Hat-Trick Heroics Seal Away Win for Phoenix

MATCH REPORT: WITHDEAM GALAXY STARLINGS VS BURGESS HILL PHOENIX | 29/11/25

FULL TIME: 3 - 7

On Saturday 29th Nov we dragged ourselves off our cosy sofas 🛋️ and into the wind and rain 🌨️ for our second away game of the season against Withdean Galaxy Starlings. An afternoon match, making it a nice change to play in daylight!

From kick-off, both teams immediately pressed for an early goal. The Starlings made a strong start, winning a couple of corners, but we defended them like our lives depended on it 🧤. The initial excitement settled our away-game nerves, we got our game heads on (which is hard on a Saturday!) and Sheen sent a perfect ball up the pitch to Chloe H, who didn’t hesitate to smash it into the back of the net 💥. Just like that, we were 1-0 up – game on!

The Starlings quickly retaliated and managed to sneak a goal in from a corner, 1-1. We rotated our impact players 🏃‍♀️ through the rest of the half and the Phoenix goals came thick and fast – ⚽️ Rach H (assisted by Lucy P), ⚽️ Fran (assisted by Chloe B), and ⚽️ Chloe H with her second (assisted by Elisa).

Half-time: 4-1 to Phoenix.

Despite the three-goal cushion, we started the second half as we ended the first – working hard and hungry for more. The Starlings also came out wanting more, and the first 15 minutes were hard-fought 💪. After a couple of Phoenix near misses and saves, Fran bagged herself a second goal, 5-1.

Again, the Starlings upped the pressure and managed to get a couple of goals past us in a short space of time, making it 5-3. We switched back in some fresh legs and turned up the heat. With less than 10 minutes to go, Rach back-heeled a ball up the line to Lucy P, who played it in to Fran for her hat-trick – 6-3!

But that wasn’t the end. Lucy P had been close to scoring a few times, and in the final minutes of the game Elisa set her up with a great ball and she got that elusive goal 🚀. The side line erupted – 7-3! What a win.

Our midfield and defence put in a real shift, limiting the Starlings’ chances. It was a much harder-fought game than the score line suggests, but it was a fantastic team performance throughout, executed with fun and good spirit in true Phoenix style 💪🔥.

Final score: 7-3 to Phoenix. ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

🏆 POTM – Chloe H

Thanks to Carolina Vega for the wonderful photography 📸