After some midweek issues around a proposed early kick off, it was eventually agreed that the game could be played at 1.10pm yesterday. The Eagles girls travelled to Walton keen to make their mark after a slightly disappointing draw at home earlier in the season. With Heidi carrying a nasty injury to her foot, it was decided during the warm up that she would only take part in an emergency leaving a squad of 10 girls for the game.
The Eagles started the match at a gallop. There was no settling into the game as Ella, Bonnie and Ria quickly took control of the middle of the pitch and harassed the opposition into mistakes and regular loss of possession. With Freya and Lyla up front the ball was played through to them repeatedly and only some offside decisions and wonderful goalkeeping kept the score at 0-0. After a lovely flowing move through Ella and Bonnie, Freya had space to fire a shot that seemed destined for the top corner but it hit the crossbar and bounced close to the goal line but not over it. Freya’s speed and Lyla’s strength caused the opposition defenders real problems and with the midfield challenging for everything, the Eagles dominated territory and possession for long periods.
At the back Ruby, Tabs and Molly looked untroubled and were frequently able to bring the ball forward and make passes that split the opposition midfield. All three looked calm in possession and their communication meant that they could cover for one another when the opposition attacked. Molly had a particularly strong game on the left and Tabs and Ruby put in crucial interceptions throughout the half to break up Walton attacks.
As the half progressed, Cassidy came into midfield and continued to pressurise the opposition into mistakes and the Eagles then had their most impressive passage of play all season. They moved the ball out to the left wing then back across the pitch to the right wing where Ria drove the ball into the box but an Eagles player just couldn’t get the final touch. However all the pressure was bound to tell and five minutes before halftime another sweeping move involving Ella and Freya saw the ball passed on to Ria who steadied herself and scored – her first ever goal for the Eagles!
The second half was more even as the Eagles pace slowed a little. Walton had a period of play where they looked threatening, but a combination of strong defence and sharp goalkeeping from the on-form Seren put an end to it. She was secure throughout the game and some of her clearing kicks out of hand were particularly powerful.
After one such Walton attack had been snuffed out, Seren launched a huge clearance up field which evaded the Walton players and saw Freya accelerate pass two defenders, control the ball and fire it into the corner to make it 2-0 to the Eagles. Further attacks saw Ella, Lyla Bonnie and Cassidy all come close but somehow the ball just didn’t end up in the back of the net.
A deserved win for the Eagles and with some very impressive passing throughout the game they can move on to next week’s match with confidence.
Star Player : Freya