Tournament Report NMJFC U8s Hornets. 13/05/23
The Hornets have experienced the most incredible season. They have settled into their positions and begun to understand how you win as a team! Life-Lessons for a breed of boys that couldn’t be more together as a group!
In the last couple of weeks they have actually won something tangible to show for their hard-work. After lifting the cup in Monsal Head Cup in Buxton, they then went the JOD Sports tournament last weekend and came home victorious!
As coaches we were relieved to arrive at The Greater Manchester Cup with absolutely no expectation level and as a group of parents, we were excited for the boys to compete against teams from the North West who are recognised for producing young talent and feeding our professional teams with unbelievable football players who go on to make a career out of this beautiful game we all love so much!
The Hornets were grouped with some incredible teams but stood up to the test. Three wins & a draw meant the boys had topped the group and they were going to the semi-finals. ‘Ronan The Rocket’ was launching missiles that nobody could stop! The Rocket got us our first couple of wins. Frankie was on his game - commanding & strong. He also then got a few goals from set-pieces! The Hornets appeared to fit in at this level…….
Ollie M has turned into a midfield super-star, he sets-up & creates all our goal-scoring opportunities but has also started chasing back and winning tackles. Then we have Oliver L – First season in this team but you would never know it. Mr Reliable – I love having him next to me as he watches the game and the way it’s going. He identifies the problem & then runs on the pitch and sorts it out! Amazing boy.
‘Finners’, what would we do without this absolute rock! This boy just doesn’t give up…. Ever! The bigger the opposition, the more he gets involved! ‘Hardest-Man in All The Town!’ Without doubt the most irreplaceable lad in the team. Moody Finners!
This weekend required a team-effort and nobody puts more in, without recognition then Oliver B. The hardest working player with a ‘Never Give Up’ attitude! He never stops running….. never, ever! But it is his passion that wins me over the most. Oliver B will do anything, play anywhere & follow every instruction to ensure the team succeed! He scored his goals at the business end of the competition and is playing his best football right now!
The semi-final was a very physical encounter and ended goalless. The Hornets looked leggy & very tired. Now we needed to prepare for a penalty shoot-out.
Boom 💥 💥 💥
All 3 penalties found the back of the net and we were through to the final!!
This team of ours hadn’t conceded a single goal in the tournament and it seemed to be the key to our success. If we could do that just one more time, surely we would have every chance of winning.
The final was by far our toughest match and I can honestly say, the opposition were miles ahead of us in their development journey. Some of the these kids were on another planet and the skill-set they had absolutely blew my mind! The Hornets dug-deep and protected their goal and the grit & determination shown, matched everything that was thrown at them! We managed to get to full-time all square.
Step-up maestro…. Albie hurt his knees earlier in the week and decided half-way through the tournament that he was staying in goal til the end. He was incredible! Countless saves and the way he comes running out of his goal to prevent a goal scoring opportunity just shows how brave he is! After surviving a semi-final penalty shoot-out, we were once again lining up to do it all again…….. This time we were against a team who had been here many more times than us. Albie saved every penalty and the boys scored all of theirs!
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New Mills U8’s Hornets – Greater Manchester Tournament Champions 🏆💛🖤⚽️
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