COVID-19 | Coton FC

4 days ago

Saturday 25th March 2023
Coton U13 Girls vs Netherton United, Home (League)

Netherton made the trek to Coton, seeking retribution for our previous encounter, in what was billed to be for a ‘must win’ game for Coton to keep the title race alive. Determined to avert yet another weather-related cancellation, the game was transferred to Comberton, giving the teams their first taste of a full-sized astro, complete with full size goals! Despite the exquisite surface, both teams struggled to settle into the match. Keen to get the upper hand early, Coton strived to be first to the ball, with Mads, Shannon and Kate trying to bring shape and impetus in the midfield. With 10 minutes on the clock, and still no more than 3 consecutive passes strung together by either side, it seemed both teams were suffering from the gravity of the occasion, with nerves getting the better of them. As the match progressed, it was evident that it was going to be one of those nail-biting affairs where that first goal would turn the game.

Coton, clearly not firing on all cylinders, brute-forced their way through the first half, creating more chances than Netherton. A long-range speculator from Kate 20 mins in signalled the first attempt on goal from either team, breaking free of the arm wrestle. India, ignited, danced into the goal mouth not once, but thrice, only to be somehow denied by the exquisite Netherton Keep. Even with Juliet and Mads following in the ricochet, the Netherton Keep was somehow able to bat the ball off the goal line twice. Frustratingly for our Girls, we created as many chances up front, as we gifted to Netherton at the back. Some spectacular and, on one occasion, bone-crunching, saves from Cha kept the Netherton wolves at bay and the scores level at 0-0 going into half time.

The second half started with more intention and some positive play from Coton. Bam, battling against the robust No 66 linked up with Lia to keep the doors closed on attack after attack down the left. Lia sat on danger girl, Amna, starving her of space and cutting the link with her winger. Meanwhile, Emilia chased down any incursions behind the defensive line with classic Emilia tenacity. The larger pitch started to show on the girls, with the pace slowing a little as the second half wore on. Through balls came in a little too fast, or too dirty to control, and play was often rushed. Cohesion of play had still not raised its head, and both teams continued to cluster around the ball rather than to exploit the space. Mads and Ellen managed to switch play, which had largely hugged the right touch line for most of the match, moving the attack to the left. The switches of play gave both Pauline and India free range to make rampaging advances on goal. Mads claimed the ball on the outskirts of the box and was unlucky to hit the crossbar with a snap kick. Moments later Kate went wide with a further two shots. With just 15 mins on the clock, the tension palpable on and off the field, even the City scout on the sidelines looked nervous, struggling to take those crucial player notes! Katy and Tesni threw themselves into the physicality of the match, clawing back balls from the Netherton midfield and stunting their attacks. Julie put two storming runs in to bear down on the Netherton Keep, only to send one directly to the Keep and another over the crossbar. India met a through-ball from Juliet at pace, taking her deep into the Netherton box, only to be swarmed by the rallying and robust defense. Then, in a calamity inside the Coton box, the ball fell on a silver platter for the Netherton forward, and she claimed it with gusto to give her team that all-important first blood. With just minutes on the clock, and emotions running high, a piercing run by Emilia and an individual effort by Shannon sadly weren’t enough to claw the match back. In the final seconds Netherton surged down the right, cut it back to the box and sealed the match, much to the delight of the vocal supporters and some elated coaches. The defeat a tough blow for Coton, and the league title only a mathematical improbability now, our Girls hung their heads and came together in defeat for only the second League game of the season. Despite the heartbreak, such is the resilience of these Girls, they will reflect and draw on the incredible football played to date this season and come back stronger and more determined in their next game.

Final score: 0-2⚽️👍 ... See MoreSee Less

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City scout 😂 it was great to get over to watch the girls without worrying about the score for once. The coton girls played some lovely football against a very organised netherton defence. Just couldn't quite find the finish to beat a keeper on top form. I don't know how it was still 0-0 at half time! Some great individual performances from Ellen, Kate and India in amongst a team of top quality players👏👏Well played both teams!

Coton Football Club

4 weeks ago

Saturday 4th March 2023
Coton U13 Girls vs Netherton United, Away (League)

It’s crunch time! There’s barely a breath between the title contenders, and with just a handful of matches to play this season, today was a ‘must win’. The Cup defeat in November still fresh– however, thanks to the enormous work put in by the Girls, ‘November Coton’ is a distant shadow of ‘March Coton’.

Netherton, notorious for their ‘never say die’ attitude, and hunger for physicality, looked tight and organised in the pre-match warm up, clearly up for the occasion and sensing an upset. Determined for a positive start, Shannon, from the toss, chose to go with the slope, with the hope of stealing an early lead. Both teams jostled to be first to the ball, struggling to contend both with each other, and with the bobbly pitch. It was Coton who managed to get the ball on the ground and begin the passing first, applying pressure and probing the Netherton defense via some precise through-balls from Ellen and Katy. Coton, dominant in both possession and territory began to create chances but were shut down time and time again by a swarming Netherton defense, spearheaded by their tenacious left back. The slope was plotting against us, with through balls going just that bit too far. Two miscommunications were all it took for Netherton to turn the tables 5 mins from the end of the first half, calling on Cha to put in a couple of bone crunching saves.

Reinvigorated by the break, and confident that ‘it will come’, Coton were out of the blocks early in the second half, with Tes adding to her stellar performance of the first half, catching a Netherton through ball and turning it back into our midfield trio. Shannon and Mads were electric, combining a brutal hunger to win the ball and a desire to feed the wingers. Ellen, relentless all day, closed the mid-field door on Netherton, but extended her defensive duties to always maintain a link with her defense; calm on the ball, settling play, she was equally instrumental in building our attacks. Ellen found India with a splicing ball. Beating her player, India whipped the ball into the 6-yard box to find a ravenous Mads who gladly sent the ball home to break the stalemate. The tension in the air broken, Lia and Bam played a delicate 1-2 to engage Mads in midfield, who clearly had a taste for a second! Playing off Shannon, and then a cheeky 1-2 with Julie, Mads was in on goal again, but for a spectacular save from the Netherton keep who put her body on the line. India, starved of the ball for much of the first half, was now getting it in spades – and cashing in her chips. Flying down the right, India surged outside of defender after defender, firing in a bullet just out of reach of the keep, but not out of the reach of Julie’s left boot. Two ahead, but the thing about Netherton is that two is never enough! Pauline and Bam saw to that, with Bam feeding Pauling for a storming run half the length of the pitch, re-claiming the ball after a Netherton tackle, and curling the ball into the short side, kissing the left-hand upright in a superb, unsavable goal. Cha, dominant in goal, played Emilia on. Emilia linked with Ellen to create space then darted down the right. An interchange with India saw Emilia with one thing on her mind.. a low bullet across the Keep to close out the match. Lia, who grew quickly into the match was excellent whether running back or lunging forward onto loose balls, and super-Tes, having a game of it today, were the rocks at the back that partnered with Cha to help her to her third successive clean sheet. Emilia and Bam opened up the wings, giving Mads, Katy, Pauline and India plenty of ball to work with. Shannon, Ellen, Mads and Katy dominated the middle, and Julie caused all sorts of trouble up front. Some special mention must go to Cha’s kick outs, Mads killer instinct in midfield and Tes’s play reading and making. That said, today’s victory was a whole team affair, wonderful to watch with all the Girls showing confidence on the ball and in each other. Well played Girls.

Final score: 0-4 ⚽️👍 ... See MoreSee Less

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Coton Football Club

1 month ago

Coton U10 Blues are looking for players to join our ambitious team in advance of 9v9 in the 23/24 season. If you have great feet & a great attitude, we’d love to hear from you.

They are also looking to recruit a goalkeeper too, with the opportunity for some outfield time too!

If you are interested in either, please contact Kirsten (oatesk@btinternet.com) or Jonathan (jjp37@cam.ac.uk) to find out more and arrange a no-strings-attached trial. ⚽️👍 ... See MoreSee Less

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Coton Football Club

1 month ago

A sunny but chilly morning at the Rec today, and a very early kickoff against ICA Sports for our U13 Girls. In the end, a comfortable win for Coton, but an ever improving ICA team made it tough for us, and an outstanding performance from Charlotte meant we held out for a clean sheet too!

A slightly delayed kickoff allowed the few late-comers travelling from Peterborough and beyond to arrive for the start. Coton showed early endeavour; our players trying out some different positions, and showing an unusual(!) alertness in the opening minutes. Ellen was immediately first to everything and directing the play from the middle. Her ball out to Emilia at right wing, a run in behind and whipped cross found Mads for a tap in and the opening goal. ICA fought back, and our missed clearances meant Charlotte was called upon to make her first save. More pressure from ICA and Lia forced to play back to Charlotte, who showed great touch and calmness before distributing in to India in the middle. Now Shannon controlled nicely and fed Ellen, whose nicely slotted pass encouraged a run from Emilia. Another whipped cross, this time to Katty’s run in from the left, but ICA closed down and defended well. The match was being played at a nice tempo by both teams, and good touch and skill by all the girls out there. A break down our left and Cha forced into another save. India was growing into the game, and starting to cause ICA trouble with her close control and skills, weaving on the edge of the box, the shooting opportunity didn’t quite arrive…at least for now. A late challenge caught Emilia, and whilst she was checked, the break was an opportunity for India to borrow Pauline’s gloves - it really was cold out there!! Emilia was back on her feet and into the action. Another cross, this time finding Julie, but the ICA defence held firm. Nice pressing from Mads who won the ball back high up, and feeding a quality pass to Pauline, whose cut back and dangerous ball whistled into the box. ICA couldn’t clear and the loose ball was pounced upon by India to fire in our second goal. This goal rattled ICA a little and our girls stepped up the pace for the rest of the half, Lia and Kate shutting down before ICA could create any chances.

Both teams began the second half brightly. Lia, Tes, Amandine and Bam taking it in turns to clean up and keep ICA from making progress into our box. More great battling by Ellen won us a corner and another ball fired in by India was met brilliantly by Julie to get herself onto the scoresheet. The girls were bouncing now. Classy footwork from Mads and a ball into the ICA box was found by Pauline who tucked her finish into the corner. Limited to only a few chances, the ICA attack made a breakthrough but one-on-one with super-keeper Charlotte bounding out to close the angle the shot deflected out to Bam for the clearance. Lia timed her tackle well and sent a pinpoint pass to Pauline. She cut back and switched the ball into the path of a late Emilia run. Emilia collected before the defender and slid her effort past the keeper. With Katty covering now, Bam was sent forward and nice touch and skill out wide by her working the ball to Shannon to roll across the area and find Emilia again for her second. Amandine continued to tackle strongly, winning the ball for her team and interchanging passes with Ellen to feed India on the right. Tes moved out to the right and shut down the last semblance of an ICA attack that side. Kate was a commanding presence at the back and, this time winning a ball and stepping out, she put India in on the right, but the resulting effort slamming against the crossbar. More pressure and loose balls in the ICA half gifting India another snap chance to lift an effort only inches over. Julie ran and ran but the final whistle seemed to come fast. And it didn’t look like a consolation would be forthcoming today for ICA, with Charlotte in such imperious form.

Always a massive pleasure to host ICA. A lovely group of players and coaches, certainly a team on the up, and one to watch in the coming seasons. We wish them well for the rest of this season, but with our girls sitting top of their league our attention is now back on the big games coming up 👍⚽️ ... See MoreSee Less

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Well done girls. Nice report again.

Coton Football Club

2 months ago

Saturday 4th February 2023
Coton U13 Girls vs Stanground Sports, Home (League)

Seeking redemption, and perhaps retribution, from their last outing, Coton had fire in their bellies this morning. The unfortunate recipients, Stanground, felt the bite 4 mins in as Shannon intercepted a goal kick, headed it to her feet, and lobbed the keep. Any nervous energy evaporated as India fired in a corner to find Kate in a handy position. Curling the ball into the top right bin, Kate brought up her second for Coton in only her third appearance. Moments later she made this three from three as she finished a fluid and complex move that started at the back with Bam and Lia playing off each other to find Ellen, Ellen playing as the pivot, threading the ball to Julie for a deflected shot that Kate pounced on. Real exploitation of the left, and deliberate ball-to-feet play, initiated at the back, conducted by Ellen and finished off by the forwards. Lovely football.

Almost in repost, the action then exploded down the right, beginning with Mads converting a through ball from Emilia into points, Emilia banging in a lofty cross into the danger zone to deliver Kate her hat-trick, and India forcing an own goal from a well struck corner one moment then beating 4 and belting one past the keep just seconds later. Sealing off the half, Emilia belted in a 20-yard stunner.

The second half whistle unleashed a flurry of build-up play just outside the Stanground box, during which Julie claimed her place on the scoresheet, firing a ball into the bottom right. India, now playing on the left, linked up with Julie to create space. Julie fired a lateral cross to find Ellen on the edge of the box. A well-struck, rising belter, the Keep didn’t stand a chance. India, who was having a whale of a game down the right, and now down the left, fired in a pinpoint corner, which Julie gladly got on the end of to log her second. Ellen fired in her second, as did Mads moments later – both powerful, well-placed strikes. Emilia, having an enormous last game of the season, after being fed by Amandine, was unlucky to have her search for a second goal deflected. The ball falling at Julie’s feet brought up her hat-trick. Lia, despite a robust pantomime protest at the unjust nature of being moved into midfield, knitted with Tes to form a real defensive presence and a tangible asset for launching structured attacks. Special mention must go to the Cha’s clean sheet, made possible by an impenetrable back four of Bam, Tes, Lia and Amandine.

In what was a play that typifies the spirit of this Coton team, India streaked down the left, beating one and drawing two players, then unselfishly playing Emilia in for the closing goal of the match. What a fitting end to the match, with a team of girls playing for each other. And, what a send-off for Emilia – record points scored, a clean defensive sheet, two goals to her name and voted player of the match to boot! Wishing you a speedy return to the pitch next season Emilia!

Final score: 16-0
Players of the match: Emilia (Coton) & No5 (Stanground)⚽️👍 ... See MoreSee Less

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Coton Football Club

2 months ago

Saturday 21st January 2023
Coton U13 Girls vs Cambridge City, Home (League)

Coton U13 Girls kicked off late on a very frosty pitch this afternoon at the Rec against Cambridge City. A lovely winters’ afternoon, but a pitch not quite up to its usual standards, let’s say! Both teams did a brilliant job of adjusting to the football-cum-ice skating but City, aided by the late kick-off and multiple other cancelled games, had a team full of their big guns, and not many little guns!!

The first half started with a period of dominant play by City that our girls did well to weather. Charlotte made a couple of point blanks saves, and our midfield chased the City players as they passed it around us. The ball hardly made it into the City half with Julie, Indie and Pauline spending most of their time running back to help our struggling midfield. A couple of lapses in concentration were both punished by City, and where normally our girls would have bounced back quickly, there was an inevitability about the way the game was going. Things went from bad to worse with a nasty fall and bang to the head for Ellen, who had to come off. Luckily a tailor-made replacement in Annie was waiting on the bench and she quickly got into the swing of things playing only her second game for the team. A slightly unwell Tes came off and was replaced by an energetic Katty who chased down every ball and injected a new energy into our middle. We started to craft some chances; Pauline making great forward drives out on the left and Emilia and India crafting openings out wide on the right. Shannon was starting to get a foothold in the game and was seeing more of the ball, feeding Julie up top, but the City defence were strong today. If we thought we had a sniff of getting back into the game, those hopes were dashed with two more City goals before half time, nicely fired into the corners of our net beyond the reach of a diving Charlotte.

Very proud of the way our girls came back out for the second half; 4-0 down against a side brimming with quality in every position, and looking for revenge over the previous meeting earlier in the season where our girls had managed to pull off an unlikely win. Now the game was much more even, both teams creating chances, but for all the nice play, we weren’t to find any clearcut shooting opportunities. City remained dangerous and looked to hit us on the break as we pushed forward. Bam had her work cut out against the impressive City winger, and for at least 20mins we held the fort with Annie and Kate doing a great job at the heart of our defence. But City weren’t done with their scoring, and the quality began to tell again. Each time we thought we might get a consolation, their powerful attack would burst through and fire in. Charlotte had had an outstanding game in goal, so was disappointed to have conceded four in each half through no fault of her own. With 15 mins remaining on the clock, the game was long gone, but Ellen had recovered and was bouncing, ready to come back on and she quickly injected a new energy into our midfield. Combining with the brilliant Mads, who had put on her usual consistent and strong performance from start to finish, we started to fashion chances and Julie was unlucky not to score after one of her traditional powerful runs through on goal, with the City keeper forced to save. Ellen herself had a run through too, followed by Mads out on the wing causing trouble for City and great feet in their box. It didn’t feel like that deserved goal would come, but next up was India, switched out to the left, and played in by Kate, her pace beating the City back line. Under pressure from the powerful defender, Indie had a cool finish tucked in at the near post to put smiles back on the faces of the onlooking Coton Supporters!

Well played both teams. Not quite the normal tense and close encounter, but definitely loads of quality on display as usual. Tough game, against a brilliant group, and a result that opens the league right up at the top, with four teams all gunning for that number one spot, and excitement certain right through to the end of the season 👍⚽️

Final score: 1-8
Players of the match: Ellen (Coton) & Niamh (City)⚽️👍 ... See MoreSee Less