Monday 23rd October 2017 @ Hollyfields Club, Erdington
Erdington and Saltley B 0 – 4 Gloucester (Midlands Cup)
Olivia, Remi, Taija, Jervaigh, Kayla, Tiana, Jenny, Mary, Jessica and Ilaigh
Girl of the Match: Jervaigh – a debut full of strength, passion and determination. Jervaigh was at the centre of everything her team did!
Erdington and Saltley A 3 – 1 Gloucester (Representative Match)
Millie, Lacy, Sami, Liberty, Savannah, Rihanna, Latia, Octavia and Jervaigh
Girl of the Match: Liberty – a brace of goals topped off a fine performance in which she pulled the strings throughout the game.
Goals: Liberty x 2 and Lacy
In a busy day at Hollyfields, the girls took centre stage for the first two games of the Erdington-Gloucester trilogy. The first game saw the Erdington and Saltley gold team lock horns with a talented Gloucester side, packed full of superb finishers.
With Jervaigh slotting into the team to make her debut, it soon became apparent that she was more than at home on the district scene! Using her strength and dribbling ability, Jervaigh stormed through the centre of the Gloucester side, only to send her shot into the arms of the Gloucester keeper. Time and time again she broke forward with ease, exciting the onlooking crowd.
In attack, captain Tiana was a bundle of energy, leading her teammates into battle by setting a great example with her endless running. At the opposite end of the pitch, Olivia kept Gloucester at bay with several good saves, as Kayla shielded her goal bravely and resolutely.
Despite our best efforts, we ended the first half three goals down and with a lot of work to do. However these girls are made of strong stuff and they never give up. Consequently the second half brought with it a better defensive display and more energy from all of the girls. It was brilliant to see.
From Jenny to Mary, Olivia to debutante Ilaigh, all of the girls did us proud and have no reason to be down after being knocked out of the Midlands Cup. They will bounce back and come back even stronger!
Next up was the black Erdington and Saltley team, who looked to level things up by defeating Gloucester for the first time in our history. Within minutes of the game starting, captain Liberty calmly slotted away after linking up brilliantly with Savannah and Latia. The Ton lead was soon doubled with a goal once again coming from the Erdington and Saltley midfield. Cutting in from the left, Lacy made a run into the box before latching onto a Liberty pass and firing past the keeper.
With Gloucester seemingly on the ropes and two goals down, their sharp-shooting striker ran behind The Ton defence and onto a long defensive clearance. With Millie bearing down on her, she finished with aplomb to halve the deficit.
The second half saw more Ton pressure and a re-establishing of our two goal lead. Weaving in and out of the Gloucester defenders, Liberty poked the ball past the Gloucester number one to put her team in command of the tie once again.
At this stage the girls were passing the ball around beautifully and were a joy to watch. Each one of the girls was energetic out of possession and exciting in possession. The confidence was there for all to see. Yet this Gloucester side don’t know when they beaten and they capitalised once again on a Ton error to score their second of the game and make the closing minutes nervy for all in black.
The final whistle brought with it a small piece of history – our first ever victory over Gloucester girls.
Well done to all of the girls involved with today’s games. Both Gloucester and Erdington and Saltley should be incredibly proud of the footballing masterclass that they put on for us all today!
Good luck in your cup semi-final Gloucester and see you soon.
Well done girls! Our great season continues to roll on!
Up The Ton!
Erdington and Saltley Primary Schools' FA 