Solid victory over Trojans

On Sunday, the U12 Girls travelled to Trojans for their second game of the season. After a narrow win against Bournemouth and a cancelled fixture, they were looking to keep their place at the top of the league table. The weather was kind for the fixture - the sun was out but the pitch was wet; the ball was going to move at pace. In training the players have been working on their passing game and keeping the pace of the ball high - this was a great opportunity to put it into practice. The team brief was to play passing game and work around the stronger Trojans players. Captain Poppy lost the toss but we were given the choice of ends and selected to have the sun on Goalkeeper Lauren's back for two of the three periods.

The game started at a high pace but immediately the Fareham players started to press Trojans; there were a number of good attacking runs into Trojans' 23 and D. The players, forgetting the pre game plan, were dribbling through the Trojans' midfield and defence and after 10 minutes Izzy scored the first goal. Gaining the lead reassured the players and were moved back onto plan - the passes starting to cut through the opposition. Over the next five minutes Fareham's play was outstanding, using the width of the pitch and then driving along the base line; we had two more goals from Poppy and then Chloe, both players positioning themselves brilliantly for a sharp pass off the base line.

At the start of the second period, we settled into a more relaxed pace looking for opportunities and gaps in the Trojans' lines. Not to be outdone by the midfield and forwards, the defensive team were playing exceptionally well. With Lois leading the back three, Lilya and Pheobe quickly smothered any attempt to enter the D - Lauren was not seeing a lot of the ball. Our fourth goal was courtesy of Grace's booming hit from the edge of the D - the period ending on a high.

For the third period we mixed up the game slightly, we played some of the more established players in different positions and gave the newer players opportunities in the more central and attacking positions. All of the players played exceptionally well and we saw another goal from Poppy, again after a drive along the base line with some sharp passing to finish.

Overall a resounding victory with everyone performing exceptionally well. Special mention should go to the more junior players in their first matches - Lilya, Pheobe, Freya, Bo, Zahra, Isla and Daisy - a great sign of things to come in the upcoming matches and seasons. Defender of the match was Lois, Attacker of the match was Izzy.

Lastly, thanks to Dave for umpiring and to the parents for the support