Durham United U16 Lions

Not a game of football we want to dwell on for too long today! Just super proud of our lads who consistently show us how respectful they are to each other and the opposition. A shame not all teams, players, coaches and parents have our professional conduct. Super proud of the whole team today ❤️

Moving swiftly on to say a huge Happy 16th Birthday to our Lewis for yesterday…and what a way to celebrate, Another great goal. A very well taken header from yet another quality corner from Sam.

Our other goal came from Fin who volleyed home ANOTHER quality Sam corner.

A defeat but we were by far the winners on that pitch today!

Goals;
Lewis ⚽️
Fin ⚽️

PMOTM 🏆 - Lewis. Great goal and battled at centre back throughout.

CMOTM 🏆- Jay. Great defending, effort and work rate.

Onwards and upwards ⚽️

Huge happy 16th birthday to our Oliver Rowden! One of our superstars! Have the best day celebrating you deserve it! Lots of love everyone at Durham Lions 🦁 🎁 🎂

As 2025 draws to a close we reflect on what’s been at times a challenge for the Lions 🦁 there has been ups and downs in our year, the lads are at the difficult age to keep the team together. But they have never given up and that team spirit now shines through. The hard work and dedication of Paul and Sam has without doubt been invaluable. As the lads approach 2026 they face the tough challenge of GCSE’s and their final year in school. Footie will be a big release from the pressure this next year will bring. Most importantly they enjoy the training and the games, they have fun, and that’s what it’s all about! 2026…we are ready! ⚽️

4-3 loss but the tides are turning!

We’ve worked on some specific aspects of our game over the last couple of weeks and the aim today was to put those elements into practice. One of the main things was showing some physicality. We were the stronger team today, we dominated the midfield.

We started well and showed early signs of being back to our old selves. Having just come back from injury, and also making an excellent save, Thomas was injured following a terrible challenge from their forward. I don’t know how the referee hadn’t given the lad at least a yellow. Thomas had to come off, replaced by Noah who did very well.
Against the run of play, East Durham stole a goal. Recently our heads would have dropped but not today. After a quick throw from Finley, Sam shows his quality in the box to set up a tap in from a well positioned Henry. We come in at half time 1-1 but looking the better team.

Easy half time talk, more of the same please. Thomas back in goal and fit to play again.

East Durhams number 9 was the difference in terms of scoreline. He got himself a second putting us 2-1 down.

We keep pushing. An attack from us ended with the ball coming out to Lewis who hit a beautiful strike into the bottom corner. 2-2. We wanted physicality from the lads. Unfortunately this lead to us giving away a penalty. Thomas got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out. 3-2. Their number 9 got another one but we kept fighting! A corner was kept alive by Rhys who found a well positioned lewis for a tap in.

We fought to the very end to get something out of the game which is really pleasing to see. We said we would turn things around and that’s what is happening!

Goals
Lewis ⚽️⚽️
Henry ⚽️

PMOTM 🏆 Lewis. 2 goals from full back is impressive but a very good performance overall as well. Lewis continued to improve and impress each week.

CMOTM 🏆 Rowden. Made such a difference in midfield giving us some bite with his fighting spirit and endless effort. I thought our midfield 3 were very good today (Rowden, Hughie, Sam)

We keep going, we trust the process, we keep looking forward!

As always thanks to our sponsor Smart.

Yesterday we played our cup tie with Humbledon and Plains Farm who are two divisions above us.

A 6-0 defeat although we can’t fault the effort and resilience of the lads. They never gave up until the last whistle.

It was difficult to pick out players of the match, it didn’t feel like a big defeat due to the team spirit and fight and that’s all we can ask when playing against some talented much higher level players.

PMOTM 🏆 Lewis. Excellent midfield performance. Worked hard and linked up well with his team mates.

CMOTM 🏆 Finley worked tirelessly to try and get something out of the game.

The lads can hold their heads up high, brush it off and move on to next week, back to focusing on the league after a really good start to the season.

A big thank you to Jacob for standing in this week and playing in goal. Sad to see Thomas with an injury preventing him from playing for a few weeks. We all wish him a speedy recovery!

Come on the Lions 🦁 we are proud of you!

A difficult week for us losing two players from our team. Both been excellent players for us always giving 100 per cent, that said we didn’t let the news spoil our game yesterday, keeping that fighting spirit, gave our all and got the win. In Harry style he even scored us a goodbye goal. We wish them both the best for the future! Good luck Alfie and Harry! You’ll be missed!
We are now looking to bring two players into our squad if anyone knows someone who may be interested please get in touch 👍

Durham Lions 2–1 Waldridge 🦁⚽️

Another solid performance from the lads as we continue with our philosophy of “making ourselves hard to beat.”

We started strong defensively, sitting back and soaking up Waldridge’s pressure. They were limited to shots from distance, and whenever they broke through, Thomas was there with some top saves 👏

After a spell of pressure, we grew into the game. From a corner, Alejandro battled brilliantly to keep the ball alive and it dropped to Harry, who smashed home a stunning volley from outside the box 💥 1–0!

Half-time message was simple: be more physical, get stuck in, and show that desire to win the ball!

And the boys delivered! Lewis and Jack worked tirelessly in midfield, Alejandro and Oscar were rock-solid at the back, Noah was calm and composed at full-back, and Jacob led the line superbly, holding the ball up and pressing nonstop 💪

Thomas pulled off some unbelievable saves to keep us ahead — we’re so lucky to have such a confident, top-class keeper! 🧤

We doubled the lead when Jacob’s corner was tucked away by Rhys on the half-volley ⚽️ 2–0!

Waldridge pushed hard late on and pulled one back in the final minutes, but the lads stayed composed and saw the game out like pros to secure all three points 👏

Goals:
Harry ⚽️
Rhys ⚽️

PMOTM: 🏆 Thomas — absolutely outstanding. Even the opposition were full of praise after the game. Confidence growing every week!

CMOTM: 🏆 Alejandro — another rock at the back. Gets better every week!

Super proud of the effort, teamwork, and attitude today. Every single lad worked tirelessly — and that’s what won us the game. Let’s keep it going! 🦁

Durham Lions 2–1 Washington Tigers

We have had a really clear and consistent message since our last game: every single player has to work hard! I have no complaints today, with every lad giving it their all. We have the quality — if we work harder than the other team, we win games. It’s that simple.

We started really well, setting the tone with lots of early attacks and shots on goal from Henry, Rhys, and Fin. We looked really positive going forward and stronger than them all over the pitch. A frustrating Washington free kick ended up in the back of the net when we failed to clear it. Other than that, we defended really well throughout. Alfie took responsibility and led the line tremendously.

It felt like we were going to need some quality, with their two big defenders and capable keeper managing to keep us out.

Lewis played a great ball forward from the back and found Henry. Still with a lot to do, Henry turned and stuck the ball away with a brilliant finish.

The game was there for the taking — we just needed to keep working hard and stay switched on.

The second half was more of the same. Rowden pushed into midfield to link up with Hughie. They bossed that midfield and won countless balls. Harry moved forward to cause some chaos with his physical presence against their big lads. Jack worked hard and stuck to his task. Thomas kept us in the game with a great blocking tackle in a one-on-one situation.

As we continued to dominate but not score, it felt like it was going to be another one of those days. Finley came back on after a much-needed rest and looked electric on the left-hand side. Harry and Lewis linked up with some lovely football, Harry found Finley with a great ball, and Finley scored one of the sweetest strikes I’ve seen to win us the game!

Just a great all-around performance. I thought Alejandro and Alfie were a great pairing at the back, while Reed and Oscar were very good in the full-back positions and got forward well.

Goals:
Henry ⚽️
Finley ⚽️

PMOTM:
🏆 Hughie - Just goes from strength to strength. Strong, physical, good in the air, wins the ball, picks out a pass, and reads the game well. A complete midfielder who consistently has an excellent game.

CMOTM:
🏆 Lewis - Had a hand in both of the goals. Handled himself with class and looked creative in midfield towards the end of the game.

A lovely three points, well earned through hard work and quality. Absolutely buzzing!

Huge happy 16th birthday to our Jack! Have the best day you deserve it!

Big 16th birthday wishes to our Alfie today! Hope you have a great day, another one of our superstars! Always gives 💯 per cent ⚽️

Huge happy 16th birthday to our Jay! Hope you have a great day, you deserve it!

Two totally different Halves of football from the boys today.

Leon 2-0 Durham united Lions

We tried something different with 5 at the back to get over our slow starts. It worked really well with Harry dropping into the middle and bolstering the defence. We frustrated Leon who couldn’t break us down with Thomas quick off his line to sweep anything up that got through.
We created a few good chances but couldn’t convert. Leon looked a decent team but we kept them quiet.

We started the second half with the same set up, but with a desire to go out and win it, we changed the formation and Leon were able to unlock our defence as a decent shot found the back of the net.
From this point on we dropped our heads. Effort levels depleted and we lost composure. There was just no desire to get back into the game. A second Leon goal sealed it.

PMOTM 🏆 Thomas. Can’t fault him today. Nothing he could do about both goals. Some excellent saves, brave and quick off his line.

CMOTM 🏆 Hughie. We were a better team with Hughie on the pitch. Read the game well, won the ball back and looking good in the air. So close to scoring.

I think we need to reiterate that team spirit that’s needed at all times, whether we win, lose or draw. We need more positive talking throughout the game, something we don’t do enough of. We can do this lads, we need more focus and passion no matter what the game looks like.

Onto the next…no game for us next week but lots to work on in training.