WELCOME BACK TO PRIDE PARK u12s!

It had felt like this game was a long time coming (in fact it was the girls’ first game since the end of October) and it was a welcome change from the Saturday morning walks that had replaced the cold football mornings at the Racecourse!
 
Just the 9 players for this week’s game, with 2 new team members (Neve and Annalese) making their debuts and who worked hard in their first game - we even had Annalese asking to go in goal for the first half! Both girls should be proud of their first game and I hope that they will have many more games to come over the years. Annalese pulling off some good saves and Neve dribbling and using turns to get away from defenders.
 
The overall game showed great team spirit from all and even when Lichfield took an early lead, the team worked hard to keep moving the ball forward. It was good to see lots of the players trying to keep the ball on the pitch, there were times when it would have been easy to kick the ball out but credit to them (Gracie, Emelia, Jiya, Maiya) trying turns to keep the ball in play to retain possession and work the ball up the field.

At half-time it 0-5 and in the second half Gracie took a turn in goal, and she showed great confidence coming out to meet the ball and diving for the ball. There was also a great sliding tackle from Maiya that was perfectly timed to win the ball; as a defender myself I was very impressed! We also had a few chances to score ourselves in the second half, with Lizzie and Emelia just putting the ball past the post. Georgia and Bella also showed some great team spirit, with both battling for the ball whenever they could to help the team attack and defend. Final score Lichfield 7-0 Pride Park.
 
It was pleasing to see and hear the match official being patient and supportive to the team, which really helped the girls to gain their confidence back after such a long break. Lichfield also showed some great team spirit and sportsmanship and we look forward to playing them again in the future. It was great to be back coaching and manging the team again and I hope they all enjoyed being back together!

Girl of the game: Maiya

Lizzie