A cold and early start for the Lionesses, playing their first game post-Christmas against the black and yellow Lancot Lionesses. This is the second meeting for these girls, with both teams very evenly matched. Their last game in October ended with a tense penalty shoot-out … was today going to be a case of history repeating itself?
The game started with some strong attacking play from Lancot, but Captain Crouchy was wide awake and shut it down as quickly as it started, getting the ball back into the midfield where Emma stormed it up the line. A tackle from Lancot meant the ball went out of play but a Galaxy throw-in almost resulted in the first goal. I say ‘almost’ and I’ll be writing that a lot on this report. Today was a match with so many ‘almosts’ I lost count!
Energy levels were high on both sides and the pace was fast, with both teams working hard to gain and keep possession. Esme used her amazingly speedy feet to get the ball through to Emma again, supported brilliantly by Eden. Fantastic pressure from these three girls meant we kept threatening Lancot’s box, but it didn’t end in a goal.
Lancot came back strong, taking advantage of a defensive fumble from Evie to force a great save from Olivia. Evie soon made up for it with a great pass down the wing, and Lily-Rose applied pressure all the way, trying to find a free Galaxy player to take the shot.
Another great throw in from Crouchy made it to Eden, who tried to score again but no luck. Great speedy turns from Esme and Lily-Rose meant that the Galaxy girls were slightly more dominant in this first quarter, and they did not give an inch with some tenacious battling on the ball from Hollie and Esme.
A lovely corner from Emma couldn’t find a green boot – the first of many Galaxy attacks in or near the box that just couldn’t make it past the Lancot keeper or just went wide.
Hollie made a brilliant run to intercept the ball in the midfield and Lily-Rose tried again for a goal, but it was saved again. At this point in the first quarter alone, there were four more near misses on goal from the Greens, giving the coaches and supporters a sense of optimism. The attack and energy from the girls was brilliant to watch, with real improvement from every player on the pitch.
Lancot threatened a goal early on in the Second Quarter which went wide, even though Olivia was there and tracking the play at every opportunity, also giving great instructions to her team. All the girls were speaking up today, which was nice to hear from the sidelines.
A great pass from Indie to Kiani showed that there’s been some definite practising over the holidays, with some lovely footwork and ball control on show. Emma made a great interception and deftly passed to Eden, who took another shot on goal, but it went wide. Cue a lot of ‘oooooooohs’ and ‘aaaaaaaaahs’ from the respect line as yet another Galaxy hope was thwarted!
The pace was still high, with some speedy runs up and down the pitch from both teams as they battled hard. Emma had a great run along the wing to take a shot, but it was deflected in the box before it got to the keeper. Again, so many great throw-ins and passing play from the Galaxy girls meant that there were a couple of corners, but the Greens couldn’t get it past the line.
When the Lancot players did manage to get possession, Amy positioned herself perfectly in front of the goal to defend the space, with some great support from Kiani. A few minutes later, a Yellow managed to sneak in and find space to take a shot, but the ball was grabbed out of play by Olivia, reading the threat perfectly.
So, a halftime score sheet with no goals, but it had been such an exciting first half. The pressure was mounting on both sides, and the second half saw the Galaxy girls putting their training to good use, with great ‘turn and play’ executions on show as they got possession and ran the ball up. Esme was so quick it was hard to keep up with her blurry boots, showing how tenacious she can be when she hit the mud and got straight back up again to get the ball back.
Kiani’s ball control was on form today too, as she looked ahead to see where her teammates were to pass to, being supported brilliantly by Amy and Maya who created a wall of defence and passed back to her at every opportunity.
A scrap around the Lancot goal met with further sharp intakes of breath from the respect line as Indie, Kiani and Lily-Rose all tried to get one past the keeper, but luck just wasn’t on our side today. Lancot ran it back up the line and one player broke free from the pack, giving some big kick energy with a looping ball that forced another epic save from Oliva, pushing it over the top.
A great throw-in from Maya threatened the Lancot side again, but the whistle blew for the last quarter, and there was a tangible sense that the Galaxy girls were desperate to get that ball in the back of the net.
Esme was up and at ‘em at the whistle and got the ball fast, using her speed to keep it glued to her boots. She almost got one in, but the keeper managed to save it – great effort though!
Some brilliant defending from Crouchy in the midfield meant that the Greens got so many opportunities in the last quarter, and apart from one tense attempt from the Yellows, saved again by Olivia, they dominated the last quarter, with Lily-Rose battling hard on the wing to get it through to her attackers.
To be frank, there was so much ‘turn and pass’ happening, I got dizzy. The Galaxy girls absolutely deserved a goal at this point, and Eden put herself in the best possible place, reading the game beautifully and taking a shot that would have been the goal of the season if it had made it past the keeper.
A great kick from Emma sailed high in the air and looked like it might go in, but again, the Lancot keeper managed to save it. Two corners, brilliantly taken by Emma again, just couldn’t find a Green to make the shot, and the final whistle blew, meaning we had to go to penalties.
It would have been a cruel ending indeed if Galaxy had not had a chance to redeem themselves, so when Olivia stepped up to the goal and faced the line of Yellows, hopes were high that we could do this. The crowd were not disappointed. Lancot’s first goal hit the bar. Eden casually approached the ball and banged a beaut of a goal in that went straight to the right bottom corner. Nice one Eden! Olivia saved the next Lancot attempt, putting us in a strong position. Emma was up next, but her shot sailed over the top bar. Then the Yellows pulled it back and got one past Olivia. Crouchy’s strike sadly went wide, but so did the next shot from the Yellows. Lily-Rose was up, and with a nervous grin she scored a brilliant goal – just as brilliant was the smile on her face afterwards as she got a round of hearty congratulations from her team-mates. The icing on the cake was Olivia making a great save on the final Lancot shot, giving the Greens a well-deserved 2-1 win. Brilliantly done girls, what a match! Eden was awarded Player of the Match for her fantastic efforts today, and all the girls worked so hard – keep that energy up Lionesses! Can’t wait to see what the next match brings.
