Away victory for Hutton girls

Hutton Under-16 Girls returned to league action for the first time since early November, making the long away trip to Forest Green Rovers.

Hutton started quickly and dominated the early stages. The Hutton midfield of Jodie Filer and Georgia Ferdinando were superb in every aspect and with Cat Coates and Tia Craig flying on the wings, the hosts were on the back foot for long periods.

It came as no surprise when Hutton scored the opening goal as Craig’s determination paid dividends as her cross found Coates, who gave the home keeper little chance.

The girls continued to press forward with strikers Gabby Massey and Robyn Perrett causing all sorts of problems for the flustered Rovers defence. Hutton extended their lead from a Filer corner as Massey’s volley found the back of the net.

However, the hosts possessed a real threat when they attacked and their physicality was matched by Hutton’s defence of Meg Lewis, Eva Ferdinando, Hannah Capes and Nicole Badman.

As half-time approached, the Hutton defence was breached as Rovers tried to claw their way into the game, but were denied by Lauren Filer’s full-length save.

The hosts came out for the second half in a determined fashion and Hutton were at full stretch to withstand the onslaught, with Filer again saving well and they were unlucky not to get a goal back when they struck the crossbar and the post with a deflected shot.

Hutton regrouped and the introduction of Rachael Curtis started restricting the flow towards their goal and creating their own pressure on the home goal with Perrett and Curtis.

The Hutton pressure resulting in a number of corners and the girls extended their lead when Massey headed home to put the girls 3-0 up.

Rovers were far from deflated and threw players forward to try and save the game, but the hosts grabbed a late goal with the final kick of the game as Hutton ran out 3-1 winners.

McDonalds Weston player of the game was awarded to the entire team and EMS supporter’s player went to Lauren Filer.