Girls' Football v Oakham

Date: Saturday 6th March
 
Venue: Away, depart 13.00pm

Team: A. Church, E. Brown, S. Lamb, J. Douglas, E.Duggleby, M. Mehdi, C. Mcgrath (c), D. Wilcock, H. Scheel, C. Taylor, S. Donoghue.

Result: Lost 6-0

Match Report:

Rarely can have so many planets have been in alignment against a Repton side: lamenting the enforced absence of a number of their headline players, down to a squad of 11 which threatened for an age to be 10, arriving in temperatures more naturally associated with the away terrace at Stair Park, Stranraer, and having – ooh, at least 90 seconds to warm up before the game.

The pattern of the first half was set in the opening seconds – waves of Oakham attacks crashed on the rocks of the Repton defence, who put in countless last ditch tackles; Annabelle Church, by a Rutland mile the Repton player of the match, was soon attracting gasps of admiration from the home supporters. Her courage, excellent positioning and strong hands averted a score that would have been dispiriting even in the proverbial cricket match. Had there been a linesman in the Oakham half, we would not have troubled his cardiovascular system till 25 minutes into the game, but the girls never flagged in their energy or persistent optimism.

Although the goals were shared evenly between the two halves, the change in the second half could hardly have been more marked. The defence played with much more shape, clearances were made with greater conviction; marking was tighter, set-piece defending better organised and we pressed with far greater awareness and urgency. Mae Sue Medhi, Hannah Scheel and Charlotte Taylor showed particular steel, anticipation and timing to cut off the tide of attacks before the levee broke for good, while Jasmine Douglas worked assiduously to close down space and deny Oakham time on the ball. In truth, Annabelle was, if possible, even better in goal this half, and was manifestly, and justly, growing more confident in her capabilities, dominating her area and diving heroically at the feet of many a marauding striker who scented blood.

It wasn’t all eleventh hour, Coclean heroics, however; on several occasions Sophie Donoghue’s classically orthodox Cruyff turns bought her space to capitalise on the promising understanding she had developed up front with Cath McGrath. They made several incisive breaks from half-way, but these failed to reach fruition, without the wing support they craved.

Despite the score-line, the girls came a long way in only 60 minutes, and can be proud of themselves: they never gave up, supported each other throughout, and developed a far stronger tactical awareness: they can look forward with considerable hope.