AFC Preston U14's Girls

No midweek game for the girls but all eyes will be on Chants vs Eagles 👀

Can Chants force a 3 way tie for the league?🤞🏻

Or will Springhead bounce back from their first defeat of the season to all but wrap up the title?

Been an exciting title race with all 3 teams making claims to be worthy winners.

Saturday saw the girls make the trip to Harness Park to face top of the league and undefeated Springhead Eagles. This has been a fixture we have been looking forward to ever since the narrow defeat on the opening game of the season.

We suffered a really disappointing defeat to Chants last weeks but the girls were in great spirits and more determined than ever to bounce back and show what a good side they are with a big performance.

The girls started brilliant, passing the ball about well on a lovely surface and looked really up for this game and were playing with purpose and confidence. With Eagles having one of the best keepers in the league we knew we would have to be clinical today if we wanted to take maximum points. The first few attacks we were bit loose with the ball and lacked that killer pass and Springhead were at their most dangerous when their No1 had the ball and it was a big kick right over the top. Very route one but can see how it is effective and despite us playing by far the better football we were caught with one big kick over the top and a pacy forward breaking the line to finish.

The goal was massively against the run of play and we needed the girls to just stay calm and keep playing their football. The response and character shown for first class!

The girls totally flipped the game on its head with 4 unanswered goals before half time.

Jess pulled us level just before India came off the bench to provide a different dimension to our attack and grabbed a quick brace from close range after some great deliveries into the box. And then a stunning strike from Jess after a failed clearance put us in totally control. A really impressive half from the girls with some lovely football played.

A little bit of complacency and loss of shape in the second half allowed Springhead back into the game and made it far tighter and more nervous than it needed to be but the girls stuck at it and ensure we got the deserved win. Despite the 2 quick goals from Springhead in the second half we were still comfortably the better team but had to show really grit and character to see the game out. A big win but makes last week all the more disappointing, because if we had performed like this last week, we would be in a great position to win the league. It’s still possible but it’s not in our control, so let’s see what happens.

Goals

Jess ⚽️⚽️
India ⚽️⚽️

Coaches Player - Olive once again was a calm head at the back, didn’t panic and did all the basic really well and kept the game simple. Always on hand to clear the ball when needed and place the pass when it was on.

Supporters Player - 2 great goals and such a determined performance. Jess doesn’t give and less then 100% and her commitment shines through. A really team player that will run through walls for her team.

Captains Player - India made a great impact off the bench to turn the game, with great movement and 2 quick goals from being in the right place at the right time..

3 games to go and it’s an early start Saturday as we go across the bridge for 9.30am KO 😴

We are running a Race Night on 29th May and we are looking for local businesses to be race sponsors. For £25 you can sponsor a race and we will even name a horse in the race after your business.

Please get in touch if you would like to be involved and help out a great team of kids.

Help us raise some funds for our Holland Tournament Trip!

On Sunday 17th May we will be taking over hygge on Marina! From pot washing to serving, we will be rolling up our sleeves & running the show with Provide Kitchen 💪

Please show your support for the girls by booking a table & enjoying some great food 😁

https://hyggecafebars.com/?fbclid=IwVERDUARZq_lleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeaD0NVJQj3nvwegghXHk1brqKW2qom5R7zDKn7xtat1GXltGQKunHQfltV20_aem_7k0pnbCEIxxNoZ4urHAkZg

Yesterday we welcomed Chanterlands Lionessess to a sunny Southy.

We knew this would be one of our tougher games of the season and Chants like ourselves have been on a great run of form. Everything was set up for a great game!

Chants were at it from the first whistle and we weren’t getting any time on the ball in a frantic start. We looked second best all over the pitch in a disappointing start to a big game.

We tweaked a few things to try and wrestle some control in the game back and in spells we managed to produce some of the football we have been use to seeing but a strong and resilient defence proved difficult for us to breakthrough. With no recognised keeper the Chants girls did and outstanding job of defending their penalty area.

At the other end we could have easily been a couple of goals down had it not been for some brilliant defending from Imogen and we were also fortunate that Chants didn’t make better use of a couple of good chances.

Having got to half time at 0-0 and now with the wind in our favour, now was the time for the girls to kick on and go win this game.

But unfortunately the second half was much like the first and in truth we never looked like we could go win this game, full credit to Chants on the day they were far better than us.

2 unanswered goals in the second half gave Chants the win and put a massive dent in our title challenge. Another tough game next week as we go to face Springhead know we need to win to keep any faint hope alive.

Coaches Player - An easy decision, excellent throughout and without Imogen the game could well have been over by half time. Showed great leadership and commitment and did everything we asked of her.

Supporters Player - Playing through injury but giving everything for the cause, no one can fault the effigy and determination Jess puts in week on week.

Captains Player - Straight back in after a missing a couple of games while competing in a cheer competition in America. Ruby was fully committed and showed great energy throughout.

We had another birthday yesterday, so a big Happy Birthday shoutout to Emily aka Vinny 🥳

Hope you had a great day and yesterday’s result didn’t spoil it too much 🙈

Best birthday wishes from Matt, Dan and all the girls xx

Wow! Well done Erin and Ruby! Amazing! 🤩

Nice bright morning as we welcomed East Riding Rangers Reds to Southy for our second game of the week.

With the Reds struggling for numbers and only having 9 available, we decided it was only fair we matched them 9v9.

The game started slow as both teams adjusted to playing with 9, but once the girls got going there was no stopping them and they kicked on from a really good performance midweek 🔥

Goals started to fly in with some really good passing football played and some clinical finishing.

The girls exploited the space and moved to ball round with confidence, credit to our opposition they never gave up but they caught us in our best form of the season and no matter how we switched it up the goals kept coming.

Not really a game that either team will benefit from but it was a game played in good spirits and full credit to East Riding Rangers for continuing and playing the fixture, we wish them all the best for the rest of the season!

Coaches Player - Followed up from a midweek hat trick with a 5* performance and 5 goals! Bella is in great form and now has 25 goals for the season! As well as the goals, Bella’s link up play has been really impressive.

Supporters Player - Amber is going from strength to strength and growing in confidence with each game and deserved the supporter votes for her efforts today.

Captains Player - A very quite game for our No1 with not a lot to do but a member of the team that is really appreciated. What a difference having a permanent keeper, and a very good one at that has made this season! Well done Annabelle! 🧤

Our next 2 games are without doubt the toughest we will face in our remaining games and these 2 games will almost certainly define our season.

Wednesday night saw the girls play their first midweek fixture of the season as we travelled to face Malet Valkyries.

The pitch at Brooklands was looking in great condition and the girls were looking forward to the game.

We got off to a great start as a superb ball from Hayley found Bella who raced through and finished calmly.

Valkyries were organised and defended well, while we were playing some lovely passing football.

The next goal took a while to come and the back 3 of Imogen, Olive and Connie had to be on guard from some quick counter attacks but dealt with the danger well and Annabelle on goal was confident to receive the ball and redistribute when needed.

A first goal for Amber, celebrated by the full team and a second goal from Bella rounded up the scoring for the first half and but us in full control.

Into the second half and Bella competed her hat trick from the penalty spot followed by goals from Hayley and Vinny to give us a solid 6 nil win and just as important another clean sheet.

Goals

Bella ⚽️⚽️⚽️
Amber ⚽️
Vinny ⚽️
Hayley ⚽️

Coaches Player - An impressive performance from Imogen on the right of a back 3 showed real leadership and was great to see her being so vocal and calling for decisions.

Supporters Player - Another really strong and dominant performance from Hayley in midfield showcased her best football and deservedly got the votes from the parents.

Captains Player - A deserved pick from Jess and Imogen and they selected Olive for the award. A strong performance saw Olive winning her tackles and bringing the ball out from defence to build attacks.

Really pleasing performance from the full team and some of the football on show was a real joy to watch and something we will look to build on this weekend as we welcome East Riding Rangers to Southy.

Round Southy 6 times after setting the pitch up and waiting for the girls this morning! ⚽️

Day 24 of Running Everyday in January, but not just that it’s got to be 6️⃣ or 7️⃣ KMs

So far Matt has covered 160km which is just short of 100 miles with 7 days still to go!

Thanks to everyone that has supported and donated so far, all the money raised will be going towards the girls trip to Holland in June! ⛴️ 🇳🇱

The link to donate is in the comments, I know January is a tough month but please bare us in mind when that fresh pay packet hits 💰 and if you can’t donate then a share would be just as welcome 🙏🏻