The Nelson Selects Green, White and Blue U12 teams all had plenty of positives to take from the Terry Walgren Memorial Tournament, but the girls eventually paid the price of not finishing their chances in front of goal.
With the tournament schedule pitching all teams against each other over the course of the weekend, it gave SoccerQuest coaches Sam Heap, Andrea Stinson and Morag Paterson the perfect chance to see whether they had divided the girls into equally competitive teams.
All three games against each other proved to be highly exciting and close affairs.
“All the teams created plenty of shooting opportunities, but strugged to find the target with the majority,” said Heap.
The games Nelson Blue vs Nelson Green and Nelson White vs Nelson Green both finished in 1-1 deadlocks. In the third of the all-Nelson games, Nelson Blue held on for a 2-1 victory over their Nelson White.
In the games against Kootaney South, all three teams played excellent, fast, flowing soccer and recorded impressive victories. Nelson Blue eased to a 8-0 win, completely dominating from start to finish. Nelson White ran out comfortable 7-0 winners, although in truth the scoreline could have been doubled. And although Nelson Green failed to score in the first half, they managed to find their scoring boots in the second half to win 5-0.
The toughest test for all three teams came in the form of the team from Kootaney East.
“With the girls from Kootaney East being significantly taller than our sides and employing more of a punt and rush mentality, all three Nelson teams easily outplayed the opposition but struggled to finish some of the excellent chances created,” said Heap.
“Nelson White and Green both suffered narrow 2-1 losses, but both teams had enough chances to win the games three times over.”
Nelson Blue did manage to record a 2-1 victory, but as in other games Heap said the scoreline flattered Kootaney East with Nelson Blue having over 10 shots on target and hitting the post on three occasions.
The round robin results produced a final that featured Nelson Blue facing Kootaney East on a very warm Sunday afternoon.
It was a repeat of the other games, as Nelson Blue set about playing their impressive style of pass and move soccer whereas Kootaney East were content on punting the long ball into the Nelson half. Nelson created several chances in the first half, but struggled to find away through the excellent Kootaney East keeper.
“The heat took its toll on the players energy levels and soon it became apparent that the game would need just one goal to separate the teams,” said Heap.
It did and unfortunately for Nelson that goal came from the visitors in the form of a sweet 25 yard rocket into the low corner of the net. As much as Nelson tried to find the goal to take the game into extra time they just couldn't find the decisive touch in-front of goal.
"I’m delighted in the way all the girls performed this weekend, they have all shown the coaches the levels that they are capable of,” said Heap. “Some of the soccer that was played was outstanding and just watching from the sidelines you can see that all the players are starting to understand their roles what to do with and without the ball.
“It goes to show that the program is working and the girls are reaping the benefits of it. The only thing that was missing from the complete performance was that killer instinct in front of goal, but that is something we can work on throughout the summer practices.
“All in all the girls should be proud of their performance over the weekend and as a coach I’m extremely excited for what the future holds."