Hillingdon Borough Y3/4 Girls football

Highfield Primary School had the pleasure of entering the Hillingdon Borough Year 3/4 Girl’s Football finals with the hope of qualifying to represent Hillingdon at the borough finals.

For most of the squad, they had only recently joined the Girls Football Team and were new to the sport. The girls were all extremely excited to dip their toes in the world of competitive football and learn first hand how group and knockout games work.

The event was broken into two groups, with the top teams qualifying into the semi-finals. For the girls, this was their first time playing together competitively as a team.

Match 1 Highfield vs Cowley St. Lawrence.

Match one started off the tournament for Highfield in a very competitive opening game. Cowley were strong and attacked first, calling Highfield’s goalkeeper Melody into action early with a strong save. The game was end to end, before Cleo slotted home Highfield’s opening goal of the game. Moment’s later, another Highfield attack saw Grace speed forward from defence on the overlap from Cleo, whose shot was saved strongly by the Cowley keeper, but fell fortunately to Grace who struck the ball into the back of the net to secure a 2-0 win. A strong start for Highfield!

Match 2 Highfield vs Hayes Park

Another match soon after a big opening win. Hayes Park played extremely well, creating lot’s of problems from Highfield’s defence of Grace and Rosie, who kept strong and pushed the ball out for several corners. A quick counter attack from Highfield enabled Reet and Cleo to get onto the attack, with Reet dragging the ball back to Cleo and past the defender to give Cleo a clear tap in. More pressure added from Highfield as Grace’s long-range effort narrowly missed the post. A last minute save with the knees from Melody kept the game at 1-0, giving Highfield 6 points in the group.

Match 3 Highfield vs Hermitage

A game against group leaders hermitage next, with just goal difference separating the two. A very scrappy, end to end game with lots of chances at both ends. Melody made two fantastic back to back saves to keep hermitage out of the game. An excellent chance created by Rosie saw Reet’s powerful shot saved by the Hermitage keeper. In the last few minutes, it was Hermitage who kept on the attack, forcing back all of Highfield’s outfield players. A late goal from Hermitage on the back of sustained pressure saw Highfield concede their first goal and pick up their first loss of the day. Credit to all players on the field for a fantastic match and an excellent showing of resilience for Highfield.

Match 4 Highfield vs Scared Heart

Another scrappy match going from end to end saw new additions to the team Sara, Adreiola and Hannah get their first minutes of the tournament. Melody was forced into a few early saves which Adreiola cleared, setting Cleo up on a counter attack. Sara’s first shot of the game ricocheted off the post, with the Sacred Heart defenders beating Reet to the post and keeping the game level. The game continued to be played very much in the middle of the pitch with neither side able to break through. An amazing last-ditch tackle from Hannah kept the game at 0-0, earning Highfield a third clean sheet and a well-deserved point.

Match 5 Highfield vs West Drayton Academy

Once again, a strong showing both sides, with Highfield dominating the ball early on and stringing together a quality set of passes to open up the West Drayton defence. Sara took Highfield’s early chance, dragging the ball just wide of the goal. Cleo returned to pitch from the substitutes bench and immediately caused problems, but strong defending from West Drayton kept her out. Hannah and Grace stayed strong at the back, protecting the goal. Rosie returned to action to keep the game defensive, enabling Grace and Cleo to counter, which the West Drayton defence handled well. A fantastic goal from West Drayton from the corner saw Highfield lose 1-0 and finish the group in 3^rd place, just missing out on qualification for the semi-finals.

Overall, an excellent display from Highfield, keeping 3 clean sheets and having a positive goal difference at the end of the group. As new players, the Year 3/4 girls showed their quality and the promise of developing throughout the school.