Nov 19th Crosspool Home

Girl of the match was Katie Smith in goal who had a sensational game even though the girls lost 6-1 it could have been worse. I am not doing a top 5 because I feel the girls aren't playing the way they can at the moment. At the start of the season there were signs of playing football, that we all thought would just get better, then the defeats came when they were by far the better team, and this has had a knock on affect, that now the ball is kicked and thats it, Saturday saw a great goal from Ellie which I thought was going to be a fightback, to make it 3-1 just before half time. The girls did have a 5 minute spell when it looked like they may get a goal to make it 2-1, but sadly they were hit on the break to make it 3-0 before ellie scored. What a shame it wasn't 2-1, anyway the second half was all about getting stuck in and a few chances were created by Megan and Abby, and even Ellie again but once again Falcons conceded, and then it was all about keeping them out. katie did several great saves and was very brave on several occasions. Crosspool were good, they were organised and they found the right passes at the right time, unlike a couple of the other top teams I found these a better team, whilst the others have better individuals.

Nov 3rd Birks Holt Away

Top 5

1. Katie Oliver
2. Abby Reeves

This was truthfully all I could say for this game, the fight and the football was missing, against a team that we could have and should have beaten. The girls have gone off the boil, in fact the game could have been there to win. The game saw the most honest bit of play, when the Birks Holt player told the Ref she had kicked the ball out and he had got it wrong. It was a priceless moment that I will probably never see. I won't go on too much about this game as its been and gone.

Oct 13th Eckington Belles Away

Top 5

1. Katie Smith
   
2. Izzie A
3. Beth Walker
4. Katie Oliver
5. Aimee Thompson

This was a game with a difference, there seems to be 2 teams in particular in this division which should be in a higher division, there maybe more, but Barnsley Girls and Eckington Belles are both really good teams. So can we fight for third place, we should be able to, just before this game, we should have won 2 games, which would have put us 3rd and 4 points clear of 4th. Instead the team is languishing near the bottom. The thing is for the rest of us we need to take points as it is about winning these other games. Falcons have come so close but can't finish teams off. So the Eckington game was good, in fact it was very good ok, Eckington won there is no surprise there, they won well and they deserved it with some great football. They played like I dream we can play and how I try and teach us to play. They were confident and used 1 touches and overlaps, but what am I so pleased with? Lets start with Katie in goal, she was pulling off saves, she was brave and she protected her goal the best she could and truthfully she reached a level that when we play other teams araound us, they will need something special to beat her. Because of this game Katie will now win the team a lot more points, then I look at Katie Oliver who has been outstanding the last couple of weeks, and today she was against quality and she was learning, making tackles she would normally miss. Then lets talk Izzie A and Beth Walker, they learnt more in this game than they have done this season and last year. They were great and they got better and better, as long as they play this level in other games they stand a very good chance of keeping clean sheets, they prevented a lot of shots and ran themselves into the ground.  The bit we need to look to work on is the rest, we now have a very good foundation to work on for the rest of the season. The game finished 12-0 and although it sounds terrible it wasn't, the gilrs learnt lots and will now take this forward. The midfield and the attack need working on, and the passing needs improving a lot, when they have the ball to give and go, to track back as well as get forward. Training should be fun on Wednesday as the girls start the road to victory and winning some games.  

Oct 6th Home Bramley Sunnyside

Top 5

1. Beth Walker
2. Katie Oliver
3. Abby Reeves
4. Megan Vigrass
5. Izzie A
   
   

2-0 up and then 3-1 up and sadly lost 4-3. It doesn't make great reading but the girls had an amazing first half, they passed they moved they talked, by talking I mean talked football and not general chit chat. It was great I couldn't fault them, however I had deja Vu the day after when my lads couldn't score and here we had the same thing not enough goals, the chances came and the chances went, one on ones fell to the girls but no goals, we did get the break through when Katie kicked a great ball to Megan to score. Not to long afterwards Stacey set up Abby to make it 2-0 at half time.
2nd Half was the complete opposite with Bramley Sunnyside having all the play, and they soon got there reward to make it 2-1, Falcons responded brilliantly and soon made it 3-1 when Megan scored her 2nd, this was great and before the big turnaround Falcons had a couple more chances but sadly these didn't go in either. Bramley took the game to Falcons and scored a second and a third including an outstanding free kick, then in stoppage time the killer blow when the 4th was scored. The final score was 4-3 to Bramley.

Managers Thoughts: I looked at the girls after the game and this result hurt them, it hurt them a lot that just maybe, that competitive edge will raise its head and a more determined team with form and fight together.

Sept 29th Away Rotherham Town

Top 5

1. Ellie Savage
2. Abby Reeves
3. Izzie A
4. Beth Walker
5. Lauren Oliver
   
   

Interesting game this one, the team lost 5-4 and very clearly in the first half, Falcons should never have allowed Rotherham back into the game, for the entire first half there was only one team in it and that was Beighton Falcons, Chances came and went but Falcons couldn't get the ball in the net, Mehan missed clear chances, and Abby but today wasn't going to happen, eventually after some great work by Ellie, Abby got the first, and Falcons were ina  very deserved 1-0 lead. Within minutes that score was 1-1 when a great lofted shot from 30 Yards nestled in the back of the net. For all the pressure Falcons had, Rotherham broke quick and looked dangerous on the break. Abby grabbed her second before half time and that is how the first half finished 2-1 to Falcons. The 2nd half was different with Rotherham coming on the attack, it wasn't a one sided half but Rotherham edged this half, they had chances and got level through a strange goal, and then went in front to be winning 3-2. Another great move by Ellie put the ball in the middle and Megan finished to make it 3-3, this was followed by Abby's 2nd hatrick of the season and  Falcons were winning 4-3.  This was a good game and a good battle, the second half was now becoming a game in true Rotherham style "to me to you, to me" Then the weirdest goal I had seen for a while, and this was a equaliser. People talk about bogey teams and Rotherham was becoming just that, in previous friendlies Beighton had been dominant without a win, and here we are again. The final nail hadn't been put in yet, as Rotherham attacked and got another to win 5-4. This was a game that Falcons should have had 3 from, worst case a draw but a defeat means I have to now think of a way to turn possession into goals and get the three points.

Managers Thoughts: This was a  very different game, with weird goals making Falcons losers and not the winners they deserve. I also realise more where the work and education of sport needs to be more with the girls. Things I have taken for granted like what is eaten before a game, I cannot do. I also have to look at different girls in different positions because where they are now it doesn't work for some players. So some changes need to be looked at and decisions need to be made.

Sept 8th Home Vs Dodworth Miners

First game was always going to be difficult, the squad had never played together and I had only had them for a few training sessions. Dodworth turned up with only 8 girls so today was a real bench mark on things to come. So a great 5 -1 win was more than was expected although a few more would always have been nice and were achievable it was great to see the girls play with a desire to win. From the opening minutes they pressed some authority on the game but without reward. This lasted until about the 15th minute, then Dodworth started pressing which created space behind there back line, this was the first breakthrough an assist from Katie goal for Megan. The game was more level but Falcons restricted Dodworth to long range, great defending was brilliant teh girls at the back doing an amazing job, the same as the subs when they came on they all delivered what I expected. Stacey then put a ball through to Abby who hit it on the volley to make it 2-0. The pressure did mount on Dodworth and a hastily kicked away shot again landed to Abby who, buried the ball to make it 3 - 0.
Half Time 3-0

Second half was a lot more even, both sets of players starting to get used to the offside rule, I think both sets did really well, and the Dodworth keeper learnt more and more playing as a sweeper coming out and kicking the ball away. It was great to see these two teams improving before our eyes. Dodworth got there breakthrough, the offside didn't work and 3-1. This was followed by a goal line clearance from Aimee who certainly returned to form. Then Falcons gathered themselves and pressed Stacey got the ball and actually looked up and picked out Abby who went on to score her rd goal and a hatrick on the opening day. This game was turning out to be a great confidence  game, you could see it rising up, and then the referee ruled out a goal for offside, flippin refs :) , he was 100% right, she was offside so well done to him for spotting it. The fifth and final goal was scored by Ellie Savage and if ever a player deserved a goal it was here she had worked so hard all game.
Full Time 5 - 1
GOM was Abby Reeves

I normally do a top 5 players, these are the players I think performed best on the day, I look for various things from team contribution, communication on the pitch and how they play the ball.

Top 5

1. Abby Reeves
   
2. Izzie Aitchision
   
3. Bethany Walker
4. Ellie Savage
5. Lily - Ann Revil
   
   
   

Barnsley Girls lost 10 - 0

Top 5

1. Beth Walker
2. Lily - Anne Revil
3. Izzie Aitchision
4. Aimee Thompson
5. No more played good enough

Well at last Beighton Falcons had a team top of an A division, it lasted a whole week as well, and then back down to earth with a very big bump. The score line does look good for the opposition and yes it was. They passed the ball, they broke quickly and they won the ball back very quickly when they did lose the ball back. The girls lost a couple of early goals and decided not to recover, in fairness the opposition had been together 3 years unlike our 3 weeks, they are all U13's where as we have 85% of the team at U12, and they had a couple of excellent academy girls so, it was always going to be an uphill battle. My problem is we lost and I hate losing. If Scotland can not only beat France but do the double then why can't we at least compete with a team as good as this team.
    The girls will improve and need to learn from this, Bethany walker was outstanding in defence she was strong and stopped several more goals. Lily anne the captain went into net after an injury to Katie, I have nothing but praise for her. Other than that there is no point in writing too much. I feel myself and the other coaches were let down, as to lose 10-0 and battle like lions is better than rolling over and having your belly tickled which is what happened. There will be a few teams that are all U13 we need to learn how to cope with them better.