Birkdale United v Corinthian Girls
June 23rd, 2010 by admin| Date:        | Sunday 2nd May 2010 |
| Location:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | Bedford Park, Birkdale |
| Result: | Birkdale United Ladies (11) Corinthian Girls (1) |
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.
