Starz make impressive start

The first games of the new season. The Starz arrived at Kensington Road full of energy and raring to go to show off all of the skills they have learnt over the summer.
The first game saw them come up against Dynamo Tekkers. The Starz started quickly with plenty of strong runs from Heidi and Sakeena, and being supported well by Cherry and Eleanor. With plenty of good defending by the opposition, the resistance though was eventually broken when Heidi latched onto a loose ball in the centre of the goal to poke home and give the Starz the lead. Tekkers started very well from the restart however as some quick passes saw them able to get in a position to shoot and they fired in a powerful shot which Amelia was not able to do anything about. The rest of the game was end to end with Eleanor and Heidi having further chances, while Saanvi and Tia did a great job defending and keeping Tekkers out, to see the Starz to the end of the game. A solid start to the day for the team.
The second game against Caversham was an equally close contest, with the majority of the game taken up with a midfield battle. The Starz did though find themselves in good shooting positions. Some quick passing saw Heidi though on goal, but the keeper was able to save well, but the ball rebounded back to Tia, who hit a great, powerful shot across the face of goal, but it just veered wide. A great passing move then followed as Sakeena picked the ball up and ran well into the corner before playing the ball back to Saanvi who in turn found Sakeena again for her to drill a pass across the face of the Caversham goal and was unlucky not to pick anyone out. All the while that this was happening, Cherry and Amelia were marshalling the defence brilliantly, with plenty of great tackles followed by calm passes into midfield to start attacks. This continued brilliantly until one occasion where Caversham were able to break through and force a fantastic save from Eleanor in goal, but very unfortunately, before she could react, the ball fell to another opposition player to fire into the empty net. This was shortly followed by the final whistle to mark a very unfortunate result, but otherwise terrific performance.
The third game was the one which saw the Starz find their true rhythm. Up against Tilehust Panthers, the Starz find their shooting boots. A number of attacks led by Heidi and brilliantly supported by Amelia, Saanvi and Tia saw a large number of shots on goal, culminating in Tia winning the ball back well in midfield and passing to Heidi. This then led to a counter attack which saw Heidi draw the defender to her before playing a perfectly timed square pass to Amelia, who then drilled a powerful shot into the bottom corner of the net, giving the goalkeeper no chance. This set the pattern for the game. Heidi stole the ball back again in the middle of the park before setting up another attack, aided by Amelia and Saanvi again, before she once again found the former of the two who scored another goal with a fantastic finish into the bottom corner of the net. When Tilehust did attack though, it was very well defended by Sakeena and Eleanor, who were able to clear the danger, but not only this, but pass to a midfielder who once again started a counter attack. Heidi then released Amelia with another well timed pass and only a fantastic last minute tackle from the Tilehurst defender stopped Amelia having the chance for a hat-trick goal. From the resulting corner, Amelia was able to find Heidi who made herself some space and hit a great shot into the roof of the net to cap off an excellent performance.
The final game came against Thatcham and Newbury. The girls, although evidently tired, put in another great display. This though was a very different game to the other three however as this turned into more of a defensive game as the opposition kept the ball very well. Tia and Saanvi once again proved to be solid in defence and were well assisted by Cherry, whose endless energy allowed her to win a lot more tackles and break up opposition attacks. The pressure in the end told however as a good passing move saw a shot at the end which Heidi was powerless to stop. This pattern continued until a long pass from Amelia resulted in a slight mistake from the Thatcham defender allowing Cherry to run onto the ball and poke home a well-timed equaliser, to finish the day with a hard fought draw.
Over the day, every girl showed great skill and plenty of courage in what was a tough first day of the season. Tia showcased her ever improving tackling skills and was very unlucky not to get herself a goal with a great shot flying across the face of goal. Sakeena showed some fantastic passes and runs and at times deserved a goal for her hard work running forward. Eleanor had a very bright day, putting together some great runs and dribbles to bring the ball forward and passing very well to start attacks. Saanvi was a very composed member of the team all day, putting together some great dribbles and passes, whilst also showing great discipline in every position she played in. Cherry’s endless energy was the continuing theme of her play as she never gave up on anything and was always looking to help her team in both defence and attack, culminating in a great solo goal. Amelia was solid in every game, and every position she played in shown by some great tackling and defensive work as well as her great running and composure in front of goal which led to 2 great goals. But Girly of the Day for this week went to Heidi. This was because she not only worked tirelessly to get the ball back when the team lost it, but also began to showcase some great leadership skills as led the teams attacks, bringing the girls closer to the opposition goal time after time, also grabbing herself 2 very good goals. Overall, this was a great start to the season, and bodes well for what I’m sure will be a fantastic year to be a Star.