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From the opening whistle, it was clear that both teams meant business. Irlande, clad in their signature green jerseys, demonstrated their attacking skill early on, with Nikki’s darting runs causing havoc in the left side of the Mons defense and Sophia getting some wonderful through balls but struggling a bit to adjust her runs to avoid the offsides. Mons proved to be no slouches themselves, with their goalkeeper pulling off a stunning early save to deny Nikki a goal that seemed destined for the back of the net.
As the first half wore on, the game was tight, and both sides were arriving closer and closer to each other’s boxes. However, the ladies in green were the side creating more danger. Finally, after a great ball recovered in defense and a quick long pass from our warrior Sarah, Sophia was setup for a sublime finish to break the deadlock. Like a GPS with an taste for detours, our striker finally found the right route to goal after a few offside adventures. The crowd erupted in cheers as Irlande took the lead, but it was clear that Mons would not go down without a fight.
Mons came out firing in the second half, managing to level the score with a well-taken goal of their own just a few minutes after the start of the second half. However, Irlande refused to be shaken, and with Momo’s amazing header rattling the crossbar, it seemed only a matter of time before they regained the lead. But with the 1-1 still up on the scoreboard, Mons was not ready yet to lose their faith in finding a good result. Our fearless goalkeeper, Stonewall Olatz, was called into action in a critical moment, making a crucial save by punching the ball away from the Mons striker’s head, preventing Mons’ from getting ahead on the scoreboard and shattering their convictions. Mons started to feel they would need to work more than Sisyphus to get something out this match.
Sure enough, with time ticking away, Mel seized the moment, latching onto a perfectly timed assist from Michelle to slot a second goal for the home team. But the deal was not sealed yet with Mons throwing everything they had forward in search of an equalizer. Irlande remained resolute in defense, soaking up the pressure before launching a lightning-fast counterattack pulled by Mel’s fast lags that culminated in a third goal by Olivia, who with chill and skill managed to dribble through a couple of opponents before taking an amazing shot from the top of the box, sealing the victory in style.
As the final whistle blew, coaches Ben and Helene could be seen fist-bumping on the sidelines, celebrating the well-deserved 3 points with the team. His trusty camera capturing every moment of this match to be watched with the team later on, but not before some strategic editing to protect against any remarks that might raise eyebrows if plucked out of their original context.
Goals galore this weekend for Ladies 1. After a good start from Mons, with Irlande struggling to get into the game, Parker decided to take matters into her own hands pushing off one of the Mons defenders and nicely putting the ball in the net. After this Irlande started to find each other, creating more chances, with Momo beautifully scoring shortly after Parkers goal.
Mons managed to score from a long range freekick putting the team under pressure, making the score 1-2. However, the girls were not frightened, with Louise scoring a beautiful goal from a shot outside the box within two minutes of Mons’ goal. It was a weekend of worldies for Irlande, with Parker and Momo also scoring nice long-range goals in the first half.
Irlande started the second half like they ended the first, fighting for each other, creating nice chances, and scoring goals. They kept focus, not letting the score affect the way they played. However, after one of our centre-backs caught the ball in the penalty box, it gave Mons a goal from a penalty. Nevertheless, the team did not give Mons the opportunity to come back into the game with a great defensive display from the Irlande backline. The game was topped off with Parker perfectly executing a step-over and scoring in a 1v1 with the goalkeeper, a step-over we have so often practiced in training.
Overall, it was a great game for Irlande, with the defence being solid and the attack managing to find each other very well and scoring plenty of goals.