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RHIAN'S SOCCER JOURNALS:

STILL TOP OF THE LEAGUE AND OFF TO CHINA (PERHAPS)

17th April 20101

We beat Amazon Grimstad today by one goal to nil. It was a tough game.

Una, one of our teammates last year, now plays for Amazon, so we really wanted to play well against her, and we definitely wanted to make sure that she didn't score. Perhaps it was partly because of this, that the game was not very pretty or skilled. Amazon has a reputation for being a rough and physical team. They tend to make physical plays before… well, before even thinking of the ball. And in this match, they did not disappoint. The Amazon game plan seems to have been to frustrate us with little niggling tackles, pushes and sly kicks and then boot the ball long to Una. They played to their game plan.

We came out strong in the first half and had some really good chances to score. Unfortunately, as has been happening all too often, we failed to capitalize. We started to become frustrated as the half wore on. The frustration was born of a ton of possession and not being able to do anything with it, combined with their physicality which slowly began to simmer to a boiling point. We allowed them to get to us and we played quite badly for the last 25 minutes of the half. We welcomed the half time break as a chance to regroup and relax a little.

As in the first period, we started the second half strongly. Once again, we had some great scoring opportunities. But, it still took to the 62nd minute before we tallied. We eventually broke through their defensive wall when Marit Sandvei, our left defender, broke down the wing and managed to catch the keeper out of position. She shot the ball really well, a high in-swinging curler, that the goalie could only watch fly over her head. It was an excellent goal and carried with it all our frustrations.

Needless to say, the last period of the game involved Amazon really piling on the pressure. We survived, but we could have done a much better job of maintaining possession. We did eventually shut them down though, and even though we were in our half for some of the time, we did not give them any scoring chances.

It was a hard game, and not a pretty one. However, a win is a win, is a win. Ugly wins and pretty wins all count the same. Every team has to find a way to win when the going gets tough. I am just pleased that we have learned this lesson early on in the season, and we remain on top of the league.

My priority now as I recover from this game and the bruises, is to pack for my trip to China. I am meant to fly out on Sunday morning, but I doubt VERY much that I shall be able to fly. Oslo is right in the path of the ashes from the Icelandic volcanoes. I shall do all I can to meet up with my WNT teammates, but the first game is on Wednesday and then the second on Saturday. Whether I manage to get there or not, this short camp should be an exciting trip to China. The Chinese team will be a good test of where we are right now. Canada will have a very young team making the trip, but I expect us to do well. We are playing two games, one a closed door affair on Wednesday 21st April, and one on the 24th. We look for3eard to seeing all our fans at the game!