On Saturday 22nd October 2022 the Phoenix travelled away to play against a strong St Albans City side. The girls played without AP, JM and MV – each was sorely missed today. This was a game that was a close fought contest between two teams that were strong in attack and defence. In truth, either team could have ended up with victory.
The Phoenix started well and had the majority of the early possession. CD immediately put St Albans under pressure. She worked the ball into the opposition box – her first touch and movement with the ball put her in great positions from which to shoot at goal. It also opened space for the midfield to make runs at the defence. It was clear, however, that the St Albans defence would not be easily beaten. They defended in numbers and whenever one of the Phoenix had the ball, they were place under pressure and that the opposition closed down any options. The antidote to that was the passing ability of the Phoenix. Mid way through the first half AW won possession between the halfway line and the St Albans box. She moved the ball forward, saw YC in space out wide and laid on a perfectly weighted pass. Before YC had even collected the ball she had seen SDB’s run into the box. She placed the ball into the path of SDB who finished off her great run with a thunderous strike at goal. The team were clearly buoyed on by this early lead and continued to have the better share of the ball. FLS played a crucial role in maintaining the momentum – she played as striker but dropped back to help win the ball in midfield, and she was either holding the ball whilst others made their runs, or making runs of her own. This meant that St Albans were constantly under pressure. When St Albans did have the ball, they showed how dangerous they were. They seemed to use the flanks to their advantage – they had both pace and precision which meant that the defence had to be organised. LS was solid at the back. She followed any attack and made sure that she picked the right moment to engage the opposition. Working well alongside her was LV. She held her defensive position well and tracked the opposition runs. When she did win the ball, she showed great composure to run forward to ensure a quick transition from defence to attack. Whilst the team pushed on for another goal, there was still much work to be done to ensure the lead remained intact. MK did a great job of commanding the defence and alerting her team to unmarked St Albans players. In the first half she made two crucial saves when 1:1 with the opposition.
The second half was very similar with end-to-end football on display. AW continued to dominate the game on the right. She gave the opposition no space when they had the ball and she made a number of crucial blocks. Equally she was constantly involved in attacking movements and drove the ball forward for her team. SDB played in midfield and as striker during the second half. She pushed the team forward in attack as they searched for a second goal. She controlled the middle of the pitch and forced the opposition to push out wide when they had the ball. FLS played out wide for some of the second half. As St Albans concentrated their attack down the flanks, she battled away. Even when the attackers managed to get away, she chased them and forced them into mistakes. She was equally determined in attack and made some well-timed runs into the St Albans area. YC contributed to midfield dominance. She dropped deep to protect the defence. In possession she demonstrated her passing range, with her short and long passes always deadly accurate. She was confident in possession and anticipated the runs that her teammates made. CD played in both attack and defence during the second half. When she was attacking, she continued to trouble the St Albans defence and was able to get through on goal on several occasions. Just as importantly she was strong in defence and kept a defiant St Albans attack at bay. As the game progressed St Albans started to see more of the ball. LS and LV worked tirelessly to defend the Phoenix goal. As the Phoenix chased another goal, gaps between midfield and defence appeared which St Albans exploited. LS was always ready and posed to head off any possible attack and LV did a great job of covering the opposition runners. Between the two of them they worked incredibly hard to fight off constant pressure. St Albans were awarded a penalty with a few minutes remaining. The striker hit a perfect penalty and the score was level again. That it took a penalty to beat the Phoenix is sign of how good they were defensively. However, St Albans were encouraged by their goal and pushed on for another. MK was simply having none of it. In the following minutes she made several incredible saves. At least twice St Albans were through on goal. MK showed her brilliant reflexes to see out a powerful close-range strike. The frustration on the St Albans faces was in stark contrast to the smile on MK’s face. The opposition continued to trouble the Phoenix, and were it not for MK’s super saves, they might well have got the winner themselves.
Overall, one of the closest games of football for a while. The girls really fought for each other today and they can take a lot of positives from the performance. The passing and movement was impressive today, and the defending was solid and organised. The Phoenix have not lost a lead for a considerable amount of time, so they had to show strength and resilience to recover and carry on the battle. They did not drop their heads and they got on with the task at hand. POTM was MK- Single, or rather, two handed, she ensured that the Phoenix maintained their unbeaten streak. Not only did she pull off a number of top class saves right near the end, she did so after the disappointment of conceding a penalty. To pick herself up and continue to make the such impressive saves demonstrated real determination and resilience. TOTW is AW – another strong all-round performance. Her tackling, passing and movement was impressive today. She never gave St Albans a chance. She buoyed her team on all game, and even when she was not on the pitch she encouraged her teammates.