R. Union St-Gilloise

USG VS FCI LADIES 1

On this Sunday afternoon, the ladies 1 traveled to Anderlecht to face the ladies of Union Saint-Gilloise. Under a cloudy skybut already summery temperatures for the start of April, the women in green were determined to snatch the 3 points from the Union! From the first minutes, Parker pierced the net of the Union goalkeeper who couldn’t do anything against her magnificent free kick, more than 20m from the goal line. Unfortunately, the opponents quickly responded with a shot from the entrance of the penalty area that lobbed our goalkeeper and ended up in the little net. 1- 1, the intensity and pressure on both sides was present. Our ladies played very physical, while the players of Union tried to break through the defense with their speed, but without success against the rapidity and tenacity of Isabel, Michèle, Geani and Sarah. In the camp of Irlande, we tried to build, to overflow on the flanks to find the strike of Parker or Momo, but the little yellow ladies pressed hard and it turned out to be difficult to develop our play and finish up. As the sky began to shed a few drops of rain, the Union captain planted a free kick in Virginie’s net 14 minutes before the final whistle. Coach Ben then decided to field a more offensive tactic, trying everything to equalize, but despite the fight and combativeness of our 11 players during the last quarter of the match, the final score was2-1. A defeat that is hard to digest, as the opponents didn’t show any more quality than our Ladies!

The lights shined bright at home in Auderghem for an authoritative victory by FCI Ladies 1 over R. Union St-Gilloise A.

After kickoff, the FCI ladies defense absorbed initial USG pressure well and began to find great success in counter-attacks through the pace of Parker and Rebecca. A corner kick halfway through the first half saw Isabel collect the cleared ball and set it on a platter for Rebecca who bent it like Beckham into the far post’s side-netting. A little later, the USG keeper slipped on the wet pitch while receiving yet another back pass from her defense and staring down an oncoming Parker, who was then able to easily slot the ball in.

The second half began with the FCI ladies moving the ball better and holding posession. USG pulled one back at about the 75th minute thanks to an impressive bicycle kick in front of goal. USG’s late push for an equalizer, however, was no match for Olivia’s line-breaking pass, Mel’s speed down the left-wing, and Michele’s calm finish in the box to make it 3-1. The team’s collective defense saw out the rest of the match.

The only question remains is…where do we find the official after-match interviews of FCI captain Isabel and Coach Ben?