Girls' U15A v Oundle, L1-4

Date:
Saturday 10th October

Venue:
Away

Start 2.15pm

Team:
E Sharples, J Holroyd, C Chadwick, R Cordingley, C Graham, L McIntosh, G Sanderson, M Kelly, P Sanders, K Benn, S Evans, M Ewins, B Lewis

Result:
Lost 1-4

Match Report:
It took until Saturday morning to know for certain if we had a full strength team due to injuries and illness from several of our players. We did go to Oundle with our strongest team but many of the girls were still not up to full fitness. Oundle seemed very much up for the match and this seemed to intimidate the Repton girls. For the first time this season they seemed nervous and knew they would be up against a tough opposition. After the first five minutes Kate Benn had to come off with an injury which left us with only Maddy and Lowri being fully fit in defence. Oundle put on the pressure, marked closely and closed us down and this was the main difference between the teams. After a couple of unlucky chances, Lowri made a good run and a goal was scored by Ellie Sharples. The score at half time was 2-1 to Oundle.

The second half was tough; there was not a period of more than 10 minutes where any of the girls played in their normal playing positions. Two of our defenders came off injured and Grace stepped back on to play struggling with a foot injury. All the girls fought hard, Joey and Caitlin making some good tackles, Rosie and Charlie working hard in midfield and Lowri and Maddy keeping charge at the back. Bethan and Meg deserve a lot of admiration for having to play in positions they have never played in before. It was a difficult match and a shame for the girls who lost the first match of the season. On a positive note, it was good for them to see how Oundle closed players down and this is something that they will now take on board for matches after half term.