2006-2007
None, the 2006-2007 season has finished
GARDEN VILLAGE
RUNNERS UP IN
PONTARDAWE TOURNAMENT
Garden Village 2
Pontardawe 0
(Rachel D, Charlie)
Garden Village 0 Boys &
Girls Clubs of Wales A 0
Garden Village 3 Boys &
Girls Clubs of Wales B 1
(Charlie, Vicky, Rachel D)
Garden Village 1 Dafen
0
(Rachel D)
Garden Village 2 Porthcawl
1
(Charlie, Rachel D)
SEMI-FINALS
Garden Village 3 Trimsaran
0
FINAL
Garden Village 1 Boys &
Girls Clubs of Wales A 2
(Rachel D)
 
The girls were fired up today, and
played some superb football, in a very hard qualifying group.
They thoroughly deserved their place in the final, after some fine individual
and team performances.
A special mention has to go to Jordan for stepping up to the goalkeeping
position for the first time ever,
and doing an excellent job in difficult circumstances.
 
GARDEN VILLAGE GET
TO SEMI-FINALS IN
KILGETTY TOURNAMENT
Garden Village 6 Clarbeston
Road 0
(Emily, Vicky, Rachel D x3, Alex)
Garden Village 0 Teifi
0
Garden Village 4 Llandovery
Pink Ladies 0
(Rachel D x4)
Garden Village 2 Thornhill
Gold 1
(Alex x2)
Garden Village 1 Mardy
1
(Rachel)
SEMI-FINAL
Garden Village 0 Boys &
Girls Clubs of Wales 3
Forgive me, the results are a shambles from February on, because there was
no-one actually recording them.
Its a shame, but if anyone would like to volunteer to accurately record the
results and the scorers each week,
and maybe take the occasional photo, get in touch via the website.
Sunday 4th February
Garden Village
0 Llangyfelach 4
Garden Village 1 Landore
2
(Lois)
Garden Village 0 Penyrheol
2
.
Sunday 28th January
Garden Village
0 Dafen 3
Garden Village 1
Pontardawe 1
(Brittany)
Sunday 14th January
Garden Village 0 Llangyfelach 0
Garden Village 4 Landore
0
Garden Village 2 Penyrheol
0
(I have no idea who the scorers were,
as Louise didn't bother to write them down. After I bought her a notebook,
specially !)
Sunday 26th November
Garden Village 1 Pontardawe
A 2
(Rachel D)
Garden Village 0 Pontardawe
B 1
Garden Village 6 Pontardawe
C 0
(details on scorers when I get the
match report from Mark)
Garden Village 8 Trimsaran
0
(details on scorers when I get the
match report from Mark)
Sunday 19th November
LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
Garden Village 0
Llangyfelach 1
Garden Village 1
Penyrheol 0
(Charlie)
Garden Village 2
Cimla 0
(Rachel K, Katie)
Garden Village 2 Pontardawe
B
(Katie x2)
Semi-Final
Garden Village 0 Pontardawe A 0
(we lost on penalties)
Sunday 12th November
Garden Village
5 Penyrheol
0
(Rachel Dx2, Charlie x2, Katie)
As nobody actually made a note, we
are not 100% sure that we have
all the goals and scorers for this match, despite hypnotising Louise
to dredge her memory. If you believe the score to have been higher,
and feel that I have left any scorer out, get in touch.
Garden Village 1
Llangyfelach 3
(Charlie)
Squad: Brittany, Emily C,
Rachel K, Jordan, Vicky, Kayleigh, Jess, Katie, Rachel D, Charlie
 
No match report from Mark this week, but as I understand it, the girls put on an
inspired performance
against Penyrheol, and a disappointingly lacklustre performance against
Llangyfelach, which would
seem to be reflected in the scores for today.
 
 
 
 
 
Sunday 5th November
Garden Village 1
Llangyfelach 0
(Alex)
Garden Village 4
Landore 0
(Brittany x2, Katie, Rachel D)
Garden Village 5
Saron 0
(Charlie x3, Katie, Jayde)
 
Squad: Alex, Jess, Kayleigh, Jordan, Lois, Rachel K, Jayde, Emily C, Rachel D
Charlie, Katie, Brittany
Llangyfelach
It was a fresh November morning, bright and sunny but very cold. The parents were up to the task,
sitting down, huddling in their big coats, there were thermos’ and even one parent with a hot water
bottle! Llangyfelach were down a striker, and were relying solely on Emma up front.
Village started strongly,
immediately pushing forward. The first five minutes were all Village, with Kayleigh the only one of the girls
playing in her own half. There were some lovely triangles being played by Rachel D,
Charlie and Katy,
pinging the ball back and fro between them, it was great to watch! A not quite fit Alex and Emily owned
the midfield, with any breaks being stopped short by Kayleigh.
All the chances seemed to go to Katy in the first half, with a few shots from the right side of goal, either
going wide or saved. The best opportunity saw Katy with the ball on the right side of goal, with two
defenders
coming towards her, unfortunately she did not see Rachel D completely unmarked in the centre and took the
shot instead. Then in the last move of the first half, the girls won a corner, Rachel
delivered a ball
right into the danger area, and up popped Alex on the back post to slot it home. Half-time 1-0.
The girls didn’t have it all their own way in the second half, and a determined run by Emma had to be stopped
by Jess at close range. The next five minutes was all Llangyfelach, with the girls under a lot of pressure.
A shot sped by Jess, but went out off the post; Rachel went off injured to be replaced by Jade. Village
fought their way back into the game and were rewarded by an excellent shot by Katy that was well
saved at close range. The game ended 1-0 to Village and was very entertaining to watch, with the
girls showing good skill and teamwork throughout.
Landore
In many ways this was a totally different game to the first, but no less entertaining.
The play was end to end,
with Landore following the ball in numbers, making it hard for the girls to find space. Charlie, Rachel K
and even Kayleigh had shots at goal, but too often there were three or four Landore players in
front of
the goal blocking the shot. Landore only managed to break properly once in the first half, and with a one on
one with the striker, Lois stopped her dead and managed to kick it into touch.
Katy hit the post early in the second half, then within a minute had tried the same shot again, and hit the
post again! Luckily Brittney was right there on the line, and tapped the deflection over the line and into
the net. The goal settled the girls down and the chances came thick and fast. Another
Katy shot hit the
post, Jade had a good attempt saved, then guess what? Katy lined up her target from the right side of the
goal, looked up, shot, AND HIT THE POST AGAIN!! Only this time it finally went in off the post, well
done Katy, you got there in the end. 2-0. Katy fancied her chances again and ran towards the goal from
half way line, the keeper came out to meet her, the ball came off the keeper, right into
the path of
Rachel D who calmly hit the ball into the empty net from the edge of the area. 3-0.
Then déjà vu, as a Katy
shot was blocked and knocked into the path of Villages’ deadliest striker from one yard, Brittney, who doesn’t
miss from there. 4-0. To be fair to Landore, they did threaten on several occasions, but Lois and
Jordan were
both having an excellent game, and seeing plenty of the ball, to their credit, Landore did not get one shot past
them. The game finished 4-0, and while not as pretty or skilful as the first game, was certainly good
value,
and another strong team performance.
 
Saron
The game started very quickly, I was talking to a Llangyfelach parent, looked up and Charlie was banging the
ball into the top of the net, I started to write it down, and there she was again, scoring the exact same
goal about sixty seconds later, no messing around there! Two goals up in about two minutes! There was no
stopping Charlie or the rest of the team then. Within minutes Charlie had hit the post, but after a run from
midfield she got her hat-trick, one on one with the keeper, side footing it to the
keepers’ left and into the net.
3-0. A lay back from Katy gave Rachel K a good chance; she struck it well and was
unlucky not to score.
Katy thought she’d aim for the post again, and managed to hit it AGAIN, but it didn’t go in, then after an
excellent own goal attempt by the other team, the ball came out to Katy who aimed for the goal
this time, and hit it home to make it 4. The second half saw lots more Village chances, with Lois and Kayleigh
not having to do an awful lot of defending. Running with the ball from the half way line, Brittney was
tackled hard, and went down like the guy in the Coke Zero advert, Tony looked at her mum, who looked at
Tony! After a few seconds stalemate, Tony rushed over and delivered the magic sponge. Fortunately she
was up in a minute or so and managed to run it off. Jade finished off the scoring with a superb goal, hit
first time, leaving the keeper no chance. Great control Jade. The only scare came, as the match was about to
finish, a Saron shot went over Jess and hit the crossbar, luckily going over.
A good days work for the girls, no goals conceded, some good skill, 100% effort and good teamwork from
all the girls. Well done.
Remember, remember the 5th of November...
The Under 12s scored
their 50th goal of the season today !
In fact, the girls have now scored 58
goals so far this season, thanks to the efforts of the whole team.
Superb stuff girls ! Keep it up !
Sunday 29th October
Garden Village
1 Llangyfelach 1
(Alex)
Garden Village 0 Pontardawe
A 0
Squad: Lois, Alex, Rachel D, Jess, Jayde, Rachel K, Brittany,
Kayleigh, Jordan,
Back to normal this week, as the girls returned to their usual Pentrehafod
pitch. Emily's father made sure he
wouldn't be asked to ref, by wearing his wellies, and I'm sure he was putting a
limp on !
No Charlie or Katie this week, but otherwise a full squad. Llangyfelach were up
first, Tony choosing to go with
Emily as the lone striker, with the rest of the formation as usual. Llangyfelach
were the quicker to start, and
within two minutes had managed to slip past Jordan and get an excellent shot off
from the edge of the area that
flew over Jess's head and into the top of the net. A cracking goal that was
pretty much unstoppable. Jess was the
busiest player for the rest of the first half, making an excellent stop right on
the goal line. Village were finding it
hard to break past midfield, despite Rachel D's attempts to get the ball up to
Emily.
 
Then, against the run of play, Alex picked the ball up deep in the Village half,
and ran down the wing. She went past
one player, one defender was drawn off by Emily, and the other backed off from
Alex, expecting the pass to Emily.
We all knew that Alex was in one of her favourite positions to shoot, and there
was no chance of her passing, when
she shot from the right side, nobody saw it coming, and their keeper's first and
only touch of the first half was to
pick the ball out of the net. 1-1 at half-time, but the girls had been under a
lot of pressure, relying on Jess and
Jordan to keep the score level.
The girls started the next half much stronger, immediately putting pressure on
the opposition goal. A shot from Alex
was deflected to a waiting Brittany, who was unlucky and just shot wide. An
excellent run by Kayleigh saw her
beating four players and running the length of the pitch, only to run into the
last defender on the edge of the box.
Alex tried to make it two, blasting a point-blank shot directly at the keeper.
The Village team were definitely on
top in this half, with not one player making it past the defence of kayleigh and
Lois.
Another full-length run by Kayleigh saw her get to within 10 yards of the goal,
but unfortunately, her shot was
straight at the keeper. Unlucky Kayleigh ! With Village becoming more confident
as the game went on, there was
some excellent interplay between Rachel D and Alex, resulting in a scorching
shot from Rachel that deserved to
go in, but was dramatically saved by the diving keeper.
The game ended 1-1, but Village were unlucky not to score in the second half
and definitely finished on top.
Well done girls, a good battling performance.
 
Penyrheol didn't show, so we had to wait for what seemed like an eternity for
our next game. Tony kept the girls
(and parents) entertained by shouting very loudly "Tony's Ball !"
before removing his hat and heading the ball
into the net. I did tell Lois to mark him and give him a dig, but she refused !
Finally, Pontardawe were ready for us. This was a tough team, and went at us
from the start. Jordan had an excellent
game, stopping everything that came close to her. Rachel D ran her socks off,
battling for possession, at one point
she picked the ball up from a goal kick, ran to the opposition penalty area,
then ran back to our area to make the
tackle. Well done, Rach ! A pinpoint pass from Alex saw Rachel hit the ball with
her first touch, only to have it
saved by the keeper. we had a worrying moment, late on with a huge goalmouth
scramble involving most of the team,
but Jess was there with a big boot to finally clear it off the line. Half time,
and still no score.
But another good perfomance, with some excellent passing and defending. Within
minutes of the whistle blowing,
Alex, Rachel and Brittany all had efforts on goal, either saved or wide. Jess
stood up well, and kept them in the game
with a close range stop. Then, after another Pontardawe break, (where was our
midfield ?), Jess found herself one
on one with a striker, and again managed to make the save. Then, the ball
actually went past her, and was heading
for the open goal, only to be dramatically cleared off the line by a sliding
Rachel. Village were under more pressure
as the game went on, with Ponty hitting them on the break several times,
attacking in numbers. Luckily, the defence
of Jess, Lois, Kayleigh/Alex held..just. rachel K did her best to feed the ball
to the strikers, but was under constant
pressure. Jayde had a good opportunity close to the end, but didn't quite have
room to get her shot off. Kayleigh went
into midfield, looking for that elusive goal, swapping with Alex, who was
visibly struggling with an injury. Maybe
the long wait in between games had thrown them, but the girls were struggling
towards the end. And there were
large gaps between the midfield and defence. The game ended nil-nil, mostly
thanks to Jess having an outstanding game
Village could have won both games, but were a little unlucky to be up against
two very good keepers. More
importantly, they played very well as a team, showing good communication, skill
and accurate passing.
Next week girls !
(submitted by Mark)
Sunday 22nd October
Garden Village 4 Penyrheol
0
(Rachel D x2, Charlie x2)
Garden Village 4 Dafen
1
(Katie, Charlie x3)
Garden Village 0
Llangyfelach 2
Sunday 15th October
Garden Village 3
Llangyfelach 0
(Charlie, Alex, Jordan)
Garden Village 0 Pontardawe
A 1
Garden Village 3 Pontardawe
B 0
(Kayleigh, Alex, Charlie)
Match Report coming soon
Squad: Alex, Charlie, Jordan, Jess, Kayleigh, Jayde, Rachel K,
Rachel D, Lois, Emily
No match report this week (we miss you Mark, we do), but a flood of photos:-
 
 
 
Sunday 8th October
Garden Village 0 Pontardawe 0
Garden Village 0
Pembrokeshire Girls (Blue & Yellow) 0
Garden Village 5
Pembrokeshire Girls (Yellow) 0
(Emily x2, Rachel K, Charlie, OG)
Garden Village 2
Pembrokeshire Girls (Red) 0
(Rachel D, Katie)
Garden Village 2
Pembrokeshire Girls (Different Reds) 1
(Charlie x2)
Garden Village 0
Pemrokeshire Girls (Yellow & Blue) 0
 
Squad: Alex, Vicky, Jordan, Emily, Rachel K, Charlie, Rachel D, Katie, Jess,
Kayleigh, Brittany
The match report and loads of photos of the day have been given their
own page,and can be found here
Sunday 1st October
Garden Village
0 Pontardawe A 0
Garden Village 0
Llangyfelach 2
Garden Village 4 Pontardawe
B 0
(Rachel D x3, Emily)
Squad: Emily, Jayde,
Vicky, Rachel D, Alex, Katie, Charlie, Jess, Lois, Kayleigh, Brittany, Jordan
Pontardawe A first today, and the girls wanted to restore some of their pride
after their four-nil drubbing last week. The game started quickly and within the
first few minutes a Ponty striker was through on goal, with Jess racing out and
forcing the shot wide.
Pontardawe
attacked in numbers, with the two midfielders playing a very forward role,
meaning it was often four against Kayleigh and Jordan, but they acquitted
themselves well. Even so Jess was kept busy.
The game was evenly matched, Village playing the game they should have last
week. Lots of pressure from both sides. Alex and Rachel had good chances but
their keeper was very good. It started pouring down half way through the game
but the girls weren’t bothered and pressed on regardless of the soaking they
were getting. My notes were illegible after that due to the rain, but it was a
good effort by both teams and very entertaining to watch.
A fair result in the end, nil-nil.
Llangyfelach next, and we had
the advantage of a guest referee from Garden Village (green wellies and all!),
we couldn’t lose!!
Two minutes later we were a goal down. So much for the ref being on our side!
Brittany made a good run from the half-way line and got close to the goal, but
wasn’t able to get a shot off. Lois and Jayde found themselves outnumbered
against four players, with our midfield nowhere to be seen and we conceded
another goal.
We
were certain Katy was going to score, but the diving keeper spectacularly saved
her shot. The second half saw some solid defending by Jordan and Kayleigh, with
Jess pulling off a great save to keep the score down. It was good to see Charlie
playing a little deeper, picking the ball up and running at the defence,
although it didn’t yield any goals. Rachel and Alex had a battling game in
midfield against some very “determined” opposition players.
Crisis
time for the third match against Pontadawe B, half the team deserted to go to a
party, leaving just enough for a team. Jayde in goals, Lois and Jordan in
defence, Alex and Vicky in midfield, with Emily and Rachel D spearheading the
attack. Vicky got an early shot in which was deflected, straight into the path
of Emily, who luckily had brought her shooting boots from last week, kicking it
into the back of the net. Vicky set the next goal up with a good cross to Rachel
who slammed it in from the left side of the goal, pity her mother didn’t see
it as she was too busy keeping Jayde company as she was bored in goal. Emily
popped up again with a good shot that the keeper saved with her face, knocking
her to the floor, her father was worried Emily may have “killed her”, but
after some magic water to the face she was OK to continue. We were honoured by
the presence of the official match photographer, so hopefully he captured all
the action and the goals.
Jayde
pulled off a good save, or should that be stop, with her feet, as she didn’t
really fancy using her hands!!
Vicky had a shot herself, but didn’t find the back of the net. As the game
went on Lois and Jordan were camped out on the half-way line, Rachel was a bit
upset that her mother missed her first goal, so she scored another in front of
her in style, tapping the ball up and volleying it into the goal from close
range, a very classy goal!
As
hard as she tried, Vicky couldn’t get on the score sheet, but not through lack
of trying. It was Rachel again who made it four-nil, completing her hat-trick,
hitting the roof of the net from her favoured left side again.
Charlie and Katy watch out, you have competition !
Sunday 24th
September
Garden Village 1 Penyrheol
1
(Emily)
Garden Village 0 Pontardawe
4
Garden Village 1
Llangyfelach 1
(Emily)
Squad: Charlie, Alex, Brittany, Lauren, Emily, Lois, Kayleigh, Jess
 
Back
to Pentrehafod this week on a sunny Sunday morning. It was all change today due
to a depleted squad as the fun run was on.
Tony went for a different partnership up front, of Charlie and Alex, with
Brittany and Emily in midfield,
Lois and Kayleigh bringing up the rear, and Jess of course guarding the goal.
Penyrheol up first and the girls were anxious to beat them as they had only
managed two draws this season. The girls started strong and Emily had a shot in
the first few minutes saved, closely followed by a Brittany header. Unlike the
other games so far, Jess was kept busy and pulled off a crucial save to keep the
score level when Lois went in for a tackle and the ball deflected into the path
of one of their strikers. At half time it was still nil-nil with Village looking
the better team.
A
quality cross pitch pass from Alex set Brittany up beautifully, but the pass was
too fast for her to connect. The formation changed and Brittney played as the
lone striker up front with Charlie dropping back, picking the ball up and
running at the defence, but it was Emily with her third goal scoring opportunity
that got the first goal, calmly putting her foot on the ball, picking her spot
and slotting it into the back of the net.
Charlie tried to get in on the action with a good shot that was parried to
safety by the keeper. Then, in a mix up between Jess and Kayleigh, Penyrheol
stole a very soft goal to make it level. The game finished 1-1, with Village
being the better team.
Next
up Pontardawe, the first time we had played them this season. Tony delivered a
big pep talk to the girls before the game, as some of them had probably stayed
up too late watching X-Factor! The first five minutes were pretty good, a
cracking save by Jess from a powerful shot, some good defending by Lois and
Kayleigh, with Alex trying to link the midfield to the strikers. Then it all
went wrong, as the girls seemed to be beaten to every ball and our strikers
weren’t even getting a touch. The first goal was a close range shot, giving
Jess no chance; this was closely followed by goals two, three and four. Village
just couldn’t get in the game and were well beaten in the end by a team that
were less skillful but very energetic and applied pressure in numbers whenever
we got the ball. A game to forget.
Maybe
next week the parents should pack Mars bars and Red Bull to give the girls a
bit more energy!
 
The
last match was Llangyfelach, and a chance to redeem themselves from the previous
match. Pity anyone who didn’t give 100%.
The
girls started well and chased down every ball, there was a scare early on with a
scrummage of girls at the goalmouth, but with some spirited defending, Lois
managed to kick it clear. When the Llangyfelach goal came from a breakaway run
the girls picked themselves up and continued to chase the game, and it was the
Crouch/Rooney partnership of Emily and Charlie that got Village back in the
game, with a ball going across Brittany, straight to Emily who whacked it in.
Two goals in three matches for Emily, well done! Alex was finding it
increasingly hard to get the ball out of midfield, but was helped by good runs
and interlinking play from Kayleigh, with Lauren helping out in defence. As the
game went on, Village were forced into counter attacking as the ball was rarely
out of their half with Charlie and Emily barely getting a kick. One girl got a
bit confused and tried to "swap" shirts with Alex, obviously thinking
the match was over, much to Alex’s and the parent’s "amusement".
Jess seemed to have the ball more than any other player, but she didn’t let
the team down and stopped every shot. The game ended in a draw, but the girls
acquitted themselves very well in a good battling performance.
(submitted
by Mark)
Sunday 17th
September
Garden Village 2 Dafen 0
(Katie, Charlie)
Garden Village 2 Cimla
0
(Alex, Brittany)
Garden Village 1 Penyrheol
1
(Alex)
Squad: Alex,
Katy, Rachel D, Charlie, Lois, Kayleigh, Jayde, Rachel K, Brittany, Jordan,
Jess.
Off
on our travels today to the lovely Cimla in Neath, and it was pouring with rain
as we left the club, with a good turnout.
The Boss had phoned ahead and found out the game was on, although the parents
thought it was too wet to play. When we got to the pitch we found out why, the
top of Cimla just so happens to be ABOVE the clouds, and any water that found
its way onto the pitch simply ran off due to the steep slope! Just for once,
everyone except one person was glad they did not have a big expensive car, as
the car park was very tight.
Onto
the football, three games, Dafen, Cimla and Penyrheol. Dafen were up first, this
would be the girls’ toughest test so far this season.
We
started with the downhill advantage, and Charlie got a shot off within the first
minute that unfortunately hit the post. Closely followed by a gravity-assisted
run by Katy that forced a good save by the Dafen keeper that was spilled, but
there were no Village players close enough to follow up. The Dafen girls were
finding it hard going, not only did they have to run up the hill, but when they
got there, they met Alex, and there was no way she was letting them even get
close to the defence of Lois, Kayleigh and Jordan. Taking the ball off them and
feeding it back to the waiting Charlie and Katy, who made it one-nil with a good
long-range shot.
As
the game went on, for some reason Charlie decided to stay at the bottom of the
hill, maybe it was tactics, maybe it was lack of air due to the altitude, but
whatever it was, it worked, as she made it two-nil with a scorching left foot
shot that gave the keeper no chance. Dafen picked themselves up and started to
attack, but our three-girl defence were up to the job and Jess wasn’t put
under any pressure. The half ended with a good strike from the left hand side of
the pitch from Rachel D that was saved.
The
Boss very fairly rotated the team for the second half, bringing Brittany and
Rachel K on. With the downhill advantage, Dafen put Kayleigh, Jordan and Jess
under more pressure, with Jayde and Alex having to track back to bolster the
defence. There were two shots from the Dafen strikers, one comfortably saved by
Jess, the other going wide. The rest of the game was all Village, with Charlie
and Katy linking up well, the highlight was a perfect pass from Charlie to Katy
who got her shot off, which was saved and came back out to Charlie, but she
couldn’t manage to finish it off.
The
game finished 2-0, a good start over a team that was very strong last season.
Next
up were the unknown hosts, Cimla. This was a very different game, with Cimla
opting not to play any striker. This meant they packed the midfield and
defence.The girls had to battle for the ball and did not have much space to
play, Alex was very busy and bossed the midfield. Lois and Jordan were busy in
defence but not bothered and easily coped, again Jess didn’t have a save to
make, but her kicking was first rate, regularly reaching over the half-way line.
Jayde and Rachel K had a battling game, getting the ball and trying to thread it
to the waiting strikers. Whenever we had the ball there were always at least
four girls in front of the goal making it very hard to get a clear shot. Alex
found a way however, striking the ball into the air, over the defence and into
the roof of the net, past the unsighted keeper. Rachel D came close again, but
the ball was deflected by the defence.
In
the second half the girls were finding it hard going, maybe The Boss needs to
carry out some altitude training! Every ball had to be fought for as there were
seven girls behind the ball at all times. Brittany was waiting at the goal for
the pass, but there were too many players in the way, and after a while, she had
to play deeper. Kayleigh was enjoying her role in midfield and made several runs
towards the goals, making two chances for herself. After another Kayleigh
assault on goal, the ball was loose, enabling Brittany to calmly slot the ball
in the back of the net from about two foot out.
The
score wasn’t a true reflection of the game, as although Cimla fought bravely,
they were out played in every position by a bigger, stronger, faster Village
team. A comprehensive victory. Well-done girls.
(submitted by Mark)
.
Sunday 10th
September
Garden Village 0 Penyrheol
0
Garden Village 5 Landore
1
(Charlie x2, Brittany, Rachel D, Katie)
Garden Village 8 Trimsaran
0
(Rachel D, Brittany, Katie x4, Charlie x2)
Squad:
Emily C, Charlie, Jess, Katie, Rachel D, Brittany, Lois, Alex, Kayleigh, Rachel
K
After
an extended summer break, the girls were all eager to get up early and work up a
sweat on a hot sunny Sunday morning…. NOT!
A new season and a new team, regulars Alex (Capt.), Jess, Katy, Charlie,
Kayleigh, Rachel D, Jayde and Rachel K were joined by Lois and Emily, moving up
from the under 10 league, and newcomer Brittney. After a long search to replace Tony as coach, the club treasurer interviewed the potential
candidates, until only one remained. A big welcome to Louise, who from now on
will be referred to as The Boss!
This was to be the first outing for the Garden Village under 12 team.
But before the football could start, there was the important matter of the best
suntan competition to settle, it was a close and hard fought contest, but after
careful deliberation, it ended in a draw, with the judges unable to split
Rachels’ and Jaydes’ mothers. Well done!
Onto the football, first up were Penyrheol Panthers, a big physical team with
some fast players. I missed the first half due to my phone ringing constantly,
so I asked “The Boss” to make notes for me. She wrote, “goalie saved Katys’
shot, team had lots of chances”. Okay…. I’m sure the girls all played very
well. Anyway onto the second half, “The Boss” brought Lois, Brittany, Emily
and Jayde on to rotate the squad. Alex and Katy linked up well to provide a good
shooting opportunity, on one occasion Katy hit the ball so hard the keeper
couldn’t hold onto it, and Emily almost got to it before the defender, but not
quite. Penyrheol pushed on as the match progressed and Alex had to drop deeper
to get the ball to feed up to Brittany and Katy who had an excellent solo run
saved by the keeper. The defence was a bit rusty at times with the speed of the
striker taking her past Lois and Jayde twice, the first time Jess was able to
make an excellent save, but the post saved the day on the second shot.
The game finished 0-0, with the majority of chances going to Garden Village. A
clean sheet and some good play. The season was underway!
There was a break before the next match, and I was surprised to see the girls
all sitting in a circle around “The Boss”, I first thought they were just
having a girlie time-out, making daisy chains and talking about boys, but no,
this was the team talk by “The Boss”.
The next match was a much-changed Landore team. It took about two minutes for
Charlie (who else!) to score the first Garden Village goal of the season,
picking up the ball from within her own half, beating two players, and letting
fly with a shot that hit the post and went in. It was all Village and Brittney
and Emily were unlucky not to score in a goalmouth scramble. We didn’t have to
wait long for the second goal, Brittney getting her first Village goal by being
in the perfect position on the line to tap it in. After another run by Charlie,
beating the defenders, she was one-on-one with the keeper, slotting it in from
range, leaving the keeper standing.
Then after a break from midfield, the ball was passed between Jayde and Kayleigh
in defence and struck home by the Landore number 4, giving Jess no chance.
The Landore fight back didn’t last long as Rachel D made it 4-1 with an
absolutely stunning Beckhamesque goal from well outside the box, curling into
the side of the net.
The second half saw more squad rotation to make sure everyone had a fair game.
Charlie had several shots, the best one bouncing off the keeper, right to Katy,
who calmly slotted it home making the final score 5-1.
Landore were no match for the strength and skill of the Village team, who
outplayed them in every position, well done girls.
The last game was against Trimsaran, a team I have not seen before, and were at
a definite size disadvantage from the start.
The girls were given space and time on the ball and played some really
attractive football. Kayleigh was able to make runs into their half freely and
join the play with the strikers. After several one-twos with Alex, Rachel D
opened the scoring by almost walking the ball into net past the stationary
defenders. This was followed up by another excellent long range shot from Rachel
D, that was well saved by the keeper.
The second goal was another good opportunist effort from Brittany, a few yards
out, kicking the ball between the defender and keeper. Eager to add another, she
took a long-range shot, which was well saved.
Katys’ turn next with an excellent curling shot from range that beat the
keeper, hit the post and went in. A few minutes later, Katy added another with a
close range shot that hit the keeper but trickled underneath her into the net.
Alex seemed to be getting a bit bored with the lack of competition, and started
her own game called “hit the spectators”. After some near misses she finally
hit the jackpot, striking one parent in the face and another in the chest with
the ricochet!
The second half was the same as the first, with the girls taking their time and
passing the ball around very confidently. Katy was first to score again, with a
scorching shot into the roof of the net. After being pushed over twice by the
same defender, Charlie caught her in possession and calmly slotted home the
next. Even Lois fancied her chances and had two shots on goal! The team could
have had more goals, but settled for a close range tap in from Charlie and
another shot that was too hot to handle from Katy. The game finished 8-0.
All in all, a very good start to the season, thirteen goals in three matches,
and only one goal against. The three new players fitted in very well to the
existing team and the future looks bright.
(Submitted by Mark.)
| Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Goals For |
Goals
Against |
| 48 |
23 |
13 |
12 |
92 |
35 |
Garden Village Juniors Under 12s are playing their
fourth season as a team. The core of this team have been playing
together for quite a while, and they have been bolstered by the addition of the
older veterans of last years Colts
Under 11 team. They play 7-a-side mini-football.
With over 40 players from all three age
groups at training, and registered on 5th September it is looking good for the
new season. Welcome to all the new girls, and welcome back to all the regulars.
Good luck for the new season !
All players need to have completed their registration forms.
If you have not yet registered, contact Louise.
Subs of
£10/month are payable at the first training session of the month from
September to April
|
