Guthlaxton 4 - St Paul’s 2

Guthlaxton U16 girls won the County Cup for the first time in their history in a hard fought match against St Paul’s school.

In perfect conditions, the first half saw few chances for either team, with neither team wanting to push too far forward. Both teams had opportunities to score but some fantastic saves by both keepers saw the match evenly tied at the break.

The second half saw Guthlaxton come out fighting and they were rewarded with 3 goals within the first 8 minutes. The first goal came from winger Katie Connor, who found space within the box and drilled home the ball into the bottom corner. Minutes later Tammy Copp made the most of a mistake from the St Pauls defender and was able to slot the ball past the keeper. Abby Wells then scored the goal of the game. Wells picked the ball up on the half way line and after a surging run struck the ball from 20yards out, which flew into the net. With Guthlaxton looking to have tied the game up, Kirsty Linnet of St Pauls suddenly picked the ball and after taking on two Guthlaxton defenders was able to score St Paul’s first goal. Almost immediately from the kick off, Linnet scored again in an almost exact copy of the first goal. This immediately gave St Pauls a boost and they looked dangerous coming forward, with only 5 minutes remaining. Guthlaxton began to panic with this sudden pressure, making mistakes and giving the ball away. Linnet then had a chance to score her hat trick when she found herself one on one with Guthlaxton keeper Zara Cook. Somehow, Cook pulled off a unbelievable save and Guthlaxton were able to scramble the ball clear. With a break in play, Guthlaxton were able to regroup and prevent any further chances. In the final few minutes, Katie Connor scored her second goal, using her strength to beat the defender and play the ball past the keeper, making the final score 4-2.

Team: Z.Cook, L.Grant, G.Westbury, N.Connor, A.Wells, F.Vincent, J.McLaurin, M.Burnside, K.Connor, B.Burrows, T.Copp, R.Cyanchuk, K.Reynolds, A.Brown, A.Charlton

Published on Monday 12th January 2009 at 09:00