First things first, both teams turned up in red and black. Mexborough sorted it by pulling on green bibs, which was good of them. Our star Keeper Chloe, or was it Elsa, also arrived sporting blue hair left over from the school Frozen play.

We started downhill. Summer kicked off and Mexborough came straight at us, winning two throw-ins and forcing early corners. Our first real chance came from Rose, Summer, Amelia and Reagan passing it nicely between them. Mexborough still had the best of the first five minutes though, and Chloe made a great save. Then another shot flew a touch too high.

For a short while, the game was played almost entirely in our half. Luckily, Mexborough were caught offside when a good chance opened up. Chloe took the free kick and found Summer, who played a great through ball to Rose who set up Amaya for a low shot, and the Mexborough keeper saved it well.

Then we had a better spell. Summer shot high and wide, and our defence and midfield looked strong while Mexborough kept probing down their right. Rose had a shot saved and later flashed a cross over the Mexborough goal. Nobody was there to tap it in.

Georgie was having a strong game at right back. She took several throw-ins, turned her player and cleared the ball forward. Summer sent a great throw to Amaya, who shot and was denied by the keeper. Estelle, with her endless engine, covered every inch of the pitch and made chances of her own whilst Millie battled hard to stop Mexborough breaking through.

Mexborough came back with a series of good chances and won a corner. Then Eva made a last-gasp sliding tackle to stop a lovely through ball. By now it was end-to-end, and the first 20 minutes were brilliant from both sides.

Play stopped for a few minutes whilst our manager James, armed with a carrier bag on his hand, cleared up a little dog offering left in the middle of the pitch.

Back to the football. Our defence had to stay strong, and it did. Evie made a string of important clearances. Mexborough then tried a long shot and we were lucky to see it hit the post.

Rose made a long run, used her pace and shot low but just wide. Nevaeh won a corner, then another straight after. Shortly afterwards, Rose ran down the left again, beat her player and chipped the ball from a tight angle over the keeper and into the top of the net. 1-0 to Charnock.

The celebrations were great with Rose and Amaya collecting grass stains doing the worm across the pitch.

Mexborough were not going to lie down. They won two more corners quickly, but Amaya and Maisie cleared them brilliantly to play a fabulous through ball to Rose, who shot wide. Chloe was brilliant in goal, vocal as ever with her trademark bawls of “KEEEEPERS!” Amaya made an excellent tackle in the middle of our area to stop another Mexborough attack. Georgie and the Charnock defence held strong too, Mexborough struggling to get through.

Keavey came on for Estelle and gave our attack something extra. She did well with a half-chance. Then Mexborough hit a really strong shot that looked net-bound, but it struck one of their own players on the way through. The ref blew for half-time with Charnock leading 1-0, and both teams presenting a great advert for girls’ football.

In the second half we played uphill. Summer, running her heart out, did well with Raegan to put early pressure on the Mexborough keeper who made some good saves. Nevaeh too caused problems with her long throws into the box, but the Mexborough keeper stayed alert.

At the other end, Mexborough won a series of corners. The deliveries were excellent and hung high in the air, but they could not get a head on any of them. Chloe took a goal kick to Summer, who was linking up brilliantly with Amaya all through the game.

Mexborough started shooting from further out, helped by the slope, and Chloe was called upon to stop several good chances. And after a last-gasp sliding tackle from Eva, the Mexborough bench appealed loudly for a penalty but the referee waved play on.

Rose was fouled and Summer took the free kick. With two minutes left, Georgie forced a handball and Summer took another free kick. It was a long range effort and the Mexborough keeper made another decent save.

In the final minute, Mexborough won a corner with Maisie and Eva working together to clear it. The last corner of the game went to Charnock. Evie and Maisie ran up field and put the Mexborough defence under pressure, but the chance came to nothing.

The referee blew for full-time and the game finished 1-1. A fair result, with both teams giving everything and showing plenty of positives for girls’ football.

After the match, the parents awarded Summer the Parents’ Player award, which she richly deserved. James and Ben picked Rose as Girl of the Game.

What a fantastic game from both sides, who played in great spirits throughout. Well done, girls and Up the Charnock!