An action-packed weekend again, this time with many of the boys Sunday teams in Trophy Event action. There were some momentous achievements this weekend, win, lose or draw. Keep up the great work everyone!

SATURDAY - GIRLS

Under 13 Panthers first home game of the season against Balsall and Berkswell ended in a narrow 2-1 defeat. Harkeerat in goal made some fantastic saves earning her the PotM award. 2-0 down approaching half time, a left wing cross from Bianca found Poppy in the area who laid the ball off to Esme who found the bottom corner giving the hosts hope and setting up a great 2nd half. The Panthers could have equalised or even won the game in the 2nd period but for some great saves from the Berkswell keeper!

Under 12 Panthers put in a much-improved performance this week with the full team available. The new defence set up has helped the girls drive the ball up the pitch to allow the opportunity to score some great goals. The first half was steady, but returning in the second half, Mankirat was able to score a few minutes in. She followed up with a second assisted by a perfect throw in by Ekham.

Under 10 Panthers went head-to-head with an academy team in Albion Foundation. The girls found it hard to compete with what is a very good outfit. With 2 players under the weather and a third missing it proved to be a step too far but good experience for the girls.

Under 9 Panthers played against Arden Forest. The girls started with an explosion of energy scoring a goal quickly via Roop, assisted by Lily. Another goal followed from Jodh from a penalty. However the girls lost their momentum as the game evolved and the opposition gathered their game plan. Some absolute fantastic saves from Poppy today and a good effort from the girls.

SATURDAY - BOYS

A home debut for the Under 7 Lions, hosting Lillington Juniors who started off tidily, playing a good passing game and taking an early lead. But the Lions turned it around with a Samarbir hat trick and 1 goal by Aarush before the break! Lions keeper, Balraj, had to produce some nice saves to keep Lillington out 2nd half. Samarbir and Aarush added a further goal each to put the icing on the cake, supported by Harnam supplying assists for the team. Lions finished the game really well, a confidence boost ahead of upcoming games!

Under 7 Tigers faced the impressive Vision Titans only a few weeks after playing them in pre-season. The boys were fantastic in their continuous drive to score, with goals from Arjun in the first half and another from Caleb in the second. Vision, however, were relentless themselves in attack and clinical in front of goal, forcing GNP onto the back foot. Well done to the boys for giving their best and improving on the previous outing against this opposition.

The Under 7 Pumas were away to Leamington Brakes for their third assessment match. It was a tough game in the sun, but the boys did really well to play the full match with no subs. The opposition chose Jeevan as the man of the match and said it was a close run thing with our goalkeeper Kishan who made a number of great saves!

Under 8 Lions played away to Hawkesmill Eagles in an end-to-end entertaining game. Veer put in a great shift in defence and Sehaj made some top saves. Sahib scored what turned out to be the only goal in the game.

Under 8 Pumas were at home to Lillington Colts. Great start to the match with the play end-to-end. The opponents led early on but the Pumas fired back with Musa scoring 2 of his own to equalise. Further goals for both sides kept things all square at half time. After a couple of lapses in concentration Lillington took advantage, but the Pumas never gave in and POTM Musa got a fourth goal. Pushing for something from the game, GNP’s final effort at goal went agonisingly wide! Nevertheless a strong showing for the Under 8 Pumas – plenty to be proud of!

Under 8 Jaguars visited Christ the King, with the opposition bursting out of the blocks to take a strong lead before the half. 2nd half our boys turned it round and were on the attack. Angad and Manveer played brilliantly in defence. Anshveer and Agam tried hard up top as well. Gavin made some good saves to keep us in the game. The opposition scored further goals at the start of the 2nd half, but the fantastic GNP effort paid off with goals scored by Anshveer and Agam.

Under 8 Tigers were at home to Cov Jag. The Tigers started off brightly but once Cov Jag got into their stride it was one-way traffic. The team battled hard with Arveer showing his strength. Kaydon pulled off some deft saves and Mohamed managed to salvage a goal for the team earning him Player of the Match.

GNP Tigers Under 11s hosted Firefighters at Finham Park. Both teams started off well with opportunities to score, but Firefighters went into the break a goal up. GNP pushed for an equaliser however, were caught on the counter a few times. With 5 new players in the GNP Tigers side this season, they began to gel during the course of the game and grabbed themselves a goal through a fine finish by Shaan. Although it wasn’t their day, there were some promising signs and a PotM performance by goalkeeper Jenson, who pulled off some fine double saves.

SUNDAY - BOYS

GNP Under 9 Tigers faced off against Coventry Phoenix Blaze in a Trophy Event opener. Tigers started on the front foot with a great goal from Yuvraj within first 10mins, but that was short live as Phoenix came back to level. 2nd half remained head-to-head with some excellent play by Jai and great defending by Anokh and Hansveer. Unfortunately, Phoenix pressure forced an error, allowing them to snatch the decisive winning goal!

GNP Under 10 Tigers were away at Rugby Borough in the first game of the trophy event. Really great performance, dominating possession from the off and keeping the ball really well, resulting in goals shared throughout the team. Couple of goals for Rohan and a goal for Ekam in the first half. 2nd half again GNP were dominant, and Ricky got in the act - a great day was then finished off by a fantastic hat-trick for Jaylan. Brilliant performance! Well done to all the boys!

GNP Under 10 Pumas away at CTK in their trophy event opener. The Pumas produced a dominant display, winning 5-1, Lekum scoring a hat trick, with further goals from Axel and Ziyyad. The first from Lekum was a flying header and the third was magical, some quick feet left the defence standing, with a shot from outside the box beating the keeper! The 4th goal saw great passing and hold-up play from Jaiden, allowing Axel to slot pass the keeper. Ziyyad completed the scoring with a 5th goal, following up alertly on a rebound off the keeper. Pumas showed great composure at the back through Jovan, Maaven and Faris, with Mason in form again between the sticks!

Under 10 Lions kicked off their trophy event campaign at home to Weddington Sports. The opening exchanges were even and Weddington took a lead going into half time. The Lions then dominated the game, hitting the bar, the post, numerous goal mouth chances and we missed a penalty, we just couldn’t find that equaliser, which I’m sure would have led on to score more goals. Well played Weddington, their keeper had a blinder and we go again next week in the trophy event!

Under 11 Pumas went into their final Trophy Event group game away to Coventrians Phoenix needing only a point to secure top spot. An early wonder goal by Armaan Vraitch settled the nerves & GNP extended their lead through Aaron Dhaliwal. Coventrians hit back with a penalty which was smashed into the top corner, and then equalised before the break. Pumas slowly grew into the 2nd half but and eventually extended their lead through Armaan and Aaron yet again. Coventrians piled the pressure on but the Pumas held out for a hard fought victory and a knockout tie vs Racing Club Warwick Black next week.

Under 12 Lions hosted Chapelfields Colts Crusaders in League action. The boys put on a much-improved display and took the game to Chaps with a strong 1st half. Jan & Ayomide were a constant threat to the opposition and combined for the 1st goal before Harshaan smartly grabbed a 2nd from a Milad cut-back. Goalkeeper Tyler was alert to maintain the 1st half lead on several occasions and was aided by his defence during a chaotic goalmouth scramble on the HT whistle. However Chaps dragged themselves into the game 2nd half, with a handball penalty followed by an equaliser. It would have been easy for the Lions to capitulate, but they pulled up their sleeves and steadied things before grabbing a joyous winner 5 minutes from time. A quick Filip throw-in found Ayomide on the edge of the box; he took a touch, wriggled past 2 defenders before slotting past the keeper to grab a famous 3-2 win for GNP! Theo took PotM honours for a disciplined and effective performance at wing back.

Under 12 Tigers went into league action against Div A title favourites, Hawkesmill, with a real test on their hands. The manager’s team talk today was all about CHARACTER, and the Tigers showed this in abundance after going 2 goals down within the opening 6 minutes to two smartly crafted goals. A new system was deployed to solidify our shape and deny Hawkesmill space and the boys adapted brilliantly. They grew in confidence, limiting Hawkesmill chances to ambitious long-range shots. GNP were then rewarded when a Saavun corner found its way to Harman B in the 6-yard box, who adjusted his feet and found the bottom corner of the goal. This gave GNP great belief in their tactics, and they maintained their supreme discipline and effort for the remainder of the match. The final score was 3-1 following an unstoppable 2nd half curler from their no 10, but GNP should be amazingly proud of going toe-to-toe with and matching such an elite team for 55 mins of the game. 9 players could have taken the PotM award but it goes to Ayden for his insatiable work rate and providing a genuine forward threat when he was so often isolated!

Under 13s Tigers vs FC Wasps - What a hard game today for the boys to face undoubtedly the best team in our league. The battling was there and glimpses of good football at times, however we could not really get control of the game against high quality opponents and took the biggest loss the boys have experienced in a long time. A small consolation was 2 great goals today, both of which were direct free kicks via Max & Jayden. Well done to Hawon for PotM with his composure on the ball in difficult circumstances.

Under 15s were away to Triumph Athletic who had also started the season with a hundred percent record. After Triumph took the lead in the first minute, the game turned and was only going to end with one result. Two goals from Ethan and one from Archie meant GNP went into half time leading 3-1. Second half the boys took a while to get going but a devastating fifteen minute spell resulted in a 7-1 win with further goals from Ben, Riley, Ajay and another from Archie. Some great team goals today which keeps the winning run going and GNP top of the Division B table!