We knew what we were signing up for today. Maidenhead - as we have seen before - are a good team all the way through the squad. Strong defenders who are confident with the ball at their feet, midfielders that are positionally sound with good vision, attackers that will cause any defence problems, and subs to come on that fit in as well as anyone in their starting 9.

So it was always going to be an uphill battle, with a decision needing to be made on how we set up. As I explained to the girls, my decision was ultimately to set up as strong as we could defensively, and see what we could do on the counter attack. In essence, play for the draw, and if we could sneak a bonus goal, then great.

We held our shape really well in that regard. Megan, Izzy, and Eloise stood tall in defence, and Purdi showed equally solid and disciplined when joining them. Isabella continued her strong run of form, controlling her area of the pitch, with Olivia B providing the extra support in the middle to stop us being overrun as well as darting forward when she could. Emily and Olive ran themselves ragged up and down the wings. At centre forward Rose and Chloe both chased as best as they could, looking to get on the end of crosses, looking to pass and spin like we have discussed.

Maggie played another blinder today, and deserved the clean sheet she ended with. A number of good saves, strong hands, and decisive clearances helped release the pressure that Maidenhead put us under.

But we weren't without chances of our own. Not by a long shot. Emily and Olive both put in great, and physically draining efforts down the wings. Their speed created some half chances for themselves, and both put in some lovely crosses, which we were unlucky not to get anyone on the end of. Similarly Izzy put some great crosses and corners in during the second half, but alas we couldn't get it down to feet to snap off any shots.

The last 5 minutes felt a bit like the Alamo, but everyone stayed alert, focussed, and dealt with everything that was thrown at us.

Today I felt like the girls listened very well to pre-match instructions. If we had veered away from that and been drawn into trying to stand toe-to-toe with them, then we would have been overwhelmed I imagine. So I was glad they stuck to the gameplan throughout.

To maintain discipline and concentration for the whole match was a really good performance, and one they should be proud of, maybe more so than any other match this year. Well played girls.