U10 Girls - Spartans (away)

⚽ MATCH REPORT – SPARTANS AWAY ⚽

A bit of chaos before we even got started this morning! A changed code meant we couldn’t get access to the Astro, so it was back to Wardie Park for the girls.

The weather certainly wasn’t on our side either, with some absolutely huge downpours making conditions difficult throughout. 🌧️🌧️

👥 TODAY’S SQUAD Mollie, Ella, Lily-Mae, Eden, Ava, Remy, Mhairi, Sophie & Fearne

We played 3 x 20-minute thirds, although the final third was shortened to around 15 minutes due to the worsening weather.

⚽ FIRST THIRD

The opening third was competitive and the girls stuck to their task well. We were a little sloppy on the ball at times and some basic mistakes cost us a few goals, but the effort levels were good.

The girls worked their socks off, competed and showed plenty of the football we know they are capable of.

The second and third periods became much more difficult, and this is where there are definitely lessons for us to take away.

Our effort and concentration levels dropped, our positioning became less disciplined and we stopped doing some of the things we work on every week in training. At times we were too eager to chase the ball in groups rather than holding our positions and picking up players.

Against a very good Spartans side, those things get punished.

It meant Mollie in goal came under a huge amount of pressure and was far too exposed. There is only so much a goalkeeper can do when opposition players are being given time and space in front of goal.

There were still some really positive moments from us, particularly when we moved the ball quickly and played some excellent one-touch football. We showed in spells that we can play good football, even against a very strong opposition.

There’s no hiding from the fact that today wasn’t our best performance, but that’s football. We are always quick to praise the girls when they play well, and today gives us an opportunity to be honest about the areas we need to improve.

And there are plenty of positives to take forward. 💙💛

Spartans deserve huge credit. They were a joy to watch at times and played some excellent football. They are comfortably the strongest team we have come up against and gave the girls a fantastic lesson in the importance of movement, positioning, passing and work rate.

Games like today can be hugely valuable for us if we learn from them.

A massive positive was Sophie playing her first Sunday game with us. 👏 She got right involved, worked hard and never gave up, which is exactly what we want to see. Hopefully we can get Sophie along every week now and watch her confidence and understanding of the game continue to grow.

A special mention and huge thank you to MKM Galashiels for their sponsorship of the girls’ magnificent new away kits. The girls looked fantastic in them today, and we really appreciate the support you give to our team. 💙💛

Plenty for us to work on, but nobody gets everything right every week. What matters is how we respond, and we’ll use today as a learning experience and come back ready to work.

Onwards to the 2018s on Thursday night and Boroughmuir next Sunday. 💪⚽

Could be a tough week at training ahead… 😂

🏆 PLAYER OF THE MATCH – SOPHIE 🏆

A tough one to pick today, but Sophie gets the nod after getting stuck straight in and never giving up on her first game with us.

Well done Sophie! 👏⚽