On an exciting day of highly competitive Futsal, Southampton Aztecs and Coventry Futsal Club were set to light up the stage in front of fans at home and online. This weekend marked the first media coverage spell by BT Sport, so there was plenty of buzz and excitement around the Walsall venue.
The Aztecs whom went from scheduling turn up and play sessions in May this year, to the National Futsal Series 6 months later, faced an unsurmountable challenge on their first league outing a fortnight ago against London Helvecia. After suffering a 15-2 loss against the well-established Helvecia, they entered this game not feeling de-motivated, but more so brimming with intelligence, experience and attitude to come away with their first win in the series.
Coventry on the other hand, have a few more years’ experience under their belt coming into this game. However, they too were on the bad end of a 6-0 loss in their last outing against Bloomsbury Futsal Club. Resultingly, this was an important game for both teams on their journey this season.
The Aztecs started the game exhibiting their high futsal IQ with neat passes to create goal scoring opportunities time and time again. It’s clear that the previous football experience these women had was playing a big part in this prolific display of possession.
The rest of the Coventry team might have been caught off-guard, but their keeper Megan Cox was more than prepared. The shot-stopper repeatedly kept her team in the game with a truly inspiring performance. Rare that a non-outfield player can create such excitement in a game. Clearly, the “Number 1” on her back was well-deserved.
After managing to sneak a goal past the Aztecs in the first half, and another in the second, you could feel waves of doubt bubbling amongst the Southampton team.
Full credit to The Aztecs because in the last 15 minutes of the game, their relentless pressure and skills on as well as off the ball left Coventry dazed. Superstar Rebekah Tonks dominated the game and Captain Kaylee Senter led their team to a 3-2 victory with a dramatic 10-yard penalty that their team and the crowd will remember for weeks to come.
