Brent U11 Girls 4-1 United Dragons
The Brent Schools’ FA U11 Girls turned on the style in a game that was a fantastic advert for the development of girls football.
In the sunshine at Regents Park, Brent’s growing confidence showed straight from the kick off as they quickly got their passing game going. They got their reward after ten minutes when a passing move started at the back reached Ellie Murphy in midfield and she found Edie Morgan on the left wing. Morgan sprinted down the touchline and drilled the ball across the face of the goal for Shreeya Gustave Patel, who had timed her run perfectly to smash the ball into the net for her second goal of the season. 1-0.
The game then erupted as both teams went into ‘all-out attack’ mode. Dragons broke on the counter down the left and a crisp shot was matched by a fingertip save from Lois Ampofo. The Brent defensive partnership of Elisha Nyembwe (pictured, above) and Amelia Haynes showed why they are developing into one of the most formidable units in the league. They worked tirelessly to stop the Dragons attack and also burst forward transitioning defence into attack quickly.
Although the Dragons fought bravely Brent extended their lead when Eva Armit showed great pace and determination and a poacher’s instincts to score a brace in quick succession and the half ended 3-0.
The Dragons stated the second half brightly and reduced the deficit when their number ten scored an excellent solo goal to make the score 3-1. Brent rang the changes, introducing Georgia Margetson and she made an instant impact making excellent interceptions to keep the Dragons at bay. Bibiana Thomas and Evie Pillar also impressed in midfield as the pressure mounted. Nyembwe burst through from defense and fired a shot that smashed against the bar before Murphy jinked past her marker and shot inches wide. Deena El-Hashimi began to find space in midfield and helped Brent to keep possession as Nyembwe continued to drive from defense and cause Dragons all sorts of problems.
The all-important fourth goal came when Murphy hit a crisp shot only to see the ball rebound off the defender into the net and finally put the game beyond the Dragons.
Brent coach Justin Morgan said: “The whole team had to dig deep today. They showed real quality. I’m very proud of them”
Brent: Amelia Haynes, Bibiana Thomas, Edie Morgan, Deena El-Hashimi, Elisha Nyembwe, Ellie Murphy, Eva Armit, Evie Pillar, Georgia Margetson, Lois Ampofo, Shreeya Gustave-Patel.