2016 March » monifiethladiesfc.co.uk

Fire bow out of League Cup

Mar 222016

Bayside 5 Monifieth Fire 4

Monifieth Fire under 13’s had an early start on Saturday and took a depleted squad to Dunfermline to face Bayside.

With Chloe, Cara and Katie unable to travel, Fire had only eight players to choose from and this would turn out to be significant in the final analysis.

The Fire opened brightly and created chances but were profligate in front of goal in the first half. Leia was unlucky not to hit the target twice during this period with two long range shots. Kyna did manage to get on the score sheet in the first half but our opponents managed to score twice and went in at half time leading 2-1.

The game had flowed from end to end in the first half but if anything the intensity increased in the second.
Kyna managed to equalise but Bayside scored a third and then a forth.

The coaches thought it might be all over as Bayside were able to introduce several substitutes in the second half but our girls are a different proposition from last year and summoned yet more effort. Kyna snatched a third goal after Catlin, making her debut, found her with a through ball and the game was very much back on.

Everything changed however in a short period which summed up our girls luck. The fire forced a corner and Catlin shot toward goal. Somehow Bayside’s keeper managed to turn the shot onto the post and the ball was scrambled clear.

Worse was to follow as a through ball evaded the defence, Hollie ran out to clear but her clearance hit the onrushing striker and flew into the net.

Unbelievably, even this wasn’t enough to extinguish The Fire as Kyna scored a forth as the game raged on.
Despite a numerical advantage Bayside ended the game hanging on and a great block by one of their defenders in the last seconds denied Catlin a debut goal.

It was impossible to criticise the girls for effort, but we must praise our opponents for their good football and hospitality and we hope to see them again in the future.

Forfar U17s v Monifieth U17s

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Mar 212016

For the second week in a row, we were up against Forfar but this time away from home in the League Cup, at the home of Forfar Athletic, Station Park.

It was always going to be a tough task and the big 4G surface was only going to benefit the older, more experienced Forfar players. On top of this, we only had the bare 11 players to start the game.

As happened last week, we started the game brightly and Forfar were having to work hard for any chances they could get. The large park and the hot day began to take their toll on our players and Forfar moved into a 3-0 lead.

That didn’t discourage our girls though and 10 minutes before half time we scored our first goal of the season. Forfar failed to clear their lines at one of our attacks and the ball fell to Cally, who calmly lobbed the ball over the keeper and into the net. A great goal, although the players’ reactions were a bit more subdued than Steve and Billy’s on the side-lines or Cally’s mum in the stand.

The girls came off at half time 4-1 down and very tired but having given a great account of themselves once again.

If the first half was hard, the second was to prove even harder. As well as Forfar being able to bring on subs throughout the game to give their players a rest, Cally had to leave, so we were down to 10 for the second 40 minutes.

Our girls stuck to their tasks well throughout the second half and although they lost a few more goals, once again, they didn’t give up, throwing themselves into tackles, blocking shots and running their hearts out. When they did manage to get the ball down and play football, they caused Forfar problems and with a bit of luck, we might have had a couple more goals.

The final score was 9-1 but this will be the girls hardest game of the season, playing half of it with only 10 players. Playing against this quality of opposition pushes our girls to up their game and shows them the standards that they should be aiming for. They will learn from games like this and improve as the season goes on. The biggest positive the coaches take is the spirit and determination shown by the girls. We can help with improving skills and technique but we can’t instill character into players – thankfully, the girls have plenty of that.

Well done again and see you at training.

U17s – Monifieth v Forfar (13/3/16)

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Mar 132016

It was a lovely spring morning at Riverview for the U17s first home game of the season and a large crowd had come along to watch the proceedings.

Forfar will be one of the favourites to win the league this year so we decided to go with a more defensive line-up, starting with Lou in goal, Katie R, Sarah, Anna and Sasha in defence, Catherine Libby, Katie S, Cally and Rachel across the middle and Jasmine up front.

Forfar started the game playing down the slope with a slight wind behind their backs and put us under some early pressure, with Lou making a fine reflex save from point blank range in the first couple of minutes.

We gradually got a foothold in the game and looked good when we got our passing game going. There were a few good breaks up the park, the best being a move that started off from Anna at the back, moving it on to Catherine, she played it to Katie S, who played it through to Libby who was unlucky not to get a better connection on her final effort, which the keeper saved.

We were looking dangerous on the break and when we managed to get players forward in support of the hard working Jasmine, we were creating openings. However, Forfar are a strong, experienced team and there always seemed to be one of their defenders on hand when we tried to get a shot away.

Michelle replaced Libby with 15 minutes to go in the first half and we moved Jasmine back into midfield, pushing Michelle on as the loan striker. Our girls were working really hard all over the park, frustrating Forfar and making them work hard to create any openings. Unfortunately, their pressure finally paid off and we lost a couple of goals towards the end of the first half.

It was a tired group of girls that trouped off at half time and no wonder with the effort they had put in.

Emma came on for Katie S at half time and the girls started the second half even better than they had finished the first, with the majority of the play down in the Forfar half.

When Forfar did manage to get up the park, they found themselves up against a solid defence. Katie R was having a fantastic game at right back, Sarah and Sasha were putting in their usual crunching tackles and Anna was reading things well at sweeper. Lou hardly had a save to make for the first 20 mintues of the second half .

The midfield were working well together with Rachel and Cally showing that they were up for the physical challenge and Emma and Catherine were working well together down the right hand side. Libby, replaced Cally who’d taken a knock on the ankle, and played 2 or 3 great through balls that the Forfar keeper did well to clear outside her box.

As happened last week, we tired as the second half went on and we lost concentration at a Forfar corner midway through the second half. A low ball to the near post wasn’t cut out and Forfar scored easily. A couple of minutes later, they scored from an almost identical situation and we lost our earlier momentum.

Forfar were able to throw on 3 more subs for the last 15 minutes and the fresh legs told on our girls, with Forfar scoring on 3 more occasions.

As the game came to a close, we forced a couple of corners and made a couple of half chances but we couldn’t manage to get that elusive goal.

Final score Monifieth 0 7 Forfar.

As was the case last week, the score certainly doesn’t give a true reflection of how the game went. There was a marked improvement from last week and although Forfar won the game, they were made to work hard for the result. A couple of things we can work on at training will help reduce some of the easier goals we’ve been losing and that will make a big difference.

Opening Day Victory for U15s

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Mar 122016

(see pictures from the game by clicking HERE)

With last week’s game against Dundee United Social Club being postponed, the U15s were desperate to get the season underway.

Dunfermline were the visitors to Riverview and we knew that this would be a difficult game, especially as we didn’t have a recognised goalkeeper and only had eleven players.

Kayleigh volunteered to go in goal, although she’d never played there before, so great credit to her for helping the team out. We started with Katie R, Alice, Libby F and Steph as the back 4, Emma, Jessica, Eilidh and Libby T in midfield, with Liberty and Katie M up front.

Monifieth started the match playing up the hill and against the wind but that didn’t stop them getting forward. It was a very even start to the match with the game going from end to end.

Although Libby F was playing at the back, she was breaking forward at every opportunity and 20 minutes into the game she was brought down in the box. The referee pointed to the spot and Libby stepped up to take the penalty herself. She struck the penalty well but it was at a good height for the Dunfermline keeper and the shot was saved.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Kayleigh made 2 excellent saves from powerful shots, holding onto the ball both times as she was under pressure from onrushing forwards.

As the first half wore on, Monifieth began to take control and were playing some excellent football on a difficult surface. On the half hour mark, we were awarded another penalty for a shove in the box. Libby bravely stepped up to take the kick again and this time she made no mistake, firing into the top right corner of the net, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance of saving it this time.

1-0 at half time.

The second half began as the first had ended, with Monifieth playing some nice football and the ball in Dunfermline’s half most of the time. Katie R, Emma and Liberty were playing well together down the right hand side and were causing Dunfermline lots of problems with their passing and speed. On the other side, Libby T was linking up well with Alice and Jessica and Libby T should have had a penalty when she was brought down midway through the half but the referee awarded a free kick outside the box. From the resultant free kick Libby F’s shot just missed the right hand post.

The girls had a few chances to ease the nerves of the coaching staff but a mixture of good defending and goalkeeping meant that the game ended 1-0 to Monifieth.

This was a very good performance against a big, strong Dunfermline side and the win was well deserved. We looked solid at the back with Alice, Libby F, Steph and Katie R dealing well with any attacks that came their way. The midfield of Emma, Jessica, Eilidh and Libby T worked their socks off and Katie M and Eilidh were creating chances up front. However, the most praise has go to Kayleigh, the goalkeeping hero. For someone who had never played in goal before to make the saves she did and keep a clean sheet was a fantastic achievement that she should be very proud of.

Well done girls!

Fire Down But Not Out

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Mar 122016

Monifieth Fire welcomed Forfar Falcons to Riverview sure in the knowledge that they would be facing quality opposition. With that in mind the coaches opted for a more defensive approach, retaining Leah, Rachael and Roxy in their accustomed positions but opting for Kyna in a sweepers role. Chloe and Kasey opened in the more advanced positions with Hollie in goal.

Having suffered two morale sapping defeats to the Falcons last season, Monifieth’s coaches and supporters must have feared the worst as the Falcons raced to a 3-0 lead with excellent passing and crisp shooting. This has to be especially admired on a pitch with more bobbles than a woolly hat convention.

As the match wore on the Fire began to find their feet with Rachael and Kasey frustrating the Falcons with hard running, pressing and no shortage of tackling. The Falcons weren’t finished however and added a further 2 goals before half time.

Just before the break Kyna would consider herself unlucky not to score when a long range shot drifted wide with the goalkeeper struggling.

The second half saw Kyna return to a forward role and Chloe take the sweeper position. She may not be the tallest but she stood tall here and settled things down, working well with Roxy and Leah who ran herself into the ground for the team.

Amy, Cara and Katie were all introduced in the second half and they all tried their hearts out, and helped to restrict the Falcons to only two second half goals.

The match was a great lesson in discipline for the Fire players. They were asked to do specific jobs and did not let the coaches down.

The Fire open their league cup campaign next week and will be surprised to find anyone better than the Falcons waiting for them.

Fire Shine Brightly on Opening Day

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Mar 062016

Monifieth Fire 13’s first game of the season was an away fixture against Dundee Sporting 13’s.
On a cold March morning, Monifieth Fire gave their four new signings their debut games and they did not fail to impress.
The game started off slowly for Monifieth but we did have 70% of the possession, Kyna was impressive in the strikers position, hitting the woodwork on numerous occasions to deny the opening goal. Playing behind Kyna were the midfield of Chloe and Cara and in defence were Leah, Rachael and Roxy who were solid throughout the game, in goal was Hollie who had a handful of saves and was also solid throughout the game.
Monifieth’s first goal came just before half time when Kyna latched onto a through ball and calmly placed it into the back of the net.
At half time the score was 1-0 to Monifieth.
In the second half Monifieth put on Kacey, Amy and Katey and their impact was instant, Monifieth grew stronger and their second goal was superb, Leah collected the ball on the right and put a through ball to Chloe who took the ball just over the half way line on the right hand side and unleashed a superb shot which dipped over the keepers head and into the top right hand corner of the net, she couldn’t believe it had went in . The third goal came when Kyna latched onto a pass from Chloe which she placed into the back of the net. Monifieth were now 3-0 up and pushing for more, goal number four came from Katey who pounced on a loose ball in the box which hit the back of the net, the teams final goal came from Kacey who received a pass from Amy on the left hand side outside the box, she took a fine shot which hit the back of the net making the score 5-0 to Monifieth. With 15 minutes left Monifieth ensured that they pushed for every ball and controlled the game.
The defence kept Hollie in goal fairly quiet and only had to make a handful of saves to ensure that Monifieth kept a clean sheet.
The girls were buzzing in get their season off to a great start and will continue on with confidence each week, we are looking forward to our next game.
Well done to the whole team, the coaches Ryan and Mark were ecstatic with the teams performance as a whole and the result.

Tough Start to New Season for U17s

Match Reports, Under 17

Mar 062016

East Fife away appeared to be a difficult tie to start the season and so it proved for our young squad. However, the 7-0 scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story of the game and there were plenty of positives that our girls can take from the game.

We started with Louise in goal, Alice, Sarah, Libby and Sasha at the back, Rachel, Katie S, Anna and Catherine across the middle and Michelle and Jasmine up top. Emma and Katie R were the subs.

East Fife started with the wind behind their backs and a lot of the early play was up in our half but when we were getting the ball to our full backs and playing through midfield, we did manage to get the ball up to the forwards, where Michelle and Jasmine were causing the East Fife defence a lot of problems. We created a couple of half chances, with their keeper doing well to hold a free kick from Libbby with Jasmine ready to pounce on any mistake and a long range effort from Anna that had the keeper backtracking to save.

East Fife were creating chances of their own but were being made to work hard for them and when they did manage to break through the defence, Louise was (once again) on great form, saving at the feet of East Fife forwards on three occasions.

The East Fife pressure eventually paid off and they took the lead midway through the first half and got a second goal soon after but our girls heads didn’t go down and we continued to work hard and play the ball out from the back.

Our girls were putting in a lot of hard work but were beginning to tire as the first half was drawing to a close and we lost a couple of goals in the last minute of the first half due to nothing more than fatigue.

Katie R and Emma came on at half time to give us fresh legs and a bit more energy and we started the second half brightly but East Fife were a big strong team. Some of their link up play was very good and the big pitch was making it hard for our midfield to support the forwards as well as getting back to help out the defence. Despite this, the girls stuck to their tasks, their heads didn’t go down and they kept encouraging each other, which doesn’t always happen when things are going against you.

A mistimed tackle from Sasha gave East Fife a penalty but to no ones surprise, Lou dived down to her right and saved the well-struck penalty, before pouncing on the rebound to deny the onrushing attacker.

As in the first half, we began to tire as the match went on and East Fife’s strength eventually began to tell as they went on to score another three goals, making the final score 7-0 but our girls should be proud of their efforts today.

East Fife had a few of the players from last year’s U15 team – one of only two teams to have beaten Monifieth last season – so our young squad should not be downhearted with today’s result. The girls will learn from today and improve as the season goes on and the coaches are very happy with the commitment shown today.