C.Palace U16 girls 2 C.Palace girls (Reds) 1

Surrey County Cup Semi final

It was a brilliant result just to get the game on after weeks of frustration trying to find pitches that could withstand the heavy rain lately! But find one we did and our girls battled their way to the Surrey County Cup Final.

Palace girls started brightly and dominated possession in the first 15 mins playing some slick football but creating little, they almost took the lead in the 14th min when a free kick from Lexie Spokes floated into the box, Abi Deene met it with a bullet header but was inches wide. It looked as though the reds would make us pay for that miss as they began to grow into the game and started to penetrate our defence but Lucy Baker looked determined throughout and never looked like being beaten. In the 23rd min Amy Gorman broke down the left and hit a shot across the keeper but just wide, further chances fell to the reds but an even half ended 0-0.

In the second half substitutions and formation changes played a big part. Ashleigh Marchant came on for her debut and along with Chloe Watson, who hadn’t played much recently, slotted in really well. Tyra Wilson came on up front and began to worry the reds strong defence but the reds continued to press whilst playing some fine football and were rewarded in the 51st min following a wonder strike from a free kick 25 yards out. Manager, Luke Hunter, acted quickly and bought on Ella Aylett and switched to a 4-3-3 formation, this soon paid off as in the 65th min Aylett played a one two with Alice Fuller and drove for the by-line she then cut back a delightful cross into the path of Keely Nazareth who calmly slotted home for 1-1. This really got our girls going and they looked like they could go on to win the tie, however, at the other end the reds were still looking dangerous and almost took the lead when the striker hooked over the bar and 5 mins from time a shot from the edge of the area looked goal bound but Eleanor Mulligan pulled a stunning save as she somehow managed to deflect the shot with her hand as her body was moving the other way. In the final min our girls broke again and Fuller played the ball into the feet of Nazareth who turned superbly but was caught by the defender, the ref pointed to the spot without hesitation and Deene stepped up bravely to hit a sweet strike into the corner, the final whistle blew a minute later and the girls celebrated wildly.

This was a great advert for Palace ladies as both team played some good football at times and worked extremely hard, both teams respected each other and played out a tough but sporting game, it has to be said that the reds didn’t deserve to lose but, unfortunately there has to be a winner and we march onto the final. Player of the match, Ella Aylett, she came on as a late sub and changed the game with a stunning cross for the equalizer which really gave our girls the belief and spurred them on to win the game.