The wind was blustery following the storms of the previous week and the game was played to the background noise of chain saws cutting down a large tree that had fallen against the flats next door to the grounds. Every tackle was fiercely contested in the first ten minutes and Gemma B picked up a knock on ten minutes and was forced to take a breather and make way for Sam. Shortly after PNE gave the Man Utd midfield too much space and a shot from the edge of the box forced a good save from Holly to push the ball away for a corner. Holly was then forced to make another save from a strong shot from the right, but this time all she was able to do was push the ball into the air, as the ball came down just inside the line a Man Utd player was there to poke the ball home from close range. Olivia who had worked tirelessly for the first 20 minutes then made way for Lucy who moved into the lone striker’s role. With 24 mins played Man Utd missed a golden opportunity to increase their lead when they put the ball wide from close range and Holly made a good save from Man Utd’s Kara who was a constant threat with her runs down the right wing. Just before half time Kara looked to be in on goal again but a timely tackle from Emily to block her shot and force the ball out for a corner ensured that PNE went into the half time break trailing by the single goal. After 4 mins of the restart Holly was injured when she bravely threw herself at the feet of a Man Utd player in a goalmouth scramble and was carried over to the touchline. Emily L took over in the Preston goal and was soon called into action and made a good save from a strong shot from distance. Gemma and Olivia came back on, together with Hannah, who although a little under the weather with a heavy cold was thrown into the attack to try and create some problems for the Man Utd defence. Hannah’s close control and skills on the ball were soon on display and following on from a neat interchange between Olivia and Gemma in midfield she rounded the keeper and looked odds on to score. Unfortunately though, as the ball ran away from her Hannah couldn’t wrap enough of her foot round the ball to find the goal. The ball hit the outside of the post and went out for a goal kick. Emily in the PNE goal then launched an aerial bombardment with high balls out of her hands deep into the Man Utd half. Man Utd struggled to deal with the high ball and from one of the kicks that landed in the penalty area they only managed to clear the ball as far as Gemma on the edge of the box. Her superbly executed left foot volley from the corner of the box flew into the far corner of the net over the keeper’s head. Hannah then was injured when a Man Utd player backed into her from another highball from Emily and was forced to sit out the rest of the match. In the final few minutes Helen S made a great goal line clearance, Sam made way for Jade who ran her legs off for the final few minutes. Final Score:Man Utd U11G 1-1 PNEWFC U11G----The views expressed on this page are those of the contributor and the opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the BBC. | 
