Early rise this morning as our Blantyre Celtic U12 girls headed to Kilbirnie for our 2nd 9 a side grading game.
It was a hard shift as not only did the girls have to make do playing on a 7's pitch but they had to play against a very well organised team.
From the start they pressed us well and didn't allow us much time on the ball. Our defence and keeper had to be on point and that they were soaking up loads of pressure and managing to deal with it. When we did manage to get up the park their physicality made it hard for us to maintain possession, and unfortunately this was the common theme of the game. We ended the 1st half 2-0 down but really unfortunate not to have one on the score sheet as our captain for the day Erin push all the way forward with determination to be on the receiving end of a lovely cross from Emmie but Erin's shot was cruelly saved by there keeper.
Half time team talk was basically move the ball quicker and use the wide areas to create space, and to be fair to the girls from the start of the 2nd half that's what they tried, but in the end, Kilbirnie were just too strong for us on the day... I don't know if this was due to park size or whether it was due to their transition to 9's.
Overall Myself and Paul were impressed that the girls never gave up trying, they continue to listen and take instruction and their confidence is growing not only as individuals, but as a team. They really are a pleasure to coach.