Brent’s U12 girls squad faced their toughest challenge of the season so far, taking on Pitshanger FC at Capital City Academy in a series of action-packed short games. The highlight was a 2-1 Brent victory in the third game but Brent had to show skill and determination to achieve this.
The visitors, led by coach Shaun Channer, showed why they were previously unbeaten romping to a 3-0 victory in the first game. The second game was a tighter affair with Brent threatening early on. Kathleen Santos Ferreira showed excellent skill, controlling the ball under pressure and passing to Chloe O’Donoghue to score a superb goal drawing Brent level but Pitshanger dug deep and clinched a 2- 1 victory.
Things really turned around for Brent in the third game. They had come to terms with the movement and physicality of Pitshanger and started to pass the ball well. A great passing move was finished with a powerful drive by O’Donoghue into the top corner. Pitshanger broke and keeper Milly-May Blue made a superb save from point-blank range but relentless Pitshanger pressure paid off with a well-worked goal giving them the equaliser. Brent clinched the win with another excellent passing move. Keely Dibley-Dias’ neat pass to Scout Waddington was switched to O’Donoghue on the right wing. O’Donoghue dribbled past her marker and combined with Briana John-Etiko who slipped the ball to Giuseppina Carnavale who scored with a powerful cross shot and the game finished 2-1 to Brent.
The fourth game ended in a 0-0 stalemate but did illustrate how far Brent had progressed, matching a talented Pitshanger team in what was a superb advertisement of girls football in Middlesex. Brent coach Kjell Sung said: “Credit to both teams for great games played in a great spirit. It was fantastic to see Brent improve with every game. It was another super performance by the girls against an excellent Pitshanger team “
Brent: Chloe O’Donoghue, Giuseppina Carnevale, Keely Dibley-Dias, Maya Rosenberg, Scout Waddington, Brianna John-Etiko, Kathleen Santos Ferreira, Milly-May Blue, Raya McIntosh, Laiba Mir, Simone Silva, Tammy Nataniel, Eabha Kennedy, Sophie Kew (capt)