Cestria Girls u17's v Ridabu/Ottestad Our second group game today saw us up against Ridabu from Norway who had lost their first game 3-1. Unlike yesterday we were on 3G today at a windswept Aby pitch. The girls kicked off and must have missed 4 gilt-edged chances in the first couple of minutes. However they wouldn't be denied for long and sure enough the first goal came in the 5th minute after a great run and finish from Beth Hepple. Zoe Ness hammered home the ...

Today saw Cestria u17's start their quest for the Gothia Cup (World Youth Cup) with their first game in group 17 v the Swedes Halbybrunns. With a mixture of trepidation and excitement, due to our opponents being very much an unknown quantity, we took to the field. Cestria soon got into their stride knocking the ball about the lush green surface with ease and pulled the Swedes around the whole area of the pitch. After a couple of missed chances we took the lead ...

Well where do I start......after defeating one of the largest sporting clubs in Sweden and then the best team in Sweden at our age group the girls now had to come straight from the pitch, without going back to the hotel to get out of their strips and freshen up, and travel 15km on public transport nursing their aches and pains from the 2 full games they'd already played before taking on Pitea. We eventually arrived to monsoon weather with the girls looking like e...

First knockout phase of Gothia World Youth Cup and the girls were up against one of the largest sporting clubs in Sweden and the world according to Swedish fan who was there. Cestria kicked off in the rain against IF Brommapojkarna and were fast out of the blocks with a high tempo passing game on the grass pitch rather than the 3G we had played our group games on. We went ahead in the very first minute after Zoe Ness stormed through and blasted home. Another goal...

The 2nd game of our marathon day was a re-run of last years G15 final v Vartans IK who are the top U16 team in Sweden, boasting international players in their ranks. This would be a real heavyweight encounter, and so it proved to be. In perfect conditions on a grass pitch with a big expectant crowd the game kicked off. Vartans scored first after a goalmouth scramble resulting from a corner but Zoe Ness restored parity after rounding the goalkeeper and firing in....