Warwick 1st XI 2 - 0 Old Silhillians 1st XI

Warwick 1st XI 2 (1) - (0) 0 Old Silhillians 1st XI

Sils travelled to Warwick with limited availability from some of their more senior players, missing 9 of the expected first team squad for the year, to play a side that has just come down from the Midlands Feeder West.

The team was full of youth, with 2 x 13 year olds, 2 x 14 year olds, and 8 players in total aged 17 or younger. This was evident in the game, with a huge amount of running and effort, but ultimately missing a little bit of guile or "game sense". Having said that, Sils started strongly, and looked the better side for much of the first 10 minutes, but after that the home team gradually raised their intensity - aided by having two subs, and not having 3 players that had already played a match that morning - and much of the best effort by the Sils in the first half was their defending. Jess Cox, Clara Miles and Louisa Miles were well organised by Ali Williams in goal, and ably supported by the running of Imogen Pemble, the tenacity of Maria O'Malley and the work rate of Izzy Gardner and Libby Shepherd. At times, Sils struggled to get the ball through many phases of play, turning the ball over a little too easily, but this was probably to be expected due to the number of new faces in the side, with 4 players making their debuts for the 1st team, and several other players not necessarily being regulars.

Warwick deservedly took the lead around 20 minutes in, with Williams in goal unsighted by an early shot from the top of the D, and so at half-time it was 1-0 to Warwick.

It was evident that legs were tiring, but the half-time team talk was constructive, and the Sils looked very sharp in the first 5-10 minutes of the second half. Lorna Brooks Scott and Eva Robinson getting into some good attacking positions, ably supported by Priya Majevadia and Frankie Levey. Sadly though, the home defence was resolute, and never really afforded the Sils much sight of goal, and so it was that Warwick looked the more likely to score after that initial second half push. Izzy Gardner and Imogen Pemble showed occasional attacking flare which troubled the opposition, but Williams was called upon several times to make important saves, and Clara Miles and Jess Cox in particular made a couple of crucial tackles in the D to prevent further goals from Warwick. With a few minutes remaining, and with Priya having limped out of the game, meaning the remaining players were tired and not picking up all their players, the home team doubled their lead from a close range rebound, and that is how the game ended.

On reflection, with one player injured, one player with nasty blisters on her ankle at the end of the game, and three of the Sils younger players having played twice in the day, this was always going to be a tough ask for what was a much more like full-strength first team opposition than Sils were able to put on show. However, the younger players showed great desire and effort, and the player of the match votes were shared out between the eventual winner, Jess Cox (aged 14), and then also Imogen Pemble (aged 13), Izzy Gardner (aged 15) and Libby Shepherd (aged 16) - showing that some great performances were put in by our youngsters, promising a bright season ahead.

As always, it was fabulous to have Clara Miles on the pitch, and as she heads to University, her calm head, strong tackling and distribution, and overall game management will be sorely missed - plus following the chance to see her playing alongside her sister today, the limited availability of Louisa this season is also a blow - but we can take many positives from today, and look to build on those over the next few weeks and hit the new league season head on with a fantastic crop of young players leading the way.