It was with great excitement that a convoy of cars carrying the girls from Forfar Farmington U17s made the relatively short journey up to Westview Park in Kirriemuir for the East Region League Cup Final against Aberdeen.
This season has been an eventful one for our U17s and although they have contended with a number of injuries they have shown the resilience and drive to make it to today’s final. An early season 1-1 draw against Aberdeen let our girls know that they were up against a very good side however belief was strong in the Forfar camp despite having to field an outfield player in goal.
The match kicked off in perfect conditions and the early pressure came from the girls from the Granite City. Forfar defended resolutely and looked to utilise the pace of Steffi Simson as they hit on the break. Aberdeen missed a glorious chance when their centre forward blasted wide from close range.
Forfar then nearly took the lead when a great run by Neve Guthrie ended with her slipping her shot just passed the post. Forfar then had a ‘goal’ disallowed when Kacey McCabe fired the ball home at the far post however the flag was up for offside.
Aberdeen took the lead not long after this when a through ball saw one of their players deftly slip the ball into the net. The blow of going a goal behind was doubled a minute later when a speculative drive from long range flew high into the net. Forfar competed well to try to get back into the game but they fell a further goal behind when an Aberdeen player fired home from the edge of the box to put her side 3-0 up at half-time.
Forfar continued to work hard for each other and they stood up very well to the driving play of their opponents. They fell a further goal behind when they conceded a penalty but it was Philippa McCallum who bagged the goal of the day when she fired in a free kick into the nearside top corner to bag a consolation goal for her team.
Although disappointed with the result the coaches were very proud of their young team who did exceedingly well to make the final.
Congratulations to Aberdeen on a well-deserved victory and for the manner in which they won the match.