Sonning Common 0-0 Fir Tree (Sonning Common win 8-7 on penalties)

On Thursday evening the Y5/6 girls’ football team hosted Fir Tree Junior School in our final league match of the season. We knew that we needed to win the game by at least five goals if we wanted to overtake Fir Tree in the league table and win the title.

Aware of how important an early goal would be, we started the game well, firing on all cylinders and launching attack after attack. Chances came and went, the most notable of which saw Georgie hit the post twice and her penalty saved, whilst Lola fired a low shot that was saved by the Fir Tree keeper. At the other end, Sofia remained sharp to thwart any half chance the opposition had.

Into the second half we went, and it very much followed the same pattern as the first half. We continued to create chances and found our way to goal blocked, and the game finished 0-0. This meant that Fir Tree had won the league, and we had confirmed that we would finish in second place.

In this league, 2 points are awarded to both sides if the game finishes as a draw. The game then goes into a penalty shootout, and whoever wins the shootout gains an extra point. If the scores are still level after each team has taken five penalties, we enter something called ‘sudden death,’ which is where the shootout continues until one team scores and the other subsequently misses.

After five penalties each, there was still no breakthrough, with the scores tied at 3-3. Into the topsy turvy emotional rollercoaster of sudden death we went – especially tricky for us as Fir Tree were taking their penalties first, meaning the pressure was on us to score – and after most of the girls had taken two penalties each, Fir Tree missed with their last penalty. We knew that if we scored our penalty kick, we would win.

Up stepped Hazel.

Who scored!

After some excellently taken penalties, some brilliant saves from Sofia and some incredible guts shown by the girls under huge pressure – especially those who missed their first penalty or who had to score to keep us in the game – it was us who earned the extra point for winning the penalty shootout, tightening our grip on second place and thus consolidating our best ever league finish in girls’ football.

After a dramatic and tense finish, the football league season is now over for the girls. They have been a sensational team to coach and have represented Sonning Common superbly throughout the season. They have made huge improvements both individually and as a team, and thoroughly deserve to be remembered as one of the best girls’ football teams (if not the best) in the history of Sonning Common Primary School.

Thank you again to those who came to support the girls, as well as Mr Spencer for refereeing the match!

The team was: Sofia M-P, Ella-Lily B, Evie Q, Elsie D, Lola B, Sophie A, Freya K, Eva M, Lily-May Y, Hazel B-M and Georgie Q.