After 5 weeks off (which definitely felt longer) the HFFC Belles finally returned to league action in a big match which saw them take on 3rd place Clifford Women's, a win would see the Belles leapfrog their opponents and claim 3rd place. It is safe to say the Belles kept this in mind throughout the 50 minutes of the game as their determination paid off and they left the pitch with 3 points and that 3rd place spot thanks to a 1-0 victory.
You could definitely tell the Belles hadn't had a game for a few weeks as they started off a lot slower than usual and took a while to get themselves into the game, Clifford were a lot quicker to react in the opening moment of the game and at times the Belles fitness levels were showing before half time. Clifford came agonizingly close to taking the lead due to this however, luckily for the Belles Leah was on the line to keep the ball out of the goal. That was about it for the first half though with nothing major happening for either side. You could tell that the Belles were frustrated coming off from the first half, but that is the good thing about the Belles, they regroup and come out stronger in the 2nd half if things haven't gone to plan.
That is exactly what happened in this game, after a good half time talk and a few changes to the system with fresh legs brought on & a few players switching positions the Belles were ready and raring to improve on their first half performance. The changes certainly seemed to work too as not long after the restart the Belles got their goal. A well worked pattern of play saw the ball land at Kacey's feet and there was no way she was going to miss slotting it past the Clifford 'keeper nicely. After the goal it is safe to say the Belles settled into the game a whole lot more and got themselves into the game with some great patterns of play which ended in some fantastic chances but unfortunately for the Belles they just couldn't add to the goal tally as the Clifford 'keeper was having an absolutely fantastic game and made some brilliant saves to keep the score line 1-0. Clifford had a few half chances in the second half but there was nothing too threatening due to some great defending and goalkeeping from the Belles.
The Belles really upped the tempo in the second half and started to play like the team we are so used to seeing, they were moving the ball around the pitch really well finding little pockets of space to feed the ball into and getting themselves into some great positions. It was really nice to see all this fall into place as it just goes to show what is worked on in training is paying off and being implemented into the game really well.
Player of the match for this game went to the fantastic Beth who had an absolutely brilliant game in central defence, clearing the ball out of danger well alongside commanding the back line to stop any threatening looking attacks from Clifford. Beth has really developed in her role over the course of the season and in this game she was a key piece to why the Belles kept a clean sheet, she is always in the right position and makes sure those around her are too.
This 1-0 victory pushes the Belles into 3rd place just 7 points off the top spot with 2 games in hand on the current league leaders Monk Fryston. With just 4 games remaining for the season and 2 of those being against current second place Pontefract Cougars it is safe to say every game is a big game now and every point is a big one. If the Belles play as they did in the second half of this game against Clifford they could honestly be closing that gap at the top of the league and push for a higher than 3rd place finish. With the fight and determination the Belles have anything could be possible and we looking forward to seeing how those remaining games play out.
To say this is the Belles first season I think it is safe to say the team are surprising themselves with their capabilities week in week out and are more than determined to improve on their current league position as the end of season approaches.
Attention now turns to Sunday the 30th April where the Belles take on 2nd place Pontefract Cougars in yet another big match with 3 very valuable points up for grabs. Let's go Belles
