U-17s beat Motherwell in League Cup (February 17, 2008)
The U-17s played Motherwell today at Sunnyside in the League Cup and knew that it would be a strong physical game, The team welcomed back Emma Houston to her striker role and it was excellent to see Laura Sommerville on the subs bench after being injured last season.
It only took 8 mins for the first goal and it was Jenny who passed the ball through to Sheryl on the right who shot low into the goal when perhaps the keeper thought she would cut it back across goal. 1 - 0
Then followed a long period of defending for Falkirk and with the wind against them they were struggling to get out of their half a lot of the time. Motherwell had corner after corner which the defence dealt with, Kerry clearing one off the line and Natalie making some fantastic saves to keep Motherwell goalless.
Falkirk's next chance came after 20 mins when Lisa passed the ball to Jen in the box and she took it to the bye line and passed it to Sheryl who just couldn't connect with it cleanly.
A few mins later the Motherwell player found herself one on one with Natalie but couldn't get past her. Then Nicky had a shot from the edge of the box but it was straight at the keeper.
In the last minutes of the first half Motherwell won another couple of corners and should have scored from the second one but their player hit it well over the bar.
Half Time 1 - 0
With the wind in our favour the girls battled on and the next chance fell to Emma after a long ball from Maxine. Emma ran onto it and struck it first time only to see it going wide. Mid way through the second half after some good play from Nicky on the left, she was forced back, but found Lisa in a bit of space whose shot was saved.
Five mins before the end, with all the girls tiring, Lauren was stilll fighting for everything and it was her persistence which helped the ball onto Lisa who fired a great left foot shot at goal.The keeper just managed to touch it for a corner. Nicky swung the corner in towards the near post and the keeper had to put it out for another corner. This one was swung in again, the keeper couldn't get it cleanly and it ended up in the back of the net. 2 - 0
With only 10 fit outfield players this game was a hard physical battle for each and every one of them but they all showed a real will to win and fought till the end. Lauren (rottweiller) Hastings made life very difficult for the Motherwell midfield and Lisa was superb as usual in her tackling and passing. Kim had a brilliant game (even with her sore back) with her positioning and timing improving with every game. Maxine, Kerry and Sarah were clearing the dangers and not letting anyone past them. Jen and Nicky worked hard to link with the strikers but also in getting back to help the defence. Sheryl tormented the defence as usual with her turning and pace and it was good to see Emma back harassing the defence and not giving them time on the ball. The girls thoroughly deserved their win today as they played as a team and supported each other at every opportunity.
Final Score: Falkirk 2 - 0 Motherwell
Scorers: Sheryl, Nicky
Squad: Natalie, Kerry, Kim, Maxine, Sarah, Lisa, Lauren, Jenny, Nicky, Sheryl, Emma
Subs not Used: Natasha, Laura
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