Match Report

U12 Girls (I) 16
Havant Tournament 5
Win

Sunday's Havant Seven-a-side tournament was the scene of another triumph for the Under-12 Girls, the only fly in the ointment being the team's first defeat of the season to the competition's eventual winners, Reading. So they had to make do with silver medals, scoring 16 goals in their six 12-minute matches, and conceding only five.

The afternoon started brightly with steady two-nil win against Havant, thanks to an early right-hand post "Ash the Bash" classic followed by the first of eight goals from top scorer on the day, Poppy Fawcett. The second game, only two minutes after the first, found the team unprepared, so Winchester took an early lead before normal service was restored with three goals from Poppy Fawcett and the first of six in the tournament from mid-field dynamo, Emily Thorpe. Then came the match against Reading, who gave our girls a lesson in passing and moving into space so ran out comfortable 2-0 winners. Perhaps shocked by this defeat the team were a little more subdued in the next match vs Trojans, conceding an early very soft goal before normal service was resumed with an equaliser from Emily Thorpe. Against a six-man SBJ side the team regained their composure with a comfortable 4-0 win before trouncing Teddington in the final game 5-0, with Nathalie Manser on the scoresheet thanks to good follow-up on the rebound.

So what were the highlights? At the back, Mary Harding, Ellen Powell and Maddie Fairburn kept things tidy, again using the quickly-taken self-pass on several occasions to break out of defence, and linking well with Ashley Davies to take the attack down the right wing. Molly Owen, Nathalie Manser and Martha Cornwell revolved in and out to good effect, each giving their all every time they were called upon - Martha in particular proved tenacious in the tackle. Emily Thorpe had the midfield sewn up, and Poppy Fawcett up front kept the scoreboard ticking over. Maggie Hudson had a steady time in goal, making a number of good saves, with only one lapse of concentration in the game against Trojans. As usual the team showed fantastic spirit, everyone giving their all when on the pitch and supporting vociferously from the sidelines when not - a great team performance which bodes well for the National Minis in March.

The results:
Played 6, won 4, drew 1, lost 1.
Havant - won - 2-0
Winchester - won - 4-2
Reading - lost - 0-2
Trojans - drew - 1-1
SJB - won - 4-0
Teddington - won - 5-0

Tournament winners: Reading
Runners-up: Haslemere
Goals for: 16 (Poppy Fawcett: 8, Emily Thorpe: 6, Ashley Davies: 1, Nathalie Manser: 1)