Laurel Park FC v Woodley United

What a game! A game that fit the bill of cup final day. Both teams arrived at a damp Laurel Park raring to go after a couple of months without a match.

Woodley Utd would kick us off, with both teams starting fast and with chances at either end. Woodley utd had some good breakaways, but some quick defending from Heidi and good goalkeeping from Amelia kept the score goalless. The best moments in attack for the starz in the first quarter came through good running by Sakeena and Cherry, although shots were limited in the opening stages.

The second quarter saw more Woodley Utd pressure but the Starz remained worked hard as a team to keep them out, with Sakeena marshalling the defence well, and Amelia, Heidi and Cherry all working hard to help. Even with this however, Woodley eventually took the lead as Alishba, who up to this point had made some very good saves, was unlucky as a Woodley player found the bottom corner with a strong effort. The Starz reacted well to this however and finished the quarter strongly with Millie, Cherry and Heidi having good runs, but were unlucky not to get shots away.

The Starz kicked off the third quarter and the game seemed to change. With attacks being led by Heidi and Millie, and being backed up by Sakeena and Tia, Laurel park started to put some good passing moves together and found chances a much more common occurrence. Shots from Heidi, Sakeena and Millie were all either saved or went just wide. At the same time, Woodley Utd were still creating chances themselves, although these were limited by the solid tackling of Tia and Amelia and when this didn’t work, Cherry made some great saves to stop Woodley adding to the scoreline. As another Laurel park attack got underway, Heidi took a throw in inside the Wodley half, finding Millie before getting the ball back and firing a rocket of a shot into the top corner of the goal, giving the goalkeeper no chance.

The final quarter saw a change in formation as the Starz looked for a winner, with Heidi and Sakeena, and making a good number of effective runs. This though was made possible as Cherry and Millie, with Tia just ahead of them creating a difficult obstacle for Woodley to get past, and with Alishba back in goal, any chances Woodley did get were seen off well. As both teams seemed to tire, the Starz found chances much more common through Heidi, Sakeena and Amelia, but some excellent goalkeeping from the opposition keeper was all that kept the Starz out.

In the end though, a draw seemed a fair result, as both teams were quite evenly matched. Every one of the girls was worthy of a special mention after what was a fantastic team performance. Alishba, in her first full game for the team put together some very good passes, as well as looking very comfortable in goal. Millie, put in a good performance, creating a number of chances with some strong runs from midfield. Sakeena’s strong passing and running also helped to get the Starz up the pitch, whilst she was unlucky not to score. Tia’s accurate passing and strong tackling in midfield helped to start a good number of attacks while Amelia controlled the pace of the game from defence and midfield with her passing. Heidi could have had a hat-trick on the day had it not been for some heroic goalkeeping from the Woodley Utd keeper. But Girly of the Game went to Cherry, for what had been her best game for the team. Making some great runs on and off of the ball in attack and not only tackling well, but also organising the defence when playing at the back and in goal.

Overall, this was a fantastic team performance, and if this upward trajectory continues, the sky is the limit for the Starz.