West Lancs Girls League Tournament at Burscough

The Under 8’s squad travelled to Victoria Park, Burscough on Sunday 28^th March for a five a side tournament. Sadly Alizee, Cody and Lizzie weren’t able to make it but Jade and Molly were procured from the under 9’s outfit (who also took part) to give us a squad of eight to choose from.

Bury Squad:- Ebony, Ella, Jade, Jo, Katie K, Katie S, Lara, Molly.

The tournament was technically for under 9’s but the 8’s were kept together to give them the experience of playing together. Originally it should have been held indoors at the Soccerdome in Wigan but was moved at short notice due to a double booking. Thankfully it was a dry and sunny day as the girls took to the turf.

First up was a game against TMS from Liverpool and whilst enjoying a few chances and giving it their best shot, Bury were unluckily on the end of a 3-0 scoreline.

The next match was against The Fillies, again from Liverpool and this time Bury really took the game to their opponents and had a number of chances to score but in the end it was a goal from Lara just before the end which separated the two sides as Bury won 1-0.

The final “group” match was against Academy Juniors from Bolton who were certainly bigger and more experienced than our girls and had convincingly won their other group games. It was a nice surprise when Katie K scored in the first minute of the game to put us in front but from then on Academy pressed forward but found the Bury defence of Katie S and Molly in determined mood. With the help of Katie K and Lara tracking back, Bury blocked and tackled for their lives and when Academy did get through, goalkeeper Ella was in fine form making some superb saves. With just a couple of minutes left Academy did equalise, Ella having no chance with a shot well above her head but Bury played really well and deserved to come off with a 1-1 draw.

The fourth game saw Bury face The Fillies again, and with revenge on their minds Bury were soon a goal down. Goalkeeper Ebony made an excellent stop to deny The Fillies a second and Jade and Jo’s running and skill threatened to get Bury back into the game. Eventually the hard work paid off and Molly scored an excellent equaliser followed up with a second from Lara and a third from Molly again making the final score 3-1.

The organisers then decided to have a 10v10 match and teams were combined to make up the numbers. Bury and Birkdale were paired together and enjoyed another victory with the girls getting a test of the larger numbers involved and gaining some more experience.

Overall the squad enjoyed the day and played with real determination and skill and each one of them can be proud of their efforts.

I’d like to thank The West Lancashire Girls League for running the event and also Burscough FC for allowing use of their excellent facilities.

 

 

 

.