Hitchin Town Belles Under 15

Match Report 2007-2008

High drama as Hitchin narrowly lose to the league champions in the very last match of the season

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Sunday, 4^th May 2008

Hitchin Town Belles U15 0 v 1 Luton Town

Home Counties Girls Football League; U15

Players: Elise, Alex, Roisin, Louise (Captain), Sarah, Natalie, Lauren, Keeley, Monica, Sammy, Sian, Stephanie, Eva

Half Time: 0-1

11 Teams	Games Played	Games Won	Games Drawn	Games Lost	Goals For	Goals Against	Goal Difference	Points
Luton Town U15	19	18	1	0	112	9	+103	55
Cambridge City U15	20	17	2	1	77	17	+60	53
Kidlington Girls U15	20	16	1	3	88	20	+68	49
Hampstead U15	20	12	1	7	72	43	+29	37
Tottenham Hotspur U15A	19	11	1	7	49	32	+17	34
Harvesters U15	20	8	2	10	38	42	-4	26
Hitchin Town Belles U15	20	7	1	12	35	50	-15	22
Tottenham Hotspur U15B	20	3	3	14	24	103	-79	12
Enfield Town U15	18	3	1	14	17	64	-47	10
Watford Ladies U15	17	2	1	14	16	61	-45	7
Luton Town Hatters U15	19	2	0	17	8	95	-87	6

Match Report

A lovely warm day in complete comparison with last Sunday and a large travelling away supporters group from Luton made for a good atmosphere at Hitchin’s last match as U15’s in the league. From the table above Hitchin have done well and certainly on occasions have punched far above their weight. Today was their chance to put the new league champions under pressure and gain a surprise result.

The match itself was full of drama and tightly contested by both teams. Hitchin played extremely well and but for the meanest defence in the league they could well have scored. The game was fast paced and exciting with either team having the opportunities to score, Hitchin played some lovely football but were just edged out by the single goal. Unfortunately 2 Luton players were hurt in one on one challenges for the ball and we wish them both a speedy recovery from their injuries.

There was also a touch of controversy but looking back Hitchin asked some tough questions of Luton and this was no walk in the park for them.

Player by player review

Eva played probably another one of her best games and made some very brave saves at the feet of the attackers. Her confidence grew in the game and she distinguished herself on a number of occasions.
Monica had a great game in defence and made some very telling tackles and also put in some really good clearances to close down the attacks.
Elise who replaced Monica in the second half slotted in well and soon got used to the pace and speed of the game.
Lauren played her heart out in defence and again when danger threatened was there to snub it out.
Natalie put in some good tackles and used her fearsome right foot and head to blast away anything that came near her.
Roisin playing on the left worked very hard and chased down every ball and twisted and turned her way out of defence to let Sammy run free.
Sarah in midfield worked hard and even got herself into some scoring chgances, a great passer of the ball and she read the game well.
Louise ran her heart out and was a bundle of energy in midfield her tackling back was great and she was unselfish in her passing. Her desire to win and passion was very evident. Some great touches of skill.
Steph put in added bite into the midfield but was not afraid to track back and help in defence. Always on target with her shots though it was not to be in this game.
Alex is one of the fastest players in then team and her closing down of the ball was excellent and she created chances to have a shot at goal with her lighting pace.
Sian worked very hard up front holding the ball when needed and always looking dangerous in the area. Sian was very unlucky not to score today and again was unselfish in her passing.
Sammy tormented the Luton defence with her twisting turning runs into the danger areas. Her free kicks and corners were excellent and gave the keeper something to think about.

Overall a very good team performance and it is a shame the season has ended. Hopefully they will continue into the U16 league and the team has potential to do even better hopefully if the link goes ahead with Hitchin Hearts they then will be part of a much bigger women’s team outfit with all of the benefits this would bring.

A big thank you to Paul who again has worked his hardest for the team and really supported the club in so many ways from putting the goals out on his own to organising half time refreshments and for trying so hard every week to get a team together to play.

Finally well done to all of the players on a good season and playing some great football. One of the team’s greatest attributes is a refusal to quit when the going got tough and the obvious enjoyment they all have for the beautiful game.

A challenge for next season for any aspiring football reporters to take over writing the match reports as this writer is now past retirement and needs to concentrate on running the line as multi tasking is becoming harder especially as the games get faster and more furious!

Report by Mike Thompson