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Teams were interested to learn the Brighton Jets game style and of course listen to their accents, exchange pins/shirts and just have the chance to play against an international team like the Jets – who had gained a reputation now from the Dallas Texans host team as the most friendly and fun team to be around.
The D’Feeters Soccer Club based in Farmers Branch, Texas, just north of Dallas were the lucky team chosen by the organisers. This is another club who are official members of the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL). The ECNL structure is something our local Football Federations should investigate as the USA have arguably the most advanced female soccer programs in the world now. The mission could be to develop a national female youth competition that would engender a more competitive environment and improve the process for identifying elite female soccer players in Australia hence providing training and development programs to further advance Australian female soccer internationally.
The Football Federation of Victoria have made significant steps in establishing the NTC and EAP programs however national exposure to competition is once a year – in the USA ECNL teams travel and play across America against the very best all the time with travel internationally quite frequent to tournaments like the Dana Cup in Denmark, the Oslo Cup in Norway, the Gothia Cup in Sweden, the Robbie Cup in Canada and the Hong Kong Cup in Hong Kong.
The weather was again hot and humid in Dallas pushing 30C as the game got underway just on high noon.
Coming off their second half win against the Texas Rush team, the Brighton Jets have adapted to the game style, the speed and the physicality of these American ECNL Elite teams and relish the opportunity to once again experience what Texas female soccer has to offer. The first half is a very tight affair with both defenses holding up to the many attacking plays initiated from the midfielders in both camps.
Simone Kenny, Amy Silver, Olivia Fifer and Marianna Anthony were driving the Jets midfield and this allowed the Jets to have several shots on goals from the boots of Madeline Stockdale, Marianna Anthony and Dani Gudelg, but all to no avail. Our defense was withstanding the counter-attacks from the D’Feeters with stand-in keeper Mackenzie Jones excelling and ably supported by India Tait, Liana D’Amico, Lucy Kennedy and Katrina Bellesis. The heat was taking its toll on both teams and the bench of Rachel Seager, Annie Takis, Edita Mackaj and Emma Heckenberg was utilised to augment the first half dominance of the Brighton Jets and maintain their presence in the game. The first half was a nil all affair and one the entire crowd enjoyed as a spectacle.
The second half was again a tight affair with several more opportunities up front coming from the boots of Marianna Anthony, Edita Mackaj and Emma Heckenberg but nothing was hitting the net. The pace was a cracker and the game had developed into a fantastic display of female soccer from both the Brighton Jets and the D’Feeters soccer teams.
In the end, the conditioning of the D’Feeters team overcame the Brighton Jets and in the last 5 minutes they were able to slide through 2 goals to take the honours with a 2 to Nil win against the Brighton Jets. A standing ovation for both teams was the order of the day as this was a high caliber contest that kept the crowd on its toes as either team had its chances to secure a win. Once again the Brighton jets showed they have the talent and skill to compete with the very best in America.
Thanks,
Craig