Northwich Victoria Juniors

THE first team may have had a difficult season, but there is clearly plenty of talent in the junior ranks at Northwich Victoria.

Further evidence of that came courtesy of their under 12s, who came through the nerves and tension of a penalty shoot-out to win a recent cup final.

Having made it to the final showdown in the President’s Cup, the team were faced with a tough task against Sandbach – the current leaders of their Mid-Cheshire Youth League division.

The two sides could not be separated in a 2-2 draw, but Vics won 5-4 in the shoot-out to lift the trophy.

With this being just their second season as a team, manager Gareth Walker has reflected with pride on the journey the youngsters have been on together.

“This group of boys that have come in over the last two seasons have made myself and my coach Jamie Williams extremely proud with their continued growth and determination to learn and keep getting better all the time,” he said.

“Their victory is a result of all the hard effort they gave in training sessions throughout the week, including extra sessions to build fitness

“We have been able to build a family environment, not just with the players but with their families as well.

“We regularly host social events for the boys and their parents and it’s really been a privilege to have the support of them all, which makes mine and my assistant’s jobs a lot easier.

“I started the team in July 2022, taking a few players with me from my previous club Hartford, but I was really starting fresh in trying to build a team that I could work with and create into a team that can do well and compete.

“The first season was extremely difficult as we had a mix of players who had played previously for my other team, but also over half of the team that had never played competitive football before.

“This season at under 12s, we have had a mixed season as we continue to improve as a team but also as individuals.

“We currently sit fifth in the table with fourth league games to go with the chance to end the season in fourth place, which would be a fantastic achievement.”

The team are always searching for new players to join their squad – please contact the club through the Northwich Victoria u12s Facebook page for more information.

Squad: Riley Adlington, Josh Kent, Keilan Bailey, Zack Jepson (C), Rhys Mannion, Alan Allmark, Sebatian Ashcroft, Edward Saville, Jayden Street-Marsh, Charlie Hodgkinson, James Pickering, Harry Mann, Jai Thompson, Oliver Walker