Bedlington Town Wildcats v Montagu & North Fenham Pumas

17 September 2011

After two really good results played in very windy conditions, we came to the first real test of the season against Montagu Pumas who had won both of their previous games with only one goal scored against them. Montagu were a big strong group of girls who looked comfortable on the ball in warm up, so we would need to match them in all departments if we were to get anything from the game.

We had a full squad to choose from again on a very nice day for playing football; the sun was shining and there was very little wind so the conditions were excellent for an exciting game.

After warm up, Monty got the girls together to remind them that today would be the hardest test so far in the league as Montagu had done very well in last years under 12s. We would need to pass and move the ball quickly and work as a team to make it as difficult as possible for us to be broken down when defending, and to make us hard to mark when attacking.

Monty kept Caz and Alice on the sideline, and started with Moley in goal, protected by Amy, Mazie and George with Demi, Ellie and Bella in midfield and Lauren and Erin up front.

After a short delay for the removal of hair clips(!) we were underway and following our kick off, we were attacking as usual, but we were immediately hit by a counter attack which we were pleased to see fizzle out following the award of a goal kick. The kick failed to find a Wildcat player and Montagu were back on attack shooting wide this time. Further Montagu attacks soon showed us that they had some good powerful forward players and they were enjoying the majority of the attacking play.

We were however slowly getting into the game and almost took the lead when Erin got the ball past the goalie, but this was ruled off for offside in what must have been a very marginal decision (or even the wrong decision according to some Wildcats supporters). 

We did however fall behind when we were unable to clear the ball which then fell to a Montagu forward who scored with a looping shot into the top left hand corner of our goal with Moley having no chance. This was a good goal and a fair reflection of the game so far. Two further Montagu attacks saw firstly the ball sail over our bar from a free kick and then just wide. We were unable to get the ball out of our own half at this stage and almost went further behind but Moley was on hand to save at the foot of her post.

Because of the amount of pressure we were under, Monty decided to bring on Caz in the right back spot allowing Amy to go further forward to replace Ellie, and having weathered the early onslaught, we began to have some attacking joy ourselves. Bella ran at the opposition defence before getting the ball to Lauren who won a corner. Her corner kick was met by Bella who shot just wide.

This respite was short lived, but Mazie and George combined well to snuff out another attack, and we were coming more into the game, which was flowing from end to end. A Montagu corner following another good save by Moley was headed clear by George and as the ball was played forward, Erin beat the offside trap and fired in a shot which was well saved.

We were awarded a free kick for foul play which lead to a corner which the goalkeeper was able to clear for a throw to Wildcats. This throw resulted in another attack and a period of Wildcats pressure. Another foul, this time for dangerous play enabled us to attack again in a period of end to end, fast exciting play. These Wildcats attacks showed that if we were able to run at the Montagu defenders then we would be able to create openings for ourselves and hopefully this would lead to more scoring opportunities. The pressure we were exerting on the Montagu goal left us vulnerable at the back and we fell further behind when our defence was outnumbered by attackers and we were unable to break up their passing movement and Moley stood little chance of preventing the second goal.

As the half was drawing to a close, Mazie got the ball to Demi on the right wing and she drew defenders before crossing to Lauren who was able to score at the end of perhaps our best move of the game so far.

Bella then won the ball and sent a good pass down the left wing for Lauren who beat a defender and crossed the ball for Erin who was unable to get on the end of it and the danger was cleared.  We were awarded yet another free kick for a foul against a robust Montagu team and we needed to be careful that this strong play did not intimidate us and put us off our usual passing game.

Half time came with us behind by the odd goal in three.

It had been an interesting half of football where we had fought our way back into the game against a good strong and hard running team and we had given a good account of ourselves.

Monty's team talk stressed the need to be more forceful and to make sure that we did not 'tickle' our passes but to make sure that we found ream mates or cleared the ball well if a pass was not on. We needed to work hard and help each other out in all areas of the field.

Alice was introduced in place of Erin and Ellie came on for Amy as the second half got started with another Montagu attack and corner which was headed clear by Lauren who was under pressure from two attackers and Lauren was also on hand to play a ball to Bella who sent in a great cross which both Alice and Demi were only inches away from right in front of goal.

Montagu had another period of pressure when they had a goal disallowed for a foul on Moley and then a volley was shot over the bar from a free kick. Erin replaced Bella just before a ball which should have been cleared by either Caz or Mazie resulted in a penalty being awarded against us and although Moley went the right way, she was unable to prevent the goal being scored..

More Wildcat pressure saw Ellie gather the ball, just behind her forwards and feed Lauren who was unable to get a shot on goal. A George centre was met by Ellie's head but her attempt was headed away for a corner. After this flurry of activity, Ellie was replaced by Amy and we continued to enjoy some good penetration which was rewarded when Lauren carried the ball and was unable to pass as two Wildcats would have been offside, so she shot from distance and found the back of the net for a very well taken goal.

We were chasing the game now, and enjoying some good possession and in an effort to capitalise, Monty made another substitution when he brought on Bella for Alice but this change saw a period when Montagu scored three goals in quick succession during which time we were unable to get any sort of grip on the game, perhaps due to tiredness . Another change brought Alice back on for Erin and she made an almost instant impact when she scored from close range.

This goal seemed to perk up our girls with an Amy shot hitting the 'keeper and further shots by Demi and Amy being saved or just wide and then Demi had another shot cleared off the line for a corner which we could not convert.

When the final whistle blew, we had lost the game by three goals to seven but had played some good football in patches. Against the better teams in the league, we will be punished for defensive lapses and we will also need to take more of the scoring opportunities we carve out for ourselves. The physical advantage of the Montagu team was evident during the second half in particular, but we showed that we will fight and try to play good skilful football even when things are not going our way particularly.

Monty named Moley as his girl of the game.

It was disappointing to have conceded so many goals when for most of the game we worked hard and kept plugging away against a team which were too good for us on the day, but who were made to fight for their victory. We can take some satisfaction from the fact that we scored three goals when Montague had only conceded one before today, but for a lot of the game we were muscled out by a strong and powerful set of girls who, we must remember, are all at least a year older than the Wildcats.

Monty will make sure that we gain something from this defeat, and we will need to learn whatever lessons we can from this game and take them into the next match against North Shields on Wednesday which will be just as tough.  We must also remember that this season is one of change and opportunity and will hold us in good stead next year when we will still be playing in the under 13s league.

Thanks girls for putting on a good display today, there are a number of plusses to take from the game and we will be stronger and better for having given our best in such matches.