Wigan Athletic u12's v Bolton  u12's

Scorers: Ella Schickoff (2) Louise Ainscow (2)        Hannah Lyon 

Team: Hannah Lyon (gk), Rebecca Walkden, Shannon Green, Beth Evans, Beth Keen, Louise Ainscow, Sarah Webster, Ella Schickoff, Sam Walkden (no subs)   

Wigan started the game very positively, keeping possession and passing well. Wigan created quite a few chances in the early minutes of the match and only some inaccurate shooting kept the score level.

The deadlock was broken when Ella Schickoff ran at the Bolton defence and slotted the ball home after rounding the last defender. Louise Ainscow picked the ball up in midfield and made strong run down Wigan’s right wing, she too rounded the last defender and scored in a similar way to Schickoff’s goal.

Two further goals followed in the first half, with Ainscow and Schickoff each scoring their second goals. Shannon Green had an excellent first half and her left footed passing was very accurate, creating several opportunities.

Due to injuries Beth Keen dropped back into the central defensive role along side Beth Evans and Rebecca Walkden. The Wigan defence looked solid through the first half, with Wigan’s keeper Lyon having very little to do. 

Half-time  0-4 (Wigan)   

Rebecca Walkden swapped with Lyon to be goalkeeper for the second half. Some excellent passes down the right hand side from Sam Waldken, Beth Evans and Beth Keen set up attacking moves for Wigan, but Lyon and Schickoff squandered the chances to increase Wigan’s lead.

Bolton’s rare attacks saw Rebecca Walkden make two good saves, but she couldn’t do anything to stop Bolton scoring when some unusual slack marking saw a Bolton player left unmarked in the penalty area. Green got on the end of another good passing move involving Sarah Webster and Ainscow, only to set her effort hit the post and rebound to the keeper. She was soon to get another chance to get on the score-sheet when Wigan were awarded a penalty after a deliberate hand ball.

Whist Green had her passing boots on, she didn’t have her shooting boots on and missed the penalty! Lyon made amends for some earlier misses by firing home a right footed shot from just inside the area to make it comfortable 5-1 victory to Wigan. 

Full-time  1-5 (Wigan) 

Considering Wigan again only had nine players available this was a superb team performance. With one more league game to play against Academy this has very much been a season of “what could have been”, as the girls have played really well against the better teams, but dropped points against teams who they should be winning. More consistent performances will definitely see this team challenging for the title next season.

Wigan Athletic u12's v Blackpool  u12's

Team: Sam Walkden (gk), Zhaine Olourankise, Beth Evans, Hannah Kirkland (capt), Shannon Green, Louise Ainscow, Beth Keen, Ella Schickoff, Rebecca Walkden – no subs.

Wigan started the match with a bare 9 players and without their regular goalkeeper - against the top of the league team who hadn’t lost a match so far this season. The players were asked to give 100% effort and commitment in these testing circumstances

1st Half

Wigan never gave Blackpool time to settle on the ball, with every player closing down and working so hard it was only a matter of time before Blackpool got the upper hand – or maybe not!!

Wigan passed the ball superbly and their movement was excellent – the top of the league were definitely “on the rocks” and struggling to keep pace with Wigan’s dominance.

Chances were being created regularly by Wigan and only some smart saves by the Blackpool keeper kept Ella Schickoff and Louise Ainscow’s from scoring.

Wigan were dominant throughout the 1st half and finally broke the dead-lock when Schickoff found herself running at goal with a defender on her shoulder, as the ball rose she shot right footed over the keeper into the right of the goal.

This was no more than Wigan deserved. During the rest of the half Wigan continued to create good chances and worked tirelessly in both defence and closing down, giving Blackpool’s playmakers little chance to impress.

As the half was ending Blackpool’s busy midfielder picked the ball up just in Wigan’s half, she dribbled past Beth keen and Ainscow to shot low into the right corner of Wigan’s net – giving stand-in keeper Sam Walkden no chance. The referee blew for half-time with Blackpool extremely lucky to be level.

Half-Time  -  1-1

Blackpool scored within seconds of the re-start from a deflected shot that “spooned” over the Wigan keepers head – just under the crossbar. This certainly wasn’t the start Wigan wanted or deserved.

Wigan continued to press forward and throughout the second half Shannon Green, Schickoff, Ainscow and Keen all had shots either saved or saw their efforts just go wide or over the bar. Blackpool’s shots however seemed to go just inside the post or under the crossbar – giving the end result a very unfair look.

Although Wigan lost 5-1 this was probably one of the best team performances of the season, especially in light of the limited number of players that were available and against an excellent Blackpool side.

This score line definitely does not reflect the way the match was played. The effort and commitment the girls showed was a credit to them, they showed fantastic passion and desire to play for their team mates and represent Wigan Athletic Ladies.

Full Time  -  1-5 (lost)

Wigan Athletic u12's v Man City  u12's

Wigan’s up and down season continued with a draw, after dominating this match for long periods and missing a hat full of clear chances to be well in front of the visitors.

The first half was dominated by Wigan, the new defensive pairing of Beth Evans and Louise Johnson was excellent – dealing comfortably with City’s occasional attacks.

Sarah Webster and captain for the day Louise Ainscow were industrious with their efforts to create chances, making good runs and putting in some good crosses. Periods of good possession led to chances being created, with Ella Schickoff firing in a superb long range shot. From a corner Wigan failed to mark their players and left a City player to score a rare headed goal in girl’s football.

Conceding this goal seemed to spark some play back into the home team. Beth Keen picked up a clearance to hammer a right footed shot from outside the box – which tipped the top of City’s crossbar. A great passing move between Webster, Ainscow and Keen created a chance for Schickoff, who cleverly lobbed the City keeper to give Wigan a deserved 2-1 half time lead.

Half time 2-1.

An early goal for Wigan in the second half would have probably killed the game off and Wigan created the clear cut opportunities to score at least once, with Schickoff, Ainscow and Shannon Green all having one-on-one’s with the City keeper. Each of them shot directly at the keeper – which considering the ability of the players was an amazing result for the City keeper.

City were allowed back into the game through some sloppy Wigan passing and missed tackles, and they levelled the scores with another great long distance strike, giving Hannah Lyon no chance.

After this Wigan’s keeper Lyon had to come off her line twice to clear the ball as City attacked. As the final whistle approached it seemed like City had stolen all the points – a shot from a City forward looked destined for the bottom right corner of Wigan’s goal, only for the ball to rebound straight into the Wigan keeper’s hands! Lyon then quickly released a long kick up field to Schickoff, the ball bounced once and was dropping over her shoulder onto her favourite right foot and she hot, on the volley with the City keeper advancing – unbelievably the shot shaved the far post. Final score 2-2, a tale of another game that three points went begging for Wigan, which is the story of this season so far.

Wigan Athletic u12's v Crosby Stuart u12's

Wigan girls were extremely disappointing in their efforts to reach their first major final. It seemed as if the occasion got to most of the players and many didn’t perform anywhere near to their abilities on the day. As a result Crosby Stuart ran out comfortable winners. Louise Ainscow hit the post twice in the second half, but this was the closest Wigan got to scoring.

Bury u12's v Wigan Athletic u12's

Team: Hannah Lyon (gk), Rebecca Walkden,

Beth Evans, Hannah Kirkland (capt), Shannon Green, Sarah Webster, Beth Keen, Sam Walkden, Ella Schickoff.

Wigan started the strongest and put some good passing moves together. Shannon Green threaded passes to Ella Schickoff to give her a couple of

one-on-ones within the first ten minutes, but good goalkeeping kept the scores level. Schickoff and Sam Walden were causing Bury’s defence some serious problems with their pace.

A mix up between Bury’s defender and goalkeeper saw the ball creep in past the near post to give Wigan a deserved 1-0 lead. Beth Keen then went down with what looked like a serious ankle injury, but within a minute was up again and was there to riffle a right footed blaster into the top corner, from outside the penalty box! Schickoff then managed to convert one of her chances to make it 3-0.

Wigan’s new defensive partnership of Kirkland and Evans kept Bury at bay with some solid defending, and Rebecca Walkden also was excellent playing in an uncustomary defending role. After another good Wigan passage of play, Sarah Webster was instrumental in the move that led to Schickoff’s second goal. Wigan went into half-time with a comfortable 4-0 lead.

The start of the second half saw the Wigan girls continue with a positive offensive attitude. Hannah Lyon moved up front for a run out, with Sam Walkden going in goal.

It wasn’t long before Green was crossing from her left hand side for Schickoff to complete her hat-trick, with a cool finish rounding the Bury keeper before slotting the ball home. Another excellent passing move down the left saw Green thread a ball to Schickoff who again rounded the keeper, but this she time passed to Lyon to score the simplest tap in, making it 6-0 Wigan.

Bury had more attacking intentions in the second half, playing with the wind and slope. A long range effort from a Bury midfielder saw a great shot fly over the head of Wigan’s stand in keeper. Wigan still  continued to threaten every time they went forward. From a Webster corner Hannah Kirkland picked up a lose ball in the penalty box, put the ball on her favoured right foot and curled a fantastic shot into the top right corner to make it 7-1.

Wigan had more chances to extend their lead, hitting the post and missing a few open goals. Bury eventually got another consolation goal before the match ended, but this was a pretty emphatic result for the away side.

With three regular players injured Wigan started this game with no substitutes, however this did not affect a tremendous performance from all the Wigan girls.

Man City u12's v Wigan Athletic u12's

Team: Hannah Lyon (gk), Beth Evans, Lousie Johnson (capt), Hannah Kirkland, Shannon Green, Sarah Webster, Beth Keen, Louise Ainscow, Ella Schickoff. Subs: Sam and Rebecca Walkden.

Scorers: Ella Schickoff 2, Louise Ainscow

1st Half

Man City girls started well and from the first whistle nearly caught Wigan cold. Louise Johnson and Hannah Kirkland were a busy defensive partnership in the game’s early stages, and indeed throughout the game, but Wigan weathered the storm and started to compete all over the pitch. This created some confidence in the team that transferred to better possession.

City worked a few shots at goal, however Hannah Lyon was in no mood to let them score, making some good saves. Wigan took the lead when a throw from Shannon Green into City’s penalty box went over the last defender, Louise Ainscow saw her chance and poked the ball through the legs of the oncoming keeper for a great opportunist goal. Within minutes of the restart City had levelled. Wigan seemed to “switch off” and the lack of concentration in the penalty box allowed a free City layer to shoot unopposed and put the home team level, and back into the game.

Wigan ended the half strong, with Beth Evans having her best game of the season in defence. After a goalmouth scramble Ella Schickoff smashed in a loose ball to give Wigan a 2-1 half time lead.

2nd Half

Wigan’s midfield duo of Keen and Webster had to work tirelessly to close down the City midfield, also getting forward to support the forwards. Some good passes down the channels allowed Wigan to get around the back of City’s defenders. With 15 minutes to go Schickoff got her second with a cool finish under pressure.

This gave the away side the cushion that was needed as City pressed forward. City were awarded a penalty with 10 minutes left, when Webster handled in the box, a goal now would make for a very nervy ending. Wigan’s keeper Lyon was inspired and saved the penalty, diving low to her right to keep City out.

Wigan continued to handle City’s attacks and were unfortunate not to go further ahead when Rebecca and Sam Walkden both forced the City keeper into making saves.

This was an excellent team performance with every girl showing superb commitment against a physical and much bigger City side. Wigan’s quality came through and this was a deserved quarter final victory.

Wigan Athletic u12's v Mill Hill u12's

Team: Hannah Lyon (gk), Sarah Webster, Louise Johnson (capt), Hannah Kirkland, Beth Evans, Louise Ainscow, Beth Keen, Alice Lane, Ella Schickoff. Subs: Shannon Green, Sam & Rebecca Walkden, Zhane Olouankinse. 

Scorers: Louise Ainscow (3), Ella Schickoff (2), Shannon Green (2)

Wigan had a full squad to pick from for this weekend’s game, against the same opposition they played last week with only 8 players. With last weeks 7-2 defeat, and quarter final exit against Mill Hill still fresh in Wigan’s minds, determination & commitment was needed to put in a strong performance and get back to winning ways in the league.

1st Half

Wigan started very positively and kept good position, with Alice Lane and Ella Schickoff holding the ball up well. Wigan put some quality moves together and it wasn’t long before the pressure was converted to two goals in quick succession by Louise Ainscow & Schickoff.

Wigan’s midfield and defence were solid with their tackling, which meant no chances for Mill Hill early on. Sarah Webster’s crossing was excellent in the first half and it was she who crossed for Schickoff to claim her second. Beth Evans was strong in defence and made some good runs forward. Wigan ended the 1st half 3-0 up.

2nd Half

An early goal was important to keep the momentum going in the second half and a great run and low shot by Ainscow settled the team again. Mill Hill scored from a great long range shot which gave keeper Lyon no chance.

Shannon Green came on and scored two fantastic goals, the first a long range left footed pile-driver into the top corner, the second by dribbling past 3 or 4 players before coolly slotting the ball past the keeper. In between Green’s goals Ainscow completed her hat-trick by following up a shot which was saved by the keeper and tapping in.

Wigan’s central defensive duo of Louise Johnson & Hannah Kirkland were outstanding through the game. Wigan’s subs Zhane, Sam & Rebecca were used and impressed when they came on.

Mill Hill u12's v Wigan Athletic u12's 

Team: Hannah Lyon (GK), Beth Evans, Hannah Kirkland (capt), Shannon Green, Louise Ainscow, Beth Keen, Ella Schickoff, Rebecca Walkden.

1st Half  -

with only 8 players Wigan Girls U12’s made a very slow start, Mill Hill scored within minutes from their first attack. Slack marking and poor tackling resulted in the next two shots also being goals. Wigan found themselves three goals down within 10 minutes.

Wigan put some pressure on the Mill Hill defence and had two corners in quick succession. From the Wigan’s last corner Mill Hill broke and went the full length of the pitch to score again! Two fouls resulted in direct free-kicks to Wigan which Hannah Kirkland took, the first hitting the crossbar and the second the post.

Ella Schickoff went on a good run and was one on one with the keeper, only for the Mill Hill goalie to make a good save. One more Mill Hill attack and yes – another goal. Wigan went into half time 5-0 down, but with Mill Hill scoring with every attempt on goal.

2nd Half –

first shot of the half by Mill Hill and 6-0! Wigan finally managed to score via an Ella Schickoff run and shot, which was quickly followed by Hannah Lyon goal.

Something of a come back seemed on the cards but Mill Hill’s keeper and defence stood firm. The away team scored a late goal to make the final score 7-2.

Wigan Athletic u12's v Burnley Girls U12's

Team:

Hannah Lyons (GK), Sarah Webster, Shannon green, Louise Johnson (capt), Hannah Kirkland, Beth Keen, Louise Ainscow, Alice Lane, Ella Schickoff. Subs (all used): Beth Evans, Zhane Oulrankinse, Samantha & Rebecca Walkden.

1st Half

This was the U12’s first game for some 5 weeks & both teams started slowly. The home team eventually got into their stride & put together some decent passing moves. Wigan made the Burnley keeper work, with 3 shots from distance by Lane, Green & Schickoff, all in quick succession. Both defences had to be on their toes with Wigan’s Johnson & Kirkland coping well on a bobbly surface. Wigan eventually took the lead mid way through the first half when Schickoff received a good pass from Webster, she turned & struck the ball right footed into the Burnley net from 10 yards out. Chances were limited after this & the score stayed 1-0 to half-time.

2nd Half

Burnley made the better start to the 2nd half, looking to counter attack & catch Wigan on the break. It was now the turn of Wigan’s keeper Lyon to make some important saves. Wigan’s general play & passing became a little scrappy & they were unable to create many chances. A spell of Burnley pressure forced consecutive corners for the away team, it was from one of these corners that they equalised. The corner was met on the volley by the Burnley midfielder & she placed the shot into Lyon’s top left hand corner. Ainscow attempted to get through the Burnley defence with some late runs, but they stood firm. All in all a draw was a fair result & the point sees Wigan still hovering in mid-table.

Wigan Athletic u12's v Dynamo Rangers

(Team)

Samantha Walkden (gk), Hannah Kirkland (capt), Beth Keen, Beth Evans, Rebecca Walkden, Sarah Webster, Shannon Green, Louise Ainscow, Alice Lane.

Wigan started very brightly in this League Cup game with some good passing and movement. Early pressure forced a corner and after a goalmouth scramble Kirkland fired home a loose ball to settle early nerves.

Dynamo Rangers were allowed little time to settle on the ball and good team pressure all over the pitch forced several mistakes from the away team.

Two well taken goals by Lane, and then a goal from Ainscow after following up from a save by Dynamo’s keeper, made it 4-0 to Wigan.

Sensing a goal feast Wigan girls lost their concentration and some discipline, Dynamo counter attacked after some sloppy play by Wigan and scored to make it 4-1 at half-time.

For the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half Dynamo came back into the game with their girls closing Wigan’s space and getting tackles in.

From a Wigan clearance Keen passed to Webster who then threaded a pass through to Lane, who confidently shot low to the keeper’s right to complete a great hat-trick.

The away team continued to ask questions of Wigan and the second half was more evenly matched. Dynamo were awarded a penalty after a handball by Evans, but the Dynamo penalty taker hit the penalty well wide of Wigan’s keeper S. Walkden.

Wigan scored two further well taken goals via Ainscow and Webster to make it a more comfortable victory

Wigan now march into the next round of the League Cup after this win, with all the girls playing well. Due to illness and absences Wigan only had a bare nine players to choose from, with some girls playing in different positions than normal.

Taking this into account all the girls deserve individual praise for creditable performances with

Wigan’s defensive unit playing particularly well.

Wigan Athletic u12's v Preston N.E. u12's

The game came to life within 2 minutes – Early Wigan pressure forced a corner. Webster took it and scored direct from the corner kick, curling the ball in at the near post. Preston broke away against the run of play to equalise 1-1.

Wigan were playing some excellent football in the difficult conditions, and also pressurising PNE in mistakes. Centre Forward Lane picked up a loose ball in the area, turned and drilled her shot low past the keeper making it 2-1.

Wigan then went 3-1 up after striker Schickoff reacted quickest to slot the ball in the bottom left corner of the net. It looked like Wigan were going into half-time with a 2 goal lead when PNE hit a hopeful ball forward and scored a controversial goal.

Half-time : Wigan Ath U12’s – 3  PNE – 2

The second half started very much as the first with Wigan putting some great passing moves together. The pressure paid off when central midfielder Ainscow went on run down the left hand side before cutting inside to shoot, the keeper made a good save however Ainscow followed up to stab the ball home (4-2 Wigan).

PNE did come back into the game and both central defenders Kirkland and Johnson had to be on their toes to prevent PNE from scoring. However, Preston’s best player burst forward from midfield to score and make it 4-3.

Wigan continued to attack and a cross from the left resulted in a blatant handball – for which the referee did award a penalty. Green confidently struck the ball left-footed low to the keepers right post (5-3).

Wigan were definitely on top and playing with confidence – Ainscow received a pass before going through the PNE defence and shooting right footed to score in off the post making it 6-3 with around 10 minutes to go. PNE decided they had nothing to lose and attacked at every opportunity.

Preston’s dynamic midfielder sent a long pass straight to the foot of their forward who slotted the ball passed our helpless keeper Kirkland (6-4), she then went on another dribbling run to beat 4 Wigan players to score again (6-5). With 2 minutes injury time played Preston’s best player picked up the ball on the halfway line before launching a left-footed shot, which flew into Wigan’s top left corner of the net.

Full-time : Wigan Ath U12’s – 6  PNE – 6

Without doubt Wigan girls were the best team in this exciting encounter, but for PNE’s stand out midfielder who scored 4 goals, Wigan would have ran out easy winners. All the girls can take many positives from this match as they all played their part in an entertaining game. 

Bolton Arena 5-a-side Comp

Due to having no arranged fixture this weekend (14th/15th Nov) we entered the Bolton Wanderers annual “kick it out – Unity in Diversity” 5-a-side competition.

Having only the minimum 5 players, the girls won all their 4 matches (5-0, 6-0, 4-2, & 5-0) to win the tournament comfortably.

Players: Hannah Kirkland (Capt), Beth Keen, Ella Schikoff, Sarah Webster & Shannon Green.

Missing our regular goalkeeper we opted for a rotation system in which we had 4 different keepers for all 4 matches. With a record of 21 goals scored and only 2 conceded it seems like we have some more than capable goalkeeping deputies!

The girls played some great football and managed to put some fantastic passing moves together. The goals were shared around with every girl scoring.

Shannon Green was selected as player of the tournament by the organisers.

Whilst the U12’s girls will definitely play tougher opposition, it was nice to get the first silverware of the season in the trophy cabinet!