Our great club isn’t just about the adult teams. It isn’t just about ‘male’ and ‘female’. We are all-inclusive and offer football to everybody who wants to play – even if they are only 3 years old! So we love nothing more than reporting on our ‘youngsters’ and with the aim of providing a pathway into a really good standard of senior football for both boys and girls, it’s always great when we see the little ones doing well…
And Saturday was exactly that. As we awoke in the morning, the weather wasn’t all that – with dark skies and clouds that didn’t want to leave us – but the temperature was alright and if you could brave it, you didn’t really need a coat. So as the players started getting themselves for this one, it was a friendly with a difference – as we were going over to take on our mates from Astley Bridge Hawks with a mixture of our Rockets and our Bullets teams – and with their breakfasts devoured, it was time to go. Stapleton Avenue was the venue and as we started arriving, the excitement started to build. The expectant crowd felt that this was going to be a great game and do you know what? They were proved right…
Because from the first minute until the last, this match had everything. Goals, skill, some fantastic passing and for such young children, the tackling and commitment on view was absolutely first-class. Sure – the home side got themselves into a healthy lead – but credit to the County kids as they never gave up and gradually found their feet. We got ourselves on the scoresheet and then just couldn’t stop! There were goals galore – with both sides showing an attacking prowess that belied their tender years – and when that final whistle went, we had come out on top of a 15 – yes, a ’15’ goal – thriller and with all of the County fans having either chewed their nails off or at least made them a lot shorter than when they got here, it had been a game the likes of which we’ll probably never see again! Fantastic effort from all of the players from both sides and a morning of entertainment that all of the crowd were pleased to be a part of…
Massive thanks go out to Astley Bridge for being excellent hosts as always and we really do wish you all the very best for the coming season. And a huge hats-off to all of the County fans that made the trip over to cheer us on. We really do appreciate seeing you all there and the kids themselves excel when they know they have that support behind them. We’re excited about this group and cannot wait to report more on them throughout the course of the 2023-2024 season…
So as the dust settled and we started making our way home, it was another successful morning for these kids. Make no mistake though – we’re proud of these lads each and every time they pull on our famous shirt – and win, lose or draw, they’ll always have our backing…
Another Saturday. Another day of smiles all-round. Standard…
#UpTheCounty!