18 February 2007 u17s Falkirk v Hibs Girls - Match Report

Hibs U17 Girls travelled to Sunnyside, Falkirk to play their League game on Sunday against Falkirk U17 Girls. The day itself was perfect for football with the sun shining and no wind or driving rain to contend with or ice and snow which is often normal for games in February in Scotland.

The game started with Falkirk deciding to start the match with the low sun behind them but it was Hibs who started the game stronger and after 4 minutes and following good work on the Hibs left by Emma Gray and Lisa Yarwood, Hibs were awarded a penalty kick after the ball was handled by a Falkirk central defender.

As the pitch was not marked, it was extremely difficult to identify where the penalty spot was and therefore where to place the ball. As the referee did not pace out the position where he instructed the kick to be taken from Lisa Yarwood took the penalty from what seemed to be around 15 – 16 metres out rather than the regulation 12 metres. The goalkeeper made a good save from the resultant penalty kick.

During a very scrappy and untidy first half, due entirely to the underfoot conditions and lack of any lines on the pitch , Falkirk eventually took the lead when the Falkirk no.10 managed to break free from Megan Turnbull who got too close to her around the centre of the pitch and played her strike partner in behind a fairly square Hibs defence and although there was a hint of offside to the goal, the referee had an almost impossible task of seeing this as there were no reference points for him to use. The Falkirk striker tucked the through pass into the right corner of the Hibs net.

The first half ended 1 – 0 to Falkirk.

Laura Smith was introduced alongside Lisa Yarwood up front in the second half with Jinky moving from her more central attacking role to wide right in midfield and Louise Whyte being withdrawn. The game remained very scrappy and was being played mostly in midfield with no team able to impose themselves. Falkirk’s second goal came from a throw in on our left side when the thrower was left unmarked and after receiving the return pass hit a speculative cross deep into the Hibs box where a Falkirk player was left totally unmarked to head unchallenged into the net with Laura Connolly in the Hibs goal left completely unprotected by the Hibs defence.

This second goal gave Falkirk a lift and made it more difficult for Hibs to gain useful possession. Falkirk’s third goal came from a break through the midfield on the Hibs left side. The Falkirk player was allowed to hit the byeline (albeit there wasn’t one!) and as she cut the ball across the front of the Hibs goal, the Hibs defender allowed the Falkirk striker to get from behind her to poke the cross ball into the corner of the Hibs net.

Both teams made substitutions at this stage of the game with Eliana Fernandez making her Hibs debut replacing Emma Gray on the left side of the Hibs midfield and Lynsay Ann Reid replacing Megan Turnbull with Natalie McLeod moving to central defence to accommodate Lyndsay Ann at right back. Hayley Cobban replace Mariel Kaney who had worked tirelessly throughout the match and Lisa Yarwood dropped into midfield to allow Hayley to move up front.

At this stage of the game , Hibs managed to gain more possession and Laura Smith was looking very sharp up front, turning well and maintaining possession for the team as she did so. Lisa Yarwood, who during the game had held her own against a physical and fast Falkirk defence, started to make a difference and Jinky was now very prominent on the right side of the Hibs midfield. Eliana was finding this level of football difficult to adjust to but managed to do well enough to show that she has a contribution to make as the season progresses.

Hibs got a well deserved goal back towards the end of the match when Lisa Yarwood sent Jinky clear from midfield on the right side and Jinky drove into the Falkirk box and struck a well placed shot into the corner of the Falkirk net. A positive note for Hibs was that they never gave up and could have scored again to give the scoreline a much more respectable look as there was, apart from defensive lapses, nothing between the teams throughout the match.

The game ended 3 – 1 to Falkirk.

On the positive side, Lyndsay Ann Reid continued where she left off against Musselburgh with a solid performance at right back. Hayley Cobban, although only having the last 5 minutes or so to make a contribution did so and showed that she also has a contribution to make during what will continue to be a character building season and a huge learning curve for the team.

Natalie Mcleod continues to show huge improvement and was outstanding at right back and then centre back. Danni Diey was steady and consistent at left back and is becoming a very accomplished full back.Laura Connolly continues to show everyone how accomplished and dependable a keeper she is and had no chance with any of the goals. Lisa Yarwood continues to improve and with better decision making at times to add to her undoubted ability , strength and power is becoming a formidable player for Hibs. Jinky worked tremendously hard and got exactly what she deserved when she scored Hibs only goal.

Mariel, Claire, Emma and Louise (first half) all worked tremendously hard throughout in the midfield area as did Coral and Megan defensively but it was the defensive side of our game that let us down at key moments in the game and where improvements need to be made to make sure that we understand the mistakes that were made and learn from these mistakes as we continue on our journey of improvement this season.