The Cawston Red Rose FC girls under 12 team, sponsored by Beechcroft Barns, entertained Gorleston on Saturday 18 February in changeable weather conditions, ranging from bright sun to hail or both, but this failed to dampen the girls' spirits with an excellent match with enthusiasm from both teams,

In an incredible display of resilience, battling wind and the elements, the Red Rose girls came back from 2-0 down to snatch a 2-2 draw.

In the first half, Gorleston took a 1-0 lead despite a great display and many good saves from Olivia in the Red Rose goal.

Early in the second half, Gorleston scored again to make it 2-0 but with the strong wind now behind Red Rose they slowly became the more dominant team forcing several corners.

On one of these occasions a corner was swept in by Sydney into the danger area in the goalmouth which then took a slight deflection into the goal to make it 1-2.

More pressure from Red Rose resulted in another corner, again taken by Sydney; this time the ball was curled expertly on the wind directly into the net to make the score 2-2.

Showing great game management and determination the Red Rose girls battled hard to hold onto the lead despite a late Gorleston resurgence as they desperately tried to regain the lead. However the Red Rose girls defended well for a well deserved 2-2 draw.

The club thanked the supporters from both teams for observing the Football Association-inspired silent weekend but still creating a wonderful footballing atmosphere for the girls with applause only. Thanks also to our junior-qualified referee Sam for a brilliant performance.

The opposition choice for player of the match was goalkeeper Olivia; the referee’s choice for his player of the match was Sydney.

Meanwhile, our young, Aaron Stangroom-sponsored team had an away match against Norwich.

Red Rose stormed into the lead with two early goals in the first 10 minutes, but then allowed our opponents back into the game by failing to track players back towards our goal, and with some sloppy marking conceding three goals before the team rallied again in the last 10 minutes to hit back with two more goals and take a deserved 4-3 victory.

For our younger girls' squads we are still looking to add to our pool of players from Year 4 and especially Year 5.

Girls interested in coming along to the only girls-only football club in the local area can contact Paul Willmott by email or text 07926 004994.

Paul Willmott, Red Rose FC

Pictured above: The Cawston Red Rose FC girls under 12 team entertained Gorleston in changeable weather conditions. Photo: Red Rose FC