This week's highlight was the Trophy Event crusade of our Under 8 Tigers who reached the last four of the Coventry & Warwickshire Youth League Under 8s Pool D Trophy Event, played at Hillmorton.

UNDER 8s TROPHY EVENT FINAL SPECIAL

GNP Under 8 Tigers were the only GNP team to make it through to the final weekend of the Spring trophy event in Pool D. In the semis the Tigers faced off against Vision Vipers. Tigers started on the front foot and for much of the game they were in control, pressing the opposition high up the pitch and forcing errors. Two goals from Shawn and one from Jai put them in a commanding position. With one eye on the final the boys conceded a sloppy goal, but Harsahib calmed the nerves late on as the Tigers strolled into the final.
Tigers played Hillmorton Blues in the final. There were no early goals as both teams struggled for meaningful possession. The Tigers grew into the game and got into the lead through Shawn after some great work from Raqeeb. Minutes later they were pegged back after an uncharacteristic error at the back. Jai put the Tigers back in front just before half time. In the 2nd half the Tigers seemed to be in control but were caught on the break for another equaliser. The Tigers remained positive and continued to create chances; with 5 mins to go Sohan's incisive pass cut through the midfield and found its way to Kyan who managed to scramble the ball home. At the final whistle the boys were ecstatic as they lifted their first ever trophy! Great achievement for the lads and fully deserved!

SATURDAY - BOYS

The Under 7 Tigers were up against Hillmorton Lions. Aryan won a free kick and took the Tigers into an early lead with a wonderful strike. Balraj then neatly slotted in a second before Hillmorton got one back. In the 2nd half it was too and fro with Archie pulling off some top saves before Arveer capitalised on a loose ball outside of the box and scored a beauty into the top corner. Jovan’s all round performance earned him player of the match and he bagged a goal before Hillmorton got one back. It finished with GNP forcing an own goal by Hillmorton. Overall a great performance by the Tigers who are really finding their feet in Tier 1 and building great momentum.

Under 7 Lions played away to high flying Bedworth Utd Greenbacks. A complete performance from the boys today. A double of goals for both Rajan and Fakhir, with Attharv, Sahib and Rivan also getting on the scoresheet. Although the Greenbacks got a couple of goals of their own it wasn't enough this time to deter the Lions. Special shout out to Rivan and Manroop who were brave in goal. Player of the match though was Fakhir whose relentless pressure on the opposition sets the tone for the team.

The Under 7 Pumas took on Lawford United after a challenging few weeks and took an early lead with 2 fantastic goals from Ife. Arvind and Jaiden put pressure on the opposition and made some great tackles. Zorawar was strong in defence, but even he could do nothing when he was left isolated vs 3 opponents, allowing Lawford to score. Nevertheless, there was no stopping the Pumas as Harvey added another to the score line, whilst keeper Ajeet was excellent throughout the game. Sunny was hungry for a goal throughout the game and topped off the game with the final goal for the Pumas, as they celebrated a return to form!

Under 7 Juniors put in a brave performance on Saturday against Hillmorton Blues. Initially they fell to a large deficit, but recovered brilliantly in the 2nd half to stop the goals leaking and indeed close the margin significantly. Well done to all the boys!

SATURDAY - GIRLS

Under 9 Panthers faced Coundon Court in the group stages of the cup with only 5 players available. The girls started the game well scoring early with a cracker from Ariana. Unfortunately a mistake at the back gave the home team a chance for an equaliser before the break which they took with both hands. Our hosts kicked off the 2nd half catching our girls fast asleep and scoring instantly from a well driven shot. The girls kept their heads high and pushed hard in search for the equaliser which came from Avneet. The girls continued to pile on the pressure but came up against a very good goalkeeper who stopped everything that came her way. Aapti played the whole game in goal controlling her box well, while her twin Aakriti was our striker, making a nuisance of herself upfront. Tino dropped from her normal position upfront into defence and continually frustrated the hosts. As usual Avneet and Ariana marshalled the midfield well. The girls deserved more from the game especially considering the lack of subs. Well done girls!

Under 8 Panthers vs Coventrians girls. The girls not only had the opposition to battle this weekend, but also the blustery winds, which were so strong, they caused goalposts to be blown over! The girls had many attempts to score and kept the pressure on the opposition defence. The girls had some fantastic passes and interplay leading to a goal from Poppy in the 1st half. The girls continued in the same offensive spirit in the second half with a further goal from Jodh which helped ensure a share of the spoils.

SUNDAY - BOYS

Under 12 Tigers visited Rugby Town in Division A and had an early kick off today in horrible weather conditions. The Tigers started slow but Jaydon put them ahead and the momentum built leading to another goal from Nav. The team subsequently had a glut of chances in a dominant performance, however did not find the back of the net again. However it was an important win which was very well deserved, with Xavier playing some great football and POTM awarded to Anesu for putting up a fantastic performance

The Under 11 Lions were back in league action this week away to Firefighters Junior Rangers. The home team had the numerical advantage with the Lions having to compete with a player short. The home team raced out the blocks and were a goal up within the first minute. The Lions rallied and slowly grew into the game and with some well worked goals from Ayomide and Jan, took a deserved lead into the break. The Lions came close to extending their lead in the 2nd half early exchanges but unfortunately they could not hang onto the lead, with the home team scoring two more to secure the win. Good battling display from the Lions with a Player of the match performance from Kartikey who defended brilliantly and drove the Lions forward with some powerful running.

The Under 11 Tigers signed off their Spring Trophy Event “Group of Death” with another brave, narrow defeat to Tier 1 opposition, this time against Atherstone Rangers Allstars. For the 3rd game in a row against teams from the elite division, the GNP boys gave their opponents a real scare, first equalising and then taking a lead in the 1st half through goals from Cinar and Ayden, set up from great work by Iklil & Elio respectively. Conditions were difficult and Atherstone proved to be more resilient, with a lack of discipline in midfield areas proving costly for GNP as Atherstone exploited the gaps to seal the win. The Tigers, though, should be really proud of this campaign, which should fill them with confidence if they can succeed in their ambition of earning promotion to tier 1 by the end of this season. PotM was awarded to Harman B for a combative performance at the heart of midfield for the Tigers.

Under 10 Pumas entertained Bedworth Eagles Superstars in a game which provided many goals, some fine goalkeeping and a whole lot of drama. Pumas started off very strongly with some excellent balls played into Aaron Dhaliwal, who used his pace to his advantage to get himself on the scoresheet before providing an assist for Kyan Chatha to notch his first goal of the season. The Pumas defence then went AWOL which allowed the opposition to get right back into the game. The 2nd half also started poorly allowing Bedworth to get a foothold in the game. This left the Pumas fighting back from behind on several occasions, but ultimately they were able to get themselves level with goals from Aaron Dhaliwal, Armaan Vraitch and Rayan Naved. GNP’s very own Haaland, Aaron Dhaliwal, finished the game with another hat trick - Aaron is well on the way to earning the Golden Boot!

The Under 9 Lions reversed their away fixture with Southam Utd to get the game on, and it was a dominant performance from the Lions, with some good passing football from the back. For all the chances created in the first half, it was a solitary goal lead going into half time, scored by Rajan from outside the box. The chances kept coming in the 2nd half and the Lions added further goals by Athrv, Evan and Veeran. A comfortable performance in the end and the most pleasing thing was the progressive passing football we were playing from the back. Player of the match went to Rajan, for a solid display in midfield and a wonder strike for his goal.

Under 9 GNP Tigers held a friendly game against clubmates in Under 9 GNP Pumas, in an enjoyable match to watch. The game allowed the coaches to experiment with players in different positions. The game was end to end with some impressive play by both teams. The Pumas took the lead in the game with some great play down the wing before Tigers got an equaliser through Ricky’s well hit shot. 2nd half Pumas again took the lead with some great play, but again the Tigers managed to equalise with a well worked goal from Reece. The action didn’t stop there as the Pumas once again took the lead with a well worked corner routine. But Tigers again came back and got an equaliser with a corner finished off by Jaylan at the back post. Right at the death, the Tigers were awarded a free kick which Jaylan took and sent a fabulous strike into the back of the net! A truly entertaining game played in great spirit - credit to players on both teams!