This Sunday, Saints head back to the much loved, Snows Stadium, for their match against Birmingham City. The match will kick off at 2pm. Will we see history repeating itself this Sunday? The last time we played a league match at the Snows was in fact against Birmingham, and St Marys also has a diseased pitch, same as this time! Maybe we will, but this time, hopefully more goals! We hope to see as many of you supporters there as possible, to cheer on the girls, we need to bring that noise! Tickets can be purchased online via the Saints website. Be quick there’s only limited tickets left!
Last time out
The first time Saints met Birmingham in the league, was back on a very cold and rainy October evening last year, all made worth it with a 1 nil win. Just like this upcoming match, that one was also moved to Snows Stadium, a stadium that is very close to all our hearts! It felt good being back and they also drew in a good crowd which, unlike St Marys, we we able to surround the pitch. Grit, determination and persistence was all shown in this match, they never ever gave up. The first half it took us a while to ease in, but we eventually knuckled down and didn’t let Birmingham dictate our play. The second half we come out a played tonnes better, quicker and we had a lot more chances and we also had more intensity. We come out victorious after Lucia come off the bench in the 84th minute, her first match back after injury, and she pea-rolled the ball into the back of the net, after Wilkos cross.
The second time we met them, we travelled to St Andrews Park. Unfortunately for us, this match ended with us losing 2-1. The first half started very end to end, a lot of chances coming in from both teams, none equating to goals. The goals didn’t come in until Birmingham won, and converted, a penalty in the 34th minute, scored by Jade Pennock. Their lead didn’t last long as there was another penalty, this time the other end which Ella Pusey converted! The second half fell a bit flat and we lost a little creativity. In the 73rd minute, Hodson scored taking the Blues ahead and the match ended 2-1.
Looking ahead
We head into the match on Sunday with Saints sitting in 1st place in the table with 9 points, Birmingham however, sit second from bottom with 1 point, only being ahead in goal difference. We come of the back off a spectacular dominant away win to Reading in which we won 4-1. Hopefully, the momentum from our very impressive win is what spurs us on to go for it again on Sunday, get another good few goals, collect the 3 points and remain at the top of the league.
Birmingham are one of the teams in this league that have bought a few new players in, bringing in 11 new signings, some of whom, have a lot of experience! Those eleven signings consist of 1 defender, 7 midfielders, 2 forwards and 1 goalkeeper. So, it looks like they’ve had a massive shake up to their midfield region, I wonder how these signings will impact their play. Some of those are loans. After 4 games last season, Birmingham sat with 7 points, it’s a huge difference to how they’ve started this season. They’re going to be looking for those 3 points on Sunday, but let’s hope we don’t let them have them.
Birmingham are a completely changed team to the one we saw last season, but every match is a new battle, and anyone can win on the day. Football is the most unpredictable sport remember!
It’s going to be a tough fought challenge on Sunday but the fight we’ve seen from Saints the last few matches, is one that is dominant and very skilful, Birmingham need to watch out because they’re really not ready for us.
Looking back at last season, Blackburn finished 2nd in the table with a total of 47 points. They scored 39 goals and conceded only 12!
One thing I can say for sure is that I am seriously looking forward to the match Sunday, after witnessing the beautiful style of team based and fast paced football that the girls played recently,
Match officials
Referee – Phoebe Cross
Assistant referee – Richard Fullicks
Assistant referee – Katherine Allen
Fourth Official – Gareth Dunn
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