Warden Park Academy girls football team undefeated so far

The Warden Park Academy U12 Girl’s football team have performed faultlessly thus far this season.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The girls were undefeated in the District League, County Cup and National Cup competitions. The squad train every week on Monday’s and Friday’s after school. They are some of the most punctual, dedicated, hardworking individuals making them an easy group to coach.

The County Cup run started off in round 2 against Bishop Luffa Angels in Chichester. The weather was absolutely appalling as was the pitch. This however, did not halt the girls in any shape or form as they went on to win the match 10-1. The team talk after the match was enlightening to say the least. The team were obviously very happy to have won the match comfortably, but were not at all pleased with conceding a goal.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Even in this first competitive match for the school, the girls were not just happy with the win but desired a more perfect performance which was brilliant to see. This was the first sign that this team were going to be something special.

Warden Park u12s girls teamWarden Park u12s girls team
Warden Park u12s girls team

The Quarter final saw Warden Park face Angmering School from Worthing whom in their previous round had won 10-0. Warden Park did not worry about this at all and put on a dominant display, eventually winning the match 7-0. Next was the Semi-Final match against Varndean. The match was extremely tight which showed in the score at half time with Warden Park being 1-0 up thanks to a fantastic solo run from Lucy Barker. The second half saw Warden Park take more control, taking a fast 3-0 lead with 10 minutes left of the match. V

arndean showed a lot of fight, scoring two quick fire goals leaving the match 3-2 to Warden Park with only a few minutes left in the game. Siobhan McMahon took charge at this point and seized possession of the ball and drove at pace through the opposition, smashing the ball into the bottom corner, securing the 4-2 for Warden Park and putting them into the County Cup Final.

The surprise package for this season has been the National Cup run that the girls have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of. After receiving a bye into round 2, the team faced a strong Blatchington Mill side. Warden Park were 3-2 down in normal time until the last minute where Siobhan took control and equalised with a skilful solo run. The girl’s ended up playing their best football in extra time and went on to win the match 5-3. Next up in round 3 were Hove Park. The score finished 1-1 in normal time with both defences showing their determination to not allow any easy shots on goal. In extra time, chances were still few and far between until Emily Warren broke through and calmly slotted home giving Warden Park the win. Round 4 saw the team take on a common rival in Cardinal Newman. Most of the possession was taken by the opposition, however, the clinical passing and finishing from Warden Park paid dividends with the match finishing 6-1. The most recent match which was the round of 32 saw the girls face another common foe in Dorothy Stringer. A hatrick from Siobhan and a confident finish by Lilah Pygott meant the girls won the game 4-1 and put Warden Park into the round of 16. A fantastic achievement by all players involve and one in which they should be immensely proud of.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Unfortunately due to COVID-19, a lot of the competitions the girls were entered into had to be scrapped. However, most recently the Sussex Schools Football Association did allow us to complete the County Final against Gildredge House. The opposition piled on the pressure in the early stages of the match and were able to get a 2-0 lead through an unfortunate own goal following a corner as well as a freak goal following a great save.

If it was not for Liv in goal Warden Park would have been numerous goals down at the break. Minutes before the end of the half, Sophie demonstrated her tenacity up front by chasing a loose ball down the wing causing the full back to force a weak pass back to the goal keeper, where Sophie nipped in front and slid it home to make it 2-1 at half time.

The second half saw the opposition saw Warden Park come more into the game and take large amounts of the possession. However, Gildredge House caught the girls on the break and were able to make the score 3-1 with only 10 minutes left to play. Warden Park heads did not go down and almost immediately, Siobhan went on a strong run through the heart of the opposition forcing a great save from the goal keeper from which Sophie was in the right place again to smash it home.

Warden Park girls gave it absolutely everything in the last few minutes but it was not meant to be and the opposition were able to hold on to win the match 3-2. A fantastic level of football was displayed by everyone involved and even though the final was not won, the girls can look back on an amazing season of football and feel very proud of what they have achieved.

Related topics: