Harrogate Railway under 14 girls ended 2011 with a well deserved point at Knaresborough Celtic.
Railway started the better team with Lauren, Lucy and Chloe causing Celtic’s defence all sorts of problems in the first 10 minutes.
Frankie and Davina continued to work hard in midfield supplying the attackers with pin point passes and providing extra cover to support the defence. Celtic started to create chances although Imogen, Katie and Emily were very strong and kept Celtic to hopeful shots around the edge and outside the box.
Towards the end of the first half Davina tested the keeper with two powerful shots but they were straight at the Celtic Keeper who pushed the ball clear.
Railway continued to apply pressure to the Celtic goal but their defence stayed strong and Railway failed to make use of the corners they had won.
The second half started the same as the first with Olivia and Lucy tireless running causing the Celtic’s defence problems.
Against the run of play, a pin point ball from the Celtic midfielder played their striker through on goal who scored an unstoppable shot into the bottom left hand corner. This gave Celtic confidence and Katie, Imogen and Jess were working hard to keep the game at 1-0.
A loose ball in midfield was collected by a Celtic midfielder who struck a strong shot from outside the area. The ball was saved by Railway keeper Emily but as she saved the ball she slipped, with the free ball dropping at the feet of a Celtic player who shot at goal although Emily had recovered quickly to make a brave save at the feet of the Celtic player. This save seemed to spur the Railway players on with Lucy and Davina creating more half chances.
After a succession of corners, Jess ran onto a loose ball on the edge of the area and produced a powerful first time shot that went straight into the top right corner of the Celtic goal. Railway continued to make chances and after a looping shot by Davina saved by the keeper, Lucy had a shot saved by a combination of the Celtic keeper and defender on the line.
As the match went into the final minutes Railway were looking for the winner but couldn’t create a clear chance for the strikers. The match ended in a 1-1 draw with Railway feeling the could have won.
The work rate and performance of every Railway player was excellent and with this mentality 2012 looks promising for this team of girls.
