Cranmere Dragonesses Win Epic Battle
Who would have believed, when Miss Etheridge set up the Year 5/6 girls football squad back in September, that by the end of the season the Dragonesses would play in their first ever final? Nine months of amazing teamwork, determination, commitment and a bounty of wins under their belts safely guaranteed their place as worthy finalists.
Match day couldn't arrive quick enough for our girls. Throughout Wednesday there was an immense sense of excitement building with the reverberation of pre-match banter infiltrating the school day. Tactics, set play discussions and the all important question - if the game ended in penalties, who would be first up for the challenge?
Fully prepared for every eventuality, the Dragonesses didn't allow the pressure to go to their heads. Maybe that's down to the cool, calm and collective nature demonstrated by their gaffer Miss Etheridge, who has very humbly taken ever step of this journey in her stride.
For those unable to attend the match, it was a classic match of two halves. We couldn't write the script: the girls put in an amazing shift showing conviction on the pitch with occasional flashes of genius. Both teams were playing at an extremely high level. There was heated action around the penalty spot; there were moments of explosive play when the ball floated out towards the goal but didn't quite land; there was some deep defending and plenty of counter attacking and that was only the first half.
The second half saw the Dragonesses taking control of the tempo and with the game brought into line, the long awaited goal arrived. A beautiful assist by Jasmine to Claudia, the dictator of possession, with her mighty cultured left foot guiding the ball safely to the back of the net. The back field erupted with triumphant cheers. The deal nevertheless wasn't quite sealed; Royal Kent tried to get back into the game with some near misses, the ball every time happily landing in Saffron's hands...phew! The final score 1-0 to Cranmere...Champions!
As Mr Gilbert very eloquently summarised, "the game was a bit of a nail biter. At times it was very cagey with both teams showing defensive solidity. In the end, it was one goal that won it"......... "What impressed me so much was the resilience, self belief and team work showed throughout the match. As I said in assembly, I could single out every member of the team for individual praise. However, I want to share how proud we are of them as a unit - well done girls! It is also extremely important to acknowledge the incredible effort and coaching performance of Miss Etheridge, I am hugely grateful to her for giving up her time each week to coach the girls and nurture their talents. A special shout out also needs to go to her son (and former Cranmere pupil) Teddy for his time spent coaching the girls as well".
Bravo! Miss Etheridge and Teddy and Bravo! Cranmere Dragonesses! You won the most epic of battles!
