South Reading Vixens

Brrrrr, an early start and a biting wind combined to make it a chilly morning for the Vixens. But the pitch was fine, and after a good warmup it was only the parents who were still feeling the cold.

The hosts took an early lead as they pounced on a South Reading goal kick and ran through on goal. Dom got a touch, but it was not enough to stop the ball ending up in the back of the net. The Vixens battled back, and Yasmin’s shot was well saved by the Sapphires keeper. Thereafter both teams had opportunities, the best one falling to Whitegrove as they burst through the middle only to be denied by Nicole’s last ditch tackle. As the half time whistle sounded the ref made a speedy exit – we found out why a few minutes later when he reappeared with a mouth watering bacon roll - but he didn’t bring any for us!

It looked a tough task for the Vixens as they began the second period playing into the wind. But Yasmin had other ideas, as straight from the kick off she waltzed through the Sapphires defence and equalised with just 15 seconds on the clock. There were more half-chances for both sides, but with Nicole, Perri and Zoe outstanding in defence there was no way through for the hosts. Shannon B was working hard on the right and winning a lot of possession against her much bigger opponent, whilst Yasmin drew another good save from the keeper. But there was no further score and it was all square at the end of normal time.

The Vixens took hold of the game as extra time began, and took the lead after three minutes. Shannon B found space on the right, Yasmin played her through and a confident first time finish put the girls in front. Just a minute later they doubled their lead with the best move of the game as Deanna and Shannon B played some neat football to set up Yasmin, who finished confidently from a few yards out. Whitegrove then pushed forward, and with just seconds remaining pulled one back when Dom dropped the ball under pressure. But it wasn’t enough for the Sapphires, and the Vixens played out the rest of the time in the Whitegrove half to secure a place in the semi final.

Thanks go to Whitegrove, who made us welcome as always, and played their part in an entertaining and evenly matched game.

Squad: Dom, Nicole, Zoe, Perri, Shannon B, Deanna, Yasmin, Azara, Kamara

The Vixens player of the match was Shannon B, who showed great determination and scored an excellent goal.