South Park U16s girls were having a rough season after being promoted last season. After losing their star striker and having no goal keeper they have found themselves 9th in the league out of 10 teams. This month however something appears to have changed as they have gone from losing dramatically to their new winning ways.
March showed South Park some very challenging fixtures, starting with Mole Valley Girls in which they lost 8-0 to earlier in the season. The girls did not let the previous result affect their dedication and hard work as they began to warm up. The girls took to their positions and prepared for the whistle. Immediately it was an unbelievable start for South Park as they were unrecognisable playing short passing sequences to each other down the right. After making its way all the way up the field the ball was crossed in and took a deflection falling to the composed Olivia Stock who made no mistake slotting it into the back of the net. This only made Mole Valley work harder with a shot in the top right corner to equalise, Mole Valley were not giving up and kept working, scoring another with half time closing in. Melanie Bungay was working incredibly hard and crossed it to Amika Sanun who was too skillful for the MVG defence and powered home the equaliser. The second half showed South Park dominating the pitch with Anya Gill playing unbelievably, her runs forward were non stop and always successful. The build up from the defence, captained by the always strong Tillie Parsons led to some technical midfield play which was passed finally to Melanie Bungay to bring home the three points.
Despite the strong performance the 13th of March held the most challenging battle. A double header against the strongest team in the league, Denham. The South Park girls arrived with very little hope of victory however they kicked off showing the same composure they did the previous week. Sophie Loughran, Harvee Hindley and Chloe Lo played incredibly as centre backs with Tillie Parsons and Anya Gill playing wing backs making frequent runs up the pitch with their inhuman pace. Melly Bungay was strong and incredibly composed on the left with Tilly Ogilvie and Millie Godlewski supporting her in midfield. Despite all this Denham scored a penalty, wrongly awarded for a hand ball. Although they were 1-0 down the game was going smoothly until Geneveive Buabeng and Denhams goalkeeper collided, both of whom were unable to stop themselves in time to avoid the clash. Both managers ran onto the pitch to be sure that their girls were okay, this led to both Denham players and Manager showing South Park their infamous attitude. The Denham manager, players and parents showed utmost disrespect to the young referee who, at half time, even considered cancelling the game due to the abuse hurled at him. After receiving support from the South Park Parents the referee made the decision to stay and the second half kicked off. It seemed as though the disruption had gotten to the South Park girls as they conceded four in the second half as the game ended. The girls felt as this was an unfair result however it was time for game two. It was time for it to happen all again. South Park showed no weakness as they continued to play exciting football. They ended up being two nil down at half time however South Park were determined to show them that the goals could come from both sides. Striker Genevieve Buabeng managed to accurately direct the ball to the back of the net with her head and the game was over. 2-1 felt like a win for the girls after losing 5-0 an hour earlier.
At last an away game. R&R have also been a team known to score a lot past South Park but after the strong performances the girls were stubborn and desperate to keep their new reputation as threats going. The game started off and the girls seemed to struggle to show their fierce new side. It wasn't long at all for R&R to slot one past South Park's stand in goalkeeper Isabelle Cochrane who couldn't have done more to block the well placed shot. Melanie Bungay pinged in countless crosses however South Park were lacking someone to receive them and score. After half time the R&R goalkeeper was world class as she dived in every direction to save so many South Park shots. The game slowly went on and an hour later there was only 20 minutes left. Coach Spencer Ogilvie had to take action if he wanted to win. He moved the players around, placing Anya Gill in a threatening midfield position. It didn't take long for Melanie to put in another cross, the same as all the other only this time it was defended by the Denham defence falling to Anya Gill who calmly chipped the keeper, equalising with not long to go. Both teams were now working so hard to try and get another, however the South Park defence was too strong now. The ball was getting passed calmly across the pitch which was once again passed into Anya who managed to take a shot. It was another glorious goal. A last minute winner for the hero and girl of the game. The goal resulted in Anya Gill being lifted into the air by her teammates who could not have been prouder. It was another triumph for the S’parks.
It was time for the final game of March against the only team below South Park; Haslemere. After the last game Spencer decided to put Anya Gill into midfield next to Tilly Ogilvie and behind Melanie who was playing left wing. These three made countless passes together, keeping their shape and using their triangular formation to get around the Haslemere players. Both Anya and Melanie had numerous shots however each one failed to cross the line. It was almost half time and the team were finding it almost impossible to stay onside against the very high Haslmere defence. Tilly Banner was denied numerous chances by this clever trap however her determination to score was admirable. It all changed when Tilly Ogilvie received the ball and played a sneaky one-two with Anya Gill who made the cross to Melanie Bungay who managed to finish it before the whistle was blown. The half time talk included no criticism but words of encouragement as Spencer assured the girls they had more goals to come. Spencer was exactly correct as the second half saw goals flood in. The connection between Tilly, Melanie and Anya was unmatched as they carried on the passes and crosses. Clever plays and non greedy passes in the box led to Amika Sanun, Tilly Ogilvie, Andrea Mills, Anya Gill and Tilly Bann all individually getting themselves a goal. Tillie Parsons, who was playing right back disturbed the Haslemere midfield with her acceleration and energy as she managed to dribble untouched past the Haslemere players and into their box several times. Chloe Lo however must not go unrecognised, her only goal of the season had been early on against R&R where she powered it to the top corner. She was outstanding in this game as her teammates discovered that she is incapable of scoring ordinary goals, Chloe proceeded to score two prodigious goals to final the score to 9-0.
