Aylesbury united U12 Whites vs whetstone wanderers

Aylesbury United U12s Girls White
Cup Game Home (Re-match) against Wildcats Girls Under 12s 25.11.23

First Half Second Half
Goal: Evie (Milana assist)

After our girls’ courageous win last week was voided by Herts FA, due to an incorrect decision to play extra time instead of penalties, the controversial re-match between our successful and determined Aylesbury United Whites and the strong and organised Wildcats, was poised to be a tough challenge for both teams. The Whites, to prove themselves as deserved winners against a team in the above league, and the Wild Cats to have a fair attempt to win.

As predicted by our coaches, the match centred around mid-field for much of the play with the training to pass out to the wing still developing. Despite this, the Whites could only be highly praised for their collective determination, from tackling, defending, saving to clearing, resulting in an overall dominance.

The pace of the game was undeniably quick from the onset with both Mia and Evie demonstrating their determination to win and pass the ball. Mia continually proved how good she is at predicting and reading the game,with her countless interceptions to keep the ball in the White’s half. Evie maintained her pace on the wing and looked set to outrun and tackle at every opportunity.

All players knew they had a role to play. As the Wildcats pressed, Millie was able to clear the ball easily, while Ellie looked set to score with a long shot at goal. Likewise, Olivia made numerous attempts after running around her markers. Holly worked hard to defend and made brave decisions to keep the ball in play, by running and turning with the ball in the opposition's defence, to pass to her teammates. The communication between Mia and Imogen could only be described as excellent as they battled to win the ball and move it further towards our end of the pitch.

Milana joined in the battle. After making a decisive tackle, she looked up to find Evie free to make the pass. Milana continued to help in our bid to dominate, by then making a long pass to Ellie who had another attempt at the target. At this point, the Wildcats started to find each other and began to increase their pressure a little, forcing Holly, Millie, Imogen and Mia to step up even more to block. A corner given to the Wildcats was expertly saved by Priya who had a quieter game this week. Back to our end minutes later, the ball nearly went in by Ellie and Imogen, though the forcefield seemed to prevent us from scoring. Both teams strove for the goal before the end of the first half, with Priya making another excellent save. Priya’s throw was immediate and found Imogen who performed a clever touch to Evie, with the two Whites passing in a bid to press. Unfortunately, no goal came before the half-time whistle.

Grace, Rhea and Isla played their part in the contest to keep up the strong midfield and defence. A free kick to the Whites was given, after a foul throw by the opposition, kept the tension in the second half as a goal was desperately fought for. Olivia took two corners in quick succession, the first to be cleared quickly, while the second found Milana, who passed to Rhea and finally, Evie who also made an attempt to score. The Wildcats had a brief moment in their half, though their strikes were cleared decisively by Isla and Holly. Returning then to our half, Olivia and Evie tried to hit the back of the net. A strong throw from Rhea, moved to Ellie who controlled the ball in the air to retain our dominance. Olivia, Isla and Milana increased the pressure as well before a hand-ball was given against a Wildcat defender. A super free kick by Milana, who made three attempts to get the goal over the line, had a possible goal that was disallowed by the referee. Disappointing.

The stress was contained within the supporters stand as Holly kept her cool to clear, before Olivia travelled down the wing with the ball. A cry of “ last 12 minutes!” from the coaches only spurred our girls to stay focussed. Little did we know that Priya had started to think about the impending penalty shoot out as she made another star save. The ball then went back and forth for a moment. Ellie and Olivia making more attempts to score. A goal kick by the Wildcats goalie was cleared by Holly. At this point, as the Wildcats suddenly pressed and seemed motivated to score, Priya’s nerves may have started to show as she unusually dropped the ball, though saved the day by rescuing it right back.

Fortunately, there was no Wildcats goal as we approached the end of the game. Evie maintained her battle to retrieve the ball, making a succession of passes, though unfortunately no player moved to the box. The opposition took advantage of a free kick, to steer the goal to their end, though the attempt went over the goal. With 5 minutes to go, Milana made a lovely pass to Olivia. The ball was cleared to give Mia a throw. The referee gave Mia a second go, as he did the other team, to keep it fair. This time the perfect throw to Milana, whose cross went wide, was retrieved by Evie, who saw her opportunity to score successfully from the edge of the penalty; top bins, job done!. 1:0 to Aylesbury United Whites, 4 minutes from the final whistle.

Milana was heralded as the player of the match for her strong performance in midfield, with a mention made about her fantastic shot that we felt sure crossed the line but was not given. Well done Milana!