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Today marked the day of BLUs U10s first match of 2022 (albeit a friendly) and the girls started us it with an absolute banger. I won’t waffle on in the introduction because there is a lot to cover in this match report!

Having lost Abbie (our legendary goalkeeper) to covid, as well as Zoe and Susie to prior engagements, the girls started the match unsure about what they were about to face. Eleanor was the first to take on the role of goalkeeper, with the added promise to her dad that she would get her brand new goalie gloves as muddy as possible. With a rocky start to the match (we will blame it on the christmas break) we soon got into the flow of things. Our midfielders (Evie, Isla and Bonnie) kept good possession of the ball, dribbling round Bath’s players and finding good spaces to receive passes. This soon lead to our first goal of the match, also marking Bonnie’s first ever goal! Alice dribbled the ball up and passed it onto Bonnie, who took it all the way into the box and placed it in the back of the net. We carried on strong after our goal, with our amazing defenders (Leah and Rosie, as well as Niamh who came on shortly after) clearing the ball far from our goal, avoiding any unnecessary pressure from their attackers. A quick goalie change saw Evie go in goal for Eleanor and brought Eleanor on in defence. Not long after, we scored our next goal. A beautiful pass from Poppy slotted it straight through to Sophie who fired it past the goalkeeper. But this assist by Poppy was just the warm up, she went on to score not one, not two, but three goals within the next 5 minutes!!!! (That must be a hat trick record). The first came from a lovely pass by Isla, where Poppy turned and slotted it in the back of the net. The second came from a corner (again assisted by Isla), where Poppy was stood at the front post and elegantly tapped it in. And the third (you guessed it, another Isla assist!) was a wonderful through-ball from Isla, which Poppy took on and fired straight into the goal, with an insane amount of power! That saw us into half time.

After an exhilerating first half, the girls were all buzzing (might’ve been from the hot chocolates most of them were drinking too) and ready to start the second half. Poppy was next to take on goalkeeper, making sure that the ball didn’t touch the back of the net. Our defenders (Leah and Eleanor) cleared every ball that came near them, putting all their power it and not letting a single one past. Only 5 minutes into the second half saw Isla finally bag her goal of the game. A strong throw-in by Evie landed at Isla’s feet, she then took it on her left foot (!) and whacked it into the bottom corner. A substitution saw Sophie come on for Alice as stricker, and it didn’t take long for Sophie to put her name on the score sheet again. A powerful corner from Isla resulted in a scramble in the box, Sophie was well positioned on the edge of the scramble and as soon as the ball came out to her she slotted it in the back of the net. This was soon followed by another goal by Sophie! A cross from Isla landed directly at Sophie’s feet, which she took closer to the goal and popped it in. Our midfielders were looking good, confidently dribbling the ball around and winning their individual battles. One successful battle lead to Bonnie dribbling the ball up the wing, all the way from the halfway line, and into the box, where she finished the wonder-run by placing the ball in the bottom corner of the goal! (“Viva Ronaldo” – Jamil). Our final goalkeeper substitution saw Sophie go into goal for Poppy, and Poppy come on as striker. With not long left of the match, we wanted to make the last few minutes count. Other substitutions saw Rosie and Eleanor take on a midfielder position for the first time, and Evie drop back into defence with Niamh. Rosie made a beautiful run up the pitch, dribbling past all of their players and taking it into the box, where she shot and hit the post!! But soon after this Poppy banged another one in the net, with an impressive power-shot from outside the box (I wouldn’t have wanted to be the goalkeeper!). Poppy wasn’t quite finished yet. A lovely centre pass from Poppy to Isla saw Isla boot the ball up the pitch, which Poppy ran onto and fired into the back of the net! The final whistle was blown and handshakes were shared with the very strong Bath City Development team.

All of the girls had an absolutely amazing match, choosing the star players was so hard. A special mention to all of the girls who bagged themselves lots of goals (especially Poppy!), and stepped out of their comfort zone by trying new positions. However, it’s not all about the scoring but also stopping them from scoring, and this is why Leah was our first Star Player – for her powerful clearances and tackles in defence, applying all the skills she’s learnt from training into the match. Our second Star Player was Bonnie, for scoring her first ever goal (plus a second) and showing some amazing strength through dribbling and tackling.

Written by Ellie Haines (U10s coach).

On Sunday the 12^th of December, BLU U11 played home at Canford Park against Downend Flyers. There was a welcome change in temperature compared with the freezing conditions last week.

BLU got off to a good start with Jess having a skilful run and forcing a great save from the Flyer’s keeper. BLU piled on the pressure, resulting in a number of goal mouth scrambles with Evie and Pippa in the thick of the action and somehow, the Flyers kept the ball out of the net. The pressure eventually payed off with Kate breaking the deadlock and her goal celebration was almost as good as the goal itself. Kate rapidly added a second goal following intricate build up play involving most of the team. She then wrapped up her hattrick following an outstanding individual effort.

The Flyers pulled a goal back following a powerful shot from their centre forward and another following a defensive mix up. Their centre forward added to her tally as the BLU defence was unlocked by a long through ball with Maeve unable to save us again.

At the end of the first half, BLU were under the cosh. It required, skilful teamwork and real effort to prevent the Flyers going in with a half time lead.

Andy’s inspiring team talk had an immediate effect on our players. BLU started the second half as brightly as the first. Another powerful run by Jess resulted in a cross that Kate just failed to connect. Kate swiftly added a 4^th goal with a good individual dribble and shot.

The Flyers were not out of it and forced good saves from Besty and a well-timed block from Lamorna when the Flyers looked certain to score.

BLU added another after a good move down our right wing and cross for Jess to tap in. Knee slider celebrations all round!

The Flyers finished the second half like the first, testing the BLU defence requiring excellent interventions from Emily, Pippa and Katherine. Despite our efforts we couldn’t close the game down and conceded two further goals in the dying minutes, meaning that the match ended in a thrilling draw.   

Match report written by Katherine from BLU U11

On Sunday 5 December, the BLU U11 squad travelled to Longwell Green. Under a grey sky, on a freezing day, both coaches and players had to keep moving to stay warm.

As the match kicked off, our forwards, Jess and Evie, pressed vigorously, creating a few early chances. Soon, Evie had put us in front with our first goal. At the other end of the pitch, Kate and Katherine in defence were putting in some stunning tackles against a physical opposition. We were playing confidently and passing accurately – our training the Wednesday before had really paid off.

The opposition’s defence was hard to dribble past, but soon, we’d hit the back of the net twice more, thanks to Jess and Evie. In the dying moments of the first half, Lamorna took our corner and crossed the ball expertly to Jess, who fired it at the keeper. She made a fantastic save, but the rebound fell straight to Betsy, who smashed it in on the half-volley. Lamorna quickly added another just before the half time whistle to make it a perfect first half.

After an inspiring half-time team talk, we were keen to get back into it. Longwell Green came back fighting, though, and had several excellent chances. Luckily, with some super saves from Betsy, we kept them out. Iris created some superb chances in the heart of midfield, while defenders Evie and Maeve did their bit with goal-stopping tackles. Then Jess scored another, but things were looking bad for us when the opposition won a corner. They crossed the ball to the edge of the penalty area, where Katherine deftly blocked the shot. The rebound fell to Longwell Green, but Kate clawed the ball off the line and swiftly scooped it up. We passed the ball up the pitch to Jess, who slotted it home for our final goal, and her hat-trick!

Altogether, we felt like this was our best match of the season so far – thank you, coaches, and also Longwell Green for being amazing opponents!

Match report written by Kate from the BLU U11 team

After experiencing the baltic weather conditions last week, the girls turned up to today’s match (Sunday 28/11/21) well prepared with base layers, coats, hats, gloves and snoods (other than cold-resistant Isla of course!). This week we faced Emersons Green for the first time. We started the match straight away, putting up a good battle against a strong side. Our defenders Rosie and Susie were clearing the ball away from the goal, passing it onto our midfielders (Zoe, Isla and Evie) who were dribbling confidently up the pitch. Our starting striker was Alice, who was positioning herself well to tap the ball in. However nothing was coming of our brilliant attacks. Substitutions saw Leah come on in defence with Poppy and Sophie coming on in attack to replace tired legs. Our chances were coming fast and often, but nothing was quite enough to get into the back of the net. Niamh and Eleanor came on to replace our defenders, keeping up our strong back line and not letting their attackers have a shot against Abbie. But when they did get through we were in safe hands. Abbie was throwing herself around the place, getting her fingertips on the ball to place it round the post, protecting the goal. Half-time whistle was blown and we entered even stevens, having played the best football I have ever seen the girls play.

We started the second half raring to go and keep warm. Our striker Poppy was on her toes and positioning herself well for through balls. Our wingers Evie and Zoe were dribbling the ball up the line confidently, crossing it into Isla and Poppy. Our defenders Eleanor and Susie were marking their attackers on the halfway line and getting to the ball before they even had a chance to turn towards the goal. Unfortunately the other team managed to slip through a few times, but the girls didn’t let this stop them. A substitution saw Sophie come on as a winger and Niamh come on in defence. Soon came our time of glory, Zoe dribbled the ball beautifully up the wing, cutting into the box and then passing the ball to Isla who slotted it into the back of the net. The crowd went crazy – all of the best supporters (parents and grandparents) jumping up and down in joy. Even though the girls had stayed positive, this motivated them even more. Niamh was well composed in defence, stopping their players from getting past and passing it confidently to Isla and Sophie in midfield. Alice and Eleanor soon came on in defence, demonstrated man-marking and powerful clearances. Like in the first half we had shot after shot, but none of them were seeming to go in again. We had close calls, like Isla hitting the post, missing by centimetres. We soon heard the full time whistle.

The girls are improving massively every week, going up against teams who have been playing matches for the past couple of seasons already. This week the Star Players went to Abbie for her insane saves (we know she does it every week – we are going to have to get her her own trophy soon!) and Niamh for her amazing defending and strength like we have been practising in training.

Written by Ellie Haines (U10s coach).

On Sunday the 21st November the U11 girls played against Nailsea at Canford Park in a very close game with some fantastic goals from Kate, Mairead (it was her first goal for the team) and Iris as well as very good goals from Nailsea. There were  lots of great tackles and clearances from Pippa, Emilie supported by Alice and Iris in defence which means that in the second half we were better at marking therefore it was easier for us to attack. There was some great goalkeeping from Maeve as well as some great midfielding from Lily and Astrid and attacking from Lamorna who created loads of space and lovely passing.  We passed the ball well due to our good communication and our good positioning on the pitch. We had so many attempts at scoring goals but Nailsea had a very good and experienced goalie who saved a lot of our shots. Overall it was a fantastic game which we were unlucky to narrowly lose. We never gave up and always pushed ourselves to catch up on the score. A huge thank you to all the cheering from the subs (who did well to keep warm as it was very cold), spectators and our amazing coaches for encouraging us.

Match report written by Emilie from the U11 team

My first every match report, it will be better than Ellie’s. Bright and early, 10:30 kick-off in Chipping Sodbury. Another away day at St Nicks. It was baltic outside, but the girls were up for it. First half started; we were pinning St Nicks in their own half. This was due to Poppy playing in centre of the park but in a more defensive role to usual, trying be mine and Tom’s Roy Keane. With Isla, Zoe and Evie striking shots at the St Nicks goal. 15 minutes into the first half, Abbie made a triple save and found her inner David De Gea. Abbie also had amazing distribution of the ball out from the back and made amazing saves. Sophie showed some amazing strength as she started in defence. Very vocal from both our captain (Isla) and our vice-captain (Sophie). Halfway through the first half Isla strikes again, this girl cannot stop scoring. A true stat-padder like Bruno Fernandes. Great pass from Zoe to slot in Isla for a one-on-one, Isla with ice in her veins slots it into the St Nicks goal. Up the other end Eleanor was showing some class defending and winning all her tackles and more importantly passing it out with composure to find the attackers. Furthermore, after Susie got blasted by the cold Mitre football (which left a significant red patch on her leg) she was still getting stuck in and winning her tackles and trying hard for the team. Niamh and Alice were put on with specific tasks to man-mark a couple of the St Nicks attackers and they did a fabulous job of it, stopping all the attacks they could. 

Half-time and the girls were freezing, it was not good conditions. But the girls were still up for it and wanted to get back on the pitch so they could stay warm. We were still getting shots on the St Nicks goal with Isla, Evie and Zoe breaking on the counter like prime Salah, Mane and Firmino. But the ball wouldn’t go into the net, Evie hit the post and the St Nicks goalkeeper made amazing saves after watching Abbie’s display. Later in the game we had Sophie playing upfront. The St Nicks goalkeeper failed to clear the ball, Sophie pounced and was sharper than all the other players and slotted it into the back of the net! Golden boot at the end of the season will be a close one with Sophie trying to catch Isla. The game ended, with the girls giving all they could give and their first game in the blistering cold. Great support from all the parents. Amazing home and away crowd, at least we never have empty seats like Man City. 

Our first star player went too Eleanor for an amazing defensive display. Our second star player went to Zoe for never stopping and for getting her assist for the first goal. 

Written by Jamil Khan (U10s coach and Manchester United supporter (if you can’t tell from the references)).

On Sunday the 10th of October BLUs U10s rocked up to South Bristol Sports Centre ready to take on Whitchurch U10s. First to take on the role of goalkeeper today was Zoe, supported by Eleanor and Isla in defence. After a bit of a rocky start to the game, we slowly began to get into the flow of it. Eleanor and Isla were confidently clearing the ball to our midfielders (Bonnie, Poppy and Evie) who were then travelling with the ball up the pitch and passing it on to our striker Sophie. Substitutions saw Alice come on upfront, as well as Leah and Niamh come on defence, immediately getting involved in the game and clearing the ball away from areas of danger. Despite our best efforts, the first half of the match did not go our way, but we will not dwell on that as the highlight of the first half was when Eleanor took on the role of goalkeeper. Nobody told us that the Peter Schmeichel of U10s girls was in our team! No matter what direction the shot came from, or the power that was behind the shot, everytime Eleanor stopped it from going in the back of the net. (Don’t worry Eleanor, we won’t stick you in goal every match!).

The second half of the match is when we finally started showing Whitchurch U10s what we were made of. With it taking Isla just 3 minutes to score our first goal of the match! A wonderful goal from outside the box that curled just inside the post in the bottom right corner, which nobody (not even their goalkeeper!) expected to go in. With a goal in our back pocket, the girls finally started to show their strength and skills through the game. Leah was our current goalkeeper with Niamh and Evie in defence, not letting a single Whitchurch player close to the goal, clearing the ball away everytime it came near the box. Our midfield of Zoe, Isla and Poppy were showing their confidence in keeping possession and passing the ball around. Leading to our second goal of the game, again by Isla. A lovely pass from Evie found Zoe in the box, who then passed it to Isla who then beautifully slotted it top right corner of the goal. A quick change saw Bonnie come on in attack and Eleanor and Sophie come on in defence. Not long after that came our next goal of the match, with Evie securing her first goal for BLUs! A beautiful pass from Zoe saw Evie receive the ball and precisely place it in the bottom corner of the goal. Our last goalkeeper change of the match put Poppy in goal till fulltime. With other substitutions bringing Alice, Leah and Niamh back onto the pitch. An amazing tackle by Bonnie lead to our final goal of the game. Isla came into possession of the ball and dribbled it past their players and into the box, powerfully hitting it into the top left corner. An absolutely beautiful goal, definitely a contender for goal of the season!

Every single player today showed resilience and strength through the game, making all of us coaches very proud. Unfortunately, we are not able to give everybody Star Player (even though they all definitely deserve it!). Our Star Players this week went to Isla (for scoring a wonderful hat trick and playing brilliantly in all positions) and Eleanor (for her amazing performance in both goal and defence, not letting a single ball get past her).

Written by Ellie Haines (U10s coach).