By Weronika Lecka, French and Spanish, First Year
Wednesday 19th March marked a significant day in the UBWFC 4s calendar as it was the final match of the 24/25 BUCS season. There was a lot of hope that the 4s would be able to finish their season on a high and celebrate a year's worth of progress and memories made.
It was a very hot, sunny and humid day at Coombe, putting us in a positive mood upon arrival. We had multiple supporters coming down to watch, including our goalkeeper Katie and our right wingback, Taleyah, who are both recovering from injuries, along with other friends and relatives.
I started the match up front, it was very humid so it took me a while to adjust to the heat. I made some passes up the pitch, won some headers and cleared the ball out when helping to defend a corner. We created a few chances in the final third but I found that I was losing most physical and aerial battles in the midfield with the Bath Spa players. Olivia made multiple good runs and dribbles down the right hand side and also linked up a few times with Charlotte down the wing. We didn't let in any early goals - however we didn't have that many attacking chances either. Later on, Cherrie was running down the left wing and tried to cut onto her right side into the box, but was fouled by one of the Bath Spa defenders and the referee gave us a free-kick just outside the box. I stepped up to take it and curled the ball near the far post but the goalkeeper saved it.
Midway through the first half, I moved down to the number 10 position and Charlotte moved up top, which nearly worked immediately as when Charlotte went to press the goalkeeper, she got hit in the face by the ball and it just went over the bar. After that, we struggled to create more attacking situations and instead, Bath Spa kept pressing and eventually scored after our defenders thought that their attacker was offside. Later on, Bath Spa scored again with a strike past our goalkeeper. At half time we were feeling a bit shaken and made some changes, bringing on Sasha, Kamila, Lauren and Eden with hopes that we could make a comeback.
We started the second half with more intensity and pressure. I still stayed in the number 10 role and often linked up with Sasha on the left wing to create some attacking opportunities. Sasha was able to create some nice crosses from the left side and Emanuela and Olivia continued to create nice runs and passes on the right. Due to the high press, we also won multiple corners and I stepped up to take them, making crosses into the box which Charlotte and Sasha often headed them on the far post, but no goals came as a result. I also had the ball at my feet a few times in the box but due to a poor touch and control, I wasn't able to get the shot off before being tackled.
However, shortly after, I rolled the ball past the defenders into the box, which Charlotte received and finished to make the score 2-1. We quickly collected the ball for the restart and we continued to press for the equalizer - providing constant service to Charlotte and ensuring that the ball was being played in the opposition half. Deyna consistently got involved with battles in the midfield and made sure that any balls won were moved forward into the attacking third. Shortly after, the defenders lost focus after thinking that Charlotte was offside, but instead Charlotte half-volleyed the ball past the keeper to level the score 2-2. We collected the ball again and continued to press for the winning goal. I continued to make some crosses into the final third from corners and Sasha continued to annoy the defenders with fast runs down the left-hand side. With around 10 minutes of normal time left, Charlotte completed her hat-trick with a delightful lob over the keeper after a delightful through ball from Eden.
Bath Spa continued to attack, however our defensive three of Anna, Lauren and Eden cleared any dangers with ease. Our goalkeeper Grace often caught balls from crosses and lobbed the ball up the pitch to inspire attacking situations. I started to feel tired from the heat and continuous running across the pitch, so I was substituted off for Cherrie - who made some good passes and dribbles down the left-wing as usual. I watched on from the side as I was assisting on the line. Towards the end, Bath Spa kept winning free-kicks and corners which made us feel a bit uneasy and tense, but luckily our players kept their composure and ensured that we ended the game with a win.
After the final whistle, we celebrated with team photos and flowers to our fantastic midfielder Kamila, who had played her final match for UBWFC. Cherrie also took some great photos of the game play and later on, we went into the changing room to dance with some music and celebrate our success.
It’s amazing how at the start of the year most of us didn’t know each other, and now we are really like a family. I felt overwhelmed with love and pride for each of my teams mates at the end of my last game, and even though it sounds silly leaving UBWFC breaks my heart a little bit! It has been the foundation of my university experience - Kamila
The celebrations most likely continued later on that Wednesday during the club's social events, and the 4s also had dinner together on Friday 21st March to spend some more time together and celebrate.
Overall, after finishing 4th in the table, it must be said that we are all extremely proud of ourselves and the progress we have made together throughout this season, and we look forward to the next BUCS season in 25/26, where will show our quality and challenge for the top. I want to say a huge well done to everyone even if they weren't particularly mentioned in this article!
Squad:
Goalkeeper: Grace Redfern.
Defenders: Phoebe Rogers (C), Eden Remnant, Ruby Davis, Lauren Shepardson, Anna Howard.
Wingbacks: Olivia Msoffe, Cherrie Lee, Sasha Grossman.
Midfielders: Deyna Mesuria, Eve Lindop, Kamila Chamcham, Weronicka Lecka, Emanuela Lorediliddo.
Striker: Charlotte Power.
