I don't think I will ever quite work out how it takes so long to get to Devizes, nevertheless the girls arrived at Dauntsey's school sports centre for their u14s T2 K.O cup in good time (well most of them!)
The team had promoted some senior players to the u16s and had a couple of late pull outs due to illness which meant 13 players and no recognised keeper.
A huge respect to Millie R and Alice S for donning the pads and manning the pipes for a half each, you both did a great job under at times severe pressure.
As expected Devizes were strong form the start. A barrage of short corners were well repelled by the defence of Poppy S, Krystal, E, Floss D and Lucy B. However we could not keep clearing and Devizes scored from 2 in quick succession to gain control of the scoreboard.
It was not all one way traffic however and some good counterattacks really put the Devizes defence under pressure - some calmer finishing may have put Wotton on the board. Our midfield of Emily R, Alice S/Millie R, Amelia R , Elsie L and Esme P put in a big shift to get the ball to our forwards where Nina B, Josie R and Katie W caused continuous problems.
However a well worked goal from the opposition sent the teams in at 3-0 in favour of the home team.
At half time I asked for a goal - one precious goal for us to take away from this match. Despite conceding twice more in the second half, the girls decided that one goal was not enough.
1. Katie W decided to show her speed by giving their centre half a 5 yard start and still out-running her before finishing well.
2. Nina B carried on her great scoring start to the season with a sharp finish
3. Amelia R topped off our move of the game with smart pick and finish in the D.
Some anxious looks to the bench from our opposition but sadly the clock ran out with Wotton very much in the ascendancy.
I can't say I am happy with the result as on another day we could be in the hat for the next round, however the performance was out of this world good and bodes well for the remainder of this season. The girls ran themselves into the ground and showed the appetite to invest the effort needed to compete at this level. #effortiseverything
Thanks to Cathy York for umpiring again. Lee Ricciardi for helping with the coaching and Samantha Lewis for helping with parental admin.
Finally a big thanks to all the parents who made their way to Dauntsey's School and were very loud in their support of the girls.
POTM (Oppo's choice) - Nina B
POTM (Coaches choice) - Krystal E