Brent U10 Girls Thunderbolts 6-0 FC Marylebone
As the sun shone down on a crisp day in Regent’s Park, Brent Thunderbolts came out with plenty of firepower right from the starting whistle against FC Marylebone. Within the first 2 minutes of play, Thunderbolts’ striker Sylvie Purdon unleashed a long-range screamer straight into the back of the Marylebone net.
The Thunderbolts built well on this excellent start, with some fantastic link-up play from the back. Just a few minutes after the opening goal, Thunderbolts’ Grace Billingsley broke free from her own penalty box, finding Shreeya Gustave-Patel in space, who chipped the keeper to make it 2-0.
The Thunderbolts then almost created a carbon copy of their first goal, forcing an excellent save from the Marylebone keeper, Layla Potter, and had two further shots cleared off the line. But the Thunderbolts still had to be sharp in defence, with Marylebone launching dangerous counter-attacks up the left flank, forcing keeper Ottilie Williams into several brave saves to keep her side 2-0 up at the break.
The Thunderbolts started the second half with as much hunger as they had the first, Gustave-Patel linking up again in midfield with Billingsley who was denied only by the post. Frustrated by two saved shots in 5 minutes, Purdon was rewarded for her persistence with a composed finish after a one-on-one with Potter.
Marylebone’s heads never went down and they continued to press, but their forays were met with stiff resistance by the imperious defensive partnership of Ruby Cooper and Daisy Staniford. In perhaps the best individual move of the match, Marylebone’s striker, Maia Russo, dribbled from one end of the pitch to the other, only for the post to deny her a spectacular solo goal.
The Thunderbolts then really turned up the heat for the final few minutes of the game. Mila Gorasia worked tirelessly on the wing to create opportunities, and her team-mates reaped the dividends. Purdon’s long-range strike was a fitting way to complete her hat-trick; Isobel Balch latched onto a through ball to slot into the bottom-left corner and Cooper capped things off with a powerful strike just before the final whistle to bring the Thunderbolts’ tally to six.
Thunderbolts’ Coach, Doug Cooper, said: “A clean sheet, lots of first-time scorers, and a game played in the right spirit. I couldn’t be more proud of the girls.”