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I am going to start this week with our win against Chelsea on Sunday. Which means we are now into the quarterfinals of F.A Cup.
 It was a hard fought battle and the game could have gone either way. Both teams were missing important players. Chelsea were without Eni and Casey who are both England internationals and we were without our talented midfielder Sophie Walton and our England Goalkeeper Carly Telford. So the loss of these players made the game pretty even.
We started off well and created some excellent chances, striking the woodwork twice and Chelsea’s keeper pulling off the save of the game against Jess Clarke’s shot. After this we were thinking it wasn’t meant to be. The second half was scrappy and our passing game wasn’t as good as it has been however the girl’s grit and determination, and excellent defending got us through. So extra time was eminent. Both teams were edgy and didn’t want to make a mistake, although we ended up doing so and Chelsea scored. Instead of just giving up we battled forward and our prolific striker Amanda Barr shot (cross!) flew in the top corner. We all went mad, but at the same time were dreading the penalty shoot out (especially me after hitting my last one against Bristol into row z). There was nothing to be fearful of though and we won the shoot out and all went mad in the celebration, (which was a big pile-on) injuring ourselves. However it was all worth it and we are through to the next round!! A special mention should go to our stand in keeper Emma Higgins who had to be flew in from Ireland on Sat night she was stuck in the airport for 7 hours as the wind (not hers) had delayed all the flights. However her performance was anything but a tired one she pulled off some great saves and even saved a penalty. Fantastic! As well as winning the game we had another surprise. While we were walking out of the tunnel there was a huge gathering and we all wondered what was happening. John Terry had turned up to watch the game with his twin daughters. A few of the girls got a little giddy obviously to do with his footballing ability and not his good looks. Seriously though it was great to see the England Captain supporting the Women’s game and his feedback was very positive he said he enjoyed it and would bring his family to more games as he really enjoyed the atmosphere. So Mr Beckham if you’re free this Sunday we will be playing Birmingham away, I will sort you tickets no worries!!! Other than the football I have had a busy week working I have been into a few schools around the country talking about my Leeds and England career and what its like playing football at the highest level. I went to a school in Bradford and I have to say they were my favourites they really got into the coaching and the question and answer session was great. They even said my hairstyle was “sik man” which I thought was a bad thing but apparently it means they like it!! Obviously great taste in Bradford! |
