GADC Enjoy Trip To Etihad Stadium
"The experience of first going around the Eithad and then to play at their new multi-million pound training complex could be a daunting thing, but everyone did themselves proud."From where we started, back in September, it’s hard to believe we would be competing against one of the biggest clubs both in the men’s and women’s game in the country.
"Now we’re looking back at how well we did and I want to say well done to all the players, to the staff who really supported the trip and also to the families of the players for their support they give not just for this game but all season round."
Shrewsbury Town in the Community's girls and women’s development officer, Peter Wilson, said:
Shrewsbury then pushed for a third and goal but were unable to beat the hosts' goalkeeper seeing the game end as a 2-2 draw.
But it was to be the fight of the Shropshire side that would decide the outcome of the game and with less than eight minutes to go, a corner from the right hand side taken by Natalie Williams saw a bullet header by Charlotte Budd to level the scores up.
The second half saw City continue where they left off and they soon got their second of the game.
City then came back strong and started to test the Shropshire side’s defence ten minutes before the end of the first half, and they found the back of the net after a well worked move down the left side.
Daniella Garett capitalised on a loose ball 35 yards from goal and seeing the goalkeeper off her line and found the back off the net with her shot.
The story of the night was to be the under-16s, though. The Shrews applied the early pressure, keeping City in their half for the opening exchanges and it would be the visitors to strike first.
The under-11s however were in a very close game being only 1-0 down until after the second quarter, before Manchester City found another gear and frustrated Town by keeping the ball for periods of the game.
Meanwhile, it was a similar story for the under-13s side who came off on the wrong side of the score line but whose battling performance impressed everyone who was watching.
The under-9s worked hard against a very technical side who moved the ball around well but the Shropshire side had a number of good chances throughout the game.
The under-16s, meanwhile, played on a much more conventional pitch, under the gaze of the academy's 7,500 capacity stadium.
All of the games on the evening were played on 3G, with the three younger age groups playing on club's community 3G, with the artificial turf being in the colours of the hosts, bright blue.
The Town GADC then made the short journey to the City Academy complex, where they faced the Manchester City Women’s youth setup at under-9s, 11s, 13s and 16s.
The former host stadium of the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games and now renamed Eithad stadium saw the Shrewsbury Town GADC see behind the scenes at what a match day experience would be like and also to see the history of the club, with opportunities for the players to hold the Capital One Cup that was on display.
Two Longmynd coaches, with players, family and Town staff, made their way to Manchester in the early afternoon to have a stadium tour of Premier League giants' stadium.
Shrewsbury Town in the Community's girls advanced development centre travelled to Manchester City Football Club to play at the £200m academy facility on Wednesday.