the opposition.
A sensational performance from the girls.
“I thought they were all brilliant” (anonymous parent 1)
“Still buzzing after a game like that” (anonymous parent 2)