The first full weekend of fixtures of 2024 went ahead with ALL 22 GNP SPORTS JUNIORS TEAMS in action thanks to a dry preceeding week. It was full of action and fantastic achievements. The competitive boys age groups battled it out in the 2nd round of the Cup, whilst the non-competitive age groups kicked off their “Season 2” league campaigns.

SATURDAY - GIRLS

Under 13 Panthers first game of the new year ended in a 2-0 away win against Bedworth United. The girls looked solid at the back but a little rusty in central areas where they struggled to find space in a cramped midfield. It was all level at half time but goals from Saffron and Esme in the second half secured a well-deserved 3 points. The score could have been greater but for some fantastic saves from the Bedworth keeper and the Panthers hitting the woodwork on several occasions.

The Under 12 Panthers played their first match after the Christmas break against Crusaders. Harper was positioned in goal for the first half with Harsimrat taking over in the second half. Harsimrat gave an excellent performance, making some great saves, preventing the opposition from having a bigger win. Mankirat created some great efforts on goal and sadly a disallowed goal, preventing the Panthers from getting on the score sheet.

Under 10 Panthers travelled to Stratford once again with just the minimum 7 players. This did nothing to discourage the girls, taking the lead within 30 seconds through a well worked team goal. The girls continued to dominate play going into the break with a lead. As normal, goal involvement was spread throughout the team with assists from Tino, Avneet and Suvreet. Ariana and Tino supplied the goals.

The first game for the Under 9 Panthers in 2024 was against Stockton Junior Girls. With the memory of the previous encounter fresh, our girls started with sharp focus and a drive. Anaya was in goal for the first half. The girls were relentless in attack meaning a lead at half time. Jodh completed a hat trick but the girls were unfortunately unable to maintain the advantage. Nevertheless the girls proved they were a force to be reckoned with - well done to the whole team!

SATURDAY - BOYS

GNP Under 11 Tigers opened 2024 vs Coventry United. It was a great battle with everyone performing well, despite many of the lads tired following the longer Christmas break. GNP went down to a goal but did very well to come back and even the game. In the end it was a fair result. PotM award goes to Cinar who joined the team before Christmas and has settled in very well and topped off his performance with a neat goal. Well done Cinar!

Under 8 Tigers hosted Vision Spartans still plying their trade in tier 2. The Tigers got off to a quick start with Mohamed scoring with an assist from Jovan. Some great defending from Dara and regular saves from PotM Kaydon kept the Tigers right in it. A run down the wing from Arveer set up Varun to slot home a 2nd before half time. Salman came on in his first match and looked assured. Some decent passing set up Eesa who was unlucky not to grab a goal. Vision staged a comeback in the second half scoring two goals before Mohamed slotted home the decisive goal 5 minutes from the end!

Under 8 Jaguars played at home against Poppys. Jaguars started on the back foot with Poppys attacking and were behind in the first half due to a defensive error. In the 2nd half, the boys counter-attacked with some slick passing. Dhanveer made some great saves supported by strong defending by Angad and Manveer. Agam scored the equaliser for the Jaguars after a strong press regaining possession for himself. Fantastic play and great passing today from Jaguars; lots of positives to take away!

Under 8 Pumas visited Lillington in what turned out to be a super competitive game. Lillington had the better of the 1st half, but Pumas came on strong after the break and very nearly pulled the game back in an all action affair. Great effort from the boys – well done!

Under 8 Lions played away at Hillmorton Warriors. Although the boys defended valiantly they couldn't keep the Warriors out and they managed to score in both halves, with GNP unfortunately unable to register a goal in reply. Player of the match was awarded to Sehaj who made some cracking saves throughout the game to keep the score down.

Under 7 Tigers visited Southam United with a depleted squad, but the 5 boys all played their part in a breathtaking end-to-end encounter. Goals were scored by Arvind, Caleb and Gurshaan with Player of the Match awarded to Arvind. Unfortunately the boys were unable to maintain the lead and were narrowly edged out, but it was a great match!

Under 7 Pumas played away against Coventrians. It was an evenly matched first half and the boys played well as a cohesive unit. Unfortunately the lack of substitutes meant that our team’s stamina waned towards the end, and resulted in a scoreline which didn’t reflect how well we played. Special recognition for Arthur who scored our two goals and to Dayal for some brilliant saves to keep the scoreline respectable.

The Under 7 Lions were up against a very well organised Christ The King Juniors in a home game. From the very start the opponents were constantly attacking and found the net multiple times, however the Lions gave their best try to hold off the attacks. CTK continued to dominate in the second half as well. There were a few chances that were missed by GNP, but the boys are playing well and improving week on week.

SUNDAY - BOYS

Under 9 Lions played Whitley Colts and came away with a great result. GNP dominated Whitley from start to finish with the attackers spurning numerous chances, including a missed penalty. As a result the team somehow went into half-time behind! However the boys finally found their shooting boots with 2nd half goals from Majid (1) and Anopa (2) sealing a deserved victory. Great team effort!

Under 9 Tigers kicked off their campaign in a new tier, playing away against Poppys Juniors. GNP started off fast and were on top, racing into a lead with two powerful strikes from Dharam. Jai and Kyan added a goal each before half-time. Second half was no different as the Tigers continued to dominate, Dharam completing his hat trick and Kyan scoring another 3. All round a great performance from the team!

GNP Under 10 Pumas faced Inter Coventry. A strong performance by the Pumas who controlled the game comfortably and scored at regular intervals. Goals came from Jaiden (3), Lekan (2), Shivan and Kian. A good start to the new year for the Pumas!

GNP Under 10 Lions were up against Southam United. Southam proved to be a skilful and talented opposition and took a 2 goal lead into half time. Early on in the second half, the Lions got back into the game with a goal for Rajan. This spurred the Lions on and they created a couple of good opportunities to equalise, but just couldn’t get the break of the ball. Southam added two further goals to extend the margin of victory. The Lions can hold their heads up high; they battled well and were in the game against very good opposition. Man of the match went to Kian McNulty (pictured), who pulled off some fantastic saves during the game.

GNP Under 10 Tigers were away at Vision Jaguars and were missing quite a few players. Despite being down a player before the start of the game the Tigers gave a valiant performance throughout, battling away in the first half but were undone by Vision opening the scoring. They were also a little unlucky not to equalise with some great chances of their own. 2nd half Vision’s extra man told as they increased the lead further.

Under 11 Pumas played away against Hillmorton Colts and controlled the majority of the game, creating plenty of goal-scoring opportunities but were unable to convert many of their chances. Aaron Dhaliwal put the Pumas ahead with Armaan Vraitch further extending the Pumas lead via some fantastic Tiki-Taka play. Armaan then added to his tally by connecting with a powerful header from a perfectly flighted corner from the Pumas new boy, Casper Lord. A very quiet game for the Pumas keeper Pravir Walia, who made a couple of great saves when called into action.

Under 12 Lions visited Brinklow Falcons for a key match in the Division E relegation fight. A win would have leapfrogged Brinklow and taken GNP out of the bottom two. As it transpired the team had to battle all the way for a well-earned point, and more importantly, the team’s highly sought after first clean sheet of the season! The team have struggled to defend collectively this season so this game was a big breakthrough going into some more important games in the coming weeks. Tyler and the entire back four of Jasraj, Harshaan, Pavan & Milad were excellent, with Pavan taking PotM honours for a much improved display.

Under 12 Tigers visited Division A rivals Copsewood Cobras in League Cup action and were up for a difficult challenge with the influential Ayden and Iklil both missing. New GK signing Otis made his debut at centre back to fill in for Iklil and partnered well with Harman S to provide a stubborn rearguard against the Cobras attack early on. Copsewood did break through eventually and extended their lead before half time. The 2nd half followed a similar pattern with the Tigers fighting all the way, but it proved too much as they fell to a 6-0 defeat. Oscar was awarded PotM for a committed display in a wide midfield role.

Under 13 Tigers hosted fellow Div A outfit, Rugby Borough Eagles, in the League Cup 2nd round. The boys were on form playing some great football. Passing and pressure was all of a high quality, with the team regularly winning possession back with numerous interceptions. Tigers went up by 3 goals in the first half and the come out with the same attitude in the second half and scored another 3 goals with a clean sheet to boot. Well done to goalscorers Aayan (2), Jaydon, Hawon, Arjun & Indi with PotM awarded to a very deserving Aayan.

GNP Under 15s were away to Division A Christ The King in the 2nd round of the Cup. GNP started well and took the lead after a through ball from Amrit to Archie. CTK then equalised from a corner midway in the half and then found themselves 2-1 up a minute later from a tap-in after a super save from Lewis. With the end of the half approaching, Zaid broke through on the right and crossed to Ethan who controlled the ball and volleyed into the corner for one of our goals of the season! Early 2nd half CTK took advantage of a defensive mistake to take the lead and extended their lead even further after a free kick mix up. With time running out GNP missed a couple of chances and were made to pay when CTK got their fifth of the game in the final minute. Final score 5-2. The boys battled all game but found out today that higher Division teams punish any mistakes.