Bedlington Town Wildcats v Montagu & North Fenham Jaguars

3 December 2011 

It was cup Saturday for the Wildcats and with the top four teams in the league having been drawn against each other, we knew that we were in for a hard game against the Jaguars, for a place in  the last four of the competition. We had yet to meet today's opponents so far this season, but would be seeing quite a bit of them in the next two weeks as we face them at home again on 10th December in a league match.

We had a full squad to choose from again for this game, and after both teams took part in one minute of applause in memory of Gary Speed, Monty kept Caz and Alice on the side lines and sent out Moley in goal with Mazie, Ellie and George (captain for the day) in front of her. Midfield was made up of Demi, Amy and Bella just behind Lauren and Erin. The pitch was nice and soft and there was a very cold, strong breeze blowing across it so we would need to play the ball to feet where possible and the girls were asked to work hard for each other, supporting attacks and tracking back to help out in defence when necessary.

We got off to a good start when Lauren set off on a run down her wing and set up Erin with an opportunity in front of goal but her strong shot was pushed over the bar by the Jaguars goalkeeper at the expense of a corner. We continued to attack and were fighting hard for possession of the ball when another goal scoring chance came our way, only to be blown up for off side.

This was a very promising start and while Jaguars only occasionally ventured into our half, it was good to see midfielders back helping out, ensuring their threat was snuffed out. We had certainly made the better start to the game and looked the more likely to score when Amy won the ball and fed Demi who sprinted towards goal only to see her shot fly over the bar at the end of a very good Wildcats move. Another Lauren cross was deflected towards goal by a Jaguars defender and the 'keeper did very well to react and push the ball away for another corner; the corner kick found its way to Erin who trapped the ball beautifully and shot just wide. This had been a very good period of Wildcats pressure without the reward of a goal, but we could not afford to relax and this was illustrated when a long clearance by the Jaguars goal keeper started a period of play in our half. Moley was on hand to parry away a shot from the breakaway and a second Jaguars attack was cleared to safety by a combination of Mazie, Ellie and George.

We weathered the storm and play was once again with our forwards but we needed to turn this pressure into goals as we were vulnerable to breakaway attacks. The pressure did however bear fruit when Demi set out on another great run and found the supporting Lauren with an excellent pass to enable her to slot the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal and Wildcats were on their way.

Jaguars attacked from the kick off but were unable to prevent the ball going out of play and surrendered possession again, which gave Monty the opportunity to bring on Caz and Alice in place of Georgia and Erin. A long Moley goal kick looked as if it was going to be headed straight back up field, but the defender misjudged the ball and it skidded off her head backwards and into the path of Lauren who accepted the gift with aplomb to give us the comfort of a two goal lead.

Jaguars were still a threat and they had a period when they might have scored; a Moley goal kick was gathered by a Jaguars forward who shot over the bar, and shortly afterwards Moley was brave enough to drop onto the ball at the feet of on coming forwards, she released the ball quickly and we were able to win a corner from which Alice shot wide.

The first half came to a close with Wildcats leading by 2 - 0. This was a well deserved lead, which with a bit of luck could have been more but we had enjoyed more of the ball and had played the better football of the two teams. Jaguars had not been allowed to dominate much of the half, but they had some good players and were not used to losing games, so we would need to work hard in the second period to put the game beyond doubt and make sure that it was the Wildcats in the hat for the semi-final draw.

The second half got underway with Bella and Ellie watching from the side line as Moley , Caz, Mazie and George made up the defence; Demi, Amy and Erin were midfield with Lauren and Alice in front of them.

We got off to a good start and our intentions were clear right from kick off. Another Demi run saw her shot pushed around the post for a very early corner, the ball from which eventually found Erin on the edge of the area and her first time shot was in the back of the net before the 'keeper could get anywhere near to give us a comfortable three goal advantage.

Three almost became four when a quick passing movement between Amy and Demi got the ball to Lauren in front of goal only to be flagged up for off side and then Alice was only prevented from adding to the score when her shot hit the post and bounced out with the goal keeper well beaten.

We continued to press for more goals and were caught off side a few times before Demi was injured, but Monty was able to get her back on her feet. This short break seemed to have disrupted our flow a bit and we had too many players in forward positions when a long clearance found a Jaguars forward who had an uninterrupted run at our two remaining defenders and she was able to shoot past Moley to score against the run of play.

Our advantage may have been reduced, but the pattern of the game continued with Wildcats looking to claw back the three goal lead and it was not long before we achieved just that. A defensive error allowed Demi to latch on to the ball and pick her spot with a pass into the net rather than a shot. Demi 'scored' again shortly afterwards but the off side flag was up and she came close again when she slipped past defenders and flicked the ball goal wards but the goal keeper was able to get back and save at the expense of another corner. This was an opportunity for Bella and Ellie to return to the game with Erin and Amy taking their turns to sit out.

We were continuing to dominate possession in the last third of the field with some good inter passing movement and although both teams were tired, we continued to push forward. Even though it seemed that the game was beyond the Jaguars they were still trying hard and were capable of testing our resolve at the back. One such test ended with an excellent save by Moley when she pushed a well struck shot over the bar. The resultant corner was confidently dealt with but another Jaguars attack was snuffed out when Caz was able to prevent the attacker from cutting in on goal and we saw the ball go out of play for a goal kick.

The final whistle blew, and we had won the game 4 - 1. This was a well deserved win and while we were not at our very best, we were good enough to get the job done against a team which was capable of some good play if they had been allowed to get a grip on the game.

Jaguars gave the girl of the game award to Lauren, and Monty's award was given to Amy.

We are now in the semi final of the cup together with North Shields, Cramlington Town and Cramlington United so we can look forward to the draw and who knows, we might even win the thing!!!

We are back in league action again next week at home to Jaguars again and this result should give us the confidence to approach that game with the intention of adding a further three points to our total.

As supporters of Bedlington Town Wildcats, it is encouraging to see that even when we are not quite at our best, we can still grind out results and this attitude will help us in the next few weeks when we play the teams above us in the league. It is sometimes easy to forget that the Wildcats are a year younger than all of the teams we meet in the league and the girls can be very proud of the progress they have made this season.

Thank you ladies; onward and upward.

LATE NEWS

We have been drawn against North Shields in the cup semi final; the draw could have been a bit kinder!!