Some more notable achievements this weekend at GNP Sports FC. Our Under 9 Panthers topped their Girls Cup group with 5 goals from Abi, to reach the Trophy Event semi finals next week. Meanwhile the Under 14 Panthers, Under 14 Tigers and Under 13 Tigers all produced dominant displays of great football and goals galore, to continue their brilliant 100% starts to the league season. Well done to the Under 10 Jaguars too, for getting off the mark with a brilliant first victory of the season!

SATURDAY – MEN’S

GNP Men’s team went down 4-1 at League Leaders Christ the King this Saturday.

SATURDAY – GIRLS

The Under 14 Panthers continued their fine form, winning away at Bournville 10-2. Captain fantastic Mankirat opened the scoring and then notched the first 5 goals! Clinical finishing in front of goal. A great team performance, with some excellent passing and through balls, playing one-two’s and cutting the defence open. GNP Panthers went in to half time with a 5-0 lead. Panthers came out firing again 2nd half with Mankirat picking up where she left off, picking the ball up in the left flank, getting past 3 players and curling one in the top corner! The home team got a goal back with great lob. Rose stepped up and placed a great penalty into the corner before Hannah scored two amazing goals. First one from the edge of the box in to the top corner, followed by an individual run taking on four players and placing a great finish from a tight angle. The away team pulled back a consolation goal at the end with the game finishing 10-2. It was a complete team performance by the Panthers with some great passage of plays and some great individual performances. It’s 4 wins from 4 with a cup game up next.

GNP Panthers Under 12s hosted Tamworth on Saturday morning and right from the first kick every Panther in every position was a credit to themselves with non stop running, creative play and defensively solid. The first goal of the game was a lovely move with a lovely ball from Ariana out to Avneet on the left wing who beat her marker for pace and sent in a lovely cross which found Faith who dispatched confidently first time from six yards. The next goal came shortly before half time with a contentious penalty given to Tamworth and dispatched well, taking us into Half time all square. 2nd Half Panthers were even more dominant than the first, spending much of the second period camped inside the visitors half. Maya who was defensively strong throughout, sent a lovely ball to Suvreet midway through Tamworth territory and she beat her player for speed carrying the ball into the area and sidefooting past the keeper for a nice finish. The unthinkable happened with two minutes remaining with Tamworth’s first attempt at goal in the second half finding the net to salvage a fortunate draw which was harsh on the girls. But what a performance from every player in the red & black!

GNP Under 11 Panthers faced Bedworth Eagles Lionesses in their final Autumn Trophy Event group game. The match began at a blistering pace, with both teams showing determination and quick, accurate passing. Within the first five minutes, Khloe opened the scoring for the Panthers with a clean, confident finish. Bedworth responded swiftly, breaking through the defence to level the game. End-to-end play followed, with superb battles across the pitch. Khloe impressed with her fearless tackling, while Lily delivered strong defensive clearances. Jodh worked tirelessly through the centre, setting up Roop to break free and slot home a fine second goal for the Panthers. Bedworth, however, struck back again, their fast counterattack earning them a 2nd goal. Panthers regrouped with passion. Excellent teamwork and determination paid off as Roop netted her 2nd of the game, though Bedworth’s persistence kept the tension high. A thrilling contest all round. The 2nd half brought. A superb corner from Hope sparked a scramble in the box, before Roop fired a spectacular long-range effort under the bar to claim her hat-trick. Poppy was kept busy in goal, making several crucial saves, including a tense moment where she bravely secured a loose ball. Avani, Anya, and Avneet combined cleverly, while Elizabeth’s blistering pace kept Bedworth under pressure. Hope’s free kick narrowly missed after a Bedworth handball. Then, fine passing from Avani and Jodh released Roop again, who sprinted from halfway to score her fourth goal. In the closing moments, a flowing team move saw Hope link with Lily and Elizabeth before Jodh sealed the victory with a composed finish. An outstanding all-round performance and a thrilling win for the Panthers! Finishing a respectable 2nd in the trophy event group stage.

The Panthers Under 9s travelled away to face AFC Chelmsley in a crucial cup tie, with a place in the semi-finals at stake. The team started brightly and showed great energy early on, but despite their efforts, they found it difficult to break through the opposition’s defence. At half-time, the Panthers trailed by a goal, with Abi scoring the only GNP goal. Throughout the game Siya worked tirelessly, fighting hard, while Lily impressed in defence before switching to midfield and continuing to make an impact. Shreya made several key saves in goal to keep the team in contention. Jasmine battled hard, showing great determination, with Jaye making some fantastic forward runs, demonstrating real grit. Tanaya put in a consistent performance, contributing throughout. The 2nd half saw a complete turnaround, with Abi netting an incredible four additional goals to secure a brilliant comeback victory. The Panthers sealed their place in the Trophy Event semi-finals next week with a confident and spirited finish!

SATURDAY – BOYS

The Under 13 Tigers hosted Wellesbourne at Finham Park and treated spectators to another entertaining, high-scoring encounter that ended in a 9-3 victory for the home side. GNP started the match with intent and dominance, controlling possession and stringing together some impressive passing moves. The attacking trio of MD, Harjan, and Josiah were clinical in front of goal, with all three getting on the scoresheet to give GNP a commanding 6-1 lead at half-time. Wellesbourne came out stronger in the second half and mounted a spirited comeback, finding the net twice more with some well-worked goals. However, GNP responded well under pressure, adding three more goals to seal the win. A standout moment came at the end with a fantastic strike from Duneal to round off the scoring. Player of the Match: MD; he was a constant threat throughout the game, showing sharp finishing and playing a vital role in carrying the ball forward to relieve pressure when needed. A complete performance both offensively and defensively.

The Under 10 Jaguars earned a strong victory over Stratford to break their duck for this season! Agam opened the scoring with a superb long-range strike, before Reggie made it 2 after a great long ball from Angad. Stratford pulled one back in the second half, but the Jaguars responded well, with Brandon scoring to seal the victory. Dhanveer made some excellent saves, and Jake and Nico were solid in defence. The referee praised the team’s effort and teamwork — especially impressive with no substitutes.

The Under 10 Lions welcomed a very good Kenilworth Town team today, resulting in a challenging outcome. Kenilworth started strong with a succession of goals, outplaying the Lions to gain an early lead. Trailing, the team coordinated their efforts, focusing on swift ball movement along the wings to get in front of goal. Their persistence paid off with a well timed power shot from Ksawery to get onto the scoresheet. The Lions carried this momentum into the second half, with Sahib executing an impressive overhead kick, captivating the audience, followed by another well-executed goal by Ksawery, bringing the Lions level. The Lions continued thier assult on the Kenilworth goal but were then caught on a counterattack in the last few minutes of the game. The result was unfortunate for the Lions, who demonstrated resilience by recovering from a large deficit. Well done to Ksawery for his player of the match performance!

The Under 9 Jaguars faced Sky Blue in the Community Hawks and came home with another win in the bag. The game kicked off at blistering pace, with all the action in the Hawks’ half. Bobby pounced early, slotting one home after a sharp assist from Stan, who was everywhere — fearless, relentless, and rightly crowned Player of the Week! The Hawks’ keeper was on fire, denying shot after shot, but the Jaguars kept pressing. When the Hawks found a gap and equalised, it only lit a fire under our boys. Isaac rallied the midfield with real captain’s grit, and the response was instant — Theo timed his run to perfection and tucked away our second before the break. The 2nd half was intense. The Hawks clawed back again, but our boys didn’t give up. Leo and Stan combined with silky link-up play to restore the lead, with goals from both, and the momentum kept building. Varun and Bobby tore down the wings with pace and purpose, while Mithun and Seva threw themselves into tackles and sent clever balls forward. Freddie was a wall in goal, pulling off some jaw-dropping saves. Theo and Leo were tireless, chasing every ball, and Isaac’s physical battles in the middle kept the tempo high. The whole team showed brilliant positional awareness and growing confidence which you could see in every challenge, every pass, every sprint.

GNP Under 8 Tigers hosted Southam United. The Tigers came into this game motivated following the boost of last week’s result and went on to play with confidence and composure and had control of the game for nearly the whole match. The team showed great awareness to hold their positions, assist each other and make some great passes leading to chance after chance in front of goal. If it wasn't for a stellar performance from the Southam keeper, the score would have probably been doubled. The quality of the team work showed in the spread of goal scorers with Rhys(4), Milkias, Akram, Naod and Lucas all getting on the score sheet. Rayan and Milkias kept strong at the back, defending against a huge kick from the away keeper that put a lot of pressure on the back line. Special shout out to Taran who works tirelessly on the wing and creates a lot of the chances with some wonderful passing. A comfortable result for the team and some real signs that they are clicking and getting back to the high standards set last season. Go Tigers!!!

It was an early start for the Under 8 Lions boys this week as they took on a strong Bedworth United side. Bedworth opened the scoring with a superb free kick that flew into the top corner, leaving the Lions with work to do. Heads dipped slightly after the setback, but the boys showed great determination to keep pushing and stay in the game. Bedworth extended their lead, which allowed the Lions to bring on an extra player. That proved to be a turning point as the team found their rhythm. Sahib got the Lions on the scoresheet with a well-taken goal, before some quick thinking from Jagraaj saw him score directly following his kick-in. Elliott then added to the tally with a tidy finish to cap off a good spell of pressure. Thomas put in a PotM performance. He was everywhere on the pitch—tracking back, driving forward, and leading by example. He even stepped into goal and produced a moment of magic, racing back to block what looked like a certain Bedworth goal. A strong showing full of effort, resilience, and teamwork from the Lions. Plenty of positives to build on for next week!

GNP Under 7 Lions were away this Saturday to Coventry Utd Green. The Lions had a smaller squad of six available for the game. The first quarter was evenly contested with opportunities for both teams to get the opener, however following some excellent pressure from Harvansh, an opportunity opened up for Gian who scored for GNP. Moving into the second quarter, the Lions and, in particular, Lucas, created many opportunities to extend their lead and were unfortunate not to. Lucas then took it into his own hands with a long range shot, which appeared to cross the line. However, the referee disallowed the goal. The third quarter Utd really put the pressure back on the Lions, there was a tremendous save from Gian halfway through the quarter to keep the Lions' lead. Aathi and Mikey were linking up well to counter at every opportunity in an attempt to take back control of the game. The final quarter was evenly contested, Shivaay did a great job in keeping Utd out with some excellent defending, and the Lions had their own moments to extend their lead. The final minute of the game Utd thought they equalised with a long kick which was spilled and tapped over the line, however the referee ruled correctly that Aathi had two hands on the ball when it was kicked out of his hands. A fantastic team performance from the boys against very good opposition.

SUNDAY – BOYS

Under 17s visited Stratford Town Colts in league actions and were undone with a 3-2 loss, despite leading 2-1 at half time.

Under 14 Tigers hosted CHESS Lions at Finham Park, the only opponent to stop them taking 3 points in a league match since March. However this time was a very different story as GNP put in a superb, dominant performance in possession of the ball. The strikeforce of Muhamadou (2) & Ayden (1) put GNP 3-0 up within 20 mins, with Ayden’s a superb left foot volley into the roof of the net after a Muhamadou flick-on. CHESS took advantage of a defensive lapse to score a nice goal just before half time, the first GNP have conceded this season! However 2nd half the Tigers stepped things up again and added 6 more goals through 6 different scorers: Saavun, Ayden (pen), Dylan, Muhamadou, Iklil and Harman B. The pick of the 2nd half goals were a 25 yard screamer from Dylan and a 60 yard dash from Muhamadou past numerous defenders and then the goalkeeper to seal his hat trick and also the Player of the Match Award. CHESS added a superb strike of their own as a consolation but there was only going to be 1 clear winner today! GNP are now 5 wins from 5 and up next are their title rivals Brinklow Eagles on 2nd November.

Under 14 Pumas were looking to build on their win last week in their league visit to Bulkington Sports, but fell 2-0 behind early on following a slow start. The boys, however, regrouped well and pulled things back to 2-2. However Bulkington edged ahead again in the 2nd half and decisively as the match finished 4-2 to the home team.
Under 14 Lions used their off week in the league to play a friendly vs Alvis Eagles who operate in the division above. The match was somehow goalless at half time. Mario struck the post for GNP, whilst Alvis created chance after chance in the rain, but were let down by poor finishing. 2nd half Alvis moved some of their imposing physical players from defence into attack and it made all the difference, with one player striking 4 goals for himself in the opening 20 mins of the 2nd half. 2 more were added late on as GNP heads dropped. A lesson learnt for many of the boys to stand up strong to any opposition and for the need to absolutely put in maximum effort, especially when playing against teams stronger than you. A handful of players did manage to do this so credit to Aaron, Yuvraj and Ashwin for maintaining their intensity levels throughout the match.

Under 13 Pumas had an away fixture against Mount Nod and went into the fixture, missing a number of players through injury and holidays. Pumas started the first half with our captain, JJ, covering for our regular goalkeeper Harrison. Dominating, the Pumas failed to take their chances in the opening minutes and it proved to be costly. Route 1 football cost the Pumas in the 1st half, with Mount Nod clinically converting their chances in the first half, to take a 4-0 lead into the half time interval. Swap of goal keepers in the 2nd half, Mikaeel taking over between the sticks. Pumas, once again, dominating the 2nd period with a strong display and hit back with 3 goals, all through Arun to make it 4-3. With 10 minutes of the game remaining, Pumas threw everything at Mount Nod, but couldn’t convert any of their late chances. A GNP own goal then put the game to bed and gave Mount Nod a 5-3 victory and GNP Pumas their first league loss of the season. Joint Man of the match performance from JJ and hat trick hero Arun Kumar.

The GNP Pumas Under 12s travelled away to face Vision in an early league kickoff. The Pumas struggled to find their rhythm initially, facing intense pressure from Vision, who dominated possession and created numerous scoring opportunities. However, the Pumas' defence stood firm, and goalkeeper Sam made some impressive saves to keep Vision at bay. Just before halftime, the Pumas broke the deadlock through a beautifully crafted goal by Lekan, who beat the keeper with a well-placed shot. The 2nd half followed a similar pattern, with both teams pushing for a goal. The Pumas capitalized when Jaiden's well-taken shot doubled their lead. Vision refused to give up, and despite Sam's heroic efforts, they managed to pull one back. The goal was shrouded in controversy, with the referee awarding it despite the ball appearing to bounce on the line and rebound out! The Pumas ultimately secured a hard-fought win, demonstrating their resilience and determination and leaving them well placed at this stage for a promotion push.

The Under 12 Lions travelled to face Coventry Sphinx Blue in Div A action and made a strong start, playing some impressive free-flowing football. GNP took the game to Sphinx early on, creating several good chances, and were rewarded when Sehaj opened the scoring after great build-up play from Athrv. The Lions continued to push forward and carved out three more excellent opportunities to extend their lead but couldn’t convert. Just before the half-time whistle, a defensive lapse allowed the Sphinx striker a one-on-one, and he took full advantage to level the score. The 2nd half began with similar intent from the Lions, but Sphinx struck twice early on—both goals coming from half-chances. Despite the setback, GNP dominated the remainder of the match, creating a flurry of chances. They hit the woodwork three times, saw several clear-cut chances go begging, and were repeatedly denied by a standout performance from the Sphinx goalkeeper. On another day, GNP could easily have scored six or seven, but it wasn’t to be. The match ended 3–1 in favour of Sphinx, as the Lions continue to adapt to the challenges of a strong top division. There were plenty of positives to take from the performance. Rajan was deservedly named Player of the Match, and the team remains determined to stay competitive and start picking up results in the weeks ahead.

The GNP Under 12 Jaguars showed significant improvement from their previous match against Coventry Future Juniors, dominating possession and creating numerous scoring opportunities. Although they took time to get going, the team gained momentum, with Joven B and Victor coming close to scoring. Ahmed and Arjun's efforts also caused problems for the opposition. A defensive mix-up led to the only goal of the game, but the Jaguars had ample chances to score, particularly in the second half. Despite missing several clear-cut opportunities, the team's performance was promising, with Noah standing out for his exceptional defensive skills and attacking threat. The team's progress is evident, and they're building on their strengths while working on areas for improvement. With higher expectations for the season, the Jaguars will look to learn from this experience and come back stronger in their next match.

The Under 12 Tigers faced top-of-the-league Coventry Copsewood Spartans in what turned out to be a thrilling, hard-fought contest full of character and determination. Copsewood came out flying, scoring three quick goals early in the first half to take control of the game. The Tigers started off a little slow, but gradually began to find their rhythm. Their persistence paid off when Jude broke through the defence and coolly slotted home in a one-on-one with the keeper, pulling one back before half-time. The 2nd half saw a completely different Tigers side. They came out with renewed energy, spirit, and belief, refusing to let their heads drop despite the deficit. While Copsewood continued to press forward, the Tigers began creating more chances and capitalised brilliantly — with Jude leading the charge, adding two more superb finishes to complete a fantastic hat-trick and close the gap. Although the Spartans ultimately took the points, the Tigers’ performance was full of positives — showing tremendous fight, teamwork, and resilience against one of the strongest sides in the league. The opposition coach was full of praise for the boys after the match, applauding their never-say-die attitude and the way they fought right until the final whistle. Player of the Match: Jude – for a brilliant hat-trick, tireless work rate, and a performance full of confidence.

Under 10 Tigers

The GNP Under 9 Lions delivered an impressive team performance to claim a victory over Lillington Juniors. The Lions started brightly, with Aaron opening the scoring early in the game. Dayal then added two more goals — one before and one after Lillington Juniors pulled one back — to complete a strong attacking display. All three goals were set up by Harvey. At the other end, Balraj made some amazing saves to keep the Lions ahead, while Sam and Jeevan put in solid defensive performances, reading the game well and making key tackles. Out wide, Aarun and Neal impressed with great wing play, making strong runs and helping to stretch the opposition. It was a fantastic all-round team effort, with every player working hard, showing great energy, and contributing to a well-earned win for the GNP Under 9 Lions.

GNP Under 9 Tigers visited Mount Nod. The first quarter of the game saw an even contest with plenty of chances at both ends, Mount Nod took theirs and went in a goal up at the break. In the 2nd quarter, Yahya’s well-taken equaliser lifted the team, as the Tigers piled on the pressure and made the Mount Nod keeper work hard to keep them out. The third quarter stayed competitive, with Arjun making some excellent defensive clearances. In a frantic final quarter, goals were scored at either end, with the Tigers capitalising on a long ball and then a finish from Gurshaan keeping them in the game, showing their determination right to the end. Two late goals saw Mount Nod come away with the result after a close and hard-fought contest. The Tigers put in a fantastic team performance with the final scoreline not really a true reflection of the game, with lots of positives to take forward! Player of the Match was Aron for his strong defensive work and perseverance under pressure.

Under 9 Pumas were away to Vision Villains. Unfortunately, playing a team whose tier belied their experience, we were on the back foot from the start. We conceded a very early goal and tried to get back in the game, but gave away four goals late in quick succession, albeit through no fault of our own. We conceded one more goal after half time but, in any case, we gave a good showing against a team that dominated possession. Were it not for a good defensive display and our midfielders tracking back, it could have been a lot worse. At the very least, it was an important lesson for our boys, who will take this loss to make them stronger as the season progresses.