Football

UKAF women battle hard to defeat German Bundeswehr in annual Remembrance fixture

The UK Armed Forces women have emerged victorious after beating the German Bundeswehr 3-1 in their annual Remembrance fixture at Bracknell Town FC.

A first-half penalty taken by skipper Cat Beaver and two goals in the second half by Rosie McDonnell and Nat Bavister were enough to avenge their loss from last year and to take the win over their German rivals.

The German Bundeswehr were valiant in defence, but could only manage one second-half goal by Vanessa Hannig.

UKAF enjoyed the majority of the ball possession in the first half, whilst also keeping their German rivals on their side of the pitch.

But the Germans were playing a strong defensive game – leaving the UKAF side frustrated with their near misses in their shots on goal.

As half time approached, the Germans let their game slip when Alice Zimmermann downed Georgia Allen inside the penalty box – and the referee wasted no time in calling a penalty.

The ever-capable skipper, Cat Beaver, stepped forward to take the shot, and her ball hit the back of the net after forcing German goalkeeper Gina Mitschke to dive the wrong way.

UKAF then went into half time with a 1-0 lead over the Bundeswehr.

The stalemate that plagued much of the first half was on show again in the first stages of the second half as both teams grappled to steal the initiative of this game.

But with 10 minutes of the game remaining, Rosie McDonnell intercepted Abigail Hayes' cross to punt the ball into the net – extending their lead to 2-0.

The Germans began to fight back in the final minutes, and with Jamie-Lee Bamford momentarily outside of her box, Vanessa Hannig took full advantage of an open goal to put the Germans on the scoresheet.

But a mistake from the Germans opened the door for Nat Bavister to clip the ball over the German keeper to score UKAF's third goal of the game, drawing the curtain on the Germans' hopes to stage a comeback.

As the full-time whistle blew, UKAF emerged victorious with a 3-1 victory over the Bundeswehr in this year's Remembrance fixture.