Match report New Mills Junior's U9's vs Team Goal Girl's U10's - 11/01/26

Season 3 - Episode 15: Starting the new year off with a bang!!

After a whole month of postponed matches, cancelled training sessions and a well earned christmas break, the footy was finally back! There was plenty of shiny new boots on show and parents sporting their new dryrobes, us coaches got New Mills baseball caps for crimbo, Father Christmas had played a blinder! A new venue to go with the new year, South Manchester Sports Club in Cheadle, although it felt like I was in the arctic circle at times, it was absolutely baltic! Definitely not baseball cap weather, mines going back in the wardrobe until Easter! 🥶

We were up against Team Goal Girl's U10's... again... if it feels like we play them every week it's because we do 🙃 These girls are fearless, physical and will fight you for every ball, just what you need to ease yourself back into the new year! With a couple of players carrying knocks and some last minute withdrawals the squad was looking thin, it was too late to call in reinforcements so there would be plenty of minutes for those involved.

We made the worst possible start when the game kicked off... Reuben was still on the sideline putting some extra layers on... "we've got no keeper ref" 😅 he just about made it to his net when he was tested straight away, tipping a powerful shot onto the post and out for a corner, it was a very good save but also a sign of things to come... they were all over us for the first 10 minutes! Boxing our defence in with constant pressure and launching our forwards off the ball to disrupt our attacks, a very aggressive start from the girls!

After an injury brought a halt to the game the coaches rallied the troops, the hairdryer wasn't out just yet but coach Joe let the lads know they needed to crank it up a couple of gears! When the game restarted we finally gained some control in midfield and our defenders started to find our forwards with some magnificent through balls. We headed into half time after a quickfire double from Finn, who took out his frustration with some clinical finishing, game on boys!! ⚽️⚽️

There was a few complaints about the half time Oranges and Jaffa cakes... they were freezing apparently! Sorry lads, I'll bring a portable barbecue next week and a camping stove, will hot chocolate and sausage butties do you?!

The message during the break was clear... "if you want something from this game you need to match their aggression!" The 2nd half played out like the end of the 1st, a physical battle with end to end football and just like my training top after all them turkey butties and Ferrero Rocher... it was a tight affair! 🐷

Our forward line of Ryan, Leon, Finn and Joseph worked tirelessly to press them in their own half. Joseph gave us 100% when he came on with his none stop running and constant energy! His minutes have to be managed now due to his asthma but he's in safe hands. We've got a plan for him in training where we aim to work on his positioning and his awareness when receiving the ball, he often runs into danger before receiving the pass, which forces players to look for other options. What he lacks in technical ability he most certainly makes up for in his effort and attitude! With only a few months of experience of proper football he's right where he needs to be. Both Ryan and Leon struggled to match the girls intensity in the 1st half but after the break they were much better. Ryan was forced to defend for most of the game as they overloaded their attacks down our left hand side, he never stopped running in that 2nd half and when we turned defence into attack he was off down that wing, taking full advantage of the space and putting those trademark crosses into the box! It was a counter attack that led to Leon's goal, Ryan found himself all alone like the bounty's left in the celebrations tub (not in our house we love a bounty!) he played a quick pass to Finn who squared it for Leon to tuck it away, it was a great goal! Leon had a go on the right wing but just like a new year's resolution it went out the window early doors, he's lethal in the middle of the pitch and we needed him to find that space in behind and push their defence back! When you've played the same team a few times you become familiar with where the danger comes from and it was clear from the start that they set out to frustrate Finn. They doubled up on him and smothered his work, we just couldn't get him on the ball. He eventually got into his rhythm and once that kicks in he's impossible to stop! He was relentless, aggressive and his finishing was absolutely clinical!

Harrison struggled to get that engine fired up in the 1st half, the girls outnumbered him in midfield giving him no time to settle on the ball. His 2nd half display saw him back to his best, hounding every ball and taking control in the middle of the pitch! He actually scored a goal of the season contender that wasn't given when a loose ball dropped to him on the halfway line... he rode a tackle and absolutely leathered it towards the top corner, it was heading in but it crashed off the underside of the crossbar, bounced over the line and up into the air... the sheer power pushed the nets back a yard and the keeper has caught the rebound... I celebrated but the ref didn't give it and with no VAR we had to play on, unlucky Haz! Ned had another great game, his confidence is really growing and when he stepped into midfield he was mint! You had to be there but there was a phase of play in the 1st half where he literally made 4 tackles one after the other, with every "go on Ned" getting louder it spurred him on to chase the ball into the corner, he simply refused to give it up! He came out on top in a 50/50 tackle and although the opposition player couldn't continue it was important to pull Ned to one side and explain to him that it was a total accident and these things can unfortunately happen, brilliant work from coach Joe 🙏🏻 Reuben had his work cut out for the whole game, he never had a minute to relax, especially in the 1st half with the wind adding an extra 50mph to the shots he face! Add that to the fact every kick into the air caught the wind and threatened to fly back towards his goal! He made some unbelievable saves, the pick of the bunch coming late in the 2nd half when a curling effort was heading for the top corner, he dived for it and somehow managed to tip around the upright... we were stood right behind it and it was an unreal save! Max and Teddy, the most reliable defensive duo you'll ever see! Like a pair of Volvo's they never let you down! The attacks came in waves and they never gave up! Max has really stepped up his game this season, we've been so impressed with the way he takes responsibility to drag us out of our own half when we get pinned in. He put a proper shift in, strong with his tackles and composed on the ball, he consistently chose the right option... knowing when to carry and when to "get rid". They complement eachother so well it's difficult to bring them off, you don't want to disrupt the rhythm when these two are in full flow!

Teddy didn't score today but he celebrated every goal like he'd just scored a bicycle kick from the car park... when Reuben made a save he picked him up and shook him around like he'd just saved his life... pure passion from Teddy! The blocks he made in the 2nd half were a joke! He threw his body infront of everything and time and time again he somehow managed to get his big toe on the end of their attacks to break things up! It was a tough one in the end to give the trophy to just one player, some proper hard graft was put in today but just for his sheer bravery, passion and determination we had to give it to Teddy, our player of the match lead by example, well deserved mate 🏆

I couldn't tell you what the score was in the end, nobody really knew! I asked Finn how many he scored but he said he doesn't count them anymore 🤣 One of Finn's goals hit the inside of the side netting and came back out... Harrison's Lampard like effort went in but wasn't given... someone had a shot that hit a cone and bounced over their keeper, I don't know if the ref gave that either! I had it 5-4, their parents had it 4-5, the ref said 6-6 but even he wasn't sure! The lady walking her dog said 10-4 but she had a walkie-talkie in one hand and a bottle of mint Baileys in the other, god knows who was holding the lead! The kids just kept shouting 6-7 and I'll be honest with you I'd had 2 weeks of constantly hearing that over christmas so I'd had enough by this point! Either way the score wasn't important, it mattered that the lads weathered the early storm, stuck together and fought back in difficult conditions (the new venue is right next to the Manchester runway so planes are flying what feels like 10ft over your head every 6 minutes and it's proper annoying) All in all it was a cracking way to kick off the new year and just like the finale of Stranger Things (with Purple Rain playing in my head) I didn't want it to end! Happy New Year guys 💛🖤

Finn ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️?🤷🏼‍♂️

Leon ⚽️

Teddy 🏆

⚽️🖤💛⚽️

#Upthemillers