Finally a good number of games went ahead this weekend after what feels like months of weather cancellations! This weekend the spotlight was on GNP's Under 10 Lions and Under 8 Pumas, who both competed in the Final of their respective Spring Trophy Event Competitions!

CUP SPECIAL

GNP Sports Under 8 Pumas played their Spring Trophy Event Finals Day on Saturday morning. They faced Hillmorton in the semi-finals. The Pumas started well and were dominating possession but were caught out by a miskick, which led to a goal; a quick counter attack followed to make it 2-0. The Pumas fought back but were unable to break through. In the 2nd half, a quick counter attack saw Musa find the back of the net from range. Sunny quickly drew the Pumas level with a great strike. 2-2 at the final whistle and it went to the dreaded penalties. Some fantastic spot kicks and saves by keeper, David, led the Pumas to go through on penalties.
The Final was to be against familiar opponents in Poppys Colts. Echoes of the semi final as the Pumas found themselves 2-0 behind from a lapse of concentration. GNP fought back with all their might, however struggled to find their way through due to some great Poppys' defending. The scoreline remained the same at 2-0, but GNP had given everything they had, leaving supporters and coaches very proud of their performance in achieving Runners-up spot for the trophy event!

GNP Under 10 Lions were in the Trophy event final against Coventry Copsewood Lions. GNP started on the front foot and scored early on through Ryan McDermott, after some great team play and Sehaj Heer providing the assist. Copsewood played themselves into the game and equalised with a breakaway goal with GNP's defence wide open leaving the game all square at half time. The 2nd half proved to be very even, with good opportunities for both, without any team finding the back of the net again. The game ended in a draw, which meant that both Copsewood and GNP Lions were declared joint winners. A fantastic cup run from GNP and their 2nd trophy event victory in the last 2 years. The Lions can be very proud of how they have continued to develop and the style of football they are playing! Congratulations from everybody at the Club for a fantastic achievement!

SATURDAY - GIRLS

Under 10 Panthers came up against Kinghurst Pavilions having played them in a round robin the previous week. This game represented the team's first fixture in tier 1 after being promoted by the league for their strong performances this season! The girls peppered the opposition goal and midway through the 1st half they managed to break through. The girls continued their dominance, creating plenty of chances against a physical team. The 2nd half was a different story as Kinghurst finally found their stride. The game was even throughout the half as the young Panthers tired but still held onto their lead. Tino and Aqsa provided the goals with Aqsa, Tino and Avneet providing assists. The game saw Annabel in goal for the first time and she didn’t disappoint. Well done girls!

A strong and encouraging performance by the Under 12 Panthers with some good battling throughout. Orna stepped in as goalkeeper for the 1st half making some great saves, but unluckily the opposition got past her twice. Newcomer Anayah showcased some great skills as well as Jah'Dae who is settling well into the team. There were at least 6 shots on goal by the Panthers, between Mankirat and Jah'Dae but the team's efforts finally paid off with a goal from Orna, as she came out of goal in the second half. The final scoreline did not reflect the strength shown by the Panthers at 1-3 but they look forward to improving further in their next match!

Under 13 Panthers were at home against Khalsa Lionesses. It was a tight game that the Panthers narrowly lost 3-1. The hosts had their chances but couldn’t make their first half dominance show. An encouraging performance and a debut goal from Mekenna on a disappointing day overall for GNP.

GNP Under 9 Panthers had a tough match this week in high winds against a formidable team in Arden Forest Wildcats. GNP fought hard throughout - Strong defence from Anya (GK) and Lily (CB) meant many attempts at goal were thwarted. 3 goal attempts from Jodh were finally converted with a fantastic opportunist goal from Rhea. The opposition, however scored a superb goal from the corner, followed swiftly by another. The 2nd half proved equally challenging with 3 more goals scored by Arden, but GNP did not give up the fight creating several attempts at goal of their own, via Anya, Jodh and Roop. The re-organised 2nd half team with Poppy in goal and Jodh and Lily in defence put in a resilient performance against a relentless Arden Forest attack.

SATURDAY - BOYS

Under 8 Tigers were up against Poppy’s Juniors. The game was goalless for 10 minutes before the Tigers created an excellent chance with passing between Mohamed, Eesa and then Varun to slot home a well worked goal. Tigers continued to dominate the rest of the game with Jovan playing the wing and defence well. Varun then slotted another one home with a well worked team goal. Salman continued to impress with his footwork and Man of the Match went to Arveer, standing in as a goalkeeper with an excellent display between the sticks to secure the clean sheet!

Under 8 Lions produced a great performance and result today at home to Hillmorton Warriors. Goals were scored by Sahib and Veer in the first half, and by Rajan in the 2nd half. Special mention to Veer who played well in defence, and scored a cracker of a goal when the ball came to him outside the box from our corner. Shout out to Arjun as well for some dangerous left foot deliveries into the box from corners. It was a good team effort by everyone today!

Under 8 Jaguars played really well in a friendly against a higher division team from Cov Jag - well done to the boys for a great effort!

Under 7 Pumas were home against Coventrians. After a strong start and a close first half, we capitulated in the 2nd half due to a lack of subs and not having our first choice keeper. Still, the boys put in a good shift and the scoreline did not fully reflect their efforts.

SUNDAY - BOYS

Under 10 GNP Pumas faced Stockton. It was a tough first half for the Pumas as Stockton started the game strong with good possession and chances. Defensively Pumas were solid at the back, limiting Stockton to a few chances with Sam making some fantastic saves. 2nd half Pumas started strongly, getting the first goal from Kian setting up Mason to beat the keeper from close range. The game took a turn with the Pumas conceding three goals but heads didn’t drop as Pumas pressed and reproduced some of the attacking football that they have been playing this season. Jaiden smashed a free kick in the top corner to make it two and the third goal followed with Jaiden's free kick falling nicely to Maaven, who beat the keeper. With the game all square, Stockton continued to attack but it was Pumas who completed a stunning comeback when a throw in from Maaven found Faris; he headed the ball goalwards and it took a deflection off the Stockton defender and crept in at the far post. With the game nearing the end, Stockton were denied by Sam who made a fantastic save. An amazing game of football from both teams. Well done Pumas!

Under 11s Pumas were at home against Coventry Saracens and dominated the first half, playing some attractive football and taking a healthy lead into the half time break. Coventry Saracens started the 2nd half strongly, scoring several times, before Aaron Dhaliwal further extended the GNP lead and sealed a comfortable result for the Under 11 Pumas

After the never ending rain, the GNP Under 15s finally played their first match for two and a half months against Ambleside Thunders! As expected, GNP started slowly and took a while to get back into their groove. The game changed after the first set of substitutions on 20 minutes with GNP taking the lead through Nana. Two more goals before half time from Ethan and Zaid resulted in a commanding lead at the break. Lots of changes at half time to build match sharpness/match fitness for all the squad which saw the game follow the same pattern as the first half. A debut goal from new signing Tom, a second from Zaid and one for Archie saw the game end in a comfortable 6-0 win. Good to see the boys back today and a pleasure to watch again!

Under 9 Tigers hosted Lillington Rangers in wet and windy conditions. Tigers were in command in the first half, confident on the ball and defending very well with the away side only managing one shot on target. Chances were missed at the other end as we lacked that cutting edge upfront. Sohan's penalty was the only goal of the half, himself being fouled after a determined solo run. Second half was much the same - Jai added the second however Lillington pulled one back after a defensive mixup. PotM went to Birat who was solid in defence and played out from the back very well.

Under 12 Lions hosted Brinklow Falcons in a game between two teams who have very similar league records. The reverse fixture ended in a goalless draw but Brinklow came into the game with momentum, whilst GNP have been out of action due to postponements, and were missing several regulars from the starting line up, with no subs available. The 1st half was a close affair, but GNP could not capitalise on having the wind behind them and Brinklow opened the scoring from a cross which caused confusion in the 6 yard box, and was poked home. Brinklow were making regular substitutions and their fresher legs told in the 2nd half as the Lions started to tire. Brinklow extended their lead with 2 fine strikes and one hopeful punt which went through the stand-in keeper's legs. Jan provided a genuine attacking threat for GNP and can count himself very unlucky not to have scored after 3 or 4 determined solo runs. Final score 0-4.

Under 12 Tigers hosted new opponents in Vision Masters in a game which will be remembered for the wind gusts and ever changing weather conditions throughout. GNP opted to have the wind at their backs 1st half but struggled to make any genuine inroads against a determined defence. Vision took the lead when their physically imposing forward broke through a tackle and placed the ball past keeper Otis. GNP almost equalised when Iklil (playing in a new midfield role) crossed from the right and Ayden was inches from poking home. GNP's defence of Harman S & Enoch, flanked by Cinar & Aarun, performed robustly in the 1st half, repeating their excellent display at Alvis 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately the team could not keep things as tight in the 2nd half. Vision scored 2 or 3 very well taken goals before the Tigers heads really dropped and they conceded 4 soft goals late on to put a real gloss on the scoreline for Vision FC.