Sunday 4th June 2017 saw the girls section take 4 teams to the Newark Referees Tournament with two teams entering the U10s, an U11s and an U12s.
The U10s entered 2 teams due to the high interest and gave them the fun names of the Stargazers and the Sleepyheads. The opening game of the day saw them face each other. A great way to start the U10s section first ever tournament.
The Sleepyheads ended with a 1-2-2 record which saw them finish in 5th place but with only 1 point separating them from 3rd showing how evenly matched the middle of the table were. They lost to our friends from Lowdham Ladies in the 5th v 6th playoff but as always ended the day with massive smiles all round.
After winning their opening match against their teammates the Stargazers went on to finish unbeaten with a 3-2-0 record which saw them comfortably finish top of their division and take part in a 1st v 4th playoff against Southwell City. A tight match ended 0-0 seeing them go to the dreaded penalties and another new experience for this recently formed team. Three penalties each saw two saves from both keepers take it to sudden death. The Southwell player stuck hers just wide so it was down to Gedling’s newest player, having started playing 2 months ago, to put them through to the final which she did with confidence running to her teammates with a massive smile.
The U10 Stargazers receive their trophy
The final wasn’t as nail biting with a confident 2-0 win over Bingham Town seeing the girls lift the trophy and their teammates from the other team stream onto the pitch to celebrate with them.
The Red Arrows fly by during the trophy presentation capped off a great afternoon for our youngest team.
No such excitement for the U11s who comfortably topped their group winning all 3 games without conceding a goal. This saw them match up against Bingham Town in the final showing how strong both clubs are with Gedling and Bingham making the final in the U10s and U11s competitions.
The final saw their form continue with a convincing 3-0 win and another clean sheet meaning they completed the tournament without conceding a goal in any of the 4 games played.
The U11s celebrate their success
These matches gave some of last year’s squad the opportunity to play side by side with some of the off-season’s new signings and they gelled immediately, a promising sign of things to come.
Finally the U12s joined a group with 2 teams from Mansfield Town and 2 from South Normanton Colts. They ended the group with a 3-1-0 record scoring 11 goals and only conceding 2 and leading the teams with Mansfield Town Yellow finishing 2nd.
The teams matched up for the final with Gedling having taken the spoils in the division match. A closer affair in the final saw the match end 0-0 and once more the lottery of penalties. The Gedling girls held their nerve ended 2-1 winners to take home the trophy.
U12s victorious after their penalty shootout final win
Another successful day for the youngest teams in the section. With more tournaments entered over the summer hopefully there’s more silverware to come.
