Bolden's Blog
Bolden’s Blog: My final blog this season
Published by Gillingham Ladies Media on May 10, 2010
So we did it…slowly, painfully and in the end very muddily, but we did it! Facing Deal for the last game of the season, we had to get the three points or Gills final position would be left to fate.
We had beaten the Deal side 9-1 at the start of the season and so went into the game very confidently. The morning of the game I was doubtful myself if I would play as I had been ill, and with Gemma Ridge away on holiday , the team was boosted by the late assignment of Amy Russ.
I also felt a little more nervous than usual, as 5 of my munchkins had made their first trip down to see us play. The team started the morning on a high with a “dance off” keeping the girls in good spirits. With Terri Reynolds voted as number one mover, the girls turned their attention to the game and decided to inspect the pitch en route to a warm up in the rain. Although soggy, the pitch looked OK and the girls worked hard to get warm.
The rain even made me feel better and we all started the game brightly against a ten man Deal side. Gills put together a real classy game of football with decent passing moves and a large number of shots keeping the Deal keeper busy. She sadly got injured in the first few minutes and had to be swapped off for the deal striker, leaving the Gills defence plenty of space to push on, with all of the back four getting chances on goal to join with the 36 shots we apparently had in the first half.
However the Gills shooting was just not good enough and although a decent replacement in goal made several good saves, many of the Gills chances were wasted in the first half. As the rain got heavier the pitch became more lethal, with players getting tackled by puddles and long passes stopping dead in the water. At half time Deal had held the Gills to 0-0 and a frustrated team bundled into the showers to warm up their hands. (We really didn’t think by this point we could get much wetter!)
At half time there was talk of abandoning the game as the rain got even heavier, but a confident Gills team begged for the game to continue despite the poor conditions, and the Deal team agreed that we may as well continue, with the injured keeper rejoining the game upfront.
The break seemed to really halt the Gills in their tracks, as within minutes, keeper Jess Nunn had been lobbed after the defence failed to clear the ball, and minutes later an indecisive move lead to a deflected clearance landing in the Gills net.
At 2-0 down with 60 minutes gone, Gills had a battle on their hands, knowing at any minute the game could be called, the result would stand and the Gills would lose the League. Megan Cavell, Lauren Harris and Chloe Phillips all came on to replace Kirsty Goodall, Terri Reynolds and Kerrie Scott. With the frustration building the Gills seemed to have given up, with several long balls not making the final shot, and most being cleared up by the Deal keeper.
I was more shocked than most that it was me who broke the Gills scoring deadlock, after hitting a ball back that had rebounded out from hitting the post after a Megan Cavell shot. I simply wanted to drop it into the box- and ended up hitting the back of the net!
Well that broke the silence at least and almost poor Amy’s back. I jumped on the first player I saw and the following bundle nearly took her out too! Well the Gills really picked up from then and Amy Russ went on to hit a very similar goal just minutes later, and was given a far gentler celebration, but a nonetheless deserved one!
At 2-2 the Gills really started pushing on, with much more cohesive passing and raining shots on goal. With the weather worsening and the pitch causing ever more hilarity with splashing through puddles and impossible dribbling the game was becoming messier. In the dying minutes of the game, Gills won three corners in a row, with the last corner put in by Leanne Stevens pinging around in the Deal box before taking a deflection and ending up in the back of the net. I believe Chloe Phillips has been honoured with the goal but no one is completely sure who scored! At kick-off, the final whistle blew and the girls bundled in a muddy heap on the pitch. We later found out that we had 20 seconds left to win the game had we not scored when we did! What a way to end in so much drama!
The girls all joined hands and made a neat line in order to dive across the pitch, much to the amusement of the crowd. With the game won and the rain still lashing, the girls bundled back into the showers to get warm and dry, ready to shoot off to support the first team playing a cup game in Enfield. The first team sadly lost, but the Gills continued to make a day of it by celebrating as a whole squad in the evening, accompanied by Sean.
After starting the league 5 points down, and taking the final game to the wire the girls thoroughly deserve their unbeaten record this season and their League winners’ trophies. A huge Thank You to Sean, Lyle and our lino Darren and ofcourse the girls for putting in all the effort!
Well Done Girls!
Mini Gills also helped to end the season on a high, with a night at Priestfield playing on the pitch and looking around the backrooms of the stadium. Tommy T even came to join us and the girls had a fantastic evening, with the voted player’s player trophies being handed out too. I have managed to pass the whole season without injury, and yet I turn up to play against ten year olds for two hours and I leave barely being able to walk! The coaches even had the chance to try their own skills on the Priestfield pitch, ending the season with a bank full of good memories and a few badly taken penalties!