Durham County Schools FA

ESFA Under 14 Girls Inter-County Festival

2014

Durham participated in the inaugural ESFA Inter-county Festival for Under 14 Girls. The Festival was held at the National Sports Centre, Lilleshall, Shropshire from Mon 26 to Wed 28 May. All matches were 2 periods of 25 minutes.

• v Kent (Won 3-2) -- This match was the first time the Durham girls had played as a team. Kent twice took the lead but on each occasion, within a minute of conceding, Durham through Emily Scarr and Sophie Wood had equalised. With 2 minutes of the game left Durham were awarded a penalty. The first attempt was put over the bar but the referee ordered the kick to be retaken. This time Poppy Pattinson calmly placed the ball to the keeper's left to give Durham victory.
• v Dorset (Won 1-0) -- Durham were made to work hard for this victory as Dorset offered stern resistance. The breakthrough came midway through the second half when Sophie Wood was on hand to score, what was the winning goal, her second of the Festival.
• v Lancashire (Drew 1-1) -- This was always going to be a difficult match as Lancashire recently won the ESFA U14 Girls Inter-county Trophy. The Red Rose county played good football and eventually took the lead. However, Durham did not wilt under the pressure being put on them and it remained 1-0 at half time. Durham, encouraged by their first half performance, began to be more assertive. A number of strong but legal challenges inspired the girls. Durham, midway through the second half, were awarded a penalty after an ungainly tackle. Emily Scarr confidently despatched the kick. Good defending from both sides prevented further goals being scored. Both sets of players provided the spectators with a highly competitive and entertaining match, which neither side deserved to lose.
• Sussex (Won 2-1) -- Continual rain made playing conditions unpleasant but this did not deter the girls. Sussex capitalised upon a defensive mix up to take the lead in the 18th minute. Isla Hill held her nerve to equalise 2 minutes before the interval. Play fluctuated from end to end with both goalkeepers making good saves to keep the scores level. Poppy Pattinson, having been denied earlier in the half, sealed victory for Durham in the final minute when she outpaced the Sussex defence before sliding the ball home.

The girls representing Durham CSFA at the Festival were Laura Summers (St Aidan's CE, Darlington), Bethany Wilson (Academy at Shotton Hall), Faye Garside (Sedgefield), Alexis Prest (Red House Academy, Sunderland), Rachel Woolston (Biddick Academy), Demi-Leigh Shaw (St Bede's RC, Peterlee) Poppy Pattinson (Kepier), Emily Scarr (Whitworth Park, Spennymoor), Ebony Thompson (Whitworth Park, Spennymoor), Shannon Reed (Parkside), Jael Anderson (Kepier), Katie Robinson (Academy at Shotton Hall), Isla Hill (Framwellgate), Chloe Allan (Teesdale), Sarah Clifford (Carmel College, Darlington) and Sophie Wood (St John's RC, Bishop Auckland)

FESTIVAL RESULTS

• Mon 26 May
• Dorset 2-4 Staffordshire; Lancashire 7-0 Surrey
• Worcestershire 3-2 Sussex; South Yorkshire 2-2 Shropshire
• Kent 2-3 Durham
• Tues 27 May
• Lancashire 4-1 Sussex; Kent 1-5 South Yorkshire
• Staffordshire 3-1 Surrey; Shropshire 1-2 Worcestershire
• Durham 1-0 Dorset; Staffordshire 0-0 Sussex
• Shropshire 2-0 Kent; Surrey 2-3 Worcestershire
• Durham 1-1 Lancashire; South Yorkshire 6-0 Dorset
• Wed 28 May
• Sussex 1-2 Durham; Shropshire 0-1 Lancashire
• Kent 1-1 Worcestershire; Dorset 3-1 Surrey