The start of the new football season always promises hope, excitement, joy and apprehension and New Mills Juniors U7s start to their first season in the Stockport Metro league promised the same.
After the team’s experience of the summer league, they were playing at the same location and knew what to expect. Both sides had a large squad of players so agreed to play 6 a side.
New Mills started with Kingsley in goal for the first half, Logan and Leo in defence, Kit in the middle of midfield to support Jude on the right and captain for the day, Elliott, on the left. Lily, Alistair and Thomas would be our game-changers this week.
We spoke to the team beforehand about the new rules from the FA for grassroots this season of no throw-ins or deliberate headers. Asking the players to think about dribble and pass-ins, how could we make the most of this? If we have the chance to drive forward quickly, can we do so, but if we can do it, so can our opponents.
The team clearly thought about this and how they could put this into practice.
The match started with Great Moor and immediately the Millers put them under early pressure with Elliott and Kit driving forward trying to win the ball high up the field. Jude joined them and as a trio put Great Moor under early pressure resulting in an early chance for Elliott to shoot and get the opening goal. This shook Great Moor into life, and they drove forward straight away but Leo and Logan kept the defences tight with some super tackling from Logan and positional play from Leo. They kept the pressure on and forced a good save from Kingsley. A midfield battle ensued, and Kit managed to dominate the ball pushing it through for Elliott to double his tally with a cool finish. Jude then started to become the creator, setting up Elliott again with a fantastic cross after a determined run tackling and running forward on the right. New Mills kept pressing forward but the Pumas launched a counterattack with our defenders high up the field. Despite losing the ball, Logan showed amazing determination to get back and recover just in time. From the resulting corner Great Moor breached the defences with a super strike past Kingsley.
Our game changers came on with Lily, Thomas and Alistair giving Kit, Jude and Logan a break. Thomas came out to the left and Alistair the right with Lily in midfield. Lily showed her fiery determination straight away, working hard to win the ball off the Pumas, they knew immediately she would not give them time on the ball. Alistair showed his solid qualities on the right and tried to venture forward to support attacks, getting himself an assist in the process for Elliott.
Thomas had taken the words on pass and kick-ins brilliantly, he never let Great Moor push forward from either with vigilance, he didn’t let them have a yard. Elliott though showed how the dribble-ins can work to your advantage before half time. He noticed Great Moor poured forward to mark his teammates but left him a clear route to run to goal – great thinking and finish Elliott, well done!
Half-time came and time to encourage the team to keep working hard and try to keep their effort levels high. Elliott went in goal for the 2nd half, with Kit slotting into centre-back with Alistair and Thomas continuing either side as wingbacks. Jude and Logan played in the middle to drive us forward. The second half continued like the first with the Millers on the front foot, with Jude having an early shot after some good work to build from the back from Kit and Alistair. But the Pumas responded with some good play to force Elliott into his first save of the half, which he held well.
Logan showed in the second half his dynamic running, driving forward with the ball time and again, trying to setup Jude, Thomas and Alistair who were both supporting attacks. It was Jude who was creator again with two assists for Logan. Jude was determined to get himself a goal but he knew his assists were as good as goals as he is becoming a great team player. A few more substitutions with Lily, Kingsley and Leo giving Thomas, Alistair and Jude a break. Kingsley and Lily straight into the action trying to drive forward with the ball and keep pressing high to win the ball back. Leo trying to drive forward more but showed his steel qualities at the back again and again. More back and forth and as the game wore on tiredness started to show and more rests were needed. However, there was still time for another great team creator Lily, to win the ball high and pass to Kingsley, who shot with devastating power.
A fantastic game was enjoyed by both teams with smiles all round at the end.
What our Mini-Millers are showing is not only enjoyment for the game, but determination to do well for each other.
Teamwork was the biggest takeaway from this game with great assists, working together to win the ball and encouragement of each other throughout. This season will be special for them as their first full season, but we cannot wait to watch them grow as a team, well done Mini-Millers a great season lies ahead…
⚽️🖤💛⚽️
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