Hucknall Warriors under 16 Reds recorded their third home win on the trot and climbed to second in the table in the Notts Youth League second division against Keyworth United Green. From the kick off Warriors were dangerous and Luke Atter took on and beat a couple of players, testing the visiting goal keeper with an early shot on goal.  Despite an early scare when James Derry was required to head the ball out for a corner Warriors looked comfortable in defence. The first goal came on the fourteenth minute when some ‘Barcelona’ inspired  passing saw Liam Burley in The Warriors half pass to Andreas Kokkinou whose pin point pass to Charlie Miller on the right  resulted in a perfect cross that was met by Paice Lees who was perfectly positioned to head the ball past  the keeper. At this stage of the game the home team were controlling mid field and playing some excellent passing football making full use of  the width of the pitch. Warriors took a 2-0 lead on the twenty fifth minute when  Atter put in another excellent cross which was headed over the line by Burley at the far post. Defender Josh Kitchen then delivered a rocket of a shot from inside his own half that found the target but was unable to beat the Keyworth goal keeper.

Keyworth came out fighting second half and soon pulled a quick goal back to peg Warriors back to 2-1. The first thirty minutes of the second half belonged to Keyworth as they pressured the Warriors goal and goal keeper Luke Cook had to make an outstanding save, pushing the ball out for a corner which when taken needed Derry to clear to safety. Only resolute defending from Sam Stewart, Lewis Nixon and Kitchen kept Warriors in control at a point in the game when it seemed certain that Keyworth would score next.  Kokkinou had a shot blocked for Warriors and they perhaps should have added a third when Nyran Wright was unable to connect with Tyler Staffords long throw into the box. Warriors did get the crucial third goal on seventy minutes  when Millers free kick was collected by Kokkinou whose shot was blocked but Lees was positioned on the far post to fire the ball over the line.  This seemed to settle the nerves and minutes later man of the match Lees grabbed his third goal and hat trick when he took on the goal keeper and beat him. Miller came close with a cross that just missed the near post before Keyworth conceded a harsh penalty when Wright was adjudged to have been brought down in the area. Regan Scott stepped up to take the kick and confidently slotted it past the goal keeper to leave a final score of 5-1 to Warriors.

Notts FA shield - Saturday under 10's round 2- Hucknall Warriors v Lowdham Colts

Hucknall Warriors got their 1st win of the season, after an excellent
display of flowing football,Warriors soon took control of this cup tie
and took an early lead after an excellent finish by Curtis Rigley,
Warriors then began to dominate the game and it wasn't long before man
of the match Joe Gillan doubled the lead with a fine effort and who
went on to have his best performance of the season in a warriors shirt,
Lowdham managed to stay in the game after some fine saves and brave
defending and saw the first half end 2-0 to Warriors.

Once again straight from the whistle Warriors again took control of the game and
continued to take the game to Lowdham. Warriors were never troubled by
Lowdhams attack due to a fine defensive display by captain Regan Evans
and this led to a third goal scored by Connor Smith who powered home a
low shot into the bottom corner of the Lowdham net to seal this cup tie.
A brilliant all round performance by the much improving Warriors side
and an excellent game of football with a never give up attitude by a
hard battling Lowdham side.

Hucknall Warriors under 16 Reds achieved back to back wins with a slender victory over Heanor Boys in the second division of the Notts Youth league. Against tough opposition Warriors were soon on the back foot as Heanor had the  majority of the early possession forcing an early corner that was cleared to safety.  After weathering the early storm  Warriors began to compose themselves and begin to threaten the visiting goal.  Excellent play  on the left wing saw Regan Scott produce a cross that deserved to result in an opener for the home team however  Luke Cook  was the first goal keeper called upon to make an cracking save  from Heanors number nine on ten minutes. Scott then again worked hard to provide a corner opportunity for Charlie Miller who tested the visiting keeper producing a confident save. Just as it seemed that Warriors were getting on top Heanors’ Callum Middleton- Jones out muscled two Warriors defenders to slot the ball past Cook into the net. Warriors  were nearly two goals down soon after but Tyler Stafford chested the ball off the line to safety. As the half progressed Warriors upped their game and following several goal mouth scrambles got on level terms on twenty six minutes when a Stafford long throw was met by the head of Andreas Kokkinou who nodded over the line from short range. Thirteen minutes later Warriors found themselves ahead as Liam Burleys goal bound shot  from inside the area was too powerful for the visiting keeper  to hold and he could only parry it into the path of Kokkinou who made no mistake  for his second of the game.  Despite further pressure from both teams 2-1 at half time to Warriors.

The second half continued in the same vein as both teams continue to pressure in an evenly matched game. Alex Galloway found space on the right wing and his inch perfect cross found Paice Lees coming in from the left wing but his first shot was saved  with the rebound being pushed out for a corner. Despite some tenacious defending from all the Warriors back four Heanor were back on level terms in the fifty second minute when a cross come shot  from the right looped over the home sides heads and into the goal. Cook then prevented the visitors from regaining the lead with a smart stop at the near post before Warriors sealed all three points in the final five minutes of the game. A Stafford long throw was glanced into the back of the net at the far post by Kokkinou for a superb hat trick. An excellent game with Defender Josh Kitchen earning the man of the match award for some outstanding defending.

Hucknall Warriors under 16 Reds bounced back from a disappointing performance last weekend to beat table toppers West Bridgford Pumas in the Notts Youth League second division. An excellent game saw both sides play some attractive football yet the game yielded few clear cut chances as both teams nullified each others threat. Warriors started off on the front foot when a James Derry free kick was cut back across the box by Liam Burley but Nyran Wright was unable to beat the goalkeeper from short range. Andreas Kokkinou was then inches away from opening Warriors account as his free kick skimmed past the post. Lewis Nixon once again impressed with some crucial defending that saw him on more than one occasion make excellent interventions on the edge of the box and the central defensive partnership of Sam Stewart and Derry snuffed out the threat from Pumas leading scorer. Warriors midfield of Josh Kitchen , Kokkinou, Regan Scott and Alex Galloway looked comfortable on the ball and were often first to the ball in a much midfield improved display . Burley seemed to have opened the scoring for the home side but his looping header just skimmed the bar landing on the roof of the net and moments later Derrys’ header from a corner cruelly rebounded off the bar to safety. Warriors had played some cracking first half football despite being unable to beat the visiting goal keeper but were nearly undone on the stroke of half time but  Luke Cook  made a crucial block as a Pumas striker bore down on the Warriors goal after evading the off side trap to give a half time score line of 0-0.

A tense second half  saw little goal mouth action until Kokkinou broke the deadlock as he found space just outside the box and his resultant low shot beat the keeper just inside his post. Tyler Stafford , now on right wing,  was making some telling runs and crosses into the box as was Luke Atter on the left side of the field. Man  of the match Kokkinou who had helped Warriors  boss the midfield second half  then doubled the lead  with less than ten minutes left as he cleverly cut in from the right hand side of the penalty box and scored his second of the game. Charlie Miller then made the result certain with a short range header from a pin point cross from Galloway.  Several Warriors supporters said that this was the performance of the season so far against a Pumas side that will surely finish in the top three.

Hucknall Warriors under 16 Reds were back in action against Pelican Colts  in this Notts Youth League division 2 game after a three week lay off. The rustiness showed as Warriors got off to a sluggish start. Pelican took the lead after only ten minutes when a powerful shot from well outside the area rattled in the roof of the net leaving goal keeper Luke Cook with no chance. Pelican continued to pressurise the Warriors goal and forced a couple of corners in quick succession. Despite the home teams pressure Warriors had several chances to get on the score sheet in the first half as Regan Scott just fired over the bar from a free kick and James Derry had a shot tipped over for a corner.  Man of the match Lewis Nixon had an excellent first half as he defended with total commitment to help ensure the scoreline remained  only 1-0 to the home team at half time.

Warriors opened the second half brighter with some better passing and had the best opening moment of the second half as Charlie Millers pass from midfield was collected by Nyran Wright whose close range attempt went into the side netting.  The Warriors goal was then put under pressure and goal keeper Cook was called upon to make a finger tip save, the resultant corner producing a strike that hit the bar and rebounded to safety . With fifty minutes on the clock a  cross from the right eluded the Warriors back line ending up in the back of the net to double the home teams advantage and minutes later a Pelican player was left unmarked in the box and made no mistake to secure a third crucial goal.  With only eighteen minutes left of the second half Warriors grabbed a lifeline when Nyran Wright lofted his shot over the keeper  to reduce the deficit .  Warriors at this point the game were beginning to pass more assuredly and the introduction of Tyler Stafford on the left wing saw more balls coming into the box.The visitors then threw caution to the wind  and replaced a defender with a more attacking player as they sensed that a point could be saved. Alex Galloway, Miller and Scott all came close to getting a second for Warriors before Andreas Kokkinous’ shot was parried away by the keeper and Liam Burley was best placed to slot the ball into the back of the net. A  frantic final few minutes saw Warriors in the ascendancy as they pushed for an equaliser but time was not on their side and the game finished 3-2 to the home team.