Phoenix rose high this weekend with a series of excellent results. The teams seem to be gathering pace as we rapidly approach the final games of the season.

Saturday 5 April 2014

Wyre Forest Phoenix 2 v 0 Kinver Colts

The Under 9 Raiders game kicked off on a mild morning at Brown West Head Park the Wyre Forest Phoenix Raiders started with their usual strong intent, Pressuring the Kinver Defence from the whistle. Some strong passing and moving combined with step over's and turns that even the professionals would applaud the Wyre Forest Raiders sliced through the Kinver's defence time and time again however the lack of decisive finishing was hindering the progress of the Raiders. A short spell of Kinver Pressure was swiftly dealt with by the defensive duo of Tegan Wills and Isabelle Gibbons set Abi Reeves off down the line, turning inside the Kinver Left Back Abi pushed on through the defensive line until she was brought down on the edge of the penalty area to get Phoenix a free kick. Up stepped Rosie Lawley who smashed home a perfectly placed free kick into the top corner of the Kinver Goal leaving the goalkeeper completely helpless. Half time 1-0. Phoenix continued with the same intent and decisive passing as the second half kicked off. A good defensive pairing of Tegan Wills and Georgia Baker ensured that Kinver Colts chances on goal were limited. However any balls that found their way through to the Phoenix penalty area were quickly swept up by Daisy Jenkins who was consistently quick off her line to collect. A strong throw from Caitlin Stanton mid way through the second half found Rosie Lawley who quickly got the ball under control before taking on the Kinver Defence. A perfectly weighted ball to Abi Reeves saw her one on one with the goal keeper. A nicely placed shot into the far corner of the Kinver goal doubled Wyre Forest Phoenix Raiders Lead. Kinver Colts began throwing players forward in hope of finding a way back into the tie. However the tight defence and midfield ensured that Kinver were unable to find the target. Final Score : 2-0. Goals : Rosie Lawley (1), Abbie Reeves (1). Girl of the Game award for this match went to Abi Reeves.

Withymore Colts 1 v 3 Wyre Forest Phoenix

The Under 10 team travelled away to Withymoor on Saturday. The game started quickly with both teams getting the ball and making runs to their respective goals, but it wasn't long before Jasmine Whitmore scored for Phoenix. The game kept up a fast pace from both sides and before half time Withymoor had equalised. Into the second half and Phoenix really upped their game with a number of shots at goal, some hitting the posts. But Jasmine Whitmore again found the back of the net taking it to 2-1. It wasn't then long before Jasmine Whitmore claimed her hat trick thus making it 3-1 final score to Phoenix. Goals : Jasmine Whitmore (3).

Pershore Town 1 v 3 Wyre Forest Phoenix

The Under 12's Phoenix had a full squad for the first time this season and this contributed to a brilliant win over Pershore town. Phoenix had most of the play for the first ten minutes really limiting the Pershore side to minimal touches, however they could not finish the chances that they created. This frustrated the team and officials as Phoenix could have been out of sight but Jazmin Cartwright soon opened the scoring before half time with a cracking strike from outside the area that nestled into the bottom corner. In quick succession Phoenix doubled their lead when a ball bounced around the box before falling to Izzy Smith who slotted the ball home to make it 2-0 at half time. Due to the number of players available Phoenix made lots of changes however the team continued to perform well and dominated proceedings. Emily Crump finally made it 3-0 after holding off her defender to slot the ball in to the bottom corner. Some players were looking tired so again changes were made to allow others game time and Phoenix looked comfortable until a nice move from Pershore caught out the defence who had pushed too far forward and with the last kick of the game Pershore got a goal back Final Score 1-3. Despite this last minute lack of concentration, Phoenix played fantastically and fully deserved the 3 points. Goals : Jazmin Cartwright (1), Izzy Smith (1), Emily Crump (1). Next game on Wednesday evening 6.30 kick off away to Redditch.

Sunday 06 April 2014

Hereford and Worcester Girls and Women's County League

Wyre Forest Phoenix 3 (1) v Evesham 5 (4)

Today the Ladies County hosted Evesham, current league leaders, knowing it would be a tough game having lost in two previous games against them. We started on the offensive and within 5 minutes, against the odds and to our surprise we took the lead, when we were given a free kick 35yrds from goal. Taken by Steph Lambert a beautiful shot towards goal saw the keeper tip it onto the bar, but it dropped straight to Elsa Bettray who headed in from a yard for an early lead. Evesham stepped up a gear and we now conceding ground to our opponents our keeper was kept busy with shots from distance. Evesham wanted the game a little more at this stage with them battling to take midfield control and with 15 mins gone a long ball over the defence, evaded our central defenders, bounced into the area, and with our keeper advancing to collect the ball bounced over her and was bundled into the net. We were caught out again almost straight from the kick off, with a long ball over the top and the same result another goal to Evesham. We took the game to our opponents, playing some good stuff and with our defence pushing up to put pressure on we got our offside wrong and we were 3-1 and then 4-1, Halftime score 1-4. After a productive team talk we come out with the wind at our backs and again we scored early on this time from a great move which left Sadie Brown with the keeper to beat, and she slotted the ball home with her left foot. we were playing well this stage of the game and created a few half chances but just couldn't take them. A quick attack from Evesham caught us out again due to the offside breaking down. This didn't deter us and with nothing to lose we kept our opponents busy. Awarded a corner, up stepped Kirsty Roberts to sail it straight into the net. With 24 minutes left of the game it was all out attack for us we tried everything to get another goal, but unfortunately this didn't happen and at the final whistle the score was 3-5.   Goals: Elsa Bettray (1), Sadie Brown (1), Kirsty Roberts (1).  The girl of the game was given to Elsa Bettray because she played in 4 different positions today. We have to take pride in this today's performance, a great game to watch and with both teams giving their all. Next and last game of the season is at home against Drakes Broughton.