Burntwood Phoenix 1 v Wyrley Meerkats 1
I apologise for the delay in publishing the report! Count yourselves lucky as I didn’t manage to make it to my lads game (Dragons U9’s) due to a dirty glass causing a stomach upset 😉
Saturday saw the reverse fixture of Burntwood Phoenix v Wyrley Meerkats. After reeling from their defeat we were expecting a bit more from them this time, but the display wasn’t great! The Meerkats had 2 of their troop missing with Molly absent with her broken arm and Abi ‘Delap’ Clay away on business.
The quality of the pitch was an absolute world away from the Wyrley turf, we knew the pitch wasn’t going to be the best as it had already been used and was already cutting up. Therefore the tactics had to change to suit the conditions and the intricate passing that Meerkats promote had to be compromised for a more direct approach. Stud choice was going to be crucial and no schoolboy errors were going to be made by us!
Early on, there was nothing between the teams with both sets contesting the ball within the middle of the park. Erin ‘The General’ being the class act, absolutely owned the Midfield battle and showed great grit and tenacity to fight for the Meerkat cause. The Rock Steady Crew of Ellie ‘The Enforcer’ Parker, Millie ‘Stonewall’ Sturch and Sophie ‘The Terminator’ Marlow stood firm and quashed every attempt to breach our defence. Skye was also providing a formidable entity as she was acting as a sweeper to remove the few attempts that did manage to seep past the defence. The ground was having a major effect on the fluidity of the passing, Mya and Eloise in particular having issues adapting to the adverse conditions thus preventing the chances on goal.
I didn’t realise that we had an Opta statistician watching the game as it was reported that the Phoenix out passed the Meerkats by 80%. He must have been watching a different game as feedback from independent sources showed the Meerkats as the better team.
First half finished with both teams failing to score and both teams re-fueled ready for the second half.
Second half started with a frenetic pace being applied by the Meerkats who were actively seeking a route to goal. The play was congested within the midfield with the ball rarely entering either goal mouths. Time was ticking on and the pitch was turning into a ploughed field, even the lines had disappeared. The Meerkats made a sortie into the Phoenix area with Mya ‘The Magician’ weaving her way through the defence. She fed Chloe a through ball to which she swiveled and hit a shot that the keeper failed to deal with. The ball squirted under her the keepers body and into the net! The goals was met with raptures of noise and applause from the travelling supporters that filled the Burntwood air.
The game restarted and the Meerkats settled back into their game plan of shutting the attacks down. The back line of the Meerkats were all having a great game which was forcing the Phoenix to shoot from distance. Consequently one such effort managed to hit the target and draw them level. The Meerkats re-grouped and rallied to try and seek a winner. After a mazy run by Mya into the danger area she managed to carve an opportunity where the ball was begging to be walloped. Unselfishly she opted to play a through ball to Chloe which was intercepted and the opportunity missed.
The game finished just in time to be blasted with a hail storm from hell. This resulted in the quickest handshakes between the girls ever witnessed.
A draw was probably the fairest result with the Meerkats taking 4 points from the Phoenix in the 2 games.
For a Captains performance and leading by example this weeks Managers Player was awarded to Erin ‘The General’ Waddilove. Consistency and tenacity are the best words to describe her performances.
For a gutsy and industrious effort Ellie ‘The Enforcer’ was awarded Parents Player and went home with that meerkat thingymajig.
Many thanks to Mark Mitchell for running the line and trying his best even when the lines had disappeared – we know you’re not biased.
Well battled girls
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