Match report:3-6 (1-4 HT Will, Tanja, Nico)
Will and Nico joined the team with it being against a boys team and the start was quite amusing! 8 or 9 a side was discussed before kick off and we settled on 9 a side. 9 SportsReach players lined up and the game started. It seemed like it was going to be a long night as they played possession football and seemed to always have a spare player to pass the ball too as we chased and harried with little reward.
10 minutes in and a shout came from our subs on the touchline – “They have 10 players on the field!!” Turns out 9 a side is really 10 a side as it is 9 + goalie!!  ☺
Hannah Holte came on to even the numbers up and the extra player helped but even with equal numbers the possession the boys had enjoyed earlier began to pay off and they scored three goals in quick succession with Caro our goalkeeper having also joined us that day being unfortunate as she was unsighted for a couple of them.
Will seemed to then decide to abandon some of his defensive duties and as our play developed down the right with Sue and Jen the ball was played inside to Tanja who laid it into Wills path and he hit a shot very similar to one he had hit against the Schladming Classics team a month earlier. Same goal, similar distance and same result – thankfully it dipped over the keeper to bring us back into the game. 1-3.
Schladming scored again just before half time to go in 4-1 ahead.
A pattern was emerging however in this tour and that was that our second half performances were a lot stronger than our first with the better football being played then and tonight was no different.
From the kick off Tanja stole the ball in midfield and raced away to score. 2-4.
It stunned the boys’ team, several mentioning afterwards that they were surprised with the high level of play from the girls.
Now it was our turn to launch attack after attack. Playing the second half with more or less a flat back three of Sue, Vicky and Ruth, with Will, Tanja, Nico, Jen and Annie in midfield and Sarah up front we pressed and pressed but the goals we deserved didn’t materialise as shots rained in on the Schladming goal, Will hitting the post after a tantalising run and Nico hitting the bar after being played in from a free kick. Schladming on a break away scored their fifth before Nico hit a great shot to make it 3-5. We continued to press but right at the death we conceded again as the ball fell tortuously from the arm of their striker into the path of another player who rifled a shot into the goal.
3-6 final score but what a fantastic, fun and friendly game to have been part of!  ☺
Thanks to our spectators for all their encouragement and especially Zoe, Lizzie and Charlotte who took a rest game this evening but provided invaluable assistance as they, along with Sarah who was sub for the first half, actually counted the players on the field!! Thanks too for being allowed to use the Schladming pitch this week and to Antos for opening up the ground and preparing the pitch for the games.