Report

Well, here it was…. the last league game of the season and one that the Foxes needed to win.  What a great day for it, after the terrible weather of the previous week.  No Sarah-Jayne or Issy but a good squad of 10 none the less.

Braunstone were the last team to beat the Foxes back in October of last year (6-0) so how would we get on 5 months later? 

The game started with attack and counter attack, both teams defending well.  It was Ella who got through the Braunstone defence first but her shots went wide from tight angles.  A couple of snap shots  from Rachel cleared the bar.  After 12 mins, a goalmouth scramble saw Beth(A) fire the ball into the net…  1-0.. a great start.  The game remained finely balanced with the Foxes defending well.  A good Braunstone shot was well saved by Holly. Ella kept probing the Braunstone defence and was rewarded after 20 mins with her opening goal… 2-0.  Rachel, Beth and Sophie controlled the game well from midfield, cutting out many of the Braunstone attacks before they could gain momentum.  First half subs were Zoe (not Sophie!) for Nadia, Lorraine for Sophie, who was later replaced by Beth Exley.  All subs having a positive impact on the game. And so that half ended.. 2-0.

The second half started in the same fashion, with both teams playing well.  It was the Foxes who started to gain the majority of the possession with attaching moves that bought a number of corners.  Further attacking moves eventually paid off for Ella who broke from midfield and fired past the keeper for her second goal .. 3-0 (an Ella trademark specialJ).  Braunstone came back with an attacking move of their own which gave them a shot from the outside of the area. The ball bounced off Holly’s arms and looked to be goal bound but, she reacted well by turning and diving on the ball before it could cross the line… well done Holly!!  The Foxes responded with a counter attack, resulting in a corner.  The corner was taken by Beth who fired the ball into the area. The ball squeezed past Rachel and Beth(E) but was prodded home by Ella… 4-0 (well done for your hatrick Ella!!).   Braunstone continued to press but the Foxes were now on a run.  Another attacking move from the midfield gave a throw-in near the edge of the Braunstone box. The throw was taken by Ella finding  Rachel on the edge of the box. She controlled in on her chest, turned and fired the ball into the opposite corner of the net… good control Rachel!   5-0.   A further Foxes attack lead to another corner. The corner was well taken by Beth which saw the Braunstone defence deflect the ball into the net… 6-0.   Braunstone kept focus and were rewarded with a goal towards the end of the game.   A lapse in our defence saw the ball squared to a player in the middle, who tapped the ball into an open net… 6-1.  And so the game finished … A good result in a pressure situation against a good team….  well deserved girls!!! 

Holly – Performed well and is getting better with every game!!

Nadia – Another good performance in defence, with some good interceptions.

Amun – Performed well in defence with some vital clearances that turned defence into attack (second half especially).

Zoe – Came on in both halves with good effect in defence. Gained good experience against a good team.

Sophie – A typical Sophie performance, full of energy… attack, defence, attack, defence.. great!

Beth – Another sound performance, proving an important player, with a goal for her efforts.

Lorraine – Came on in both halves and gave her best performance to date… good tackling and energy!!  Well done Lorraine.

Rachel – Another true captains performance and a good goal … great effort!

Ella – The ELLANATOR hits a hatrick with another strong performance… superb!

Beth (E) – Came on in both halves and looked keen to get involved in attacking moves.