On Sunday 10 March Bootham Girls’ Futsal Club U16s entertained a very strong Samba U16s team in a friendly match. The game was played over three 20minute periods with unlimited substitutes.

Bootham U16s

Represented by:

Millie T, Imogen T, Katie H, Ava G, Evie C (GK), Clare I, Katie D, Hattie F, Natalie H, Hannah B and Erin E

Samba dominated the games from the very start with some excellent play and scored goals a regular intervals. Bootham, featuring several U14 players in their side battled well and at times created some great scoring opportunities. Goals on the day for Millie, Hattie and two for Erin were good consolation for a hard day’s work. Good luck to Samba in the first round of the U16s FA National Futsal Cup.

Players of the Match was shared between Hattie, Erin, and Hannah – all these players showed the physicality needed to be successful in the older age groups of futsal. They worked extremely hard and showed the commitment we are looking for in future ladies’ players.

Coach Chris spoke to us after the games, he said, ‘That was a hard day for the players, but I was very pleased at the way they improved from the first game to the last. Samba is a very strong team with some very good players, and at times we struggled to deal with their pace and physicality. Players need to realise that at the higher levels, the game is very physical, and they have to learn to deal with this. That said, I am very proud of how the players improved, they took on board what we asked them to do and really did show the heart we were looking for. I am especially pleased with the way the younger players stepped up today, they really did show the desire needed to be successful when they get to open age.’