Brave Motherwell girls just fail to reach the final of national competition

Apr 29 2009 by Andrew Weston, Wishaw Press

MOTHERWELL FC Girls travelled to Stirling last Saturday to take part in the Tesco Cup.

The competition is held annually with the winners travelling to England to compete in the British Tesco Cup.

The U-14s lost their first group game and won the next two but this was not enough to take them into the knock-out phase of a competition which was won by Celtic.

In the U-16 competition Motherwell won their section with draws against Hutchie Vale and Dunfermline and wins against Celtic Tayside and Aberdeen.

In the semi-finals Motherwell were victorious against Aberdeen's East End but, after playing three games in quick succession, ran out of steam in the final against Hibs after having to play their games without a proper rest.

Overall, however, this was a great performance by the girls who had no recognised goalkeeper for the competition and, due to the scheduling, played their four games in a row.

Motherwell’s Maxine McCrindle won the best midfielder award in the U-16s age group competition thanks to her first class performances throughout.

Meanwhile, on the Sunday, Motherwell FC Girls U-17s travelled to Larbert to take on Falkirk Academy in the league.

Manager Angie Wilson made a few changes to allow those who had taken part in the Tesco Cup the previous day a rest.

Emily Thomson, Lucy Clark and Heather Richards were rested with Chloe Allan absent due to injury.

It meant Kirsty McLeod and Rachel White were promoted from the U-15s.

The first half was a struggle for the Motherwell side but they did score a penalty towards half time when Eilidh McIntyre was tripped just inside the box.

Rachel Everett stepped up and confidently dispatched the ball into the net.

In the second half Motherwell began to play with a bit more fluency and the goals followed.

After her assist for the penalty, Eildih McIntyre went on to score four goals herself and Emily Thompson got on the scoresheet as well.