Frustrating draw for the 2s

Squad: Thornton, West, McDonald (C), McCabe, Fraser, Mitchell, Gauld, Gower, Limberger, Dietz, Rouwers, Lowery, Martetschlaeger, Donaldson, Wilson, Cooper

The match day started with perfect preparation as our girls picked up their Sport & Exercise x Sigg water bottles at Pleasance before heading up to Stirling. Well-hydrated, the girls rolled up to the venue ready for the sun that was set to beam down for the full game. Captain Jenna McDonald and VC Meg Gower led the squad into what was bound to be an exciting match against the recently promoted 2nd team of Stirling University, a historic rival for EUWAFC.

From the get-go, the game was frustratingly disruptive on account of several injuries for both teams. Not even 10 minutes into the game, Captain Jenna suffered a debilitating knee injury after an awkward turn and limped off the pitch, as Meg took over the captain’s band. Not too long after, 2s tank Liv rushed off with a violent nose bleed, leaving our girls 1 man down for over 10 minutes. Nonetheless, they were able to clear corner after corner, and create several good opportunities throughout the entirety of the first half.

The second half saw more composure amongst our girls who enjoyed the majority of possession and showed off some great football. The solid back 4 made sure keeper Sarah had nothing to worry about, and great work up the wings by Philine and Meghan meant there was danger in Stirling’s box on various occasions. Though the midfield and strikers put in a shift to repeatedly ping the ball into the 6-yard box, it wasn’t put past the line, hitting the post at best. All 16 players and coach Derek Nelson walked away from that game disappointed at a result of 0-0, and rightfully so – a plethora of strikes and dominance on the pitch should have meant an easy win over Stirling 2s. But the girls aren’t disheartened and instead take this frustration into next week’s game to secure a win that they eagerly anticipate and, most importantly, deserve.

POTM = Katie McCabe, with Philine Rouwers as a close runner-up!