As we went into this tournament, there were no expectations. We knew that there was some quality on show here so it was more a case of ‘enjoy the time we’re here’ and hopefully we’d be home before the weather began to get scorching…

Well our girls decided that they had other ideas – and only made it all the way to the Final! After a slow start, we gradually grew into it and with a record of L, D and W in the group stage, we only conceded one goal – whilst scoring two. The first goal came from an unlikely scorer in our Hannan – when she finished well into the bottom corner from about 10 yards out – and Lucy K notched the second with a tidy shot buried low and hard past the opposing keeper. This meant that we progressed to the Champions League Group Stage where we went unbeaten – defending superbly to come away with two 0-0 draws and then we finally beat our arch rivals Unsworth Tigresses as Hannan hit a fantastic strike from the angle as the ball broke to her on the egde of their box. A 1-0 win saw us finish 2nd in the group again and we had made the Grand Final!

With a short rest and just enough time to catch our breath, it was time for the girls to take on Radcliffe Gems in the Final – and knowing that these played in the Division above us last season, we knew it was going to be a tough test. The County fans were there in their droves roaring the girls on and as we more than matched them all over the park, the game looked to be heading towards penalties. But as our legs tired, a lapse in concentration saw their striker left unmarked in our box – and with a coolness that belied her tender years, she turned and struck it home! We had run them so close but when the final whistle was blown, it was the Gems that were taking the trophy home – although most people in the crowd will tell you that we done more than enough to snatch it…

These girls showed in their performances today how far we have come already – but there is always work to do and these girls are more than up for that! We live & learn and move on. There were so many positives from the day that we can build on for the coming season so the coaches are happy with the day overall…

All the girls were winners and they definitely left everything out on the pitch, which is all you can ask for as a coach. They worked so hard for each other and you can see the closeness of them both on & off the pitch.

There are exciting times ahead for this team!

Up The County!!!