24 Sept 2005, Girls U13: Sale Utd 6 – 1 Oswald Rd

Another weird opening game – it was almost like watching City. Shot after shot went harmlessly past Sale’s goalposts, but whenever they attacked shots rifled straight into the back of our net. The shots-on-goal score was probably something like 18-9 to Oswald Rd! Two major points came out of the game: a) Sale’s defence was well organised – whenever Jody, Rayne or Molly got the ball, there was a Sale defender pressurising at once, with 3 more queuing up for them; and b) Sale’s attack didn’t mess around trying for the ideal shooting position on the correct foot, they just made space and whacked them in. Sale’s first goal was from a free-kick with our defenders all watching the ball go past them, and the second and third were from shots outside the box which again threaded their way past defenders and goalie. Rayne then got a good second-half goal before Sale piled the pressure on our tiring players (we had no subs, they had 3 available) with three more goals (goal-kick interception, long shot, cross). Major plusses from the game include our fitness – much better than it used to be but could be better – and our passing, which was exceptional and the cause of most of our chances. Roberta has finally had a proper go in goal, made some good saves but needs to sort out her defenders. Molly nearly got a Beckham-esque goal in the first half, the ball passing just a foot over the cross bar from a kick in our half, and Hanaan and Frankie played very well in midfield getting up and down the pitch, winning the ball and passing well. Niamh, today’s captain, showed what she can do in defence and midfield with some excellent tackles and passes up the field. Now all we need to do is put it all together – we meet Sale again in a fortnight and we expect to do much better.

Oppositions’ Player of the Match: Rayne Managers’ Player of the Match: Hanaan