On Sunday 10th December, Bootham Futsal Girls U12s took on Samba Allstars from Leeds at St Peters Sport Hall.

Bootham Futsal Club were represented by:

Isabelle W (Captain), Isla H, Imogen B, Freya L, Jessica W, Mandy M, Maisie M, Eddy M, Sofia C, Irma L, Seyana P, Alice MM and Lucy C.

Bootham were missing 7 players and against a very strong Leeds side it was always going to be a difficult game. Samba scored early and never really looked back. Their passing and movement underlined what a quality side they are and the Bootham girls struggled to match the oppositions physicality and organisation. Bootham had some good spells in the game, but came up against a very good Samba goalkeeper. Samba ran out comfortable winners, with two consolation goals for Bootham from Isla H.

A huge thank you to Samba Allstars U12s and their coaches for giving up their Sunday to come and play us all the way from Leeds, you are welcome back any time! The spirit the game was played in was a credit to both teams, and the parents and supporters were treated to a fantastic game!

Player Of The Match was Lucy C – She played her best game for Bootham – she really did match up to the physicality of the opposition and stood her ground time and time again. She worked her socks off with plenty of full court recovery runs and on another day would have capped off a fantastic performance with a goal. Top performance, keep this up Lucy!

Click here to see the images from the match

Final thoughts of a coach – I love watching good teams play, the way they organise themselves, their movement with and without the ball, and the way the players respond to their coaches – Samba Allstars were all this and much more. Yes, we had several players missing, and yes the score would have been closer, but don’t take anything away from Samba, they are a very good side. I look forward to playing them again in the near future.

Today our players were made to realise what futsal is all about – the physicality to win the ball and to keep the ball is way higher than they had expected. Desire to want to make that tackle and have that shot is something that comes from the individual player. That said, we did have some good spells in the game and this is what we need the players to concentrate on – remember what you did well, these are the bits to focus on, and yes we had plenty of these. Lots to work on, but overall a happy coach!

Next games for the club will be the FA Pokemon Futsal tournament in January/February 2023, and as we write this the U10s, U14s and U16s are now full, with just a couple of spaces for the U12s left. Can’t wait, roll on 2023!