A wet week was rounded off with a sunny day trip for the Divas to Cranleigh. All of the parents and siblings were super excited to know it was a 10:00 am kick off as well. JB being the nice guy he is made things even nicer by agreeing the girls could meet 30 minutes prior to kick off as opposed to the usual 40 minutes. What a guy!
With nearly a full squad available the Divas started to warm up on an adjacent pitch, but very quickly realised it was grass laid on top of a lake and their feet were rather wet…. We moved to warm up on the matchday pitch and managed to get some rondos flowing.
Individual instructions were passed to each player by the coaches during the warm up and the girls got themselves ready for what we knew would be a tough game
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Captain Khloee was missing for this game so the Ref had the job of choosing our vice captain for the day and whilst kick off was agreed the coaches adjusted the goal as the warm up now meant the 6 yard box was a swamp.
Final instructions and we were off. Early mornings clearly do suit our parents as the noise from the sidelines was deafening at times with all of the positive encouragement being thrown at the girls.
The ball spent a huge amount of time in the Cranleigh half and the Divas would win corner after corner. Sadly though the ball would just not go into the back of the Cranleigh net!
Half way through the first half a tactical change was made by Cranleigh and it was not long before their substitute had broken the offside trap and was through on goal. Sadly though by this time daisy had bees standing still in the goal for so long her feet had sunken into the mud and she was unable to get to the shot fired from edge of the box. 1-0 down the Divas heads went down and a few minutes later one became two as the sun striker waltzed through our defensive lines.
Credit where it is due Cranleigh had adapted to the pitch conditions much better than the divas had.
Half time comes and some strong words from the coaches reminding the Divas that we don’t give up. Being a Diva is all about having fun and trying your best on the pitch.
Half time changes to personal and a subtle tweak to our game plan and we were off again.
Second half started with Cranleigh on top as the subs for the divas settled in to the pitch conditions.
Encouraging noises from the sidelines continued and the divas started to settle into the tweaked game plan. An overload on the left side clearly caught Cranfield out and half way through the second half the Divas broke through with Lexi slotting home with a cool finish. The noise levels went up a gear and you could see the pressure of not getting a goal for a few games was lifted from the Divas. The girls had remembered how much fun it was to play football when they play their game.
The renewed energy and excitement from the divas was clearly to much for Cranleigh who were dropping deeper and deeper with the pace of their striker causing the odd scare now.
A tweak to the system again and we now had a pacey striker ourself. This really caught Cranleigh out and hands picked up the ball on the halfway line driving all the way to the box but then getting stuck in the mud and skewing her shot wide. So close.
4 minutes to go and the divas starting to tire and wonder if that goal will ever come…
A clever goal kick from Daisy meant Amy was able to thread a ball through to hands on the halfway line, who expertly turned with the ball and she was off again…. Within a flash she was at the edge of the box but this time made no mistake in unleashing a fierce strike to the top corner! OMG Holly had her first goal!
The scenes were unbelievable Jeff! I think even the Cranleigh parents recognised how much that goal meant to her and the Divas!
Bums on seats time now and recognizing the tiredness levels the divas switched to a defensive shape and managed to thwart Cranleigh and their attempts for a winner.
The game finished all square, a well deserved point for both teams, but for the Divas perhaps an important lesson about believing and never giving up.
Super super lucky and proud to be able to work with this group of girls! Each and everyone of them showed this weekend how strong they are as a team and how much fun they have being a diva!
Remember the results don’t matter, it’s all about having fun and being your best!
