The U11 Lionesses had a their second away match of the season playing on a 3G pitch against the Coalville Town U11 Rookettes.

Saffron started in goal for the team wearing the new Rockwarm sponsored kit. She made a number of good saves from shots on goal and a couple of times confidently grabbing the ball on the line in a goalmouth melee. Saffron played outfield in the second half, and made a couple of breakaway runs, one of which led to her scoring a well-taken a goal. Alice was the team captain and played in midfield in the first half. She made a number of key challenges and sought to win back the ball when tackled. In the second half Alice played in goal. Something we have looked to focus on in training when taking goal kicks is looking for a player in space to pass the ball too. When taking goal kicks Alice did this very well, picking out players in space with an accurate goal kick, that led to the Lionesses making lots of attacking plays.

Francesca played well in a defensive role and made a number of strong defensive clearances when the team was under pressure. When she was tackled and lost the ball she sought to win it back - something we have focused on in practice. Leah played well and kept to her position when playing in defence in the first half, before playing an attacking role later in the match. Leah is not afraid to chase the ball and look to take on opposition girls and it was good to see her following up on attacks when off the ball to give other players passing options.

Ella-May initially played in an attacking role, and it was good to see her staying in an attacking position and pushing forward. A development point for Ella-May is that she should look to follow the play (whether in attack or defence) and follow the ball until it is out of play, as on a couple of occasions she did not follow up when the ball was still in play. Sophie had a typically strong game, and as in other recent games she has worked tirelessly in her allocated position. On a number of occasions when the opposition were making an attacking move Sophie as last girl has looked to tackle, or clear the ball for a throw in. This was instrumental in stopping opposition attacking play. When playing in attack in the second half, Sophie scored a goal for the team.

In this match Imogen spent the majority of her time in a defensive role, and made some really key tackles, and was also instrumental in stopping a number of strong opposition moves. She has a very strong work ethic and her contribution was key to the successes in this game. In the first half Bethany played in a midfield role, she made a number of attacking moves, one of which led to her scoring a goal. Bethany also made a number of moves we had practiced in training to change direction with the ball when receiving a pass, this led to her beating opposition defenders. Bethany also gave good example of running with the ball and taking on players and she was awarded player of the match based on this strong performance and the girls gave her 3 cheers at the end.

Thea had a characteristically strong performance. When playing in defence and midfield she worked tirelessly to chase and win the ball, and was not afraid to tackle opposition girls much larger than herself. She also cleared a couple of times when she was last girl to prevent opposition attacking moves.

Lola has played well in attacking roles in earlier matches, but in this match was largely in a defensive position. She made a number of tackles and clearances, and as with the previous match made some very well-judged forward passes to players in space.

Coach Richard said the opposition were one of the strongest we have faced this season but the performance of the Lionesses was the strongest we have seen so far. Thank you to the girls for their hard work, and sticking to their positions as allocated.