After Monday nights historic occasion for the football club playing its first ever Girls Academy Fixture against the highly impressive Sunderland FC FOL Scholars. Community Manager Louis Hrebienek caught up with one of the stars of the night Eboni-mae Shepherd for her thoughts on the match and the academy moving forward.

What have you been working on in the build up to the game?

We have been working a lot on phases of play in training, specifically involving combination play. This allows us to move the ball quicker up the pitch and provide more chances to gain a goal. Other things that we’ve focused on would be our fitness so that we can maintain a high tempo throughout the game and tire our opposition quicker. Being able to play at a high tempo is absolutely key when coming up against a very good side like sunderland.

What were the big messages before the game?

Some big messages before the game had a main focus of keeping a high tempo throughout, when on the attack and pursuing to break sunderlands defence, and equally when getting back to defend and regain possession. The combination play that we had worked on in training was the main tactical focus, this was what would hopefully give us the edge over a talented side like sunderland. To do this we had to follow the key message, to trust each other on the pitch.

How were you set up to play?

Our starting formation was a 4-3-3, which we held when in possession. Out of possession we would shift into a defensive 4-5-1 allowing us to get bodies in front of our back line and overload sunderland in the centre, pushing them out wide in hope to regain possession. Our goal when in possession was to utilise our attacking formation as we are a quick paced team, and move the ball out wide to try and put crosses into the box and create as many chances as possible.

Did anything surprise you about sunderland?

Going into the game, we knew that they were going to be a tough side to beat. However, I found it surprising to see how slowly they built up their attacks. They would use the back line a lot, playing along the line continuously and even going back to the goalkeeper regularly. Something that didn't surprise me was how clinical and ruthless the were in the final third. They weren’t shy to let off a few shots at a distance and took every opportunity they could to score a goal.

Talk to us about the outcome and some reflections on the game?

The game ended with sunderland taking a 5-1 win. I believe that we didn't deserve to concede as many as we did but we still fought back to gain a goal. The first half was tough as we were getting used to playing with each other for the first time, however we trusted each other and this continued to help us in the second half. We had more possession, more chances on goal and more communication was flowing through the team. The girls worked very hard, maintaining the high tempo that we wanted throughout the game and eventually it paid off with our first and only goal of the game late into the second half.

What is the mood in the camp?

The academy is filled with great talent and positive attitudes from not only the girls but from the boys too. Everyone is extremely supportive of each other, with a lot of the support generated from the coaches and other staff. This creates a great atmosphere to spend our days with at the academy, whether we’re out on the pitch or in the classroom.

What is next for the academy girls?

The sunderland game has given us so many positives to everyone in and surrounding the girls academy. Its helped to identify the things we need to do more of in training in order to progress and also where our current playing level is at as a team. I believe its set a standard for us girls to continue and progress from as the season continues, especially now preparing for our next preseason fixture against Brett Vale. To prepare for this game we will be working hard in training to be physically and mentally ready, especially because Brettvale are a ladies side. This will yet again be another test for us girls but I believe in every one of us and know that we’ll work hard to try and gain our first win together.

Pictures from the game can be found here
https://www.afcsudbury.co.uk/photos/afc-sudbury-girls-academy-v-sunderland-fc-scholars-904197.html