Three at the Top as Girls League Lights Up!

Wednesday evening saw the commencement of the Girls League at Yardley 5’s and there was no end of thrills and spills as thirteen schools began their respective campaigns on the road to what they hope will bring glory come spring-time.

And after opening night there are three teams sitting at the top of the table, however with none managing to win all four games, it is not inconceivable that the title will go down to the very last matches in March.

Paget though will feel pretty good about their night’s work as they sit top of the table chalking up three wins – netting eight goals without reply along the way – and only dropping points in a 0-0 stalemate with Timberley. St Thomas More have a very similar record in netting eight times but they conceded a goal, that against Short Heath in a 2-1 win – their only dropped points also came in a 0-0 draw against a resilient Rosary side. Hillstone are the third side joint top on ten points and were denied maximum points by Timberley who held them to a 1-1 draw.

A point below that triumvirate are SS Peter & Paul who went into their final game of the night on the back three consecutive wins, but Hillstone denied them a clean sweep in a 2-1 victory for the Shard End outfit.

Along with the leading three, Timberley remain the only other unbeaten side in the league but they sit three points further back from SSPP with one win (4-0 over Parkfield) and three draws from their four outings. Short Heath also have six points from their four games with victories over Rosary and Parkfield coupled with losses to STM and St Bernadette's, that in a five-goal thriller.

Three teams below Timberley - St Bernadette’s, Abbey and Lea Forest - all have four points with each claiming a win apiece; Bernie’s four points though came from three games as opposed to the others’ four.

After a last-kick defeat in their curtain-raiser against Short Heath, Rosary picked themselves up to earn two draws – the aforementioned 0-0 with STM and a battling 2-2 against St Bernadette’s.

Like Rosary and St Bernadette’s, Featherstone and Parkfield both played just the three games with the Feathers fairing just slightly better than ‘field. The Feathers picked up their solitary point thanks to a 1-1 draw versus Timberley; Parkfield await their first points following three defeats.

And finally, propping up the table are Court Farm whose girls never gave up and despite losing all four games, they were at least rewarded with a goal which came in their 3-1 reverse to Lea Forest.

An excellent evening all round and full credit to all of the teams involved whose girls were a credit to their schools and the ESPSFA, playing the game in the right spirit, never giving up and playing – most importantly – with smiles on their faces.