Heanor Town Hearts U7’s vs. Mickleover Sports Napoli U7’s
Heanor Town Thunder U7’s vs. Mickleover Sports Roma U7’s
Woodthorpe U8’s vs. Heanor Town Titans U8’s (friendly)
Heanor Town Harriers U9’s vs. Selston Blue U9’s
Chesapeake Apaches U9’s vs. Heanor Town Hotshots U9’s
Heanor Town Hurricanes U9’s vs. Spondon Rovers Strikers U9’s
Heanor Town Comets U10’s vs. Spondon Rovers Planets U10’s
Heanor Town Hawks U10’s vs. Toton United Falcons U9’s
Heanor Town Diamonds U12’s vs. Bottesford Girls U12’s (cup)
Heanor Town Falcons U13’s vs. Riverside FC Colts U13’s (cup)
Heanor Town Lions U13’s vs. AFC Chellaston Utd U13’s (cup)
Heanor Town Oaks U13’s vs. Stapleford Town Reds U13’s (cup)
Heanor Town Unity U13’s vs. Aspire FC U13’s (cup)
Heanor Town Warriors U13’s vs. Mickleover RBL Lions U13’s
West Hallam Juniors Panthers U15’s vs. Heanor Town Black & Whites U15’s

Team of the Week:

Isabelle – Mini Cubs
Blake – Cubs Club
Noah – Cubs Club
Kit – U7 Hearts
Louie – U7 Hearts
Roux – U7 Thunder
Jacob – U8 Titans
The Whole Team – U9 Harriers
Cameron – U9 Hotshots
The Whole Team – U9 Hotshots
Jobie – U9 Hurricanes
The Whole Team– U9 Hurricanes
Harry – U10 Comets
Theo – U10 Comets
Isla – U10 Hawks
Harry – U11 Flames
Jodie - U12 Diamonds
Tammy – U12 Diamonds
Frazer – U13 Falcons
Fynn – U13 Falcons
Alfie – U13 Oaks
Finley – U13 Oaks
Harry – U15 Black & Whites

Cubs Clubs Stars of the Week:

Our Mini Cubs star of the week was Isabelle. Lots of determination and effort, with a smile on her face for the whole session. Well done, Isabelle.

Our Cubs Club stars of the week were Blake and Noah. It was Blakes first session with us, but you’d have never known from the way he settled in with the Cubs, showing some great ability as well as making friends with his new teammates. Noah is a Cubs Club original after years of attendance. Always a determined footballer with a lovely sense of happiness when he’s got a football. Some great teamwork and a worthy star of the week. Well done, Blake & Noah.

Match Reports:

Heanor Town Thunder U7's vs. Mickleover Sports Roma U7's

A disappointing result brings an end to a brilliant half of the season.

Mickleover started brightly and scored two quick fire goals following the Thunder getting caught out at the back after initially being overrun in midfield.

Mickleover moved well and had some great individual talent, dropping shoulders and splitting the Thunders open with direct running.

The Thunders pulled one back against the run of play. Oliver Booker with an 'Alisson' assist, from a great big boot out his hands. Roux gambled and ran onto the ball in time to slot the ball past the goalkeeper.

Micklover extended the lead before half time with another direct run that went unchallenged and smart finish.

Heanor improved after half time and battled for every ball, pegging Mickleover back in their own half.

Roux scored his second of the game, which was opportunistic, to say the least. The Mickleover keeper collected the ball and placed it on the floor to kick the ball up field. Roux decided that he had had long enough and cheekily nicked it off the keeper, took it round him, and cooly finished into an open net.

The Thunder boys went close through Frankie, Jax, and Roux, searching for his hattrick.

Just as it looked like the Thunder might push on and battle for a result, Mickleover scored three quick efforts, all speculative and back-to-back to completely knock the stuffing out the Thunder.

An undeserved heavy defeat for the Thunder to work off of. There are a few individual errors in both halves, but these boys are more than good enough to come back better than ever in the New Year.

MOTM - Roux Cundy. Two goals for Roux, and in his own words, “I’ve never been more proud of myself”.

Heanor Town Titans U8's vs. Woodthorpe U8's

It was the Titans' first game for 6 weeks due to the poor weather and cancellations.

All the players were raring to go and didn’t stop from the first whistle to the last.

For saying they haven’t played for so long, they were all fantastic, and everything that we have been working on in training is starting to show.

Playing out from the goalkeeper and every player wanting the ball. We nearly scored a fantastic team goal after a move of 5 passes from front to back was only stopped from a great save from the opposition's keeper.

Titans' goals came from Sam Kew and Charlie Middlemiss, who helped himself to a brace.

It was hard to pick MoM as everyone gave 100% and never stopped trying to play football, but Jacobs Ellis just pipped it with a commanding performance in defence. He wasn’t only intercepting the ball and making tackles but was also very composed on the ball and always tried to play.

Heanor Town Harriers U9’s vs. Selston Blue U9’s

After a great season and finishing joint top of the league, the league title would be settled by a play-off match. The 1st fixture was at Selston, so the playoff match was played at Charles Hill.

The Harriers started the game on the front foot after a clever kick-off from Harry Haslam playing in Alin Dragu with the Harriers forcing a corner. Charnley Bolton whipped in an in-swinging corner that looked destined for the far corner of the goal but narrowly missed, skimming the post.

The game was being played at a frantic pace, with both teams looking dangerous on the break. Despite playing uphill and on a very heavy pitch, the Harriers played some good football with good link up play from Harry Haslam, Charnley Bolton, and Alin Dragu.

Unfortunately for the Harriers, after a mix-up in defence, Selston pounced to smash the ball home and take the lead. Both teams came in at half time, having put on a great first half.

Shooting down the hill, the onus was on the Harriers to play with a higher press. With some good pressure, the Harriers were awarded a free kick in shooting distance. Charnley Bolton stepped up and hit a great strike only for Selston’s keeper to pull off a brilliant save, a save that probably changed the game.

Following another defensive mix-up, Selston capitalised to punish the Harriers and double their lead. The Harriers continued to battle with great performances from Ashton Vallis, Riley Thacker, and Kaiden Charlton, all showing great energy and determination. With the time running away, the Harriers had to go for it and push for the next goal, with Stanley Taylor pushing into a more advanced role, leaving Alex Taylor vulnerable on the counterattack but Alex defended brilliantly. The Harriers keeper, Leo Edge, pulled off some great saves, but having tried so hard and putting so much effort in the Harriers got caught, and Selston added two more goals to kill the game and seal the tile.

Congratulations to Selston. We have had some great games against each other this season, and they know we pushed them all the way. It’s a hard way to lose the title, but our brave Harriers have performed brilliantly in our first competitive season, and finishing runners up is still a great achievement, and one that all the coaches and parents are very proud of. We will keep the Champaign on ice.

MOM- The whole team. We couldn’t single out any player as all the boys deserve this award for the efforts in this game and for the whole season.

The Harriers are proudly sponsored by JCB TC Harrison. Thank you for your continued support.

We wish everyone a very merry Christmas from all at Heanor Town Harriers.

Chesapeake Apaches U9's vs. Heanor Town Hotshots U9's

First league game back after the recent terrible weather forced games to be called off over the last four weeks. Another dating result of the cold weather has been illness running through the team, with Remy Beecher pulling out last minute and Leighton Carter still fighting the flu also not available, but there showing his support from the sidelines.

Heanor we’re down to bare minimum 7, but that didn’t faze the lads one bit, starting right from the referee's whistle with hard tackles and fast pressing, not giving Chesapeake time to settle on the ball.

Cameron Rogers battled with his interceptions and hard tackling, but also finding a pass to a team mate every time he won the ball. Asher Walton was also solid at the back and started pushing forward with his silky little skills and runs, starting the Heanor attacks.

Chesapeake didn’t know how to handle the Hotshots with Declan Walsh's quick feet and strength, which led to our first goal. He wriggled his way into the box, taking on three Chesapeake defenders, but the fourth was just too much and managed to get the ball away from Dec. Kian backed Declan's movements up and stole the bobbling ball off of the Chesapeake defender and slotted home for a Hotshots goal.

Chesapeake tried to get back in the game straight away, but with our goal, the smiles were back on the Hotshots' faces. The Hotshots were starting to find their stride and dominance in the game, with Finley Kerry rolling the ball out to Asher who played it down the line to Jenson Hadfield, who went on a run cutting in towards the near post. After showing great speed and strength to get past his man, he slotted the ball past the goalkeeper at his near post.

Nearing the half time whistle Finley's swept up at the back with some lovely long passes and goal kicks managing to find Declan who lay it off to Kian in midfield, who then tried to find Brayden with a pass but unfortunately, the referee got in the way of the pass in what was a great move from the Hotshots. Not to be distracted, Jenson used his quick thinking, and with Chesapeake still In a daze, he slotted Declan through on goal who converted with his sweet left foot, giving the keeper no chance!

The half-time whistle blew thankfully for Chesapeake, as the Hotshots were in full flow!

The second half started, and Chesapeake had revived themselves, battling on, but not really putting us under much pressure, and when they did get past the solid backline of the Hotshots, Finley was there with a great save to keep his first clean sheet of the season.

Brayden Walsh battled down the wing all game, getting forward and tracking back, doing a job for his teammates in both halves of the pitch. With a forward run, he found his brother Declan, who again went on a run, getting himself in the box. The Chesapeake defenders didn't know how to get the ball off of him, ither than giving the foul away, resulting in a penalty which Dec found the top corner. The keeper remarkably got a hand to it, but the power was just too much.

The final whistle closed off a very entertaining and deserved Hotshots victory.

The Parents player of the match went to Cameron Rogers for his solid display. The Managers player of the match went to the whole Hotshots team for their hard-fought victory. Well done, boys.

Heanor Town Hurricanes U9's vs Spondon Rovers Strikers U9's

The Hurricanes were up against Spondon for the second time this season, with the previous encounter finishing in a high scoring draw. Everyone was expecting an entertaining, close fought game, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

It was Spondon who started the hungrier side and immediately pressed Heanor to create a number of chances, which stand in keeper Elijah Graham was able to keep out with a number of impressive saves.

Against the run of play, Heanor put together a nice move, which resulted in Jenson Fletcher homing in on goal and confidently dispatching the ball into the back of the net against a helpless Spondon keeper.

The pressure did not relent from Spondon, though, and their hunger meant they were able to score a few quick goals. All impressive finishes to send Heanor in at half time with some work to do.

In the second half, the Hurricanes, having been challenged to be hungrier than their opposition this time, really came out fighting and put in an excellent display for the on looking supporters.

Some quality passing, getting to every ball first and an urgency to get the ball forward saw Heanor create some excellent chances, and their finishing really was second to none. First up was Elijah Graham, now out of goal, forcing his way down the right wing onto a loose ball, executing his shot with no doubt to get the Hurricanes back in it.

This was closely followed by an excellent team move, seeing a number of passes ending in a through ball from Will Johnson onto Ellis Bestwick who calmly slotted the ball past the Spondon keeper to see it nestle in the bottom corner, meaning the game was back level, and at this stage only one side looked like they were going to go on and win it.

Finley Shaw, Tyler Higgins, and Max Appleby collectively were excellent at the back throughout the second half and blocked absolutely everything meaning Spondon were unable to create much to challenge both Tyler and Max who took turns to stand in goal. All three showed some cool, calm passing out from the back, too.

Jenson Fletcher, also helping out in defence when needed, created some brilliant opportunities with some long-range passing and it wasn’t long before Elijah latched on to score one for the cameras as his bullet of a shot crashed home in off the bar to put Heanor ahead in spectacular fashion.

Jobie Edmonds-Jackson once again did his usual job of snuffing out the danger in the middle of the park from Spondon and linked up play well with some useful forward balls, and Will Johnson continued to chase everything down until the final whistle to keep Spondon unsettled.

Right at the death with seconds remaining, Jenson Fletcher cut inside from the left wing to unleash a great effort which found its way in off the post, after meeting the goalkeepers’ fingertips, seconds before the final whistle to seal the victory for the Hurricanes and end a fantastic year of football with 3 points.

Here’s to another excellent year in 2024!

Parents Player – Jobie Edmonds-Jackson. He was end to end all game and made a big impact in the middle of the park to stop the opposition in their tracks. Well done, Jobie.

Coaches Player – the whole team for this one, showed brilliant character as a team to come from behind in what was a very entertaining game. Well done, lads.

Heanor Town Comets U10's vs. Spondon Rovers Planets U10's

It's been a tough couple of weeks with the bad weather, but the comets were looking to get back to winning ways with the weather finally allowing our brilliant young team to play again.

The Comets line-up started with today's Captain, Issac Swindell in goal, HHC, and EM at the back, with Harry Peacey and Theo Henshaw just in front of them in midfield. Olan Brown started on the right and Jack Hobster on the left. That left Blaine Walker, Sonny Jackson, John Rutherford, and George Martin on the bench, all waiting patiently ready for their opportunity to make an impact.

The game started, and the Comets were up for the battle right from the off. Some lovely controlling play in midfield from Harry and Theo and some lovely forward balls being played, which Olan and Jack were running onto. The fast-paced wingers were causing the Planets defence all sorts of problems, but the final ball just wasn't falling quite right.

Up stepped Harry Peacey in the 7th minute of the game, with an absolute wonder of a strike from near the halfway line, which looped in over the Planets keeper’s head.

The defensive due of HHC and EM had a job to do too in keeping the Planets at bay and were doing a fantastic job clearing the lines and finding some brilliant balls forward to our wingers.

It was time for some changes to be made knowing that the comets didn't want to sit on a one goal lead, so on came Blaine and John at the heart of defence and a change to the wingers saw George come on the left and Sonny on the right.

A few moments later, those changes had an impact with some lovely hold-up play in midfield by Harry, who lay the ball off to Theo, who spread the play out wide to Sonny. With some silky skills and dribbling, he wiggled his way through on goal and slotted the ball into the back of the net to double the Comets lead before half time.

The second half began, and the Comets came out, rearing to go again. It was a good job they were because the Planets also came out firing, playing some lovely passes out to their wingers who managed to get a few shots off which was wonderfully kept out by our Captain and shot stopper Issac. Some strong tackles were being made in midfield, and Theo took a little bit of a knock, so a change in formation was needed. The comets now played a 2-1-2-1 formation, and John stepped up front, showing his strength and finding some lovely passes through the Planets defence. Once again, it just wasn't falling right for the Comets, so up stepped Olan with a really fast run down the right-hand side and another wonderful powerful strike took the Planets keeper by surprise and flew into the top corner putting the Comets further ahead.

The Comets were showing a real team performance today, some more wonderful hold up play and some lovely dribbling in midfield saw some brilliant balls being played out to the left and George was tirelessly chasing them down and whipping some excellent crosses into the box and also working really hard to get the ball back when not in possession.

The defensive duo of Blaine and John were very solid with some wonderful tackles, making sure the Planets didn't create many more chances, Jack was back on the pitch despite not feeling too well from illness, and the Comets’ leading scorer was making some excellent runs in behind the Planets defence. Yet again, the ball just wasn't falling right for him in the Planets' box.

The Planets were still offering a threat and some lovely dribbling and passing saw a few more forward balls cleared by the rotating Comets defence of EM, HHC, John, and Blaine who were all solid at the back today. Some more shots were saved by Issac, who also did fantastic in goal today.

The Comets didn't like that the Planets were still offering a threat, so they pushed on for another goal to put the game to bed, which they managed in the 49th minute. Some more brilliant hold up play from Harry found a through-pass to Theo who went on a lovely run from midfield down the left side to then cut it back onto his right foot and unleash a lovely strike which found the back of the net with almost the last kick of the game.

The final whistle blew, and the Comets all celebrated a brilliant win, but more so, an excellent team performance.

Supporters player of the match - Harry Peacey

Managers player of the match - Theo Henshaw

Both of these players controlled the game in midfield today with some wonderful strong tackles, fantastic strong hold-up play, some brilliant forward passes to the wingers, as well as a goal each. Well done, boys.

Thank you to the Comets kit sponsor Matthew Walker from the whole of the Comet family.

Heanor Town Hawks U10's vs. Toton United Falcons U10's

The Hawks not quite themselves.

The hawks faced another new challenge today in the shape of Toton Falcons. After a slow start to the game, the Hawks soon found themselves on the back foot and soon realised they were going to have their work cut out.

The team was trying to play and were putting some nice passes together but were having little joy in front of the goal. Toton pounced with a couple of quick counterattacks and took full control of the game.

The Hawks never gave up and kept trying to play and were unlucky not to get back into the match after some nice teamwork and a few well created chances that we just couldn’t take today.

The Hawks just weren’t quite themselves, and I think the team definitely suffered with the lack of football over the last couple of weeks and looked a little rusty. The slow start left us facing an uphill battle in the second half, but credit to this team, they kept battling and never stopped trying.

Onwards and upwards as ever, up the Hawks

Today's player of the match goes to Isla Brock-Thompson, who was a rock for the Hawks. She always gives her all and didn’t put a foot wrong today, winning all her battles. Well done, gal. You're a star.

Heanor Town Diamonds U12's vs. Bottesford Girls U12's

The Diamonds were finally back in action after three weeks without a game due to the bad weather of late. They faced Bottesford in a second-round cup tie on a rather pleasant December morning.

The Diamonds were almost back to full strength, with only Laya absent from the squad due to illness. Jodie lined up in goal with Kelsey, Aaliya, and Layla across the back. Izzy, Lois, Kath, and Captain Tammy made up the midfield four with Lucy leading the line. Cara and Avah were ready to come off the bench.

It was a slow start from the Diamonds as they struggled to match the early pace set by Bottesford, but they did remain strong at the back to prevent any sort of breakthrough from the visitors.

The Diamonds didn’t really offer anything going forward in the early stages until the midway point of the half when Tammy picked up the ball in midfield, drove through the Bottesford defence and hit a powerful effort that struck the outside of the post.

Bottesford responded within minutes and did have the ball in the back of the Diamonds net, but the flag was up for offside. This seemed to inspire Bottesford as they were pressing high up the field and almost did break the deadlock, but the effort was well saved by Jodie.

Just after the 20-minute mark, the constant press from Bottesford paid off with a well hit effort taking a wicked deflection and finding its way into the back of the Diamonds net.

The Diamonds kept their heads up and responded well with Lucy going close twice but saw her efforts just fly over the crossbar and wide of the post. With the search for the equaliser before the half came to a close, the Diamonds were caught on the break and almost found themselves two behind, but once again, Jodie kept the Diamonds in it with a fantastic stop to keep the deficit to just one going into the break.

The Diamonds were reminded that this was a knockout competition and they needed to respond early but the second half started much like the first and they found themselves under constant pressure from the high line of Bottesford in the first five minutes.

As the half started to open up, a tactical change saw Layla move up front to support Lucy and Tammy drop into right back, and the Diamonds did go close to levelling the tie, but Laylas shot fizzed across the box and didn’t get the final touch it needed to send the ball toward goal. Bottesford piled on the pressure in search of a second goal, but Jodie was up to the task and pulled off a further two fantastic saves.

Midway through the second half, Bottesford did double their lead with a looping effort that evaded Jodie to find the back of the net. The Diamonds were left with it all to do if they were to get anything out of the game.

With just 8 minutes left of the half the Diamonds were encouraged to get forward in search of a goal to give themselves any sort of hope and they did deliver with a real poacher's effort from Layla as she latched onto a loose ball from a well taken corner by Lucy.

With 5 minutes to play, the Diamonds really had their tales up as they searched for an equaliser. And it came in style! Lois received a square ball from Izzy, turning and unleashing a powerful shot that gave the Bottesford keeper no chance as it almost ripped a hole in the net! 2-2!

The half came to a close with a further 20 minutes of extra time to come. The Diamonds felt they now had the momentum to go on and win the game.

A tired opening first half of extra time with the only notable event being a great early save from Jodie as she put herself on the line, but that did come at the expense of an injury, and she had to come off. Captain Tammy stepped up and took the gloves with Cara coming on to replace Jodie.

The half-time in extra time soon came, and both teams were feeling the tiredness, but the Diamonds were still fired up and determined to go into the second half and find a winner.

This determination almost paid off five minutes into the second half with Izzy going close but had to watch her effort just fly wide of the post.

The main event from the half was just before the final whistle, the Diamonds pressed high and were caught on the counterattack. Bottesford broke free with acres of space and looked to put the game to bed, but Tammy pulled off a stunning right-hand diving save to parry the ball onto the post. A match winning save that was cheered by all the Diamonds and parents alike.

The final whistle blew with the score at 2-2. Penalties were to decide the tie. There was no hesitation from the players that were picked to take the spot kicks. Layla, Lucy, Tammy, Kelsey, and Aaliya were the chosen five.

Bottesford were up first, and fortunately for the Diamonds, the penalty sailed just wide of the post.

Layla stepped up but saw her penalty well saved by the Bottesford keeper.

The second Bottesford penalty was well struck but just found its way over the bar. Still all square.

Lucy stepped up for spot kick number two and buried it in the to net to the keepers right. Advantage Diamonds.

Tammy then denied the third Bottesford penalty with a fantastic diving save to her left. She then stepped up herself and hit a well taken penalty that found the bottom left-hand corner.

The fourth Bottesford penalty was well taken, with Tammy not being able to get a hand to it as it found the top corner.

Kelsey stepped up, knowing that if she scored the Diamonds were through to the next round, and she handled that pressure and delivered with a powerful effort that gave the Bottesford keeper no chance. 3-1 penalty win to the Diamonds!

The fighting spirit of the Diamonds was there for all the see. To come back from 0-2 to with just 8 minutes to play and to then have the grit and determination to go and win the game on penalties was absolutely fantastic and each and every one of them should be proud of themselves as much as all the parents and coaches are. Onto the next round!!

Jodie was awarded the parents player of the match for her fantastic display in goal before she had to come off due to injury. Those saves kept the Diamonds in the tie.

The managers player of the match was awarded to Tammy. She was asked to play right back and then goalkeeper and did so with no complaints. Not only that, but she also then pulled off a match winning save, saved a penalty, and scored a penalty! Very well deserved.

The celebrations continued with the players running onto the pitch and enjoying the moment!

Shine bright like a Diamond!

Onto the next round!

With special thanks to Matthew Walker, who proudly sponsor the Diamonds.

From all of us at Heanor Town Football Club, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!