Academy Girls League and Cup Double!
The Academy’s Girls 13′s won the Academies first ever league title this season to become the proud champions of the South West B League for 2010 after defeating close rivals, Kilbirnie 4-2 in the final match of the season.
As the girls entered the game, they knew their opponents Kilbirnie could still win the title if they managed to defeat them, nothing short of 100% concentration would suffice for the young ladies. Here's how the final day went.
Ayr started the quicker of the two sides, playing some nice fast passing football and pressing well when their opponents had the ball but for the most part of the opening 10 minutes, the match was played in the visitors half with a couple of half chances going Ayr's way but still hadn't broken the deadlock.
This is not to say that Kilbirnie weren't a threat, as it was the visiting side that took the lead after a moment of miscommunication between the defenders and the Ayr keeper, that culminated in the ball landing in the back of the net. Miscommunication happens — as Alex and Petr Cech, of Chelsea, proved the very next day against Newcastle!
The response from Ayr was admirable and they recovered immediately, shaking off this disappointment to continue in the positive manner they had been playing. Ayr continued to apply pressure until finally the ball broke to Caitlin Taylor in the penalty area who fired low past the keeper’s right hand post to equalize for the home side. This visibly lifted the girls and soon it was to be 2-1.
Caitlin Taylor found Dionne Mair in the centre with a great pass and with Hannah Taysum making a run beyond her, it made sense for the striker to lob the ball over the defence which found Taysum and the goalkeeper jumping together for the ball, but Taysum used her height advantage over the keeper to head the ball into the back of the net to give the Ayr girls a well deserved lead.
Before half time Kilbirnie had a great chance to equalize but a fantastic save by Hannah Davies, who had the vision to notice the break, came out and narrowed the angle to keep her team in the lead at 2-1 going into the half time break.
The second half continued as the first had ended, with opportunities at both ends but no efforts troubled either keeper. Ayr's central defensive partnership of Sophie Crichton and Nicole Carruthers were coping very well and began building counter attacks by taking on and playing one-twos past the opposition forwards leaving their oppositions defence outnumbered as they sped forward. On one such attack the ball was played to Brooke Rawson who fired the ball from the right wing towards the near post. It was low and hit well, which the Kilbirnie keeper misjudged and it sneaked into the net to make it 3-1 for the home side.
Kilbirnie were visibly shaken by this as their heads dropped, possibly realising the game was beyond saving. Ayr started playing even better at this point with Carruthers, Crichton, Mair, Rawson and Natalie Taylor all combining in a nice show of passing and dribbling skills and it didn' take long to add another as prolific goalscorer Dionne Mair got on the scoresheet with a low hard drive into the bottom corner of the net to make it 4-1.
Chloe Cuthbert’s incredible pace and Nicola Fisher’s dogged determination and quick feet helped Ayr to continue to make shooting chances but were unable to add another.
With about five minutes left, Hannah Davies again made a brave save when she knew a collision was possible but with a minute left on the clock, Kilbirnie grabbed a consolation goal that was short enjoyed by their players as seconds later the whistle went with the home support and Ayr players jubilant.
Before half time Kilbirnie had a great chance to equalize but a fantastic save by Hannah Davies, who had the vision to notice the break, came out and narrowed the angle to keep her team in the lead at 2-1 going into the half time break.
The second half continued as the first had ended, with opportunities at both ends but no efforts troubled either keeper. Ayr's central defensive partnership of Sophie Crichton and Nicole Carruthers were coping very well and began building counter attacks by taking on and playing one-twos past the opposition forwards leaving their oppositions defence outnumbered as they sped forward. On one such attack the ball was played to Brooke Rawson who fired the ball from the right wing towards the near post. It was low and hit well, which the Kilbirnie keeper misjudged and it sneaked into the net to make it 3-1 for the home side.
Kilbirnie were visibly shaken by this as their heads dropped, possibly realising the game was beyond saving. Ayr started playing even better at this point with Carruthers, Crichton, Mair, Rawson and Natalie Taylor all combining in a nice show of passing and dribbling skills and it didn' take long to add another as prolific goalscorer Dionne Mair got on the scoresheet with a low hard drive into the bottom corner of the net to make it 4-1.
Chloe Cuthbert’s incredible pace and Nicola Fisher’s dogged determination and quick feet helped Ayr to continue to make shooting chances but were unable to add another.
With about five minutes left, Hannah Davies again made a brave save when she knew a collision was possible but with a minute left on the clock, Kilbirnie grabbed a consolation goal that was short enjoyed by their players as seconds later the whistle went with the home support and Ayr players jubilant.
This was a great performance to end an excellent season where the girls will have learned a lot and gained two pieces of silverware in the process.
Final Score Ayr 4 Kilbirnie 2
Head coach Paul McFarlane :
"The girls thoroughly deserved their victory this season, with a great team performance in terms of effort and excellent sequences of passing, laced with pieces of individual flair throughout. The coaches are very proud of the way the girls have worked hard all season and they deserve a lot of credit for taking on board all the information they have been taught and then applying it on the field. They are definitely going in the right direction. I would personally like to also congratulate Kilbirnie for an excellent season. Marshall Sloss and his well disciplined team have pushed us all the way this season and made the league’s final game very exciting. I would also like to thank the parents for their support and dedication to get players to training and games on time each week."
The Academy are very proud of what the girls have achieved this season, two trophies in one season is phenomenal and sets the standard for all others to follow.
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