Match report New Mills Junior's U9's vs Bollington Bolts U9's - 25/1/26

Season 3 - Episode 17: Hat-trick Hero Haz!

It was a bit of dejavu for our under 9's as we entered the 1st round of the Richard Gregg KO Cup... again! We'd already made it through to the semi final but as the other 3 teams dropped out of the league completely we were given a bye to the final! The kids were buzzing... only to be told a few days later that the league had restarted the whole competition again which meant our final which was meant to be the semi final was now actually the 1st round but because there's only 8 teams it's pretty much the quarter final, nobody really knows where we're up to! It's been a mad weekend and my head will fall off if I carry on trying to work it all out! 🤯🤯🤯

The game was another cracker! We got ourselves off to a great start with an early goal from Harrison, started off with some fantastic work from Ryan down our left hand side, what a start he had to the game by the way! He was up against their biggest player and although he couldn't match him physically... he showed him that size didn't matter when it came to fighting for a place in the next round of the cup! He had a great game and when they moved their big lad to the opposite side in the 2nd half we shifted Ryan to left back just to be safe! He linked up really well with Mia towards the end of the game, overlapping her runs to put his crosses into the box! Mia also played a massive part in our first goal, refusing to give up on the 2nd balls, closing the Bollington defence down and forcing mistakes. We put together some small group sessions in training this week to work on receiving the ball on the turn and using a body feint to beat your marker, we saw Mia do this a number of times during the match, it was an absolute pleasure to see her have the confidence to try it in a proper game!

Another brilliant week for Mia! Our early lead didn't last too long as Bollington came firing back with an absolute screamer into the top corner, Reuben got his fingers to it but there's no stopping that one from reaching it's destination! He made some important saves throughout the game, racing off his line to force the attackers into rushing their shots! We've asked him to be more vocal now and command his area, especially on set pieces, making sure that front post is covered and everyone's marking a player, everyday is a school day when your a young goalkeeper!

Teddy just about made the kick off with seconds to spare, there were a few nerves before the game with the cup run having to be restarted but Teddy got everyone pumped up with a roaring "COME ON NEW MILLS" as the ref blew for the game to start! He was left on his own a fair bit during the first half as we went forward in numbers looking for more goals, something that the coaches got on top of straight away! His 2nd half display was awesome, linking up with our mystery right winger 😜 but the highlight from Teddy this week came when the ball dropped to one of their forwards just outside our box, they reacted quicker and what looked like a certain goal ended with Teddy somehow sliding in out of nowhere to block the shot and send it out for a throw in, goals and skills get all the plaudits these days but we all acknowledged that one!

Big Max had a tough start to the game but after an early talk from the coaches he just kept on getting better and better! All coaches are different, we don't believe in shouting instructions at the kids until they 'get it right' sometimes you have to lower the volume... slow everything down, reassure and remind them to do the simple things 🙏🏻 to say Max grew into the game would be an understatement! He finished the 1st half much better but his display in the 2nd half was unreal! He was back to his best and just when you think he couldn't top it off... he goes and fires one of his trademark rockets into the top corner from just inside their half! Lift off! I had a great view stood behind Max watching it start outside the post and curl it's way into the top corner, one of them where you go "that's going in that" even the Bollington coaches applauded that one! Speaking of spectacular goals, the New Mills Nigel Winterburn was at it again... you know what they say about buses... well Ned scored his first goal in 3 years last week and he only went and scored again! This time with his Mum and Nanny watching! He's like Jekyll and Hyde at the minute... sniffing out the danger one minute and then banging in the goals the next... what's going on Ned?! This goal was better than last week's though, channeling his inner Patrick Dorgu to absolutely hammer a thunderbolt into the top corner! Shades of a 16 year old Wayne Rooney curling one past David Seaman in 2002 to end Arsenals unbeaten 30 game run! Joseph was another one that benefitted massively from the smaller group sessions in training, we showed him that you don't need all this fancy training equipment when your just starting out... get a ball and kick it at the wall, simples! There was a lot of distraction for Joseph in the 1st half, it was freezing so he played with his hoody on which meant he was running around with his hands in his pockets 🤣 so we kept him on the same side as the coaches in the 2nd half, where we could coach him through the game to get the best out of him, brilliant effort Joseph! I think this was Leon's 3rd hat-trick of the season? Can we just take a minute to appreciate that this boy is 4 months into his first ever season of proper footy! We know he's had a good level of training but he's just a natural goalscorer! His positioning is absolutely on point, coach Joe asked for some minor adjustments this week... "stay infront of the last defender where he can see you... as soon we get the ball off you go" he was a nightmare to defend against! His finishing today... wow! So so clinical! All eyes were on our training session this week, some of the kids spotting the local wildlife watching through the fence... a fox was spotted... a couple of dog's were on the loose and the kids we're adamant they spotted a weasel! We played a small sided match and some of the goals Leon scored had me and Tom shaking our heads at eachother! Same again next week Leon 😁 OK so I'll clear up the story of our mystery winger now... we found out early in the week that Myles and Finn couldn't play this match, two of our most dangerous players going forward... missing for our cup game, massive blow! It was 5 minutes into the game when out the corner of my eye I could see a bloke running across the car park like David Hasselhoff! I thought "why's David Hasselhoff in Cheadle and why's he wearing jeans and a bubble coat?!" By this point I'm reminiscing about Saturday nighttelly when I was 8 years old! It was Baywatch - then Gladiators - then Blind Date - then Noel's House Party! It was touch and go staying up for Match of the Day! Anyway, so I'm standing there with the Baywatch theme song playing 🎵 I'll be ready 🎵 what a tune by the way! It was only coach Wayne with Myles in tow! Running across the car park and onto the pitch, only gone and sacked off the party he was at to come and play the cup match! Get in Myles! It didn't half give us all a lift! He got involved straight away, going toe to toe with their best player! Bagged himself 2 goals and I lost count of the assists that he got! His Dad told him at half time "you'll beat their number 9 all day" and that's what he did! Direct, powerful and an absolute menace! I can't wait to cut his hair on Friday and tell him what Baywatch is!

With some impressive performances on show from all over the pitch it would need something special to take home that player of the match trophy... step forward Harrison! Now it's mad because he came off after 5 minutes, we had no control in midfield, everyone was bombing forward looking for goals and leaving gaps for Bollington to exploit. Coach Joe gave him a gameplan and he played it off to a tee! He sat infront of his defenders, acting as a shield and when Bollington went through the middle he met them head on, turning the ball over and sending it forward. His 2nd goal actually came from a corner, something that we don't usually do 😅 in the 2nd half he sat in that pocket, just breaking everything up and sending it straight back, he was relentless! As we started to press higher up the pitch he saw an opportunity for another goal, after a quick look over his shoulder to make sure his defenders weren't outnumbered, he charged into the mixer, snatched the ball and leathered one into the bottom corner, completing his first ever hat-trick! We were buzzing for him, nothing short of what he deserved after a performance like that! He's taking a bit of time adjusting to these later kick offs, a few of them are but when he gets going it's knackering to watch! Our player of the match went to Harrison, congratulations on your first ever hat-trick mate, hopefully the first of many! 🏆

It's been a mad few weeks to say the least but were taking full advantage of a well earned break this week, a chance to recharge and reset 🔋

It's a tasty one next week as we resume our rivalry with our neighbours Whaley Red's, always a great game to be involved in and we can't wait! So has anyone else got the Baywatch theme song stuck in their head's or just me?!

💛🖤

Max ⚽️

Ned ⚽️

Myles ⚽️⚽️

Leon ⚽️⚽️⚽️

Harrison ⚽️⚽️⚽️🏆

⚽️🖤💛⚽️

#upthemillers

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