Match Report - 2016/17 Week 3 v Tingley & Castleford

Brighouse Juniors 5-3 Tingley Athletic

After a first league defeat in 16 months, it was all about bounce-back-ability for the Brighouse U14 girls. The league schedule handed the girls the 3rd tough game in a row, against Tingley Athletic, a re-branded Carlton who knocked the girls out of the cup last year and a team who they had never beaten before.

The home side started strongly and were ahead in the second minute. A persevering run from Maddy Rodd saw her nick the ball from the defence before crossing to the unmarked Becky Aykroyd, who finished coolly. The lead lasted only 3 minutes before Tingley played a characteristic long ball through to the number 9 who found the bottom corner. A frenetic start calmed down and Brighouse seized the initiative, playing predominantly in the opposition half. Grace Warren was leader of the orchestra in midfield, playing a delightful ball through to Aykroyd who raced away and scored her second of the game. Katja May was starting her first game of the season and added serious cutting edge and trickery in the final third, frustrating the visitors vocal coaching team. Liv Hinchcliffe fitted seamlessly into the defensive line on her debut, and Holly Senior was solid at left back.

5 minutes into the second half saw Ellie Corbett latch onto a through ball from Warren. The Tingley defence were unable to catch her as she calmly made her way into the box and finished to put the home side 3-1. The lead was cut almost immediately back to 3-2 and the game was level after 50 minutes after a smart finish from the visiting attacker.

Having being leading for so long, it would be easy to crumble, but the Brighouse girls rallied again and took the lead again soon after. Lois Mattock continued to impress in a yellow shirt, crossing for Shoanna Clark to bundle in from close range. Corbett scored her second of the game to kill the away side's hopes of another comeback. May had been superb all game, and her cross was steered into the top corner to complete the scoring.

The final whistle came to secure a deserved second win of the season for Brighouse. The coach had the following to say after the game:

"This result represents the unbelievable journey that this team has been on since it's inception. 2 years ago, we lost 5-0 and 4-3, last year we lost 3-1 in the cup. Now we're a stronger, more experienced side who nullify their threats, such as the long throw and play our own game. I'm immensely satisfied"

Matchday Squad
Shackleton (GK)
Pell
Newburn
Hinchcliffe
Senior
Mattock
Warren (C)
Clark
Aykroyd
Rodd
May
Corbett


Goalscorers: Aykroyd x2, Corbett x2, Clark
Assists: Rodd, Warren x2, Mattock, May
Player Of The Match: Becky Aykroyd

Castleford White Rose 0-4 Brighouse Juniors

The Brighouse U13 girls earned their first win of the season with a hard-fought victory at Castleford. The visitors rode their luck in the early stages, the home sided pressing forward and hit the bar and the post, but had nothing to show for their early dominance. The introduction of Poppy Reid in midfield helped Brighouse regain control of the game and push forward. The opening goal came midway through the first half when Jess Surley converted a penalty after a handball from a Castleford defender. The second game soon after as Skye Kirton showed great technique to volley in her first goal in Brighouse colours.

The talented Leah Fletcher continued her good goalscoring record in the second half, scoring a Jamie Vardy-esque breakaway goal from a perfect through ball from Louise Curnick. Abi Barker, fresh from a stint in goal, was unleashed to complete the scoring with a close-range finish after good work from Surley. The Brighouse defence, led by the excellent Amy Herman rode their luck at times, but were determined to protect their volunteer goalkeepers and keep a clean sheet.

Louise Curnick was awarded man of the match by the opposition for her raking runs down the wing which eased the pressure on the defence, while the Brighouse coaching staff singled out Herman for the second U13 game in a row.

Matchday Squad
Barker
Gibson
Herman
Robinson
Surley
Kirton
Conroy
Fletcher
Reid
Curnick
Joseph  

Goalscorers: Kirton, Surley, Fletcher, Barker
Assists: Surley x2, Curnick
Player Of The Match: Amy Herman

Goalscorer Abi Barker enjoying her reward!

Match Report - 2016/17 Week 2 v Ossett

Ossett Albion 2-1 Brighouse Juniors

On paper, this was one of the hardest fixtures in the season’s calendar, as the U14 girls made the trip down the M1 to last year’s Division 1 and Cup winners on a warm Sunday afternoon. Ossett started the better of the two sides, and found themselves 1-0 up after 15 minutes when a cross was inadvertently steered into the Brighouse net off a Brighouse foot. The hosts were confident, and more joy down the right hand side saw a good cross met with a tame strike that squirmed its way underneath the ‘keeper.

At 2-0 down, the visitors rallied and finished the half strongly. The introduction of Amy Herman into the defence added a more balanced look to the side, and Honey Newburn skipped past pressing attackers with ease and flair as normal. The Ossett goal lived a charmed life, with Brighouse being unable to capitalise on a number of goalmouth scrambles from corners from Grace Warren. When they did deservedly put the ball in the net, the referee ruled the goal out for a push, to the bemusement of players and supporters of both sides. Despite this set back, the away side came into half-time in the ascendancy.

The second half saw increasing amount of pressure on the home goal, with the occasion break keeping the Brighouse back line on their toes. Shackleton made one great low save with her legs before being taken ill and replaced by the ever willing Ellie Corbett. The Brighouse goal was sensational. When the referee gave a free kick about 25 yards out, Maddy Rodd struck a set-piece of the highest quality right in the top corner to give the visitors hope. More pressure was applied but the home defence managed to survive. A corner in the last minute had 20 players in the box, but the away side were unable to force it in, meaning a first league defeat in over a year for the team


Matchday Squad
Shackleton
Aykroyd
Clark
Newburn
Coley
Fryer
Warren
Mattock
Barker
Rodd
Eccles
Corbett
Herman
Curnick






Goalscorers: Rodd
Assists:
Player Of The Match: Maddy Rodd

Match Report - 2016/17 Week 1 v Whitkirk & Battyeford

Brighouse Juniors 3-0 Whitkirk Wanderers

An enticing opening fixture saw Brighouse Juniors U14 Girls host last years Division 2 runners up Whitkirk in their first competitive 11v11 game of the 2016/17 season. Despite being the home side’s nearest challengers last year, the Yellows managed to take 6 points from their opponents last season. The away fixture early in the season saw a gritty 1-0 win with an Own Goal being the only separator on a tricky pitch. The home game in January felt as through whoever won would go on to the take the title and it proved so. 2 goals from Katja May and a brace from Ellie Corbett in a 4-1 sunk the visitors that day and ended their hunt for the trophy in the process. 

It took both sides a while to get going in a scrappy and combative first half. The home side narrowly survived a goalmouth scramble from a corner and the Whitkirk captain on the right wing made a lot of the running. However, all the quality football came from the hosts and the first chance fell to skipper Grace Warren, who was played through only for the keeper to make a smart save with her feet. The wide players Fryer and Barker were well managed by the full-backs, prompting the introduction of Becky Aykroyd and new signing Holly Senior. The Brighouse defence, marshalled by Honey Newburn and Eleanore Pell, nipped a lot of potential attacks with clever and calculated sweeping of long balls. 

The second half started in a similar vein as the first, but Brighouse started to create more chances as their patient possession-based football tired the visiting team. With key strikers missing, Ellie Corbett and Poppy Eccles worked hard in the final third. After good play down the right, Corbett miscued a volley that would have earned her a deserved goal. A tactical re-shuffle unlocked the defence. Corbett was replaced by Fryer, moving Becky Aykroyd into a centre forward role. Moments after, a clever flick on released the pace of Aykroyd, who raced clear of the defence and finished calmly to score the 1st goal of the season for the Division 2 champions. 

At 1-0, the game was far from over. Olivia Shackleton was called into action as the visitors counter attacked at pace. Bravely diving at the feet of the attacker, ‘Shacks’ showed why her teammates have such confidence in her in goal. Lucie Coley was having an excellent game at left back, as were the midfield. The centre midfield pairing of Warren and debutant Lois Mattock had worked hard and were both rewarded as the game moved into the final stages. Warren’s free kick was too hot for the keeper to handle to make it 2-0, before Mattock finished smartly from close range to put the icing on a fine second half performance. 

Matchday Squad
Shackleton (GK)
Gibson
Newburn
Pell
Coley
Fryer
Warren (C)
Mattock
Barker
Corbett
Eccles
Aykroyd
Senior 


Goalscorers: Aykroyd, Warren, Mattock
Assists: Eccles, Fryer
Player Of The Match: Honey Newburn 

Battyeford Belles 1-1 Brighouse Juniors

In what was a tough opening fixture for the U13's, a brilliant goal from Mia Harris earned the team a much deserved point against a physical, tough Battyeford side. The opening half was a cagey affair as both teams grew into the game, with Shoanna Clark bossing the midfield and spreading the play well. Battyeford came forward with purpose; however a back line of Amy Herman, Poppy Reid and Abi Robinson worked well as a unit to limit their chances. Battyeford got the opener with a well struck goal from outside the box, leaving 'keeper Rhianna Joseph little chance, although she made a couple of cracking saves to keep Brighouse in the match. 

Brighouse never gave up however, and were on top for much of the game. Player of the match Amy was the one who set the goal scoring move in motion with a sublime through ball, with Mia latching on to the pass to finish coolly around the keeper. Brighouse kept the pressure up but couldn't quite find the finish that would give the second goal. The visitors also withstood pressure towards the end to earn a well-deserved draw and first point of the season. 

Matchday Squad
Joseph (GK)
Reid
Herman
Robinson
Kirton
Clark (C)
Conroy
Harris
Fletcher
Surley


Goalscorers: Harris
Assists: Herman
Player Of The Match: Amy Herman

A Brief History Of Time - 2015/16

2015/16 

If the 14/15 season taught the team how to lose, the following campaign taught them how to win. Having lost their influential captain in the summer, a new club captain was appointed in Grace Warren, and the season saw further recruitment of high-quality players, paving the way to a massively successful season.

Brighouse won all but one of their league games, a draw at home to Wortley the only blip on an otherwise flawless season. Beating the noisy neighbours Clifton in the second game of the season 9-2 showed how far the team had come in a short space of time. They followed that up with a 4-2 win against a talented Bradford City team, with Poppy Eccles scoring all 4 goals that day. The next 2 games brought late drama. After being 2-0 down at Horsforth, the team battled back to make it 2-2 before Warren’s spectacular volleyed goal in the last minute earned 3 points for the team and the ‘Goal of the season’ trophy at the end of season awards presentation. 7 days later, Zoe Fryer was the hero, scoring with the last kick of the game to take 3 points from Marsden.

A long break in play due to poor weather meant no football in the month of December. The team picked up 2016 where they left off in 2015 with a ground-breaking win at home to Whitkirk. Katja May starred that day and continued to do so throughout the season, claiming both top scorer and most assists. The cup competition proved less successful this season, as the girls were unlucky to lose to Carlton after the original draw was scrapped which would have given the team a friendlier route via Bradford. The season ended with the total demolition of Clifton, signifying the end of an era at this level. The 17-1 win signalled the dominance of girls’ football in the region, which is now firmly yellow. 


 

Squad photo with the league trophy

Recognising success at the league presentation

A Brief History Of Time - 2014/15

The current team was formed at the start of the 2014/15 season at U12 level and became the 2nd girls’ team at Brighouse Juniors, alongside that years U15 team. With just 2 players to begin with, a summer of hard recruitment was necessary and it took until mid-November before the team was able to name a full team of 9 players. 

2014/15

A turbulent start to the season saw regular postponements due to lack of numbers. The first competitive game ended in heavy defeat, when Battyeford Belles refused to match the number of Brighouse players available. The game began with 9 Battyeford players against 7 Brighouse players, though one late arrival did see Brighouse move up to 8 for about half the game. The 7-0 loss that day brought the group closer together as a unit, and provided a grit and determination that would be present all season. The girls picked up the first point of the season away at local rivals Clifton at the start of 2015. The first win came in the next game, a 6-1 triumph away at Horsforth in the Shield, where captain Maisie Blackhall scored a superb hat-trick. This proved a turning point in the season; the team went on to win 5 league games and 5 draws, showing a great resilience to avoid defeat. 

The shield also provided success. After beating Horsforth in the first round, the team was rewarded with a semi-final against Clifton. A sensational 5-0 win set the foundations for future successes as the girls put in their best performance to date, before being unlucky to lose 2-0 in the final to Guiseley Girls. The runners up medals were a deserved reward for the hard work of the players in the team’s first year.

The team before one of the earlier league games in 2015