Saturday 16th February 2019 @ Sporting Khasla FC
English Schools’ FA Midlands 9-a-side Girls
Monia, Le’Jae, Millie, Keeley, Keira, Rihanna, Savannah, Latia, Lacey, Shay-Leigh and Jess
Played 7; Won 6; Lost 1
Goals: Lacey x 3; Savannah x 3; Latia x 6; Shay Leigh; Jess
Football can be a cruel game. A game of fine margins. A game where you don’t always get what you deserve. A game that can turn on one moment. One split second.
Yesterday proved to be all of this and more.
Our girls were looking to repeat their marvellous achievements of last season by reaching the national finals. However, on a day when they played some sumptuous attacking football and kept six clean sheets courtesy of some excellent defending, it simply wasn’t meant to be.
We scored three times as many goals as our next nearest rival and only conceded one goal. We played some breathtaking football and scored some memorable goals. We gained a lot of new fans on a day when our girls did us proud and that is the most important thing despite the obvious disappointment of missing out on a second consecutive national final.
After a pair of convincing wins in their opening two games, the girls locked horns with Telford Black and in an evenly contested affair, were unfortunate to end up on the wrong end of a 1-0 defeat. Incidentally this was our first defeat of what has been another memorable season for the most successful team – girls or boys – in the history of ESPSFA.
Refusing to let this blow dent their spirits, the girls picked up another three victories and scored a bag full of goals in the process. This left them watching on nervously as Telford Black played out their final two games. We knew we needed a favour from the footballing gods and the unlikely seemed possible when Telford drew their penultimate game 0-0. This meant anything less than a victory in their final game would see us crowned winners and national finalists.
With the Ton Army watching on with everything crossed, the Telford girls, to their huge credit, took care of business and won 2-0 to claim top spot by a single point.
Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. We finished as runners-up on a day when we most definitely did ourselves proud!
Well done girls!
Up The Ton!
Erdington and Saltley Primary Schools' FA 