Surrey 2-2 Essex (27/5/10): The Under 14s’ last game of the season away to Surrey started well, with high pressure being applied to the hosts’ back four which helped Essex to create a number of good chances.
It took 11 minutes for the first goal to arrive as some impressive combination play involving Shannon Griggs and Kira Fitzpatrick led to a cross in for Elle Georgiou, who volleyed in from close range.
As with the team’s other games, the middle part of the first half saw Essex step off the pedal, which allowed the home team to have a good spell of possession as well as a number of chances which were sprayed wide of the visitors’ goal.
The second half saw Essex again start brightly but Surrey battled hard. 17 minutes into the period a Surrey strike was parried out by Sydney Claydon but it was struck back at her and it found its way into the net.
Things then went from bad to worse for Essex when, moments later, a Surrey cross was met by an Essex player’s hand, resulting in a penalty being awarded. However, Claydon kept her cool and managed to keep the ball out of the net, saving Essex’s blushes.
Essex still seemed to be shaken, though, and it was again Surrey who were enjoying the majority of the possession. A good spell in and around the box then saw a ball played out to a central midfielder who managed to slot through a number of Essex players and into the bottom left-hand corner.
With less than ten minutes left to play, Essex began to press and this created them a number of corners. They reacted quickly to a throw-in which saw Paige Wakefield cross the ball into the Surrey box and a clearance found the feet of Charlotte Bryant, who calmly placed the ball into the bottom right-hand corner to make it 2-2.
With the momentum now in their favour, Essex continued to apply some pressure but, with only minutes left, they were unable to find an all-important goal to grab the win.
Essex: Claydon, Robinson, Bryant, Townsend, Melvin, Haydon, Fitzpatrick, Wakefield, Griggs, Georgiou, Goss, Di Lisia, Cross, Guiver.
Essex 8-0 Hertfordshire (7/4/10): The squad picked-up where they left off against Hertfordshire with a fine display against a determined Buckinghamshire side at the London Marathon Playing Fields. It took just 2 minutes for Shannon Griggs to latch onto a through ball from Paige Wakefield and slot into the bottom right-hand corner.
With Essex applying good pressure all over the pitch it didn’t take long for the second to arrive courtesy of a Sophie Haydon cross which Griggs calmly finished. Similar to the Hertfordshire game, Essex took their feet off the pedal slightly, which allowed Bucks to have their best spell of possession, but this was only repaid with one effort on goal which was sprayed wide.
Just before the end of the half, Essex sprung into life again when a free-kick was awarded just outside of the box. Ria Melvin whipped in a low, left-footed cross which Griggs ran onto and curled into the Bucks net to make it 3-0 and a hat-trick for Griggs. Essex then began the second half like they did the first and set about controlling the game once more. The defence, made-up of Mollie Bartrip, Mollie Robinson, Megan Goss and Melvin were well organised and helped to create a huge number of chances going forward.
It was on the 6-minute mark that Essex stuck again. Wakefield picked up the ball in the centre of midfield and lobbed the ‘keeper in what was a good individual effort. Wakefield also turned assistant for Essex’s fifth goal when she helped on a wonderful diagonal cross from Melvin to Kira Fitzpatrick who lashed the ball into the bottom corner. Despite some brave efforts by the Bucks goalkeeper, the ball was back in the net a minute later as Wakefield was again involved by taking on two players before crossing for Griggs to side-foot into the net.
With the game drawing to a close, and Bucks clearly deflated, Essex continued to press for their seventh goal which saw a helpless defender turn Melvin’s cross into the back of her own net. Just a minute remained when the visiting goalkeeper had to pull off at least two extremely good saves to prevent both Phoebe Guiver and Elle Georgiou from adding to the score but it was left-back Melvin who had the final word with a fine effort from outside the box.
Essex: Claydon (C), Robinson, Bryant, Melvin, Haydon, Wakefield, Griggs, Gergiou, Guiver, Bartrip. Substitutes (rotated): Fitzpatrick.
Hertfordshire 1-8 Essex (26/3/10): Essex's Under 14s shrugged-off the disappointment of their last game against Suffolk with a comprehensive win over a resilient Hertfordshire outfit.
Essex started the quicker of the two teams, creating a number of early chances, but the away side had to be patient in their play which resulted in Phoebe Guiver turning two defenders on the edge of the box before dispatching the ball into the top right-hand corner. Just under five minutes later Guiver became the provider with an excellent corner delivered into the near post which was met by Paige Wakefield who headed home.
Three minutes later a smart bit of combination play between Jess Johnson in right midfield, who was revelling in the good news about her England training camp call-up, and Shannon Griggs saw the Herts goalkeeper stranded on the edge of her box before being calmly lobbed by Griggs. With the game now firmly in Essex’s favour, the visitors took their foot off the pedal which gave Herts what was their most productive phase of the game. Their persistence paid off as they netted a consolation to make it 3-1.
Half time saw Essex come out rejuvenated and it took just over a minute for a cross from Griggs to be received at the back post by Guiver who set-up Paige Wakefield to slot the ball in. Essex were then immediately back in the hunt, resulting in a fine individual goal by left-back Ria Melvin, overlapping to score at the near post.
It was Melvin who was again on the score sheet with a left-sided inswinging corner which found its way straight into the net then Griggs delivered an excellent shot from 30 yards past the 'keeper. Griggs was again involved in Essex’s final goal with some neat work in and around the box before setting the ball off to Wakefield to drive the ball into the bottom corner and secure her hat-trick.
Essex: Claydon (C), Melvin, Cross, Goss, Bryant, Johnson, Guiver, Fitzpatrick, Wakefield, Griggs, Gergiou. Substitutes (rotated): Haydon, Townsend, Robinson, Di Lisia.
Suffolk 4-1 Essex (20/2/10): With freezing conditions still evident in Suffolk, it was Essex that started brightest with good possession, but their chances were limited to shots from distance by an organised Suffolk defence.
Both teams struggled on what was a hard pitch but it was Suffolk who took the lead with their only first real attack which saw a through ball find their forward’s feet who calmly slotted the ball past Sydney Claydon in the Essex goal. With Essex again having most of the possession they were beginning to become frustrated by the number of chances that they were creating but not managing to successfully put away.
Their persistence finally paid off towards the end of the half, though, when substitute Jess Johnson put a well-weighted ball over the Suffolk defence which found Shannon Griggs who made it 1-1. Essex’s elation didn’t last too long after the break as a clearance by Claydon was unfortunately sliced towards her own goal then tapped in by an oncoming Suffolk player. Both teams continued to press but, as Essex looked for their second goal, they were caught on the break by Suffolk who were able to make it 3-1.
With the game drawing to a close, Essex went for a more attacking formation with Paige Wakefield being pushed up in place of the hard-working Elle Georgiou, instantly seeming to have paid off with a number of new chances being created on goal. Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be and, as Essex continued to push, a counter-attack found one of the strong Suffolk players who ran through and scored to make it 4-1.
After the game, Coach Sharon Brownlie reacted: “This was a huge disappointment for us today as we felt we were the better footballing team but goals count and we were punished for not being clinical enough. If we can combine the impressive play we saw today with some better finishing we have lots to look forward to over the next few games.”
Essex: Claydon (C), Robinson, Bryant, Towsend, Haydon, Fitzpatrick, Wakefield, Griggs, Georgiou, Goss, Di Lisia, Cross, Bartrip, Guiver, Johnson.
Essex 2-1 Kent (18/2/10): Essex faced a strong Kent side on what was an extremely cold and wet day in Chigwell and the home side started brightest, with the majority of the play coming down the left-hand side via good link up play involving Megan Goss at left-back and Phoebe Guiver on the left of midfield.
With all of the pressure mounting on Kent it was the visitors’ goalkeeper who kept her side in the game by making number of good interventions. Kent rarely caused concern for the Essex defence, which was led by the impressive Molly Bartrip, and the hosts finally broke the deadlock with more fluent passages of play down the left which saw Guiver cut in front of the final defender to slot the ball underneath the oncoming goalkeeper.
The second half saw Kent come out revitalised and they quickly began to create a number of chances which were dealt with by Essex Captain Sydney Claydon. Besides the mounting pressure from Kent, Essex continued to work hard on a difficult surface and they looked to have put themselves two goals up when a crisp shot beat the ‘keeper but rebounded off the crossbar.
Essex were punished for that important miss when Kent levelled with under ten minutes remaining but they were relentless in their drive and determination to win the game, resulting in Paige Wakefield taking-on no less than three Kent players before volleying the ball into the back of the net to win the game.
Sharon Brownlie, as Team Coach, was delighted with the performance, explaining: “After a disappointing defeat to Middlesex in our first game we were looking for the girls to show a bit of character today and they did that, 100%. To find themselves at 1-1 with less than ten minutes to go and to continue to press for the winning goal was a real credit to the girls and their hard-working attitude.”
Essex: Claydon (C), Robinson, Bryant, Towsend, Haydon, Fitzpatrick, Wakefield, Griggs, Georgiou, Goss, Di Lisia, Cross, Bartrip, Guiver.
Coach: Sharon Brownlie. Assistant Coach: Hayley Jackson.
Under 14s: Molly Bartrip (Francis Bardsley), Charlotte Bryant (Ramsey College), Zara Marie Clarke (William Edwards), Sydney Claydon (Baddow Sports College), Daniella Cross (St Clere’s), Ella Dearman (Robert Clack), Lucia Di Lisio (Brentwood Ursuline County High), Kira Fitzpatrick (Clacton Coastal Academy), Elle Georgiou (Mountfitchet College), Megan Goss (St Bernard’s High), Shannon Griggs (Manningtree High), Phoebe Guiver (Hedingham), Sophie Haydon (Boswells), Jessica Johnson (New Rickstones Academy), Ria Melvin (Shenfield), Mollie Robinson (Brentwood County High), Terri Townson (Passmores), Paige Wakefield (The Harwich School).