The Hornets @ NMJFC Tournament - 21/5/23

The Hornets @ NMJFC Tournament - 21/5/23

What an incredible weekend at New Mills Juniors FC annual football tournament. On Sunday The Hornets got to play in their own competition as one of the host-teams. Being able to run-out and compete at Church Road 🏟 The home of ‘The Millers’ was very special and the kids were buzzing with excitement!

We set up our ‘Base-Camp’ in the top-corner of the ground (On a normal Match Day, this is where the young New Mills FC supporters gather to vocally support their local team) and it was fantastic to see The Hornet players supporting the other New Mills U8’s between games and they were chanting the names of their class mates.

On the pitch, we were in a tough group with 3 teams from the High Peak League & 3 teams from the Stockport  Metro League and with only the top 4 from each group going through to the knock-out stages, the boys needed to get a quick start . . . . . . but we seemed to make hard work of the first couple of games and needed to address a some minor issues and regroup. We had points on the board but without showing the quality we have become accustomed to witnessing in recent weeks.

The next few games the boys turned on the magic and started expressing themselves. The spectators behind the goal and on the sides of the pitch became more apparent and the lads were in their element! The goals followed and The Hornets were growing in confidence. They had made it to the quarter-finals!

We were up against Hayfield, our old friends down the road and we knew we needed to perform. We were rotating the players frequently as it was still extremely hot and you could see the boys were tiring & getting injured. Luckily, we had the support from the sidelines and the lads rose to the occasion and managed to find a couple of goals that put us into the Semi-Final.

No time to rest. Inter Cheadle were ready and the boys switched pitches, grabbed a quick drink and we were off again. Cheadle grabbed an early goal and The Hornets needed to dig-deep and show some character. Our boys were relentless! They refused to give in and showed us coaches a new depth of talent their possess. This isn’t something you can teach in a training session but it is an incredible talent. Time after time, the lads made good chances and worked the ball as a team to create a goal scoring opportunity. IT JUST WOULDN’T GO IN!

Without the ball, the boys chased back and protected the goal. They refused to give up and won every tackle, block, header. This was then turned into another attack. It was stunning to watch and atmosphere generated by the home support was pushing The Hornets on. Full marks to the opposition goalie who was amazing! Half a dozen top-class saves prevented The Hornets from reaching the final.

The lads were understandably emotional 😢 and as the horn blew to mark the end of the match. They’d given it their all and I can speak for both coaches & all our parents of this incredible group of players, we couldn’t be prouder of every single one of you ❤️

This weekend we witnessed something special. The grit, desire, passion & determination displayed was staggering! The way this team of ours refused to give up showed everybody watching the spirit in this group. As Coaches, we learnt more about you all on Sunday afternoon than we have in an entire season!

You done everybody involved with New Mills Juniors FC proud

 💛🖤⚽️

#UpTheHornets

 #UpTheMillers

#withyouharrylad