Found this gem on youtube earlier. Take a close look at how he strikes the ball. Great goal.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Seaside Tournament (Warriors)
What a great day for Woodbank Girls. Both our Wanderers and Warriors were on form today and certainly put Woodbank Girls on the map.
My team for the day (Warriors). All of our nine established Warriors together with Shellie (ex Warrior) and Gemma (Sale Utd Superstar). Our girls are used to 7 a side so the size of the pitch together with full size nets took us by surprise. Fi looked very worried!! She was almost lost with the size of the nets. However the fitness of our players and their skill gave us a big advantage and our players relished the extra space.
The first match was against Preston North End. They finished high in the Lancashire league this season and have been playing 9 a side all season. The first half saw them go 2 nil up quite quickly before our Warriors found their rhythm. The second half was dominated by the Warriors. A sweeping move from one end of the pitch via Sophie, through to Gemma and finally to Emily, who calmly wrong footed the goalie before scoring from a tight angle, saw us score one of the best goals of this season. Another move saw Hannah go close after a one-on-one with the goalie. This match finally finished 2 – 1 but in the second half we were the best team.
Our second match again saw us dominate the match but without getting the ball into the back of the net.
Two games to go and two wins needed.
Our third match was against Radcliffe Girls. A certain amount of pride at stake and our Warriors finally found their feet. All of the action was in the Radcliffe half of the pitch. Our pressure told with a superbly taken goal by Emily which gave us victory. The Warriors left the field to jubilant cheers from the crowd. Great team performance. Victory over Radcliffe was worth the trip to Cleveleys!!!
A win in our last league game would ensure entry into the last four (out of twelve teams) and into the semi final for the main Cup.
Bring on Paris Girls. To say we annihilated this team would be an underestimation. This was one of the best displays of football I have seen all season. Preston North End and Thornton Cleveleys were watching from the sides and they all passed comment about the quality of play. We won 3 – 0 with two more superb goals from Emily and a cracker from Hannah. It could have been more. The team left the field as if they had won the World Cup. I brimmed with pride. Two wins, one draw and a close defeat by Preston.
Our Semi Final was against St Annes YMCA. They proved to be a well organised team and quickly took advantage by sneaking a goal in the first few minutes. Our girls fought hard but could find the form which they displayed in the previous two matches. I think we peeked too early today and on another day we could easily have beaten this team. Preston North End won the final.
There were some great individual performances today but was more evident was the amazing team spirit within both our Wanderers and Warriors.
Fi, Anna, Beth, Meg, Bronya, Shellie, Emily, Hannah, Gemma, Sophie and Megan F, I was proud of you all today. The wins over Radcliffe Girls and Paris Girls were amazing.
Thanks again to Shellie and Gemma for playing today. I hope you enjoyed. I certainly did and I am sure all of the parents present did.
Well done Wanderers on winning the plate. Great Weekend for Woodbank Girls.
See you at training on Friday.
My team for the day (Warriors). All of our nine established Warriors together with Shellie (ex Warrior) and Gemma (Sale Utd Superstar). Our girls are used to 7 a side so the size of the pitch together with full size nets took us by surprise. Fi looked very worried!! She was almost lost with the size of the nets. However the fitness of our players and their skill gave us a big advantage and our players relished the extra space.
The first match was against Preston North End. They finished high in the Lancashire league this season and have been playing 9 a side all season. The first half saw them go 2 nil up quite quickly before our Warriors found their rhythm. The second half was dominated by the Warriors. A sweeping move from one end of the pitch via Sophie, through to Gemma and finally to Emily, who calmly wrong footed the goalie before scoring from a tight angle, saw us score one of the best goals of this season. Another move saw Hannah go close after a one-on-one with the goalie. This match finally finished 2 – 1 but in the second half we were the best team.
Our second match again saw us dominate the match but without getting the ball into the back of the net.
Two games to go and two wins needed.
Our third match was against Radcliffe Girls. A certain amount of pride at stake and our Warriors finally found their feet. All of the action was in the Radcliffe half of the pitch. Our pressure told with a superbly taken goal by Emily which gave us victory. The Warriors left the field to jubilant cheers from the crowd. Great team performance. Victory over Radcliffe was worth the trip to Cleveleys!!!
A win in our last league game would ensure entry into the last four (out of twelve teams) and into the semi final for the main Cup.
Bring on Paris Girls. To say we annihilated this team would be an underestimation. This was one of the best displays of football I have seen all season. Preston North End and Thornton Cleveleys were watching from the sides and they all passed comment about the quality of play. We won 3 – 0 with two more superb goals from Emily and a cracker from Hannah. It could have been more. The team left the field as if they had won the World Cup. I brimmed with pride. Two wins, one draw and a close defeat by Preston.
Our Semi Final was against St Annes YMCA. They proved to be a well organised team and quickly took advantage by sneaking a goal in the first few minutes. Our girls fought hard but could find the form which they displayed in the previous two matches. I think we peeked too early today and on another day we could easily have beaten this team. Preston North End won the final.
There were some great individual performances today but was more evident was the amazing team spirit within both our Wanderers and Warriors.
Fi, Anna, Beth, Meg, Bronya, Shellie, Emily, Hannah, Gemma, Sophie and Megan F, I was proud of you all today. The wins over Radcliffe Girls and Paris Girls were amazing.
Thanks again to Shellie and Gemma for playing today. I hope you enjoyed. I certainly did and I am sure all of the parents present did.
Well done Wanderers on winning the plate. Great Weekend for Woodbank Girls.
See you at training on Friday.
Seaside Tournament (Wanderers)
Well, what can you say. It was a fantastic day over at Thornton Cleveleys. Our 3rd Seaside Tournament. 3 teams, our under 11's Woodbank Town, and our 2 under 12's teams Warriors and Wanderers.
My team for the day (Wanderers). A mixture of the established team and new girls. The competition 9-a-side, so new to the Wanderers who have just finished their last season at 7-a-side. Next season we will be playing 9-a-side, on a bigger pitch, so something to get used to.
We were in the opposite group to the Warriors, (no difference in ability) on different pitches. With 4 new girls in the mix, and only really seeing them play during training, this was an opportunity to see how they coped for real. And I wasn't dissapointed. We played against some good opposition, and the first 3 games saw 0-0 draws. The last game being our only defeat. This put us in 3rd place, out of reach of the main cup, but in a good position for the "Plate"
All the girls had played well, and were playing well as a team, a little strange in the begining, getting used to the bigger pitch and space that created. But by the semi-final stages something happened...
The team had played well up to this point, if we had gone home at this stage I wouldn't have been dissapointed, but they had held something back just to surprise us all.
Semi final, we went a goal down from a free kick, good goal. But 5 minutes later we replied with an equaliser, and then with a wonder goal from Ell, that was us through to the final, against Radcliffe Girls. Already beaten by our Warriors, could we do the same and send Radcliffe home empty handed for a 3rd year running.
Final. A good close game to start with, but again the Wanderers found their feet, and didn't seem to get tired. They started to pass the ball around really well, and really started to look like they were going to win, half time and 0-0. Second Half saw one of the best goals of the tournament from our very own Jenny Todd. The sideline went crazy, we could see the silver, it was ours. Just a few minutes to go, they seemed like forever, but eventually the whistle went. We did it. The plate was ours.
I have to say, I am very proud of all the girls who played, Beth, Jenny, Ell, Megan, Amy Jennings, Amy, Beth, Liv, Becks, Mya and Leah. You played fantastic and deserved to win. I hope you all had a daft smile on your face for the rest of the week, I know I did. See you all Friday at training.
Dave
My team for the day (Wanderers). A mixture of the established team and new girls. The competition 9-a-side, so new to the Wanderers who have just finished their last season at 7-a-side. Next season we will be playing 9-a-side, on a bigger pitch, so something to get used to.
We were in the opposite group to the Warriors, (no difference in ability) on different pitches. With 4 new girls in the mix, and only really seeing them play during training, this was an opportunity to see how they coped for real. And I wasn't dissapointed. We played against some good opposition, and the first 3 games saw 0-0 draws. The last game being our only defeat. This put us in 3rd place, out of reach of the main cup, but in a good position for the "Plate"
All the girls had played well, and were playing well as a team, a little strange in the begining, getting used to the bigger pitch and space that created. But by the semi-final stages something happened...
The team had played well up to this point, if we had gone home at this stage I wouldn't have been dissapointed, but they had held something back just to surprise us all.
Semi final, we went a goal down from a free kick, good goal. But 5 minutes later we replied with an equaliser, and then with a wonder goal from Ell, that was us through to the final, against Radcliffe Girls. Already beaten by our Warriors, could we do the same and send Radcliffe home empty handed for a 3rd year running.
Final. A good close game to start with, but again the Wanderers found their feet, and didn't seem to get tired. They started to pass the ball around really well, and really started to look like they were going to win, half time and 0-0. Second Half saw one of the best goals of the tournament from our very own Jenny Todd. The sideline went crazy, we could see the silver, it was ours. Just a few minutes to go, they seemed like forever, but eventually the whistle went. We did it. The plate was ours.
I have to say, I am very proud of all the girls who played, Beth, Jenny, Ell, Megan, Amy Jennings, Amy, Beth, Liv, Becks, Mya and Leah. You played fantastic and deserved to win. I hope you all had a daft smile on your face for the rest of the week, I know I did. See you all Friday at training.
Dave
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Wanderers v Flixton
A sun drenched Nuttall Park was the venue. The last game of the season and the stage was set. Flixton were our opponents and a win would mean we jointly won the league.
In the absence of Beth (PGL), Izzy took the Captains armband in her last game of the season before her retirement!!
Flixton are a well organized and skilful team and previous encounters with them have always been close. Todays match was a cracker.
Frankie stood in as goalie and gave a stunning performance. Great goal kicks, brilliant saves and an inspired presence of mind when under pressure. She doesn’t like being in net but her 100% ‘for the team’ attitude didn’t show this.
Ele made run after run up the left wing and was unlucky not to score with a shot from a tight angle.
Izzy fought and battled for every ball with the kind of passion we have grown to love and expect from her.
You could feel the tension as the game stayed at stalemate. Eventually we got our reward. Megan fought to get the ball through to Izzy who ran and crossed for Super Jen to blast the ball home from close range. 1 – 0. The crowd went barmy.
Frankie’s mum started singing ‘Its all gone quiet over there’ to the Flixton fans. Well, I think she did…..
At half time our girls didn’t need any motivating. They were buzzing.
The second half began with great pressure from Flixton.
Amy and Beck’s was amazing, making tackle after tackle, defending like true professionals. This was one of Amy’s best games and she just gets better and better.
Beck’s displayed tenacious courage and battled for every ball.
Twice we counter attacked with Super Jen and Izzy both coming close. Jen gave every last ounce of energy probing the Flixton defence with skill and speed.
The game swung from one half to the other. Great game for the neutral. Nightmare for Dave and I and our parents. Izzys dad made sure everyone in Bury knew about our game!
Leah and Megan both rose to the occasion with superb performances. Leah showed fantastic skill to turn three opponents and send a pin point pass thought to Jen for yet another attack.
Megan battled, fought, ran and tackled.
Ten minutes to go. Just as we could almost taste victory…..The cruel blow Flixton floated a sublime corner into the box which was met by a brilliant header.
1 – 1. It was really a wonderful goal.
Our girls had ten minutes to find a winner and boy did they try. Izzy exploded. Super Jen ran herself to exhaustion. Ele skimmed the top of the Flixton goal. We tried to bribe the ref for extra time but Scott is far too professional. The whistle went.
A 1 – 1 draw was a fair result in what was one of the best games I have seen all season but for me today there was only one winner – our Wanderers..
They gave everything we could have asked for. Jen got the opposition player award for yet another top draw performance. I gave ours to Becks who epitomized the team spirit and attitude displayed by every player.
Dave and I have been proud to look after you this season. I hope you have all enjoyed it as much as we have. Be proud of yourselves. We are proud of you.
Izzy has been with us for three seasons now and will be very much missed. I hope you have good memories. Seaside Tournament 2005. Parents Player of the Season 2006. Most Improved Player of the Season 2005.
Well done girls. Seaside Tournament 12th May. Bring it on!!!
In the absence of Beth (PGL), Izzy took the Captains armband in her last game of the season before her retirement!!
Flixton are a well organized and skilful team and previous encounters with them have always been close. Todays match was a cracker.
Frankie stood in as goalie and gave a stunning performance. Great goal kicks, brilliant saves and an inspired presence of mind when under pressure. She doesn’t like being in net but her 100% ‘for the team’ attitude didn’t show this.
Ele made run after run up the left wing and was unlucky not to score with a shot from a tight angle.
Izzy fought and battled for every ball with the kind of passion we have grown to love and expect from her.
You could feel the tension as the game stayed at stalemate. Eventually we got our reward. Megan fought to get the ball through to Izzy who ran and crossed for Super Jen to blast the ball home from close range. 1 – 0. The crowd went barmy.
Frankie’s mum started singing ‘Its all gone quiet over there’ to the Flixton fans. Well, I think she did…..
At half time our girls didn’t need any motivating. They were buzzing.
The second half began with great pressure from Flixton.
Amy and Beck’s was amazing, making tackle after tackle, defending like true professionals. This was one of Amy’s best games and she just gets better and better.
Beck’s displayed tenacious courage and battled for every ball.
Twice we counter attacked with Super Jen and Izzy both coming close. Jen gave every last ounce of energy probing the Flixton defence with skill and speed.
The game swung from one half to the other. Great game for the neutral. Nightmare for Dave and I and our parents. Izzys dad made sure everyone in Bury knew about our game!
Leah and Megan both rose to the occasion with superb performances. Leah showed fantastic skill to turn three opponents and send a pin point pass thought to Jen for yet another attack.
Megan battled, fought, ran and tackled.
Ten minutes to go. Just as we could almost taste victory…..The cruel blow Flixton floated a sublime corner into the box which was met by a brilliant header.
1 – 1. It was really a wonderful goal.
Our girls had ten minutes to find a winner and boy did they try. Izzy exploded. Super Jen ran herself to exhaustion. Ele skimmed the top of the Flixton goal. We tried to bribe the ref for extra time but Scott is far too professional. The whistle went.
A 1 – 1 draw was a fair result in what was one of the best games I have seen all season but for me today there was only one winner – our Wanderers..
They gave everything we could have asked for. Jen got the opposition player award for yet another top draw performance. I gave ours to Becks who epitomized the team spirit and attitude displayed by every player.
Dave and I have been proud to look after you this season. I hope you have all enjoyed it as much as we have. Be proud of yourselves. We are proud of you.
Izzy has been with us for three seasons now and will be very much missed. I hope you have good memories. Seaside Tournament 2005. Parents Player of the Season 2006. Most Improved Player of the Season 2005.
Well done girls. Seaside Tournament 12th May. Bring it on!!!
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