Great to be able to enjoy a winter sport in such fine conditions.
The much anticipated first all girls tournament of the year did not disappoint...
Team Glory
Gemma, Emily, Emma H, Sophie, Annika, Tara, Lili, Rachael, Neve
Round 1: vs Fensibles (0-0)
Fensibles proved, as expected to be a tough start to the tournament. Both teams failing to put points on the scoreboard. The large pitch and small goals set to challenge the girls for the remaining tournament.
Round 2: vs Waitakere Hawks (2-0)
Team Glory started well, with a solid defence, fast pace through the mid field and great attacking form. Super sub Emily came on part way through the first half and with almost the first touch of the game, lined up a strike from the left wing and found the top corner. Glory maintained the lead till the 2nd half when Gemma provided a similar strike from the right wing, beating the keeper to provide a comfortable 2-0 lead, maintained until the final whistle.
Round 3: vs Western Springs Go Girls (2-0)
With memories of Western Spring from last year we knew this would be a tough match, they looked strong and confident from the start, but Team Glory proved to fast and skillful for them. Team work, positional awareness and working the wings proved too much for the Go Girls.
Lili and Emma protected the goal throughout, while creating opportunities using their speed to open up the wings by-passing the midfield to keep pressure on their goal area. Annika and Sophie both found the net providing another 2-0 victory.
Team Glory secured top of the table position with 2 wins and a draw, while Fensibles finished 2nd managing 1 win and 2 draws.
Semi-final 1: Team Glory vs Forest Hill (1-0) Tiredness was beginning to set in, but Team Glory proved once again too much for the opposition. Again the defence was solid, with Lili, Emma, Emily and Neve preventing any shots at goal and creating a great platform to attack from. There were a number of opportunities throughout this game. Tired legs may have impacted accuracy, but Annika found the net for her 2nd of the day, which was enough to secure the win and a finals position.
Final: Team Pheonix vs Team Glory (0-0) Pheonix won on penalties
With the changes to the teams and introduction of new blood it has been difficult to access how evenly matched these two teams are. Results from the 8th grade games on Saturday have been mixed and hard to draw any conclusions.
This first match up of the year, in the final was a great climax to a fantastic day of football. It certainly did not disappoint. Everyone of the girls put all of their remaining energy into this close game, through the 2 halfs and extra time.
It was a shame to have to decide the game on penalties, but it could have continued well into the evening waiting for a golden goal.
I lost count of the number of penalty kicks taken, while the other teams waiting patiently for prize giving.
Sarah from Pheonix finally found the back of the net, from a well stuck and accurate shot to the corner, Glory could not match it and had to settle for 2nd place, while everyone probably believed first-equal would have been a better result.
One concellation for Team Glory was it was the only goal scored against them through 125 minutes of football played, thanks to their outstanding defensive efforts.
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