Costessey Foxes U12 Girls

🏆 DUXFORD TOURNAMENT WINNERS! 🏆

Another Sunday, another trip into Cambridgeshire… and another trophy heading back with the Foxes! 🦊🏆

Today we travelled to Duxford for their pre-season tournament, taking on the 9-a-side format.

Defensively the girls only conceded ONE goal throughout the entire tournament, and to be fair, you can’t be too grumpy about that one when it was an absolute top-class finish from the Old Catton striker! 👏🏻⚽

The girls showed quality when it mattered, worked hard for each other and once again proved that travelling away from home doesn't seem to bother them one bit… although the parents might have a few words about the mileage! 😂🚗

🏆 8 tournament wins from 11! The other 3? Semi-final defeats on penalties!

That really is one hell of a record! Especially when you consider we've made the journey into Cambridgeshire twice for Wisbech and Duxford, as well as playing up an age group at Horsford. These girls just keep turning up, competing and giving everything. Today was another day to be incredibly proud of them.

Champions again!

🏆🦊❤️🤍🖤

29.08.26

Friendly vs Sprowston Owls U13s.

Another brilliant challenge for the girls yesterday as we took on a top-quality Sprowston Owls U13s side.

We decided to try something a little different formation-wise, and the girls made a really solid start to the game. We competed well throughout the first half and looked organised, but unfortunately conceded with virtually the last kick of the half to go in 1-0 down at the break.

The second half continued to be a great battle against a very strong side. The final score finished 4-1, but the result certainly doesn't tell the whole story. We were delighted with the effort, attitude and performance from the girls against such tough opposition. These are exactly the sorts of games that are so valuable for their development, and we absolutely love testing ourselves against the best!

A great battle and a great match against a top-quality side. Massive thanks to Sprowston Owls for the game, and we wish you all the best for the season ahead! 🦉⚽️

Parents' Player of the Match – Isla

A fantastic performance from Isla! She made a number of really important saves and was incredibly brave coming off her line to close down rushing attackers. She is growing in confidence every game, especially as we continue to ask her to play out from the back and use her feet like a modern-day goalkeeper. Keep it up, Isla! 🧤👏🏻

Opposition Player of the Match – Bella... AGAIN!

Our little pocket rocket was at it again! Her pace, ball control, footwork and ability to cut out danger were all on show once more. Bella just seems to find a way to be everywhere on the pitch! At this rate, we might need to create a copy-and-paste version of her Player of the Match write-up for the rest of the season! 🚀😂👏🏻

⚽️ Goalscorer: Iris

Another brilliant test for the girls, plenty to take from it and lots of positives to build on. Keep working, keep learning and keep enjoying the challenge, Foxes!

🦊❤️🖤🤍

27.08.26

The Foxes were back in action thursday night for a friendly at The Nest against Bungay, in what turned out to be a competitive game with plenty of twists and turns!

It was a frustrating evening in many ways, as we struggled at times to deal with Bungay's long balls and found ourselves 3-1 down. Credit to the girls though, they showed great character, clawing their way back into the game to make it 3-3!

We decided to play an extra 10–15 minutes on the end of the second half to give the girls some extra game time, but unfortunately the daylight wasn't on our side! With the light fading, we conceded a late goal to narrowly lose the game 4-3.

Opposition Player of the Match – Bella
Bella put in another typically top-notch defensive performance. Strong in the tackle, determined and reliable at the back. We take for granted how good she is at her job because she is constantly performing at these levels.

Parents' Player of the Match – Scarlett
Scarlett played a huge part in dragging the team back into the game from 3-1 down, scoring a brilliant brace, including a lovely free kick! She battled tirelessly throughout and was constantly making runs in behind, something we've spoken about recently and it was great to see her putting it into practice during the game. She was also unlucky not to complete her hat-trick after hitting the post!

Goalscorers:
Scarlett ⚽️⚽️
Sofia ⚽️

A disappointing result in the end, but plenty of character shown by the girls to fight their way back into the game. We'll learn from it and go again!

🦊❤️

22.08.26

This morning the girls faced a very good Old Catton Lionesses side in a match split into four 20-minute quarters.

The first 20 minutes were probably not what we wanted to see from the girls. We looked a little disjointed, started slowly and never really found our rhythm. Despite that, we managed to keep a clean sheet and went into the first break at 0–0.

The second quarter was by far our best spell of the game. The girls clicked into gear, started moving the ball much better and created plenty of chances, scoring four goals to take a deserved 4–0 lead into half time.

Then came the third quarter… 😬
Quite honestly, it was probably the worst we have seen the girls play in a very long time. We lost our shape, stopped doing the things we know we can do and allowed Old Catton back into the game. Full credit to them, they took advantage and scored twice to make it 4–2 going into the final break.

A few strong words were said in that break… and the girls responded exactly how we wanted them to.

They came flying out for the final 20 minutes, raised the intensity and scored another three goals to finish the game 7–2.

Even after winning 7–2, everyone has come away disappointed with the performance.
That's because the girls have set the bar so high for themselves now. The standards we expect from them have changed, and that's something we absolutely love. We don't want them to be satisfied just because they have won. We want them constantly striving to be better, demanding more from themselves and recognising when they haven't performed to the level they're capable of. That's the mentality we are trying to instil in them.

Parents' Player of the Match – Bella
Bella was absolutely outstanding today and was our Parents' Player of the Match.
She was our rock at the back, looking calm and composed on the ball, playing out from the back and helping us build attacks. Her ability to carry the ball and use her dribbling to drive the team up the pitch was excellent, but it was her recovery runs that really stood out today. She used her pace and broke up several dangerous Old Catton attacks with some fantastic defensive work.

Old Catton's Player of the Match – Evie
Evie was chosen as Old Catton's Player of the Match, and it's easy to see why.
Her pace and power should scare any defence, and she caused problems throughout the game. Add in her ability to find the back of the net and you've got a serious handful for any opposition!
4 goals today, including one with her left foot!

Goalscorers:
Evie ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️
Scarlett ⚽️
Esme ⚽️
Own Goal ⚽️

A huge thank you to Old Catton Lionesses for a great game. A really good team with some excellent players and great coaches, and we look forward to meeting again during the season.

🦊❤️

20.07.26

Thursday Night Under the Lights 🌙⚽️

A great competitive midweek friendly against a top-level Morley Bluebirds U13s side. 👏🏻

The girls found themselves 1-0 down early on, but showed great character to respond quickly and get themselves back level. From there, it was a really competitive game with chances at both ends, and we had plenty of opportunities to nick the win. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t our day in front of goal!

Credit to Morley, they’re a very solid team with some really strong players, and it was another fantastic test for the girls against a side playing a year above.

One of the biggest positives for us was seeing the girls put into practice what we’ve been working on in training this week and actually take it into a match situation. That’s exactly what these games are about, and there were some really encouraging signs. 💪🏻

A double award for Lacie, picking up Parents’ Player of the Match AND Opposition Player of the Match! Lacie was absolutely full of beans from start to finish, working tirelessly up and down the wing. She was constantly looking to get forward, but also worked incredibly hard to track back and help the team when needed. And to top off a brilliant performance, she grabbed our goal too!

Another great test, another step forward and plenty for us to take into training next week.

🦊❤️

15/08/26

What a game! 🔥

Our girls travelled across the border into Ipswich to take on Leiston Lionesses, and what a high-quality game between two top sides it was!

Leiston are a fantastic team and it’s easy to see why they’ve decided to step up and enter the JPL this season. They pushed us all the way and made us work for every minute of this one.

We are absolutely over the moon with the performance from our girls. Every single player raised their level today and deserves huge recognition. 👏🏻👏🏻

We played with real organisation and purpose. At times we pushed a high line to stop the through balls, while also refusing to shy away from playing out from the back. The girls were brave, composed and, most importantly, had fire in their bellies from the first whistle to the last. 🔥

They came out on top with a 4-2 victory! 💪🏻

⚽️ Scarlett x2
⚽️ Evie x2

And Scarlett may have already thrown her hat into the ring for Goal of the Season! 😮‍💨🔥 What a strike!

Player of the Match was Evie, she worked her socks off all game and found herself in a real physical battle up front. Rather than shy away from it, she seemed to use it to spur herself on even more!

After a few chances went begging, the frustration started to creep in, but she kept her composure, stuck at it and did what she does best… put the ball in the back of the net! ⚽️⚽️ Two goals later and that familiar smile was firmly back on her face! 😁

A massive well done to every single one of the girls today. Performances like this show just how far they’ve come and the levels they are capable of reaching when they all bring their best. I want to name them all! Absolute warriors all of you.

Ruby (thank you)
Bella
Isabella
Ivy
Sienna
Esme
Scarlett
Matilda (thank you)
Lacie
Iris
Evie

A huge thank you to Leiston Lionesses for a brilliant game played in the right spirit. A proper test against a top side. We wish you all the very best for the season ahead, we’re sure you’ll have a fantastic one! 🦁⚽️

🦊❤️🖤

08.08.26

A great morning of pre-season football yesterday as we took on Morley Mustangs Mixed in a game played over 4 x 20-minute quarters to give everyone plenty of valuable minutes.

We were a little slow out of the blocks in the opening quarter, but once we settled into the game we grew into it and never really looked back, coming away with a 7-5 victory. ⚽️

It wasn't our best performance overall, and we know there's plenty to work on ahead of the new season. But scoring seven goals and coming away with the win gives us plenty of positives to take, along with some good lessons to build on.

The biggest problem of the day? Scarlett! She played half the game for Morley and clearly forgot which team she usually plays for, scoring 2 goals and grabbing an assist against us! To make matters worse, she even scored her first-ever headed goal from a corner... we're still deciding whether to celebrate it or not! 😂👏

Goalscorers:
⚽️ Sofia x2
⚽️ Evie x2
⚽️ Iris x1
⚽️ Own Goals x2

Player of the Match went to Ivy! She put in a brilliant shift up and down the wing all game, working tirelessly to win the ball back before using her pace to drive at the Morley defence. It was great to see her confidence growing, and she topped it off with some excellent crosses into the box with her left foot.

Well done to both teams, and thanks to Morley Mustangs for a competitive and enjoyable game.

🦊❤️

Three of our Foxes represented the Norwich Academy Development Programme! 💛💚

Scarlett and Sienna were invited to join the ADP squad alongside Evie, who is already part of the programme, as they travelled to Wolverhampton to take on Wolves Academy.

It was a fantastic experience for all three girls, and they all put in really strong performances against excellent opposition.

Scarlett and Sienna (SAS) both showed their physicality and imposed themselves against a quality Wolves team 💪🏼

Evie, arrived late after being caught in a road closure on the M6, but still made a big impact by scoring while playing up with the U13/U14 age group!

We're incredibly proud to see our girls taking every opportunity to challenge themselves and represent both the Foxes and Norwich so well. Keep up the great work, girls!

🦊💛💚

30.07.26

Another great test for the Foxes last night as we took on Sprowston Owls U13s from division 1 in the year above. 🦊⚽

The girls showed absolutely no fear, taking the lead twice before going into half-time 2-1 up.
The second half saw the quality and experience of the Owls shine through as they turned the game around. We battled right until the final whistle, but a wicked own goal, a couple of unlucky moments and missed chances from us didn't help as we eventually lost 5-2.

To push one of the top Division 1 sides a year up the way we did is something every single player should be proud of. There were so many positives to take away, and these are exactly the kind of games that help us improve.

Well done to Evie for being awarded the Owls oppositions player of the match. Always a threat with her power and pace. She gave 100% as always, all with a smile on her face. 😀

Best of luck to Sprowston Owls for the season ahead, and thanks for a fantastic, competitive game. Let's run it back! 💪🏼

Goalscorers:
Iris ⚽️
Sofia ⚽️

🦊❤️