It was a cool and dry Sunday morning at the Heath, albeit with the threat of heavy showers approaching, where the Eagles played their second home fixture of the season, this time out the opposition was Fleet Spurs Thunder.
The Eagles had a number of absentees this week and had a squad of just 10 players for the match so it was with a measure of relief when all ten had arrived fit and well before the kick off!
Although the warm up felt slightly lacklustre with a large number of practice shots disappearing into the car park, the girls were in good spirits and determined to celebrate Lyla’s birthday with a good performance on the pitch.
Fleet had slightly better of the early exchanges and dominated the ball in the Albury half for the first 5 minutes. However, solid defending at the back from Heidi, Tabs and Ruby ensured that there were no serious attempts on the Albury goal. The Fleet team had some tall, strong players and it did look as if they might dominate possession and win the fifty - fifty challenges but the Eagles midfield were not the slightest bit daunted and Ella along with Isabel, Molly and Freya got themselves into the game and slowly took control.
As the half progressed the Eagles launched a series of attacks down the wings with Freya and Molly getting the better of the Fleet defenders but their crosses couldn’t find Lyla in the box. Ella made a strong run through the Fleet back line and fired a shot that seemed destined for the back of the net but the Fleet goalkeeper made a great save. Not only was she agile in goal but she had a huge kick out of hand that on several occasions went the length of the pitch – straight to Seren.
Before halftime, Ria came into midfield and played some lovely passes through the Fleet defence but a combination of some offsides and nimble goalkeeping meant the teams went in level at half time.
The second half saw Albury maintain their dominance. The Fleet forward line struggled to break the Albury defence and Heidi and Ruby looked in control at the back with Tabs sweeping up any loose ball and clearing well. Five minutes into the half and the ball was played through midfield to Ella who took a quick shot which slipped through the Fleet goalkeeper’s grasp and into the back of the net. A rather fortuitous goal, particularly as Fleet had changed their goalie at half time but well deserved on the balance of play.
Fleet came back their own attacks and one corner was driven hard into the Albury penalty area but Seren was fully alert to the danger and came quickly out of her goal to claim the ball and then send it far up the pitch with a powerful kick out of hand. As the ball bobbled and the Fleet defenders struggled, under pressure to gain control, Molly stepped in and scored in the bottom corner.
From then on Albury found another gear; a raking pass from Ruby put Ella clear but her shot just went wide, one of Tabs’ trademark long throws into the penalty area saw a scramble in the Fleet penalty area with several shots blocked and Lyla and Freya worked themselves into space on more than one occasion but just couldn’t get their shot away.
The game finished 2-0 to the Eagles and was a well - deserved victory against a strong Fleet team.
Star Player : Seren