Birkdale United AFC

An incredibly hot and sunny day saw the team head for Formby FC to play the final game of what had been an excellent season. However, a sizeable obstacle stood in the way of them having any silverware to celebrate – namely, League Champions, Mossley Hill, who were the only team to do the League double over Birkdale this year. In eight years of competitive fixtures, Birkdale had never beaten their rivals, so while history was against them, the Ladies were confident of springing what had to be considered a surprise.

It had been difficult to pick the squad for the final, with a few injuries and absences complicating matters, so Noel, Dave and Dave decided to move Davidson out to right back to accomodate the returning Lloyd and McEvoy, with Granby partnering Williams in central midfield. Griffiths in particular was very unlucky to miss out on the starting eleven, and she took her place on the bench alongside Waring, White, Griner and Tuakli.

The start of the game saw the Ladies looking very nervous indeed, and it was the Champions who made the stronger start, forcing a number of corners and keeping Birkdale penned in. They had a good chance when a forward burst through, but with pressure being applied by Lloyd, Hesketh dealt with the shot well. After about a quarter of an hour, the Blues started to get the ball down and play a bit more, and in particular Williams and Granby were able to get Ferguson away down the wing a few times, where she caused a number of problems. Shortly afterwards, Cooper hit a low, powerful shot which the keeper only just deflected around the post.

During this period, McEvoy injured her knee. She tried gamely to continue but could not, so Noel decided to introduce Griner, prompting a reshuffle which saw Williams go into defence, Gillingham into midfield and Griner join Cooper upfront. It was nearly a move which caused instant dividends as excellent play between Jackson and Ferguson saw Griner engineer a one-on-one chance for herself, however the keeper made an excellent save.

By the last ten minutes of the first half, Birkdale were in the ascendancy, and it was not a total surprise when they scored the first goal, but what a good goal it was. It came from a Mossley attack which Williams and Lloyd dealt with, playing the ball out to Davidson. She hit a sixty yard ball to the feet of Griner, who controlled brilliantly, outpaced her marker and shot into the very top corner of the goal, giving the keeper no chance and prompting acrobatic celebrations!

Mossley were a little shaken by this but came back at Birkdale without really testing the keeper. So, the half-time whistle signalled the League runners-up leading the champions in an excellent game.

The Ladies were spoke to at half-time, and told they were playing excellently. they needed to maintain these efforts and try to increase their lead in a sensible manner.

Birkdale made an excellent start to the second half, and were very unlucky not to double their lead. Tuakli and Griffiths was causing lots of problems with their pace and Tuakli, Waring, Griner and White were unlucky not to notch. Mossley gained confidence from this and started to dominate proceedings, requiring Hesketh to make a couple of great saves. However, it was a breakdown in concentration which saw them draw level. Tuakli came over to the sideline due to a reoccurence  of her injury, and a couple of players concentrated on this rather than the game going on. As it was, Mossley took full advantage of the gap, breaking through and it was Lancaster who finished neatly into the bottom corner.

Fortunately, rather than wilting at this point, Birkdale seemed ever more determined to come out victorious, and within five minutes they were back ahead. Williams won yet another ball forward and played it forward, where Waring flicked the ball on expertly into the path of Cooper. The forward outpaced her marker before sliding a shot past the keeper into the far corner to make the scoreline 2-1.

From here on it was an excellent cup-tie with end to end football, but neither keeper actually having to make many saves – although Mossley’s keeper did make one excellent stop from Griner. Both teams were having a lot of possession but struggling to break the opposition defence down. As time ticked towards the final few minutes, the Champions were hitting the ball forward quickly and putting lots of pressure on the Blues’ defence, but Davidson, Lloyd, McEvoy, Williams and Coulter were heading everything away. The captain had an excellent game where she lead the team by true example.

As it was, there was to be a further goal, and it came with two minutes left. Gillingham and Jackson won the ball, and fed it to the left for Ferguson. She laid in a low ball to Griner who poked it through to leave Cooper one-on-one with the keeper. She made no mistake, blasting the ball into the top corner to make the scoreline 3-1 to Birkdale. A mere matter of minutes later, the final whistle blew to see Birkdale United the Liverpool County FA Women’s League Cup Winners for 2010!

It had been an excellent game between two good sides. Congratulations to Ian, Dave and Mick on a successful season for Mossley Hill. It must be said that players and supporters from the opposition were very sporting in their praise for the Blues, which shows their character and deserves great credit. Indeed, both sets of players deserve huge credit for producing such an entertaining spectacle for the watching spectators given the extreme heat that afternoon.

Noel, Dave and Dave could not have been prouder of the Ladies. Once again, this was an outstanding performance which showed just what this team is truly capable of. Moreover, this has been a superb season which has exceeded everyone’s expectations, and silverware is certainly what everyone deserved. Well done to all of you who have played for the team this season, and thank you for a great year! Enjoy the break!

The Player of the Match Award went to H. Williams.
The Manager’s Player of the Match Award went to L. Davidson.

The team was Hesketh, Davidson, Coulter (c), Lloyd, McEvoy, Jackson, Williams, Granby, Ferguson, Gillingham, Cooper, Griner, White, Griffiths, Waring and Tuakli.

Birkdale United stood one game away from a cup final, with a rapidly improving Corinthians side standing in their way. Noel, Dave and Dave preached the importance of concentration, focussing on one game at a time. There were a few changes to the team from the last game, with Lloyd and McKenna both unavailable. Therefore, Davidson and White took the central defensive roles. Gillingham, Waring and Granby also both returned to the squad, while unfortunately Tuakli was not quite fit enough to play on this occasion. There was a problem before the game when the appointed referee was unable to attend. Thankfully Mr A. Taylor, a spectator with significant experience of refereeing school fixtures, volunteered to officiate and did an excellent job throughout, with both teams happy with his performance.

The home side started well but found their opponents to be well-disciplined and organised. In the end, it was a long-range effort from Jackson from out on the wing which saw the home side go ahead. The Blues doubled their lead with a neat finish from Gillingham after great work from Williams and Cooper, and Cooper opened her account with a neat angled finish from a good through ball from Parker.

However, at this point the home side became a little sloppy, and Corinthians pulled a goal back with a great finish from the edge of the area. They could have cut the deficit to a single goal had Hesketh not pulled off a smart save from a free kick which was flicked on. Shortly after this, Jackson managed to score almost a carbon copy of her first goal to make it 4-1. Cooper made it 5-1 with a low shot after a neat passing move, and Gillingham made it 6-1 just before half time after Ferguson had put over an excellent cross.

The management team were understandably happy with some of the football being played, but not with the switching off which had taken place, and they urged the team to maintain their concentration.

The second half display was much better, although significant credit must go to Corinthians for their hard work, and in particular the keeper who had a great game. Griner scored an excellent individual goal after Granby, White and Ferguson had worked the ball to her near the edge of the area, before Granby scored a well-deserved goal after good work from Waring. Cooper completed her hat-trick with an absolute howitzer of a shot from outside the area which the keeper got both hands to but could not keep out, and Gillingham joined her by following up a Jackson effort which had been well saved, taking the team into double figures. Cooper completed the scoring with an accurate low effort into the corner following further good work from Williams and Jackson.

This had been a good performance against an honest and determined Corinthians team whose effort in this game is harshly reflected in the scoreline. However, the victory meant that the home side had a cup final to look forward, which would provide an excellent punctuation point to what has been a fantastic season to remember.

The Player of the Match Award, chosen by Corinthians, went to A. Cooper.
The Manager’s Player of the Match Award went to H. Williams.

The team was Hesketh, Griffiths, Davidson, White, Coulter (c), Jackson, Williams, Parker, Ferguson, Gillingham, Cooper, Griner, Granby, Waring and Tuakli.