City U11’s Unbeaten Record Goes

It’s finally happened, the unbeaten record of the Cambridge City U11 Girls has gone with their first defeat since the start of the 2006/07 season.

City Girls U11 S-Tech League

Saturday 27th September 2008 Home v Burwell Swallows
Gem of a Scoreline for Jade
Lucy Holder was quick off the mark with an early shot at goal, which was superbly saved by Burwell’s great little keeper. Jade followed Lucy’s lead with three shots of her own, which Burwell’s busy keeper was unable to stop from finding the back of the net. Bronte Rapley and hard working Jade were substituted for new girls Lauren Verheyden and Jenny Bardwell, who looked much more at home this week as they got stuck into the match. Lucy had yet another three shots at goal, only to be thwarted by the bar and the ever alert keeper. Burwell pushed up in the second half to win a corner, but Lauren Ambrose’s consistently good defending prevented them getting close enough to score. Despite a heavy defence from Burwell, Jade managed to slot in yet another goal to get he fourth of the match before taking her turn as keeper. Bronte Rapley scored the fifth, followed shortly after by a well-placed goal from Carla Penny into the bottom right-hand corner. Lucy had yet another shot saved before her persistence paid off when she neatly tucked home the 7th goal of the game. Zoe Lander’s delicately taken corner was collected by Ellie Geoghan, who netted City’s eighth goal, putting a much brighter finish to a very foggy start.

Saturday 11th October 2008 Away v Chatteris Town
Lucy's Awesome Foursome
Another good game for City against a great spirited Chatteris side, whose heads never dropped despite being five nil down at half time. Two fine goals apiece from Lucy Holder and Bronte Rapley and one from Jade Drain put City well on their way for the second half. City continued to dominate after the break, but found it difficult to break down the defiant Chatteris defence. Jade and Lucy eventually managed to break the stubborn defence, to make it seven midway through the second half and Holder saved her best 'til last with a rasping left-footed shot to bring the City score line up to eight.

Saturday 18th October 2008 Home v Comberton Crusaders
City Stop Comberton’s Crusade
Despite a fast-paced start and heavy pressure from Comberton, Lucy Holder picked up a cross from Bronte Rapley on the right wing for the opening goal for City. This was followed by a close range effort from Ellie Geoghan, who finished off from a corner that eluded the Comberton defence. Solid defending from Lauren Ambrose and Zoe Lander kept City out of trouble, and good team play lead to Holder scoring three well struck goals in the second half. Comberton got a consolation goal just before the final whistle, which City's Keeper, Carla Penny, was unable to stop. Jade Drain, Jenny Bardwell and Lauren Verheyden also played their part in a hard-fought team performance.

Saturday 8th November 2008 Home v Histon Hornets
Straight Eight for City
A quick start for City as Lucy Holder collected a great cross from the right wing to score within the first minute. City had many shots at goal throughout the first half, but it was left to Holder to double City's advantage, due to some stout defending by Histon. The under-worked City Keeper, Carla Penny, came out on the pitch in the second half to tuck away two goals, while Holder picked up her third and fourth. Bronte Rapley's chip over the busy Histon keeper's head and Zoe Lander's neatly placed shot in the bottom left-corner, added to the eight-nil score sheet. Solid defending from Lauren Ambrose and Jenny Bardwell, together with hard-working Jade Drain and Ellie Geoghan up-front, helped City to another clean sheet

Saturday 22nd November 2008 Away v Hormead Hares
Hares Too Fast for Sluggish City
City travelled to Hormead today hoping for their unbeaten start to the season to continue but it wasn’t to be. Hormead started off the match much the brighter team and went into an early lead when they reacted much quicker to a loose ball in the box that went unchallenged. City started to impose themselves as the half developed but were finding it tough going against a determined and physically stronger Hormead team. Carla Penny was called upon a couple more times to keep the deficit to just one and Cambridge struggled to create any real chances. A change in City’s formation at the start of the second half seemed to have a positive effect and they started to impose themselves more and more. They were finally rewarded for their effort when a cross-field pass from Bronte Rapley was turned in superbly by Ellie Geoghan to level the score. City continued to attack but were caught out at the back when an opportunity to clear the ball was not taken and the Hormead forward raced on to fire in a shot that gave Jade Drain no chance in goal. City showed some fight and were soon on the attack again and when it looked certain that Carla would equalise for the second time a crunching sliding tackle put the ball out for a corner. The girls continued to try and go forward in the icy and windy conditions but were finding it hard going and another slip up at the back let in Hormead for their third and final goal.
It’s finally happened, the unbeaten record of Cambridge City Girls has gone with their first defeat since the start of the 2006/07 season. It’s a shame it had to go but I’m sure the girls will fight back and come back more determined than ever!

All reports by Ness and Tim Rapley

Ladies and Girls Section