Shetland Girls v Deeside Girls

A bright and breezy Clickimin Juvenile park was the venue for the Shetland Girls Football Teams’ first competitive game.  Their opposition were ex Yell man Peter McDonnell’s Deeside Girls team who play in the SWF North Girls 15′s league.

Shetland Captain Lynda Flaws won the toss and decided to stay as they were, leaving Deeside to kick off.  The advantages of playing regular football soon became apparent as Deeside tore into Shetland right from kick off and the Shetland defence of Charlotte Allan, Debbie Sneddon and Susan Nicolson were all in the thick of it within seconds.  Inside the first five minutes a good give and go saw Deeside through on goal but Shetland custodian Julie Sandilands was quickly off her line to bravely dive at the feet of the onrushing striker.  The visitors took the lead a few minutes later when a powerful shot was parried into the path of a striker who was following in for a tap in.

The centre midfield of Flaws and Zoe Irvine were having to curb their attacking instincts to dig in and feed the Yell dream team of Sarah Drever and Amber Inkster on the left and right wing.  Just when Shetland were beginning to get into the game Deeside got a second with a high looping shot from outside the box which dropped under the cross bar.

It was approaching the quarter hour mark before Shetland produced their first meaningful attack when Nicolson won the ball outside her penalty box and fed the ball through to Drever who ran up the left wing and laid it off to Tori Williamson up front who did well to force a corner.  From the corner Shetland were given a harsh lesson in swift counter attacking when Deeside cleared their lines and quickly broke up the park to net their third.  By now Shetland were camped in their own half and even attacking midfielder Amber Johnson was having to drop deep to get the ball to setup Williamson and Frances Manson up front.

With so many new, and obviously inexperienced, players in the team there are bound to be occasions when a moments hesitation will be punished by a very attack minded team and this cost Shetland the fourth goal when, instead of clearing the ball into Clickimin loch and regrouping, the defence momentarily   hesitated allowing the nippy Deeside forwards to pounce.  To their credit this never got to them and and they continued to grow into the game, unfortunately one of our new players, Charlotte Allan, who was putting herself about well at right back went over on her ankle and had to be replaced by another new comer, Alana Sinclair, at right back.  Sinclair was not long on the park when Shetland conceded the fifth but there was no fault on her or any of her team mates as this came from a superbly struck in-swinging corner which found the proverbial ‘postage stamp’ spot in the top left hand corner leaving Sandilands no chance.

On the half hour mark Shetland carved out a chance when Sinclair put in a thumping challenge on the 18 yard line and Inkster pounced on the loose ball to lay off Flaws who’s mazy run upfield was halted by a good tackle just as she was about to shoot.

On the half hour mark Shetland made some changes with the impressive Zoe Irvine dropping into left back, Abbey Irvine coming into centre back, the Yell  lasses who had to head for the ferry were replaced with Bethany Laurenson on the left and Maggie Adamson on the right and Becky Peterson came in at attacking midfield in a more 4-4-2 formation.

Even with all the changes Shetland settled in well and were starting to get more of the ball in midfield and get better service to Williamson and Manson up front.  With forty minutes gone Shetland were starting to ask some questions of the Deeside defence with Peterson, Williamson and Laurenson all getting some half chances in a brief five minute spell.

Deeside seemed content to soak up the pressure and hit Shetland with fast breaks up the park and on the fiftieth minute Sandilands had to once again bravely fling herself at the feet of a striker from one such break.  Abbey Irvine at centre half was putting in some fantastic tackles, with Zoe Irvine and Flaws always willing to gather any loose ball and drive forward.  From one such drive Flaws wove her way through the Deeside midfield and fired a powerful drive inches past the post.

By now play was raging from end to end in this entertaining game and it was Deeside who were to profit next from a good old fashioned goal mouth scramble with tackles and blocks flying in from all angles but it was a Deeside toe that eventually put the ball in the net for their sixth just short of the hour mark.  They scored again shortly afterwards with another quick break from midfield before Shetland regained their composure and got a grip on the game.  Shetland weren’t for lying down in this game and next to try her luck was Peterson who jinked her way up the park and it took two defenders to dispossess her but Abbey Irvine was quick to latch onto the loose ball and fire in a fierce 20 yard drive that flew just wide.  Shetlands next effort came from a Flaws free kick about 30 yards out that the keeper did well to hold.  Approaching the seventieth minute Shetland had their first real period of sustained pressure, first Adamsom got the ball on the right wing and put in a wicked cross that Deeside could only half clear to Johnson who’s on target shot could only be parried by the keeper to Manson who’s header was fisted clear.  With Shetland piling bodies forward the inevitable happened when Deeside quickly broke up the park to score their eighth.

Shetland finally got the breakthrough on seventy five minutes when Johnson skilfully beat a couple of defenders and blasted an unstoppable shot past the Deeside keeper.  This really gave the Shetland team a lift and you could see the determination written all over the lasses faces to get at least one more in the closing minutes.  Johnson was really enjoying herself by now and was entertaining the onlookers with some nice footwork to try and get some space for a shot at goal.  The second for Shetland wasn’t long in coming, with just under 10 minutes remaining a shot from Johnson was only half cleared to the edge of the box where it was met by Flaws in full flow to thunder home a well deserved goal.

Losing a quick couple of goals stung the Deeside lasses and they upped the work rate in the closing minutes, on eighty five minutes Deeside once again broke up the park and with Shetland fearing the worst Zoe Irvine, who’d covered an amazing amount of ground all game, somehow found the energy to track back and cut out the danger.  With just seconds remaining Deeside got their ninth when a long throw went over a tiring Shetland defence for a free shot inside the far post.

Although this was a fairly comprehensive win for Deeside it should be taken in context; Deeside train and play every week in tough league and cup competitions, which was very evident in their play.
Shetland, on the other hand, have only five or six players at this age group who have even experienced, far less regularly play, football at this level so wir lasses can be justifiably proud of their performance

After the match Deeside Manager Peter McDonnell said:

“After a difficult 24hrs, when we were unsure whether we would get up to Shetland and less than ideal preparations for the game, I was delighted with how our girls performed today. I said a few months back that I was confident that Deeside Girls would help sell girls’ football in Shetland and I think we did that today. There was some excellent interplay between our midfield and attack, in particular, and hopefully the spectators enjoyed the game as a spectacle.

There were also several players within the Shetland team who impressed and clearly there is ability within the Isles to tap into and others to develop and I hope that John and his team push on from here. We look forward to keeping the links between Deeside and Shetland open and hope to host the Shetland lasses back in Banchory in the near future.

On a personal level, I was sorry we missed out on the opportunity to play in Yell on 2nd July. However, I would like to thank Jamieson’s Coach Hire & Islesburgh Youth Hostel for their patience and understanding, when it looked like the weather had put paid to our trip, and finally to Shell for the flights and for managing to squeeze us in to ensure that today’s game went ahead.”

And finally a word from Shetland Girls coach John Ward:

“I’d like to thank Peter, his team and coaching staff for coming to Shetland and giving us this opportunity to play against an established girls team, this represents a significant step forward for girls football in Shetland and we will certainly look to take Peter up on his offer for a return match in Banchory.  As has been said in the match report our lasses grew into this game and with the commitment they showed in the build up to this match I would hope that they have a long future in football.

We hope that this game will help to promote girls football in Shetland and show that there are opportunities for girls to get involved in the game.  We are always looking to attract new players and would welcome any girls, regardless of ability, to come along to our training sessions which are held every Monday from 6pm at Clickimin Juvenile park, you can’t miss us we’re the ones with the bright pink footballs!”