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Tonight the girls had the chance to win the Northern Combination with a win against Huddersfield Town who, it's fair to say, have had a mixed bag of a season. If the girls had faltered, Chorley were waiting in the wings to take centre stage and the leading role as league champions.
Any fears Chorley might have had about Town taking it seriously rather than a meaningless end of season fixture were to be allayed as they certainly kept their side of the bargain in making sure this was a truly competitive game.
The opening 30 minutes somehow remained goalless with Huddersfield having the first chance with a one on one with our keeper which they really should've scored. Cestria were on top while Town played a great tactical game of sitting deep and retaining their shape at all times allowing us the lions share of possession. Unfortunately for them when teams try this Cestria usually find a way in the end while the opposition tire mentally and physically trying to maintain this tactic which does require serious concentration and discipline.
An early warning shot had already been fired across the bows by Zoe Ness who didn't pass up the opportunity the second time round with the Scotland striker firing home confidently after good work from the ever dangerous Rosie Young and an incisive through ball from Meg 'Glen Hoddle' Lawson.
HT Huddersfield 0-1 SD&C
The second half kicked off and Cestria really needed another goal as, for all the away team dominance, Town definitely had a goal in them. SD&C stroked the ball around expansively along the back four of Gabby 'Stuart Pearce' Banks, Jen 'bite yer legs' Jennings, Caz 'Cattermole' Ross and Meg Lawson. Then into a superb midfield of Lauren 'Makalele' Briggs, Beth 'Messi' Hepple. Lauren 'Gordon Cowans' (ask yer dad) Jordinson and Zoe 'Zidane' Ness at the spearhead who combined fantastically to release Rosie 'Ronaldo' (not the fat one) Young on the right and Becky 'Stewart Downing' Hanratty on the left to provide the crosses.
Cestria went 2 up on 66 mins after a corner from the impressive Lawson caused confusion at the Town near post with the ball crossing the line. Lawson thought it was hers which meant the cones were out until Ness rebuked her in no uncertain terms that it wasn't her goal but Rosie Young's. to be honest no one really cared as it gave the girls a cushion for the remainder of the game.
Things were going swimmingly as the game seemed to peter out until Huddersfield were awarded a penalty after a moment of madness from the ever dependable Alex 'Schmeichel' Saunders. Maybe her headband fell down over her eyes, we'll never know!
Anyway it was 2-1 with 8 minutes to go and you can imagine the gamut of emotions the Cestria faithful were going through..That was until Jordinson scored an absolute cracker late on to put the title race to bed.
Cue FT and wild celebrations for the Cestria players in front of the big crowd.
Fair play to Huddersfield who were a genuine test and highly motivated for most of the game, with special mention to the centre half who had the arduous task of stopping Zoe Ness which, to be fair, she did better than most defenders. But Cestria weren't to be denied.
I personally can't overestimate their achievement. A predominantly u17 team along with a handful of great older players winning this tough league in their first taste of senior football. Not many youths could have achieved this in my opinion.
Big thanks to Dawn who runs everything behind the scenes and Andy Cook and Lee Sanders who has nurtured these girls so well from a young age that they passed up their chance to go to Centres of Excellence and the potential to attend international talent camps etc and instead trusted in their manager to look after them. Well they haven't looked back, playing all over Europe and being constantly challenged and developed into the players they are. Hopefully a few of them will rise to the top in the future.
BRING ON THE SUPER LEAGUE!
Till next time........
- comments
Jill well done ladies! Great season, excellent result. Look forward to next year!
Mr and Mrs Ottey Thank you gentlemen for the match reports which until now have been factual with little emotion! You can be forgiven however as you have every right to be proud of these girls. Whatever happens in the future the girls have experienced competition and discipline that will be most valuable to them for the rest of their lives .I echo your praise for Dawn and the boys. thanks again for the reports.