In our first annual Red v Green pre-season warm-up match, there were plenty of goals, plenty of skills, and much to be excited about from our new signings.
Below are the Greens.
Squad; Kayleigh Tonks (c), Mo Delaney (GK), Alicia Povey, Hannah Walker, Kath Heath, Laura Ingram, with an injured Divina Alo Ilolo. Coached by Paul Wilson and Jorge Betancourt.
The Reds here in their tribute to Sean Dye. Squad; Rebekah Tonks (c), Emily Digweed (GK), Becky Haigh, Rebecca Moody, Nicki Curtis, Ana Bunnet, and an injured Amy Maidment. Coached by Diane Wilson and Mariana Betancourt.
Before the game, we had some awards to give out, provided by our new friends at Moments in Time QR. As you can see the glass trophy second from the left, there is a QR code on the front. Scanning the QR code with your phone will take you to a video. In this case, it was our top goal scorer award, which will take you to a video showing you all of the goals from Kayleigh Tonks. Also up for grabs was our goal of the season, fan's player, player's player, as well as the Red v Green Cup.
Fans' Player and Players' Player of the Season
The very shy looking Rebekah Tonks took home both of these. After being voted player's player in the NFS South, she then wins it again for the Aztecs in Tier One. Why? Because she's just incredible. Tenacious in defence, skilful in attack, with six goals, eight assists, and two player of the match performances from nine competitive games in T1. Enjoy the video below, showing some of her best moments.
Top Goal Scorer and Goal of the Season
Embarrassed at being good. The Tonks sisters share the trait of humility, and share the trophies, as Kayleigh takes top scorer and goal of the season. Kayleigh found the net eight times in nine Tier One games, and provided five assists too. Her hat-trick against Bedford and opening goal against Worcester were huge in the relegation playoffs to keep the Aztecs in the top division. The team move against Bedford was our goal of the season.
Enjoy the rest of Kayleigh's goals below, which can be seen when scanning the QR Code on her trophy.
New Signings
The Red v Green game has given a chance for new signings to show their stuff. With a first and reserve team for the women next season, we have more talent coming through, and more competition for places. Some of these players have been training with us for a while, and have played in a friendly already. Let's get to know them.
Alicia Povey
Joining us from Reading Royals after moving to the area, the goal scoring Povey will be wearing number 9 for the Aztecs. She leaves Reading as top scorer, and was their vice captain, and won the Football in Berkshire Female Player of the Season award. Fans will recognise her from her BT Sport punditry, and from our dramatic contest with the Royals to secure promotion to T1 after Alicia "fouled" Kayleigh Tonks for the equalising penalty, converted by Lauren Sayler. A skilful player that will link up well as a pivot, we're very excited to welcome Alicia to the team and know for sure she'll be an excellent addition to this improving team.
She's already bagged a few goals in Aztecs colours, which you can enjoy below.
Hannah Walker
The teenager has been training with the Aztecs for a little while and has picked up a lot in just a few short month. Only sixteen, but already one of the gang. Hannah is a strong player, a good finisher, and has a lot of skill. She played in a friendly against London Genesis last season, was part of the silver medal team at the Littlehampton 6v6, and also scored a goal in the Red v Green game which you can enjoy below.
Mo Delaney
Mo is a very exciting prospect, already showing bags of talent at such a young age. Trained by Wessex for eight years, she's now part of the Aztecs, and we couldn't be happier to have her. Mo has already endeared herself to Aztecs fans, famously saving four penalties in the 6v6 Littlehampton tournament. Aztecs players have known for a while what an incredible keeper she is, pulling off excellent saves in training, which were on full display in the Red v Green match. She can play fly, loves to take risks, and is absolutely fearless. A very bright future on the horizon, and you should pay attention.
Becky Haigh
Becky moved to Southampton at the start of the year and came along to Aztecs training. Formerly with London Helvecia, Becky has since played small roles in Aztecs games, being an unused sub in the relegation playoff versus Worcester, and taking part in the Littlehampton 6v6 tournament in which the Aztecs won second place.
Emily Digweed
Digweed re-joins the club after leaving us early last season. She featured in the first ever competitive match versus Helvecia in Bedford, but then left the team to take up a role within the NFS. Now she's back in Aztecs colours! A versatile, hard working, intelligent player than can contribute on the court and between the posts. Her tough as nails persona was on display at the weekend, playing in goal for the Red team with a broken finger. Glad to have you back, Digweed!
Ana Bunnet
A phenomenal talent that we are excited to unleash upon the NFS. She's fast, skilful, strong, and has a range of shots to terrify goalkeepers. Ana has been training with the Aztecs for a while, but was not eligible to play last season. A youngster from Thailand with a very bright future that we are glad will be playing in green next season. Enjoy a few of her goals below.
The goals!
The Greens won 12-5, and are the first winners of the Red v Green Cup.
1-0: Laura Ingram
2-0: Laura Ingram assisted by Alicia Povey
3-0: Kath Heath assisted by Mo Delaney
3-1: Ana Bunnet assisted by Rebekah Tonks
4-1: Kath Heath assisted by Alicia Povey
5-1: Kayleigh Tonks assisted by Kath Heath
6-1: Hannah Walker assisted by Kayleigh Tonks
7-1: Laura Ingram assisted by Alicia Povey
8-1: Alicia Povey
8-2: Rebekah Tonks assisted by Nicki Curtis
8-3: Rebecca Moody assisted by Nicki Curtis
8-4: Ana Bunnet assisted by Rebecca Moody
9-4: Hannah Walker assisted by Kath Heath
9-5: Ana Bunnet
10-5: Kath Heath assisted by Alicia Povey
11-5: Kath Heath assisted by Kayleigh Tonks
12-5: Alicia Povey assisted by Laura Ingram
Goals total:
Kath Heath (4), Laura Ingram (3), Ana Bunnet (3), Alicia Povey (2), Hannah Walker (2), Kayleigh Tonks, Rebecca Moody, Rebekah Tonks.
Assists total:
Alicia Povey (4), Nicki Curtis (2), Kayleigh Tonks (2), Kath Heath (2), Rebekah Tonks, Mo Delaney, Rebecca Moody, Laura Ingram.
The Greens came out as winners in 2022. Who will be around for 2023?
What's next?
We're so excited for the new season, beginning in September. We are assembling a very strong squad and anticipate having very competitive reserve and first teams. The players from last season are stronger individually and collectively as a team. We have new players in who have hit the ground running with the group. We're in good shape and feeling confident. And we still have a few places left in the squad for some new players, so if you want to give futsal a go, get in touch!
There are friendlies arranged against England Deaf, Bloomsbury, London Genesis, Hartpury, and Reading, with one or two slots remaining for another game. And if you want your brand associated with a top division team that plays games on BT Sport, we are still looking for more teams to get involved with sponsorship.
Vamos Aztecs!