Barnsley Juniors Football Club

Sunday marked the first game of the season for the U11 Oranges as they joined the Sheffield & District Junior Football League, facing off against Sheffield 6’s.
Sheffield were a very good side and really brought the best out of our players. Alvinn opened the scoring after a great first touch from Josh, who beat a couple of players and got a shot away. The keeper saved it, but Alvinn was quickest to react for a simple tap-in. Freddy then made it 2-0, winning the ball back under pressure, beating his man, and slotting home with a great finish. Dexter completed the scoring with a cracking strike from outside the box into the bottom corner.
It was a real team effort though — the lads played so well that the coaches couldn’t pick a single Player of the Match, so they all shared the award.
Next week the Blues have their first game in Sheffield against Staincross, while the Oranges take on Kimberworth Park FC.

The moments and experiences we all turn up for. The ones we want our kids to have. To some, it’s just football - but look at those faces!

Seeing these kids lift the Wombwell Town Plate today was a brilliant feeling. For many, it’s their first taste of some tournament success, and hopefully an event that drives hunger and a reason to keep improving.

They certainly didn’t make it easy for themselves. Throwing away the lead in both the semi-final and the final, which was ‘emotional’, for lack of a better word. But they found a way, and got it over the line.

Today, it was our turn.
Barnsley Juniors Blue 🏆🫐

Challenge Cup semi-final heartbreak for Barnsley Jr’s Blue 💔 — but across the two legs, the kids showed exactly why they deserved to be there.

The first leg was packed with some quality, character and emotion. We found ourselves 3-1 up heading into the closing stages, only for the game to finish level after a chaotic final five minutes. Football can feel cruel sometimes, but we have to keep going until the end.

After absorbing some early pressure and working incredibly hard out of possession, we gradually grew into the game. Once we started exploiting the spaces between the lines and progressing the ball quicker through the thirds, we created some really good moments and took our chances well.

Our first goal came from a great reaction in transition. Teddy found Leighton, whose initial effort was saved, but Jacob reacted quickest to the second ball to finish confidently. Great anticipation, and credit the follow-in Jacob.

The second goal was probably the standout moment of the tie. Leighton received from Teddy, shifted inside brilliantly from the right and struck a bouncing effort that skipped just in front of the keeper and into the net. Technically excellent.

Leighton grabbed his second after half-time following a really well-worked move from back to front. Jesse started the attack by playing into Jacob, who quickly set Leighton into space. From there, Leighton attacked his defender aggressively, beat him again 1v1 and finished neatly.

Across the first leg, the commitment and intensity without the ball really stood out. Defensively, all the players stayed compact, worked hard to recover and supported each other brilliantly. In possession, we showed bravery, creativity and increasing confidence playing through pressure. Our shape and distances allowed us to play with some purpose, to sustain attacks.

The second leg gave us a huge opportunity to reach a final in only our second season together. Unfortunately, we couldn’t reproduce the same energy, quality or composure from the first game and eventually lost 2-0 on the night, 5-3 on aggregate. We have to do better collectively.

Full credit to the opposition, who were better on the day and deserved their place in the final — we wish them the very best.

Maybe we needed the first goal to settle nerves. Maybe the occasion got to us a little. Maybe a few just had one of those days where nothing quite clicks, a lack of will and desire. Whatever the reason, its all gained experience.

The kids were understandably disappointed afterwards, but they should be incredibly proud. In many ways, this group has overachieved. Competing strongly in the league and results/performance-based cups earned us Pot A seeding both times, and to reach a semi-final after only twenty months together is a huge achievement — especially with many of the players starting their journey completely new to football.

It’s a long haul flight, and hopefully we continue it next season with the same fantastic group of players, who remain a pleasure to coach every single week. There are good indicators of improvement across the team, (no doubt), we just need to keep at it, practice and learn as much as possible, to make the next steps.

🏆 POTM – Max (No.2) & Ezra (No.4)

Max’s confidence has grown massively during the second half of the season and it’s showing in his performances. Across both legs he defended with real determination and increasing consistency, while his passing and composure on the ball have improved too. Also possesses a forehead made from reinforced concrete — coaches’ first aid department thoroughly stress-tested… Ezra sends his apologies.

Ezra continues to demonstrate many of the qualities we value most in both training and matches. He listens, learns and always tries to apply. His link-up play to support the team at the forefront, and he came close to scoring twice in the second leg - one cleared off the line and a half-volley wide, despite limited attacking opportunities.

🏆 PPOTM – Leighton (No.9) & Jesse (No.5)

Leighton’s ability in 1v1 situations and his growing goal tally have certainly brought more joy for the team this season. He’s capable of producing something special from very little and his brace in the first leg put us in a good position to progress.

Jesse once again showed some outstanding qualities across both matches. He has been incredibly dependable defensively all season, but pushing him higher up the pitch add’s another dimension to our attacking play. His decision-making and timing in possession continue to improve.

🏆 POTW – Jaxon (No.12) & Jonah (No.1)

Jaxon earns Player of the Week for showing fantastic character. After a physically demanding first game, he picked himself up and stepped in at the back during the development game, against his wishes. Experience in different positions will only improve players’ understanding of the game long term.

Jonah has had another excellent season. The occasion certainly didn’t faze him, producing an outstanding save to tip a fierce strike over the bar among several other important moments. It’s also been great hearing him communicate more consistently with defenders — a huge part of goalkeeper development.

Goals & Assists
Leighton ⚽️⚽️
Jacob ⚽️
Jacob ✨
Teddy ✨

Back in action—following a brief detour into “creative” cup formatting.

Blues travelled to an away fixture that reliably produces goals… and, historically, frustration. This time, however, we decided to rewrite that script.

From the first whistle, this was one of our most complete attacking performances of the season. We controlled territory, sustained pressure in the opposition half, and generated a consistent volume of chances across the team. In short: the attacking numbers matched the intent. Teddy adding another assist, to his end of season numbers drive. Leighton grabbing a brace.

Defensively, while there were still a few high-cost errors (we like to keep things interesting), we operated higher up the pitch on the front-foot, showed great composure in possession after winning the ball, and restricted central opportunities effectively. A few improvements scanning in behind, communicating and picking up at the back post would see us improve here.

And as ever—performance over result… although, on this occasion, the performance has conveniently progressed us to our first-ever POT A semi-final. 💪🏼

🏆 POTM – Frankie (No.13) & Jacob (No.8.)

Frankie delivered an excellent wide performance, balancing attacking threat with defensive responsibility. Her quick thinking from a kick-in—creating space and delivering a precise cross for Leighton to convert—was a standout moment, they combined together really well throughout.
I noted improved control, a better first touch which leads to more thinking time, better decisions and greater outcomes. Good quality balls across goal every time.

Jacob matched that with a high-energy, proactive and at times - aggressive display. His intent on and off the ball was clear, neat turns to beat players in congested space’s, great vision and his low-driven finish into the bottom corner was executed with quality. Jacob’s ongoing challenge is to bring that level of effort to me each week, the football is there.

🏆 PPOTM – Jesse (No.5)

A second-half performance defined by intensity and resilience. Aggressive in regains, but composed in distribution, an excellent balance. Aside from one moment of generosity across his own goal (we’ll call it a team-building exercise), this was one of Jesse’s strongest performances. His positive first touch into central areas, consistently opened up forward and wide options. Also worth noting: getting up from that heavy challenge and carrying on—exactly the mindset we want.

🏆 POTW – George (No.7)

Our resident stuntman. When he’s not testing physics on a 110cc bike, he’s testing defenders. After a good training week, it was great to see him beating players, getting into dangerous areas, combining and nearly adding his name to the scoresheet. He can certainly hit them when he catches it right.
My challenge to George is to increase those effort levels at both ends in the coming games, like we’ve seen before.

Shoutout to Jonah for concentrating and making one of the saves of the season, tipping one out of the bottom corner - our very own Peter Shilton. 🧤

Goals & Assists
Leighton ⚽️⚽️
Jacob ⚽️
Frankie ✨
Teddy ✨

First leg ahead—full focus, full commitment.
CUMMON YOU BLUES 🫐

Barnsley Juniors Blue wrapped up their cup league campaign on a high—with a win that was perhaps on the fortunate side (though we too created many chances) 🫐

After a good warm-up, the opening spell had us all thinking about where the off switch was. We were behind inside ten seconds, struggling to find any tempo, rhythm, or even a simple pass through what felt like knee-high grass.
We made life difficult for ourselves early, and Jonah deserves huge credit for keeping us in the game—pulling off two particularly excellent saves, one with his feet and one high, to stop things getting out of hand.

Thankfully, we settled. The work we’ve been doing on scanning, decision-making, and moving the ball forward to break lines progressed.
The equaliser was a great example—four players combining before Jacob poked in Leighton, who finished superbly from distance, firing across goal into the bottom corner. A great moment that gave us belief.

Even with the opposition a player down, they caused problems—attacking well as a three and forcing some tough 1v1 situations. Jesse, Ezra, and Ruby were a deliberately selected backbone this weekend, and they delivered— competitive & physical defensive play. It was especially pleasing to see the rest of the team step up, creating and supporting our attacking play in-front of them.

POTM – 🏆 No.6 Ruby
I put my trust in Ruby with a clear job in CM: track and disrupt their very strong No.10.
She carried it out superbly—winning duels, breaking up play, and generally making life very uncomfortable for them all game. A huge, huge part of the win.
Part of our opening goal and the highlight moment: winning a big 50/50 (no half tackles here) to spark the move for our second goal, linking with Jaxon to set up Leighton’s second. A top and perhaps overlooked performance.

PPOTM – 🏆 No.12 Jaxon
Really proud of Jax. It’s never nice to see a player upset from the sidelines, but credit to the referee and coaches for dealing with it—and even more to Jaxon for how he responded. He showed real resilience, reset himself, came back on, and battled in the box to scramble home our third. A brilliant moment for him and the team. Wouldn’t say boo to a goose mind, still the nicest kid and amongst the headlines again.

POTW – 🏆 No.13 Frankie & No.3 Jesse
From an effort and consistency point of view, Frankie continues to deliver and worked hard on the flanks. She reads the game well, is comfortable on both feet, and contributes across the pitch from various positions.
What stood out in the week was her improved decision-making to support retaining possession— linking play inside from wide areas (pass and move) plus working on that positive first touch. Another player up there this season for creativity and with some more steer and growing confidence will get even better outcomes.

Jesse edges in as well—not his strongest game overall on the ball, but those line-breaking passes from deep were still there. Having the vision and confidence to play forward will be key.

The last two games were the ones I had my eye on, and overall I’m pleased with aspects of how we performed against tougher opposition. Results don’t always tell the full story, but there were plenty of positives—and enough to leave you with that warm, fuzzy feeling. The way the kids celebrated goals as a collective was great to see.

Goals & Assists

Leighton ⚽️⚽️
Jaxon ⚽️
Jacob ✨
Jaxon ✨

Easter training this week!

“At least 50 eggs!” 🤨 Thanks Leighton….

Defeat can sometimes feel like a victory in coaching… and this weekend was one of those.
Blues 🫐 were back in action with a much-improved performance in a game where mistakes were shared by both teams. There were tough moments and some teary eyes at the end of each half—but that’s because they care. I’ll take that every day. Plenty of positives in a more competitive game.

Jesse’s pullback turn got intercepted at the back resulting in a goal, but the bigger picture? Confidence through the roof—taking players on from deep, showing real skill, and driving us forward. At one point he threw himself into a challenge to get in front and keep the ball—both players went flying, got up, shook hands… proper football moment.

Teddy didn’t get tight enough at the back post to cover for a player out of position, but his work rate was unreal. Up and down all game, a brilliant 1v1 battle on the right, showing quality, creativity, and pe*******on. Class again.

Jonah might feel he could’ve held onto the ball better for one goal, but we’ve all seen what he’s about this season—solid, reliable, and supporting his defenders with his feet. Made great initial saves, but wide players didn’t always track runners for the follow-in. Goalkeepers’ union would agree.

Leighton was sharp to capitalise on a defensive error for our opening goal. One moment stood out—plucking the ball out of the air, turning, and getting a shot away. Real top quality. He’s excellent receiving on the turn, but we need to lift our head more often to combine with others in certain areas, which we’ll push on with.

We went in at half time extremely unlucky to be trailing 1–2 after a great performance. Two quick goals in the restart let it slip, but the kids never gave in—that was brilliant.

Jaxon added a second-half goal (being in the right place). There’s thought in his movement, and the areas he takes up help both him and others.

Plenty of attacking intent—Frankie, Leighton, Ezra, Teddy, Jaxon all with good efforts. Equally, strong defensive work from Mike, Ruby, Jesse, Jacob.

🏆 POTM – Ezra (No.4)
I enjoyed everything about Ezra’s game this week. Missed him last week (Mother’s Day duty—some boy), but I’ve been pushing him to drive forward more and he delivered—more shots, including a body-check turn and strike that zipped past the post. Linked play well, turned players, used his weaker foot often, won the ball back, and supported his defenders. Proper all-round performance.

🏆 PPOTM – Jaxon (No.12)
Still the nicest kid in football (probably the world)… and doubled his goal tally from last season today. Led the line, pressed well, linked with Jacob, and held the ball up for support. Took one first on his right away from the defender—bang with his left, nearly another, well saved.

🏆 POTW – Jacob (No.8.)
My highlight—Jacob emptying the tank chasing his runner for what felt like three hours (probably 15 seconds), then winning us a throw-in. That’s exactly the area I’m pushing with him. We know he can play—good penetrative passes, driving forward, retaining possession—and the parents saw it too.

What stands out most with this group is how encouragement, trust, kindness, and belief bring out the best in them. That’s why I stick to it. They’re all good kids—we don’t need to be anxious about results. We’ve had plenty this year, and on another day, with that same performance, the result looks very different.

Goals & Assists
⚽️ Leighton
⚽️ Jaxon

Mother’s Day weekend 🌷

A massive shout-out to all the mums who are pitch-side every Sunday morning, often running a tighter operation than most professional clubs. From emergency shin pad recovery missions, last-minute boot cleans, postcode navigation for away days, and somehow still remembering everything we forget… we appreciate you more than a perfectly weighted through ball.

Sadly, the kids couldn’t quite deliver the performance the mums (and fans) of Barnsley Juniors Blue 🫐deserved this week. The conditions didn’t help—particularly the wind, which seemed to have its own game plan and nearly claimed my Xbot camera in the process (thankfully no injuries were reported). Trying to play out, switch the ball, and maintain any sort of control became… optimistic at best.

As I’ve experienced in junior football, it’s a bit of a rollercoaster. We’ve had some excellent days and performances lately, but this one left me doing a bit of soul-searching. Our intensity dropped, decision-making was poor, and we didn’t always show the intent we talk about—especially in possession. You sometimes get a feeling from the warm-up how things might unfold… and this one had a few warning signs.

Then, just as you’re deep in analysis mode (questioning yourself), it hits you— they’re ten, some days they’ll do well, other days… not so much, but they’ll learn. And that’s all part of it.

Credit to the opposition, who were sharper in key moments, made better decisions on the ball, and created the clearer chances. On balance, they just about edged it.

The highlight of the day was watching the players run over with white roses for their mums—top moment, and far more important than any result.

🏆 POTM – Mike (No.3)

A solid performance from Mike. Very little got past him, aside from the odd moment where we needed better scanning in behind. Defensively, he was strong in 1v1 situations and showed real willingness to compete. As the game went on, he grew in confidence, showing composure on the ball, and attempting some positive forward passes despite tricky conditions. Great work, Mike.

🏆 PPOTM – Teddy (No.11)

Teddy continues to impress—not just in his football, but in his attitude. More focus, less messing about, and it’s showing. He’s in a real purple patch right now. Consistent, effective, and always involved—whether driving with the ball, linking play, or supporting at both ends. Another assist added to the tally too. Keep it going, Ted.

🏆 POTW – Max

Max showed great energy and desire again in the development game. You can see how much he enjoys his football, and that enthusiasm will only help him keep improving.

Goals & Assists
⚽️ Leighton
✨ Teddy

Development Game
⚽️ Jonah

Barnsley Juniors Blue 🫐 kept their unbeaten Challenge Cup run going at the weekend with a strong performance at home. 🐰

As always, the scoreline isn’t the main thing — attitude, effort and development are what we look for. The challenge to the kids was: improve on last weekend, get the ball into more dangerous areas, push higher up the pitch to win it back earlier, and keep trying to play our style of football.

They exceeded expectations. Within ten minutes they were out of sight — which was great for the coaches, slightly less great for any parents who were still queueing for a brew.

It was great to see some real quality on the ball at times, combining nicely through the thirds. Even better was seeing players comfortable stepping into different positions across the pitch… which is great development, even if it does give me a brief heart attack, trying to work out who’s meant to be where.

There was an early moment where Jonah had to be alert, producing a brilliant low save to tip what looked like a certain goal around the post. From there we pressed high, the pressure built, and the goals started to come. Jesse reacted quickest to a left-footed strike from Leighton that the keeper couldn’t hold, poking it home from a tight angle in just the second minute.

🏆 POTM – Leighton (No.9)

I backed Leighton to lead the line as our No.9 and he delivered a proper striker’s performance.

He twisted and turned his way to a brace, with assists coming from great work down the line by Jesse and Teddy. There are rumours that the best of the three might actually have been a cross… but I’m shutting those down immediately. I agree with Leighton here — that was a perfectly judged lob from the far left touchline. No further questions please.

A hat-trick inside ten minutes, constant pressing from the front and strong ball carrying on the half-turn. A top centre-forward performance and a fully deserved Player of the Match. Big smile No.1.

🏆 PPOTM – Teddy (No.11)

Back again after another excellent performance following last week. Teddy’s effort levels were outstanding and he continues to work hard to improve his game.

He didn’t give the opposition a moment to breathe. His work off the ball was relentless, and when he had it he was just as effective — beating players in tight spaces, creating a goal and scoring one himself in the development game.

I even managed to get half a smile out of him for the photo afterwards (smile No.2), which I’m taking as a clear sign that I’m finally winning him over.. only took most of the season.

🏆 POTW – Ezra (No.4)

Ezra is a great example of development and the habits we’re trying to build with the players — earning him Player of the Week. Big smile No.3.

His focus in training really stood out — listening, taking things in and then applying it on the pitch. His attitude and effort to train twice a week have been excellent.

At the game he was asked to play in defence, not his preferred position, but he got on with it and performed well alongside Max. Getting tight to players (who didn’t seem to enjoy the hands-on approach), scanning behind after earlier mistakes, breaking up play and staying calm in possession under pressure. The weight of his passes and intent to bring others into the game are strong — he’s currently our most creative player by the numbers.

In the development game he did have an air shot late on when through on goal, which he was disappointed with. What most don’t see though, is the intent: to take it quickly, first time, on his weaker left foot — exactly the type of bravery we’re encouraging the players to show.

Credit to the opposition who never gave in and came out much stronger in the second half, grabbing a goal of their own.

Goals & Assists
⚽️ Jesse
⚽️⚽️⚽️ Leighton
✨ Jesse
✨ Teddy

Development Game
⚽️ Teddy

Off we grow. 🌱