South Reading Vixens

Despite the obvious size difference of some of our opponents, the girls were up for this one from the start. Barton Rovers Blacks kicked off our first game, but Georgia immediately won the ball, ran through and scored our first goal of the morning. A great start, but there was more to come. She added a second following a short corner from Jaye which caught our opponents on the hop, and managed to complete her hat trick before coming off a couple of minutes from the end.

Barton Rovers Greens provided a tougher test, but a battling performance from the whole team secured a 0-0 draw. Felisha was a revelation, winning most 50/50 challenges and our new keeper Ellie was starting to grow in confidence with every game.

Another very even contest saw us just edge out California Rangers 1-0 after Georgia latched on to a loose goal kick This was an excellent result against a more experienced team that played some good football.

A change in formation saw us adopt a more defensive approach against Reading Girls U12's. The anticipated onslaught didn't happen though, and despite conceding a substantial age advantage it turned out to be another equal contest. The back line of Ashleigh, Emma and Jessica held firm and again we capitalised on one of our opponents goal kicks with Jaye being first to the ball to give us a 1-0 victory.

Our final group game once again saw us up against bigger opposition. Barton Rovers Reds looked to have won it when we conceded our first goal of the tournament with a minute remaining. But the Vixens were not going to let it slip now and went on the attack straight from the restart, resulting in another goal for Georgia.

So we were top of our group for the first time ever, with three wins and two draws. Surely this was going to be our day at last? Not so. We conceded early against Barton Rovers Green in the semi, and with legs tiring there was no way back. It was no surprise when Barton sealed it with another goal late on.

Nevertheless, it was a great performance from all the girls against some bigger and more experienced teams. It is easy to forget that we have only been training for four months, yet we are matching and often beating opposition who have been playing competitive football for a year or more.

Squad: Ellie, Ashleigh, Emma, Jessica, Jaye, Georgia, Felisha, Karis

The Vixens player of the tournament was Felisha, whose tackling and determination was superb throughout.

Results
v Barton Rovers Blacks 3-0 (Georgia (3))
v Barton Rovers Greens 0-0
v California Rangers 1-0 (Georgia)
v Reading Girls U12's 1-0 (Jaye)
v Barton Rovers Reds 1-1 (Georgia)
v Barton Rovers Greens 0-2