The Girls Academy at Gillingham FC recently headed out to Barcelona to compete in the Copa Costa Brava II tournament hosted by Futbol de Tordera.
On day one the squad faced Brabrand IF from Denmark and FCOV from France, comfortably winning 3-0 and 4-0 respectively. Up next were the team from Bologna FC 1909 in Italy, with the game deciding who would top the group. The Gills started off strong playing some intricate football before full-back, Georgia Reece opened the scoring with a 40 yard screamer. The second-half saw the Gills concede an unlucky penalty after a good tackle from Musmeci, which the Italians calmly slotted home for the equaliser and with no further goals the game finished 1-1, meaning the Gills topped the group.
In the semi-finals the Gills faced Nibe B from Denmark, the Gills started off slow and Denmark looked to capitalise putting keeper, Imogen Alabaster under pressure in the first half. With the scores still 0-0 at half-time the Gills stepped up and normal play was resumed as they bombarded the Denmark goal and it was Megan Maslak who scored the winner when she struck a half volley form 7 yards out, setting up a rematch with Bologna FC.
The final was again a close contest with neither team able to break down the other, the girls battled with every bit of blood, sweat and tears they could possibly find but it just wasn’t their day, hitting the crossbar, placing shots just wide and the Italian keeper pulling off some miracle saves, meaning penalties would decide the Gills fate.
Stepping up first was Laurel Collins who calmly placed her shot in the top left corner, while the Italians went top right. Next up, Annabelle Colston fired her shot straight past the keeper and into the back of the net and the Italians scored their second penalty. Unfortunately the Gills missed their next two penalties and needed the Italians to miss but it wasn’t to be and the final score was Gillingham 2 Bologna 4.
GFC Female Football Development Officer, Georgia Bowie said ‘The girls were absolutely fantastic throughout and were a credit to both themselves and the club. They played some excellent football and were very unlucky to finish runners-up. The determination and team work from all 15 of the girls across the whole tournament really was a testament to each of their characters.”
To find out more about the Girls Academy please contact Georgia Bowie, gbowie@priestfield.com or 01634 350125.