There were 6 debuts for Gibraltar last night, as a young Gibraltar Women’s National Team bravely took on World Cup bound Panama at the Victoria Stadium.
Gibraltar kicked off with a Starting XI of an average age of 23, in fact, four of those starters were U21, while in the second half, three U19 players were also introduced, much to the delight of the home support.
Talia Gilbert, sister to national team mainstay Joelle Gilbert, grabbed her first start for Gibraltar at right-back, while Alexandra Ambrosio, Arianne Parody Mauro, Sarah Popham, Isabella Rodriguez and Nicole Nash all grabbed their first caps off the bench.
Appearing for the first time in 2023, Gibraltar showed signs of progress as they went about frustrating their Central American counterparts throughout the evening.
Having been held at bay for the first 20 minutes, Panama, who will now face Brazil, France and Jamaica in Group F of the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup, took advantage of a string of individual errors to go into the half-time break 4-0 up.
Despite the scoreline, there were positives for Gibraltar, particularly in the performances of Talia Gilbert who proved a tough nut to crack, the solid central defensive partnership of Andrya Rowbottom and Dahlia Salah who were prepared to put it all on the line, lone striker Mollie Karp with her tireless running, close control and pace, as well as Naomi Victor with her high work-ethic up and down the wing.
The second half in the Victoria Stadium heat proved a challenge for both sides, and unfortunately for Gibraltar, a mistimed challenge early on saw a penalty awarded and Panama grabbed their fifth.
With this being said, Gibraltar regrouped and held strong, once again frustrating Panama and limiting them to long-range strikes for the remainder of the half.
A moment of magic from Emily Cedeño saw her grab her hat-trick, and Panama’s sixth, before second half substitute, Deysire Salazar, unleashed a wicked long-range strike into the top corner to sign off for the visitors.
Despite the result, there were plenty of positives for Gibraltar to take from the performance, none more so than their tactical discipline and never say die attitude.
