Saturday saw Linslade Galaxy Lions playing away at Moretonville Junior Seagulls for their first league match of the new U11’s campaign. Their opponents currently ply their trade in the Event 3 Trophy cup and so the game promised to be another good test of the Lions’ ability to compete at this age group.
The game started at a fast tempo with Lions on the front foot despite several home players being almost a full foot taller than some of the visitors. An early Lions corner was taken short to Tehila who got a strong shot away that was pushed wide by the home keeper. However moments later Tehila had the ball in the back of the net after another corner, this time from Amber.
Moretonville were a little dazed at the pace and quality of their younger opposition and Lions took full advantage. A 1-2 with Tehila saw the ball return to Amber who swept it inside to Georgia. Her powerful shot rippled the back of net to make it 2 in as many minutes.
Lions continued to press and Heidi soon made it 3 after winning yet another corner. Her resulting corner kick was too much for the keeper to handle and was spilled into the goal.
Georgia showed off some quality footwork in the middle of the park as she nimbly turned away from her counterpart before switching the pay across the pitch. Sadly the move broke down.
Moretonville worked the ball well down their left and found themselves through on goal. However, Lauren dived bravely at the attacker’s feet to smother the ball. Lions were soon back to dominating possession and a quick ball from Evelyn found Amber out on the left wing. Her driving run was finished with a wonderful cross across the penalty box to Heidi, but she was just unable to get on the end of it. It didn’t matter as minutes later Heidi was back on the score sheet after a lovely piece of individual skill to get away from the defender before striking low and hard under the keeper’s outstretched leg.
Moretonville came once again. This time with a decent throw-in down their left which set the striker in behind the defence. This time the shot was fired well wide of the post. A second advance followed soon after but Kiera defended well and cleared away from danger. Amber and Olivia worked the ball well down the left with the cross eventually coming from Amber. But again it was just too far ahead of the incoming Heidi.
Aria was well positioned to intercept a Moretonville through ball and set Heidi on her way down the right, but the attack was stopped by a strong challenge and the ball went out for a throw.
Lions’ 5th came early in the 2nd quarter with a beautiful solo effort from Tehila. She collected the ball just inside the Moretonville half and dribbled into the box before nutmegging the keeper.
Evelyn applied great pressure to prevent the ball entering the Lions’ half. Some lovely passing between Georgia, Olivia and Gracie created a shooting opportunity for Gracie but the shot was well blocked by a Moretonville defender. Another strong challenge by Aria prevented a Moretonville attack. Her dominant, no-nonsense performance earned her this week’s player of the match award.
Gracie made it 6 for Lions as she collected the rebound from a strong Aria challenge. Her big shot from distance gave the keeper little chance. Lions were awarded a penalty in the 3rd quarter after Olivia was judged to be fouled in the box. Sadly her resulting spot kick fizzed wide of the goal. Undeterred, she was soon back in the action hassling the Moretonville defence and nearly poked home a goal line scramble. The defensive pairings of Evelyn and Sienna, and Kiera and Aria were awesome today. Despite their opponent’s size, the ball barely made it across the halfway line in the second half. Each of them taking their turn to block, tackle, track back and cover one another. Today was a display of defending at its highest quality.
They may not have scored in the 3rd and 4th quarters, but the half was far from dull with the bar and post – on two occasions – saving the home side from further damage. Not tom mention several big saves late on by the Moretonville keeper. Lauren, who had had a quiet game for most of the 60 minutes, was called into action in the dying minutes after a Moretonville shot flashed across her goal. However, the Lions’ keeper was quick to dive low to her right and push the ball out for a corner.
This was another quality performance by a group of girls who are loving their football. Each and every player put in a stand out performance, under quite challenging pitch conditions. As always, it was an absolute pleasure to watch.
