Swans put on a stylish display

Thatcham arrived to a soggy Clayfield with 10 girls and to even things up and give everyone maximum playing time Leonie very sportingly volunteered to play for them ……… and as is often the case, she was one of their better players throughout the match. The coaches were extremely proud of her for this selfless act. Caversham Swans looked on their game from the very first minute and it didn’t take long for Lianna to play a superb first time through ball into Lucy’s path and she easily out sprinted the defence …….. composed herself, and then slotted the ball home. An excellent start which Caversham deserved as they had been really sharp from the first whistle. Maud and Grace in the centre of the park were again winning most of the duels and it wasn’t long before another perfect ball from Grace set Lucy free again for a carbon copy second goal …… To their credit the Thatcham girls didn’t let their heads drop and driven forward by Leonie and “number 14” (who was a decent player) they carved out a couple of half chances, but Niamh, Izzy and particularly Anna gave them absolutely no space at all and snuffed out all of the threats by being first to the ball every time. The defensive display by the whole team was excellent as reflected by the clean sheet ……… the simplest way of winning (or drawing) football matches. As the first half progressed, Ruby came more and more into the game and started to really terrorise them down the right wing with some accurate passes and one two’s with Grace in particular. She got her just reward soon after with a spectacular goal which flew into the top corner with the goalie having no chance. As if the defence didn’t have enough to worry about Lally was also closing them down and applying her trademark pressure and it paid off just before half time when she nicked the ball and out sprinted their defence to coolly make it 4 – 0. An excellent half of football and probably the best 40 minutes we have played this season. Serena was getting pretty cold …………..

The second half was much more competitive and it became a battle in midfield with Leah putting in some great tackles and passes and Abby terrorising them down the left wing. Everyone played their part to ensure that the score stayed as it was and it was a really solid team performance. Well done girls and this should give you confidence for next weeks challenge against AFT Crystals.