Junior Tournament

A TEAM REPORT

The first game of the day was the hardest fought with end to end play from both Halifax 1 and Sheffield Hallam 2. Tight defensive work from keeper Kathy Shao and defenders Sydny Midgley, Emma Whittaker and Anya Wasilewski meant that the team kept a clean sheet and after several strong forays into the Sheffield goal Charlotte Taylor was rewarded with a strong shot into the far corner to take the spoils.

The second game against Harrogate 3 saw Halifax in the ascendancy. Only an outstanding performance from the Harrogate keeper kept the score line down with numerous attempts on goal from Annie Denton, Fizz Raud, Regan Midgley, Amy March & Taylor all being stopped but with some fine passing play at a short corner Captain Regan Midgley found the back of the net to win 1 - 0.

The third game against Brigg showed how powerful Halifax's midfield players were with superb passing across the pitch from Leah Kalter, Emily Crowe and March to maintain possession and feed the forwards for Raud & Reagan Midgley both to score and win 2 - 0.

The 4th game was a fantastic local derby between Halifax 1 & Halifax 2. Great defending from Halifax 2 did their best but Dentons determination saw her score 2 and Taylor a third to win 3 - 0.

The last game against Leeds saw the Halifax1 team rise to the occasion and put in an overwhelming performance against Leeds 1. The defence were able to push up to support the midfield and the midfield and forwards camped mainly in the opposition half. Goals from Taylor, Raud, Crowe, Regan Midgley and 2 from March gave a final tally of 6 - 0 which left the game in no doubt and rounded off the tournament in fine style.

A great team performance with the results they deserved. Promotion for the A team.

B TEAM REPORT

As expected Halifax U16B team took some time to find their feet with several newcomers and players playing above their age group.

Unfortunately two of the easier matches came at the start of the day.

The team lost to Harrogate 2’s in the dying minutes of an evenly contested first game, followed by a 2-1 loss to Leeds 1 with Abbie Greenwood scoring Halifax’s goal after linking well with Hannah Clarke.

They stepped it up against a very strong Sheffield team and turned in a good performance, battling hard in all areas of the pitch. Anna Nevison was excellent in goals, making numerous clearances when the ball broke past Annabelle Meredith and Jade Gray whose tackling and positional play was good all morning. The pressure eventually told and Sheffield broke the deadlock half way through the match, keeping the 1-0 lead until the end despite several forays into the attacking circle.

In the match-up against the Halifax A team the B team performed admirably, showing great determination, epitomised by Hannah Speakman, Cara Casson, Jasmine Greenwood and Ella Mia Hendry. Nevison was outstanding in goals, making double, triple and even quadruple saves, but it was impossible to stop the rampant A team who ran out 3-0 winners.

The last match of the tournament saw the B team enjoy the better of the game against Brigg, but they failed to create and convert clear cut chances despite the pace of Abbie Greenwood and Clarke causing the opponents problems going forwards. Speakman stood out for her work rate and composure on the ball and Charlotte Palmer’s positional play improved vastly over the matches. A no score draw saw the team spirit undampened and they look forward to the next tournament with justifiable optimism.