Mad Cows vs. Ellepi

November has been an unlucky month and now we must really believe December brings some sort of curse. However last week’s game surprised us a lot. We just entered the pitch and already the group of our best supporters started to cheer us up! These sweet and quite aggressive lines of them gave us wings. The warm up was simply perfect. Laia was running like during a marathon. Paula was kicking the ball as a karate champion, Adrienne was talking all the time, and I was doing Brazilian ball tricks. Most probably it was caused by the banana consumption under the blanket before the match.

I could bet that I saw strong flames of hope in Nino’s eyes. Our supporters forgot their snacks they brought, warm tea and other beverages. I am pretty sure they were amazed, and they expressed that by calling for example some players Zidane, or as you can imagine: “yeah girls, go get them”, “whoooooo”, “great form” and so on.  We were strong, motivated and full of hope.

The expectations were high indeed but as we know the Mad Cows girls always start their matches very strongly (oh sorry – just wishful thinking).  The Mad Cows girls always like to take a little time to soak up the atmosphere and watch the opposite team, Ellepi, before they start to show their abilities. 

The game started. A fantastic defensive deflection by Sanne and Laia kept the opposite team from scoring in the first 5 minutes. Unfortunately our effort was broken down by a tragic goal. I would say - unlucky. Our defence, as well as other players were looking at Giorgia tying her laces, instead of being focused at the ball. The opposite team went onto the attack quickly.

Nino made some changes and put Agnieszka on the pitch. She was so distracted by the unlucky goal that she went into the game with her pink scarf on her neck. The referee smiled and was on our side. However, this did not help us. For another 10 minutes we were playing a bit chaotically but being able to block all the incoming balls. Unfortunately, Leticia needed to leave the pitch at centre half due to an injury for the rest of the game.

The midfield battle was now on the edge. Another short corner - a strong shot on goal this time - but not good enough to beat the Mad Cows’ keeper. The second goal of Ellepi was a little less fortuitous. Sadly, we lost the first half.

Nevertheless Mad Cows remained threatening with two particularly strong midfield players, Sanne in the back, and Adrienne running with inhuman vitality. The greatest moments in the second half were the corners, Sanne’s free kick and, of course our beloved supporters.

So the corners; we got them three in a row. First one was very beautiful. Sanne kick the ball to the middle and then Agnieszka run to it dangerously and almost scored. The second and third corners also were ‘almost scored’. It was now a real battle. We knew we do not have anything to lose. There were many attempts. Adrienne looked dangerous whenever she was in possession. We earned a free kick that Sanne took well, just a millimetre too far on the right.

Nino made the last change and put Agnieszka in the defence. Ellepi had little answer to her speed with the ball. It would have been harsh had the opposition extended their lead but it took great strength to prevent them from doing so.

The whistle goes - the crowd are on the pitch - they think it is all over ...... oh sorry - just moving onto the ‘third half’ – into the bar…