Mixed fortunes for Wildcats girls

Three of our Wildcats girls’ sides were in action at the weekend and here is the round-up.

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The Wildcats U13s faced off against a very good Middlezoy team at the Rec, with Sally FT making a welcome return to action at right back following injury.

The Wildcats started strongly, winning battles in the centre with support from a defence who were on form, playing down the slope.

Middlezoy opened the scoring capitalising on a 1v1 with the keeper. Not to be deterred, keeping their heads high, the Wildcats were rewarded within five minutes after a strong run and finish from Faith D, equalising with composure.

The Wildcats showed a lot of bravery and continued with great play from Ruby A and Bailee R, who are starting to gel in their midfield positions.

The second half saw the Wildcats make a slightly slow start, resulting in a couple quick fire goals from the opposition, making it 3-1.

To the Wildcats’ credit, they never gave up and matched Middlezoy through the middle part of the half.

Going into the final stretch of the match, some tiredness crept into the Wildcats and Middlezoy scored three more, making it a 6-1 loss, but the scoreline did not reflect how close it was for the majority of the game.

A mention must go to goalkeeper Ivy E for making some great saves.

Player-of-the-match was a split decision going to both Baillee R and Ruby A – congratulations to both.

Well done to all the girls for giving everything – there are many improvements in link-up play and player positioning, making it one of the best performances to date.

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The Wildcats U14s played Wincanton, in a top-of-the-table battle.

The game was, as expected, evenly contested, with most of the battles in the middle of the park.

Wildcats did, however, did find some good space, as they began to play their usual successful style of football. It was midfielder and consistent scorer Faith NH who opened the scoring after the away keeper was unfortunate to not make a triple save.

Half-time arrived with the Wildcats leading 1-0.

The second half started as the first ended as Wildcats seemed to be the better side for the most part, with shots from Emilia S, Flo N and Faith NH.

Seeking a way back into the game, Wincanton pushed more players forwards but were unsuccessful with Wildcats captain Jess B and her defensive line in superb form throughout.

On a counter, striker Emilia S made a run into the box to strike hard into the back of the net, making it 2-0 for her 20th of the season.

Wincanton’s continuous pressure saw them win a penalty which they converted to make it 2-1 with five minutes to go but the Wildcats kept fighting to the final whistle and made it five consecutive wins.

Wincanton chose Emilia S as their player-of-the-match for her superb performance up front.

Wildcats’ coaching team identified captain Jess B as player-of-the-match for her superb leading of the team, general defending performance and a clear understanding of the game.

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The Wildcats U16s hosted Ilminster and, with both teams suffering from half-term blues, the fixture was played in a 9v9 format giving lots of space to exploit.

The game was well contested in the open 20 minutes and Wildcats had a large amount of possession but never tested the away keeper.

The Wildcats were indebted to keeper Jasmine S, who made a number of fine saves to keep Ilminster at bay.

Wildcats took the lead on 23 minutes with an outstanding team goal; the move started from Katie S playing a back pass to Jasmine, who in turn threaded through to Captain Milly H in midfield.

She laid off to player-of-the-match Orlaith C, who slipped past her defender before slotting through for Lola H to race on to the ball and round the keeper to score her seventh of the season.

Lola almost had a second after being put clear by her sister Darcy and Wildcats continued to press, forcing a number of corners without adding to the scoresheet.

Ilminster came out with renewed confidence in the second half and the Wildcats defence of Katie S, Izzy W and Julia R were on fine form to keep them out.

Kaite S made a perfectly timed sliding tackle on one occasion, while Jasmine S made another superb double save.

Ilminster equalised on 50 minutes slotting home from close range despite the assistant referee flagging for a foul throw.

This didn’t deter Wildcats and they kept pressing forward. With Lillie-May C switching to striker, she was able to hold her defender through the middle enabling Milly H to spread the ball wide with ease for Orlaith C to run on to, hitting the post from the edge of the area.

Ilminster took the lead on 60 minutes, before adding a third on the counterattack, after Wildcats pushed forward at a last-minute corner.

Despite the 3-1 defeat, Wildcats were excellent throughout the game and a pleasure to watch.

Their team spirit has been exemplary over the past couple of games in testing circumstances and the maximum effort put in by all was a superb demonstration of the Wildcats values.

They will be looking to return to winning ways this weekend when they make the return journey to Ilminster.