Crosspool u10s versus Manchester City

Manchester City U10s 3 Crosspool JFC U10s 2

Crosspool JFC Girls Under 10s continued their preparations for their forthcoming Cup Final against Worksop Girls with a trip to Manchester to take on Manchester City Ladies’ Under 10s side. The game was agreed to be played in three 20 minute spells.

The City girls, like the Crosspool girls, are at the top of their own league, unbeaten and 3 points clear with a few games left to play, and have just won the Manchester 2008 Easter Tournament without conceding a goal, so we knew we were going to face a stern test. So it proved, as the match kicked off with Crosspool a little off the pace and the Manchester girls threatening to roll over us, with pace, power and technical ability throughout the side, combined with a fierce competitiveness. Some strong tackles from Ayesha Khan and Laura Ridal at the back and a couple of great saves by Crosspool’s Under 9s keeper Sophie Tomlinson (on loan for the evening to cover for the unavailability of the Under 10s’ regular keepers) steadied Crosspool’s nerves and allowed the midfield to start to win some possession and work the ball forward themselves.

The game was by no means one way traffic, although City had more of the possession and more shots. Nevertheless, it was Crosspool who took the lead in the second period through a good attacking move.

The City players were a handful in every department, and all the Crosspool players really had to step up a gear from what they have been used to in their own league. None of the players played badly, but several performed exceptionally well. Ayesha Khan was one who really answered the challenge laid down by City. An absolute warrior in defence and at the back of the midfield, she tackled bravely, distributed the ball well, and on several occasions made excellent recovery runs half the length of the pitch to shut down a break by the City girls. Well done, Ayesha! The rest of the Crosspool defence also stepped up to the mark, with captain Laura Ridal the usual rock at the back, frequently tackling girls twice her size with excellent timing, and Sophie Tomlinson in goal facing up bravely and competently to some intimidatingly powerful attacks. Eve Sharman in the centre of the pitch played excellently, and for a lot of the time kept City’s main threat under control. Eve was also a threat herself on the attack, linking up well with the wide players and with forward India Thompson-Carr. The wide players (Caty Murray, Lucy Cousins, Lucia Wood-Bonelli and Ellie Bird) all played well too, facing the toughest of combinations – pace, power and skill. Ellie in particular was very combative and played perhaps her best game yet for Crosspool. Up front, India faced for the first time defenders who could match her pace and also put in strong well-timed tackles. Nevertheless, India was always a threat and combined well with Eve especially to work paths through the Manchester defence. The City defence were fantastic, and it is hugely to the Crosspool attackers’ credit that they were able not only to score two goals but also to stretch them repeatedly, although in the end the sky blues’ defence was mostly up to the task. I firmly believe they knew they’d been in a serious contest by the end, though!

The opening goal came from quick Crosspool passing in the City goal-mouth, which saw India playing the ball to Caty, who dummied the ball through to Eve. Eve took the ball round the City keeper and stabbed it home.

Manchester City equalised late in the second period through their captain, a girl who was a constant threat while ever she was on the pitch not just because of her size and strength (she was probably twice the size of most of our girls) but also because of her technical ability and will to win.

A 1-1 result after two periods would have been a result to be proud of for Crosspool, but there was a third period to be played and unfortunately as Crosspool tired the City captain broke through twice more. At 3-1 behind, it looked again as though the floodgates might open, but India had other ideas. A corner was taken short by Ellie to Eve, who beat her marker and put in a strong cross, which was met by India with a cleanly taken volley into the City goal that brought the score to 3-2 and a respectable result for all. Player of the Match for Crosspool was a difficult decision, as all the Crosspool players had to play above themselves, and all played well. Overall, though, Ayesha’s contribution and attitude of absolute determination to compete for the team was second to none, and she gets the award this time.

Our thanks go to the Manchester City parents and manager for a warm welcome and an excellent game of football, and also to the referee provided by the home side, who was great.

Team: Sophie Tomlinson, Laura Ridal (captain), Ayesha Khan, Eve Sharman, India Thompson-Carr, Ellie Bird, Lucy Cousins, Lucia Wood-Bonelli, Caty Murray

Girls on Tour

You put your left foot in...


Two u12 girls teams went to Holland over the Easter Weekend, photos are availble on photobox, e-mail steph for the link.
The girls were playing in an under 13 tournament and came a creditable 8th and 16th, against some much bigger girls.

Under 9s vs Millmoor

Team
Sophie Tomlinson
Charlotte Keir
Jessica Grant
Jeannie Banks
Lydia McCormack
Evie Herbert

After their first defeat against SWFC, title winning complacency had crept in with the girls. How would they respond to tougher training sessions? Can they get back to winning ways against the divisions in-form side?
All this looked impossible when the news filtered through that we had got only 6 players 6 vs 7, no subs and without their prolific goalscorer, Kira?
Go out, enjoy it and pass the ball were the instructions from the sidelines. The girls started with a 2-2-1 formation. The opening half was tense. Crosspool dominated with some great passing and movement but Millmoor looked dangerous on the break.
In the early exchanges Charlotte and Jessica showed how strong their defensive partnership has become. Tackle after tackle came in and they showed real maturity with clearances aimed at their forward players rather than just hoofing it up the pitch.
Evie was the the lone striker, always running into space and linking well with the industrious midfielders, Jeannie and Lydia.
2 well worked corners from Jeannie forced some early saves from the Millmoor keeper and Lydia and Evie went close with some long range shots.
Sophie in goal showed her value when she came well of her line to thwart 2 Millmoor breaks.
Half time 0-0
In the second half, being a player down showed for a few minutes with Crosspool looking tired. Sophie again protected the goal well with some great saves and an understanding of when to come off her line. Evie and Lydia linked up well as Crosspool broke and Lydia slotted a great through ball between two defenders and Evie scored low into the bottom left corner. The next 5 minutes were tense but the girls demonstrated a great understanding of the game by passing out of defence well and running into the corners to relieve the pressure. Jeannie broke with a forceful run and she shot low and hard across the keeper, the keeper saved but Evie followed up for her 2nd goal of the game with a great finish from the rebound. 2-0 Crosspool. With 6 minutes left Lydia was rewarded for her efforts with a great solo goal, running through tackles and finishing with power and accuracy to make it 3-0.
Jessica and Charlotte were like the great Milan partnership of Baresi and Costacurta in defence, their positioning and reading of the game were a joy to watch. Jeannie and Lydia had a 2nd half of total domination in midfield (Lampard and Gerrard could have learnt from their display). Evie was Rooney like up front, running tirelessly in the lone striker role.
This was the best performance of the season and the girls now look back on track. If they continue to play like this and keep listening to James and Mark at training then the league and cup double is possible and after last season that would be such a great achievement.

Tense Cup double over Wednesday

The Crosspool Girls Under 9s and Under 10s pulled off a great double-headed cup quarter-final win over the Sheffield Wednesday girls.

In the first match, the Under 10s faced the Owls girls for the first time without the benefit of inspirational former captain Sam Tierney (now at the FA’s Centre of Excellence and unavailable for Crosspool matches), and that certainly allowed Wednesday to put Crosspool under much more pressure than ever before this season – the league fixtures were both wins for Crosspool, 4-2 and then 6-0. The game was very tight, with neither side scoring until well in the second half. After some early Crosspool threat, it was Wednesday who dominated the first half, with Crosspool continuing to look dangerous on the break, but it was the defences and the two goalkeepers who had the better of it.

The deadlock was broken by Eve Sharman for Crosspool, and top scorer India Thompson-Carr followed a few minutes later to give the home side a bit of a cushion. Even at 2-0 the Crosspool girls could not relax as, although the second half was much more even than the first, the Wednesday girls still looked very much capable of getting back into the game. The result reflected a game in which both sides played very good football, and Wednesday probably had the balance of the play, but Crosspool converted two of their chances whereas Wednesday failed to do so.

An excellent performance by the Crosspool team, and although the team shape was a little out in the first half, all the Crosspool players played well. There were some individual performances that stood out above even the general good standard. Greta Barber-Stones in goal made a number of vital saves and had a very good game. New captain Laura Ridal put in a towering performance in defence, especially in the siege conditions that prevailed for much of the first half. Eve Sharman was fantastic both attacking and defending in the middle of the pitch. However, all the players did well and this week “player of the match” was shared amongst all of them. Well done, girls!

Straight after this match had finished, it looked as though the same fixture was being replayed immediately, as the Crosspool and Sheffield Wednesday Under 9s took the field for their own Cup quarter final. The first half was much more in Crosspool’s favour than the first half of the Under 10s match had been, with Crosspool dominating, but Wednesday looking very dangerous on the break. Mind you, at least one excellent save from the Crosspool goalie was required to keep the sides level to half time.

Second half, the Wednesday girls pushed forward a bit more and things were fairly even, and it was Wednesday who broke the deadlock with a goal from a corner. It was then a case of all out attack from Crosspool, who had to get an equaliser to take the game to extra time. Fortunately the required goal was scored by Lydia in the last minute or so of normal time, much to the relief of the watching Crosspool parents.

1-1 at full time, and 5 minutes extra time each way, to be followed if necessary by penalties! The first period went by goal-less, and it was only a couple of minutes away from penalties when top scorer Kira Roberts rescued the Crosspool parents with a very well taken winning goal. 2-1 to Crosspool after extra time, and very much a fair result on balance, as both teams played very good football but Crosspool had the bulk of the attacking possession and generally a very solid defensive line. Player of the Match was Lydia, although again there were good performances throughout the team.

So a very good day at Coldwell Lane in the end (the Under 11s had started the day well, with a heavy league defeat of Whiston Wildcats before the Cup matches started), but one which has probably shaved years off the lifespans of many middle aged local residents (the Crosspool parents). There was obvious relief at the end of both matches – something that has not been the case generally this season for either team.

U9s Champions

With a 3-0 win over Wickersley, the Crosspool Girls Under 9s secured the A division Championship for this season. Who would have thought, this time last season when this team’s record stood at played 11 won 1 lost 10 with a goal difference of -70, that they would so dominate the following year?

The young Wickersley players stood up well to the early Crosspool attacks and made some forward moves of their own, especially through a promising-looking new player in the No.8 shirt, and in particular the Wickersley keeper had an outstanding match, but Crosspool broke through late in the first half and went in 2-0 up, with two from Crosspool’s prolific top scorer Kira Roberts. A third goal in the second half from Evie Herbert finished things off, and Crosspool’s player of the match was Hannah Barnes.

The result gives the girls statistics of: played 12 drawn 1 lost none, goal difference +40, and puts them beyond the reach of challengers Sheffield Wednesday and Millmoor, with four matches still to play. Congratulations to all the girls, who have shown that they can cope equally well with both continuous defeats last season and repeated wins this time round, and enjoy their football throughout. Congratulations also to Team Manager James Barnes and Coach Mark Herbert, and everyone else involved with the team.

Sheffield Wednesday in the Cup on Saturday - a match to look forward to, after two very narrow wins for Crosspool over the Wednesday girls in the League.

Squad: Jeannie Banks, Hannah Barnes, Charlotte Keer, Lydia McCormac, Kira Roberts, Anna Grugel-Smith, Evie Herbert, Jessica Grant, Sophie Tomlinson, Betsy Middleton

U10s girls Champions again

Crosspool JFC Girls Under 10s secured the A division championship today for the third season in succession, with a 6-0 away defeat of Dronfield Town A.
Even if second place Worksop Girls win all their remaining six fixtures and Crosspool lose all theirs, they can only draw level on points, and Crosspool have the better goal difference by 56 goals - while it's not technically mathematical, it's good enough for us. Four goals from team captain Sam Tierney, and one each from top scoring striker India Thompson-Carr and Emmily Antcliffe made up the result, with Crosspool's player of the match performance coming from Ellie Bird on the wing. Dronfield put up a good fight, and were unlucky to go behind after 10 minutes, to a penalty for handball in the area. Crosspool, though, were not to be denied a win today, even though they were made to work for it.

This team's record is very impressive - Under 9 double winners for two years in succession, and now league champions for the third year. So far this season the girls' league record stands at: played 13, won 13, scored 77, conceded 8. They are also still in the cup this season, and this record is just the most recent part of an unbeaten run in full length competitive matches that stretches back nearly two full seasons. The team's last defeat was at the hands of Under 9 cup and league runners up Wickersley Youth, who beat the Crosspool girls 3-1 on 4th February 2006. In fact the team's last competitive draw was also against Wickersley, on 25th March 2006.

During the course of this winning run, the team have lost two players already to the Centre of Excellence (Eleanor Goodwin and Megan Crehan), and their current captain Sam Tierney is also now being trialled for the CoE team. It may well be, therefore, that the remaining Crosspool girls will have to work harder if they want to extend their golden spell any further.

2005-6 season Girls U9s A division Champions Played 16 Won 14 Drawn 1 Lost 1 Scored 79 Conceded 14 Cup Winners

2006-7 season Girls U9s A division Champions Played 18 Won 18 Scored 138 Conceded 11 Cup Winners

2007-8 season (so far) Girls U10s A division Champions Played 13 Won 13 Scored 77 Conceded 8
Cup: Quarter Final -v- Sheffield Wednesday 19th January 2008

Squad:
Sam Tierney (Captain), Greta Barber-Stones, Laura Ridal, Eve Sharman, Ayesha Khan, Ellie Bird, Lucy Cousins, Alex Mair, Caty Murray, India Thompson-Carr, Lucia Wood-Bonelli, Emmily Antcliffe