Ladies Social Team - Sherburn in Elmet

Tales of an UNfriendly friendly! 

On a Wednesday evening, the Ladies Social team made the 40-minute journey to Sherburn White Rose FC for what we thought to be a friendly match. The grass pitch held up surprisingly well despite the recent rainfall.

The game kicked off with both teams vying (trying) for control, though Sherburn appeared to have the upper hand in physicality and stamina. In the 15th minute, a poorly timed challenge by a Sherburn player resulted in a free kick just outside the box. Jenny stepped up to take the free kick, delivering a powerful shot that was saved by the Sherburn keeper. But worry not as the ball rebounded perfectly to Sian, who capitalised on the opportunity and smashed it into the back of the net, giving Maggies an early lead.

The lead appeared to frustrate the Sherburn players, leading to another foul on the edge of the box, a player that, moments earlier, had punched Sian—an incident the referee unfortunately missed—before executing a reckless two-footed sliding tackle on Trish. If there were any doubts about the “friendly” nature of the match, this was a clear indication that the term was far from accurate.

The match was punctuated by the sounds of Steph singing "Ruby" by the Kaiser Chiefs on the pitch, this energising the subs who were fully invested in the game specially as the  Hutchinson family showed impressive teamwork, connecting passes and creating beautiful through balls that tested the Sherburn keeper, who was forced into making several remarkable saves.

The game was end to end and Sherburn continued to press forward, but the Maggies’ defense held firm, with GK Molly expertly handling the few balls that got past the outstanding back line. Right back Lauren emerged as a standout, not only making crucial tackles but also keeping possession alive.

As Sherburn grew increasingly frustrated, shouting and swearing at one another and the Maggies, our team remained composed. 

With just five minutes remaining, another opportunity arose. A corner was taken, followed by a shot that fell to Kirsty just outside the six-yard box. She kicked the ball back toward the goal, but Sian narrowly missed connecting (had it been her left foot, she likely would have!). The ball struck the keeper and rebounded to Kate G, who slotted it into the net. Referee ruled it as offside but that didn’t matter as the situation escalated when the linesman, described by someone as a “grown man acting like a four-year-old,” let his frustration show, taking swearing at players to another level and delaying the match restart. When the game finally resumed, Ruby was again the target of a blatant foul. Ultimately, the match was abandoned as Maggies needed to conserve their energy for an “actual” league match on Sunday.