"Little" AF Battling One of the Stars "Big" GirlsIf you look at only the results, you would say that the U-12s struggles continue. They have dropped two league games -- 0-2 to FC Stars and 1-3 to the Fuller Hamlets. Yet the tale of these games tells you that good things are happening.
Two of the Fuller Hamlets' goals were scored by players who were in an offsides position when they received the ball and shot. One was close and one was blatant. MAPLE yet again sent only one ref to cover the game and the poor 15 year old girl simply could not get in a position to make the calls. The girls' play was marked by fantastic defending particularly from our center backs -- TS and SS. They were technical and tough the entire game. We also managed to generate some attacking pressure from the midfield. The girls' one goal was textbook COE. A ball played to the right wing, crossed in beautifully by JS to ME who took a spectacular one touch volley.
The FC Stars game was even more telling. This is the team that dismantled us on August 27. This is the team anchored by 3 or 4 truly exceptional players and, along with Western United's U-12s must be viewed as on of the two best teams in New England. This is also the team that tapped up -- MH and JC -- two of our better players from last year. There were a million reasons to believe that the disaster from the August friendly match would be repeated in league play.
It was far from a disaster. The game started with Stars FC penetrating quickly and succesively in the first 5-10 minutes. The Stars ripped off two shots on goal which were nicely saved by PG. They also flashed a ball across the box that slipped by the far post without result, but it was heart stopping. Although one might have thought -- oh no, here we go again -- there were signs of a different game shaping up even during the early onslought. We were winning balls in the midfield we were able to possess for a link up or two and the defenders looked determined and were making good challenges. The girls confidence started to rise and their determination and grit were showing all over the field.
The result? The crisis passed and the girls pushed the defensive struggle to the middle of the field. The game was largely fought out on the fifteen yards on either side of the mid stripe. Our mids and defenders gave the generally much bigger Stars players little room to breathe. The Stars predictably responded to the pressure in the middle by pushing the ball wide but the wide mids and fullbacks were usually able to soak up these forays. KR and AF were absolute monstors at Fullback. HL and KS did well at the wide mid spots. As with last weekend's game against the Fuller Hamlets, TS and SS were immense contributers.
The score was 0-0 at halftime and it remained knotted through 45-50 minutes. We gave up a free kick at the edge of the penalty box -- to be expected in a game as physical as this one. The Stars have two or three really big girls who are also very athletic and quite technical soccer players. They can spank a ball and one of them did just that lofting a high arcing ball that most U-12 keepers can never handle. Goal to the Stars.
I was worried that this goal would open the floodgates as the girls' heads would go down and the great effort of the previous 50 minutes would drain away. I'm thrilled to say that this did not happen. The game resumed much as before with one difference. Now that we were chasing the game, we got forward more insistently. The Stars have amazingly strong and very fast defenders. They were able to cope with most of the pressure although we did win one free kick it was just far enough away to assure that it would not be too dangerous. In the closing minutes, they managed to catch the girls on the break. Even then, however, the girls recovered well and we had enough bodies behind the ball. Alas, two of the girls' concentration broke for an instant and the girls' gave room to one of the biggest Stars girls who clipped another edge of the penalty box shot that arced high and well beyond the reach of our keeper.
Two outside the box shots with lots of air to them. Taken by a girl who had six inches at least on our tallest player. This is what tells the tale in closely contested U-12 games. I am very encouraged by the resolve the girls showed in this game against a very good, frankly superior opponent. What a game to build upon! If the girls show this much effort and concentration in each of their coming games, they will get their share of results.
Two of the Fuller Hamlets' goals were scored by players who were in an offsides position when they received the ball and shot. One was close and one was blatant. MAPLE yet again sent only one ref to cover the game and the poor 15 year old girl simply could not get in a position to make the calls. The girls' play was marked by fantastic defending particularly from our center backs -- TS and SS. They were technical and tough the entire game. We also managed to generate some attacking pressure from the midfield. The girls' one goal was textbook COE. A ball played to the right wing, crossed in beautifully by JS to ME who took a spectacular one touch volley.
The FC Stars game was even more telling. This is the team that dismantled us on August 27. This is the team anchored by 3 or 4 truly exceptional players and, along with Western United's U-12s must be viewed as on of the two best teams in New England. This is also the team that tapped up -- MH and JC -- two of our better players from last year. There were a million reasons to believe that the disaster from the August friendly match would be repeated in league play.
It was far from a disaster. The game started with Stars FC penetrating quickly and succesively in the first 5-10 minutes. The Stars ripped off two shots on goal which were nicely saved by PG. They also flashed a ball across the box that slipped by the far post without result, but it was heart stopping. Although one might have thought -- oh no, here we go again -- there were signs of a different game shaping up even during the early onslought. We were winning balls in the midfield we were able to possess for a link up or two and the defenders looked determined and were making good challenges. The girls confidence started to rise and their determination and grit were showing all over the field.
The result? The crisis passed and the girls pushed the defensive struggle to the middle of the field. The game was largely fought out on the fifteen yards on either side of the mid stripe. Our mids and defenders gave the generally much bigger Stars players little room to breathe. The Stars predictably responded to the pressure in the middle by pushing the ball wide but the wide mids and fullbacks were usually able to soak up these forays. KR and AF were absolute monstors at Fullback. HL and KS did well at the wide mid spots. As with last weekend's game against the Fuller Hamlets, TS and SS were immense contributers.
The score was 0-0 at halftime and it remained knotted through 45-50 minutes. We gave up a free kick at the edge of the penalty box -- to be expected in a game as physical as this one. The Stars have two or three really big girls who are also very athletic and quite technical soccer players. They can spank a ball and one of them did just that lofting a high arcing ball that most U-12 keepers can never handle. Goal to the Stars.
I was worried that this goal would open the floodgates as the girls' heads would go down and the great effort of the previous 50 minutes would drain away. I'm thrilled to say that this did not happen. The game resumed much as before with one difference. Now that we were chasing the game, we got forward more insistently. The Stars have amazingly strong and very fast defenders. They were able to cope with most of the pressure although we did win one free kick it was just far enough away to assure that it would not be too dangerous. In the closing minutes, they managed to catch the girls on the break. Even then, however, the girls recovered well and we had enough bodies behind the ball. Alas, two of the girls' concentration broke for an instant and the girls' gave room to one of the biggest Stars girls who clipped another edge of the penalty box shot that arced high and well beyond the reach of our keeper.
Two outside the box shots with lots of air to them. Taken by a girl who had six inches at least on our tallest player. This is what tells the tale in closely contested U-12 games. I am very encouraged by the resolve the girls showed in this game against a very good, frankly superior opponent. What a game to build upon! If the girls show this much effort and concentration in each of their coming games, they will get their share of results.
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