The U12 side continue to make great progress and having completed their JPL fixture list, are now playing friendlies (mostly 11-a-side) in preparation for their step up to the U13 side next season. A few of the lads were also given the opportunity to play for the U13 side in their JPL league fixture against Middleton.
The U13 side still have JPL league fixtures to complete and have been involved in the JPL Cup this month, losing out over two games against a very strong Birmingham side. They have showed fantastic character and performed very well against Middleton in the final league game of the month.
The U14 side have one JPL league game left to play this season and have been involved in friendlies with Kettering Town, Stourbridge and Mansfield this month. They have continued to transfer their hard work from training sessions to matches and during a challenging game against Stourbridge, they managed to control the game from start to finish.
The U15 side have been also been busy, with two JPL shield games this month. Again it has been a case of the hard work the lads have been putting in, paying off and two solid performances in the JPL Shield have seen them progress through to the final – a fantastic achievement. They will be playing at Lilleshall against Middleton on Saturday 14th May.
The U16 side have also progressed in the JPL Shield and will face Kidderminster on May 7th in the semi-final to have the chance to follow the U15 side and also go to Lilleshall for the final on the 14th May.
All of the development squads have been in action this month, having made a trip to Oxford to play at the OSAA academy. This was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for the boys and OSAA provided excellent hospitality. A trip across Northamptonshire followed as they made the short journey to Corby Town for another set of games which were a brilliant experience for the young Diamonds’ development and gave them an opportunity to put the hard work from training sessions into practice.
Academy fixtures, results and subsequent match reports can be found on the Junior Premier League website here: http://junior-premier.co.uk/Home.aspx. You will also find a link to these pages from the academy section of the AFC R&D website here. You can find the initial academy season preview from last Autumn, along with other academy news here.
