After 180 days of waiting to finally feel the sweet softness of AstroTurf beneath our boots, Mrs Rona finally gave us the opportunity to play some football. Having received our free Jaeger samples from Asha's housemate, we were in high spirits. For the first game back we were rushed to start play with our beloved Lucy absent, however Georgia thankfully led the team. The sun was beaming down on us, almost like it was a sign… (spoiler, sadly we lost lol.) With a tense start to the match, the other team had cheerleaders which only pushed the subs to scream louder and cheer on DEV more (but seriously can we get some pom poms aswell!) Emer started off with a great shot on goal, which unfortunately missed. But for a long time away from playing, communication and play was strong. The other team took a shot but was blocked by star goalie Dani, which wouldn’t be the last time she would make a fantastic save. Next up, a smashing goal from Emer, along with consistent great pressure from Eloise and Eliza. Eloise with a brilliant free kick up next and a strong clear from Eliza. Emer scores yet again leading to the half time score of 3-2 to the other team. A quick team talk and wise words from Georgia, we were back playing on the pitch. The ref was very fair and we had high hopes to bring the game back. Strong communication from everyone and smooth passes from Ruh and Liv throughout, with possession seeming very much 50/50. Lucy took a ball to the face (ouch!!) but it was not in vain, as Dev played as strong as ever. Dani providing consistent saves throughout the whole match, who knew she was such a natural in those black padded shorts? Zartasha and Asha not only had rhyming names but were solid players on the pitch. With another great free kick from Eloise and the match drawing to an anti-climatic finish as a girl on the other team injured herself just before the end, the final score was 4-2 to the other team. For the first game back and despite only 1 training session beforehand, we played a great game. With such nice weather, nothing was going to break our spirit so we couldn’t part ways just yet, beers in the park anyone?
Squad:
Danni Mckeown
Georgia Dimdore-Miles
Eliza Wren
Liv Walters
Asha Eborn
Eloise May
Emer O’Kane
Lisa Wellsford Van Vroenhoven
Lucy Mahony
Ruh Bukah
Zartasha Khattak
Player of the match: Danni Mckeown