Match report New Mills Junior's U9's vs Chinley Junior's U9's - 18/01/26

Season 3 - Episode 16: Ned with the grasscutter!

It was Derby Day weekend in the Stockport Metro as we faced our neighbours from up the road, Chinley Junior's 🤝🏻 there's always plenty of goals in this fixture and today was another absolute goal fest! The score had been settled the previous day in the Manchester derby as Yanited made light work of their noisy neighbours Citeh, confirming once again that Manchester IS and always will be... RED 🇾🇪 I'm under strict instructions to keep the Eric banter-na to a minimum so we'll draw a line under it and leave it there 😜 coach Tom refused to leave the house until VAR overturned Dalot's yellow card into a red (he did get the ball) so up stepped Wayno Van Gaal to assist the gaffer! We started with ROO-bian Barthez in net, TEDDY Sheringham and MAX Stam at the back, HARRISON Maguire in midfield, with A-MYLES Diallo, LEON Sharpe and Case-MIA-ro in our attack, with Cristiano FINN-aldo and NEDwin van der sar as our game changers! Oooffff! ⚽️⚽️

After his player of the match performance last week, Teddy got straight into his groove right from the off! He somehow managed to squeeze an early corner in off the far post, he looked as shocked as we did as we tried to work out how that one went in! He made a great start to the game by following it up with 3 first half assists, he was our anchor in midfield in the 2nd half as we switched the positions up a bit. It's a tough job when your the coaches son and it's easy to forget that under that mullet is an 8 year old boy but he's on a roll at the minute, he takes it all in his stride, sticks his chest out and gets on with the job, keep it up super Ted! His partner in crime big Max was doing his best to carry us forward with little to no space to run into, the pitches are so small but he kept on trying to find a way! He picked out our forwards with some excellent passes through the lines and those

Carrick like balls over the top are starting to find their target! We moved him to the left wing in the 2nd half where he showed off his dribbling skills, charging forward with some powerful runs, his efforts on goal were matched by their keeper who had an outstanding game!

Unlucky Max 👍🏼 Chinley came firing back instantly after Teddy's cheeky goal, taking advantage of the wet surface by testing Reuben from distance! He made some brilliant saves as the ball skidded off the turf but Chinley followed up to put away the rebounds. He never let his head drop when the goals went in, banging his gloves together after he picked the ball out of the net, urging his mates to "get the next one" top attitude from our number 1! There were no signs of a false start from Harrison this week as he came out of the blocks absolutely flying! We love it when he's fired up, hungry for every ball and crashing into tackles! It sets the tone straight away! We eventually moved him out to the right wing where he showed us he's still got that goalscorers instinct, latching onto a pass to stab it home like Michael Owen's winner back in 2009! Not content with getting in on the goals he was just as eager to get back and defend those counter attacks, top performance today from Harrison! Myles put himself firmly back into contention for our end of the season golden boot award, just the 5 goals today pal, we had to stick him in defence in the 2nd half just to chill him out a bit 🥶 the pick of the bunch coming in the first half where he's cut inside and curled one right into the top corner like Rooney's bicycle kick in 2011! A proper fifa goal, hold R2 + shoot! Almost the goal of the day... that's coming later but definitely another goal of the season contender! We gave Leon loads of feedback from last week's game, highlighting how important it is to set the tone, start fast and this week was loads better! He stuck to his task when we asked him to mark their defenders, we needed to keep them stretched with the pitch being so small and his movement was a constant headache for the Chinley defence. His finishing was clinical, tucking away his chances, he's scoring all types of goals at the minute and we're absolutely loving it! We've got a few things to work in in training with Mia this week but she was excellent! She came so close to getting a goal but their keeper made some top saves! Her work rate was brilliant, she was determined to get stuck into some tackles and not get shoved off the ball! When we moved her out to the ring wing she was absolutely rapid, like Andrei Kanchelskis back in the day, driving down the line and putting those dangerous crosses into the box that our forwards weren't quite alert to, keep working hard Mia your doing brilliant 🙏🏻 Have you ever gone ice skating and you spend most of the time praying you don't end up on your back, holding on to the side like "I'm just having a breather love"... you always get that one bloke who clearly went to the same skating club as Torvill & Dean just racing past you with all the proper gear on, leaving a snowy dust like spray in his wake and then leaping into a double pirouette and landing it with Olympic style precision? That's what Finn looks like when he goes on one of his mazy runs!! I'm in awe as he glides past one... glides past two... it's like he's in slow motion... classical music playing in my head until I hear his Mum shout and it snaps me out of it (sorry Michelle 😅) on a pitch that small with 14 other kids running around, he somehow manages to run into the space and when given the licence to... he buries it into the back of the net! He dropped into defence in the 2nd half, controlling the tempo, just spraying balls forward trying his best to set his team mates up, it's so good to watch!

I watched the first half of last week's game with Ned's Dad and he came close twice to getting his first goal... "it's coming Pete" and today was finally that day!! We all know Ned is solid as a rock, he does exactly what he says on the tin... fearless with his tackles, extremely brave in the 50/50's that most kids don't fancy but there's been a switch in the last few games where he's ventured further forward and it's not gone unnoticed with the coaches! A quick chat just before the half time team talk and it was decided... "your going upfront 2nd half Ned go and get yourself that goal" you could see the pressure was starting to build and we told him "just relax and enjoy yourself" his team mates all trying their best to play the perfect pass and set him up but all good things come to those who wait and when the ball was cleared to the edge of the box it was time for Ned to shine... if your familiar with the term 'grass cutter' then you'll know what I'm on about 😅 like a right footed Van Persie he's absolutely leathered it straight through a defenders legs and under the keeper! I'll be honest I expected more of a celebration from Ned as he jogged back to the halfway line with half a grin but make no mistake everyone else at that venue (apart from Chinley obviously) let it rip! Us coaches jumped in the air "get in Ned"... every single one of his team mates chuffed to bits for him and then the parents... the parents went wild!! Probably the biggest cheer we've seen and it shows just how much he's loved inside our little football family 🫶🏼 his Dad was buzzing, the weight had been lifted and hopefully it's the first of many! He's improving so much, listening to the coaches and growing in confidence! Our player of the match this week was an obvious one, get in there Neddles!! 🏆

Today was one of those games where the goals just kept on coming, for both teams, a proper Sunday treat served up for the parents who got well and truly soaked! We're slowly acclimatising ourselves to this new venue, the later kick offs, the smaller pitches but we're adapting well... I do miss a burger king on the way home though 😅

All in all it was such an enjoyable game to be involved in, everyone got plenty of minutes and the kids all had a go in different positions, happy parents, happy kids, happy coaches! We had a right laugh watching all the parents trying to navigate their way out of the mud at the end, the kids urging them to slip... I slipped in the mud once and had to throw my white trainers in the bin it's not even funny! What a day, what a weekend! 💛🖤

Teddy ⚽️

Harrison ⚽️

Myles ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

Finn ⚽️⚽️⚽️

Leon ⚽️⚽️⚽️

Ned ⚽️🏆

⚽️🖤💛⚽️

#upthemillers

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/nmjfc-opf