Maldon & Tiptree U9 Pumas & Lions

Back to league action tomorrow when we welcome Sporting 77 Pumas to Maldon & Tiptree FC 💙❤

This Saturday we host Danbury & Bicknacre Blues in the first annual match for The Keith Barthorpe Memorial Trophy 🏆

This one hit the squad and everyone associated with the Pumas hard over the summer. Keith was at every training session and match supporting his grandson and all the players. Sometimes he would even arrive before the coaching staff!

Keith was one of the most caring, enthusiastic and knowledgeable people that you could wish to meet. You could easily lose time talking as he was a joy to have a conversation with before and after the game. His love for the Pumas was clear to see and we were all devastated to lose such a wonderful man.

So we came together to think up the best way that we could celebrate Keith and all that he put into the Pumas. Together we decided on dedicating a trophy match to him every year and there is no better way to start than with our good friends at Danbury & Bicknacre. This was the team that we played against in our first match together at U7s.

Thank you to everyone who made the trophy possible and we all look forward to the match on Saturday. Firstly we'll remember a wonderful man and secondly we'll bring the trophy home for him 👊

🏆 Player of the Match 🏆
Our Player of the Match trophy went to our No.7 for Sunday's match vs Dunmow United Hornets. A great battle between two top sides, but the Pumas were excellent and fully deserved their applause at the end! Our No.7 fully deserved the award with 3x assists for our 3x goals. Getting harder and harder to pick a player every week though 😓

✅ 3x Assists
✅ Superb Strength
✅ Combinations

This Sunday we head up to Dunmow for our first and furthest away trip of the season.

Both had a great Matchday 1, so this will be a very competitive game. One that both teams are looking forward to 💙❤🍓

A perfect '5' star start to the season for the Pumas against a tough Notley Youth team. Unfortunately no match highlights or photos for this one.

Despite the very hot weather around midday, the Pumas worked incredibly hard to produce some top team goals alongside some individual brilliance.

Tough fixtures coming up, but the team are inventing and exploring with a smile on their face. What more could you ask for! 💙❤🍓

⭐ Pumas vs Notley Youth ⚽️
A '5' star display for the Pumas in our first league game of the season and it was incredibly hard to pick a Player of the Match. Everyone was absolutely fantastic! However, our No.8 picked up the trophy for this one with his fantastic display in the middle of the park.

✅ Dominated midfield.
✅ Tough tackling and superb shielding.
✅ Trying to play forward.

❤💙🍓 Pumas 🍓❤💙

Our Pumas team finished off pre-season with the tournament yesterday.

Came up against some top teams with and in our group.

Great learning for the players and a different side of the game to experience with the quickness and speed of thought from and Seepl league teams. Great ball played by the Pumas gave our oppo something to think about in return.

Now onto next week and our first game of the season at home to

🥈 South Woodham Ferrers United Tournament Runners-Up 🥈

A great show from the Pumas today. They made their way through a tough group, eventually finishing top and unbeaten. A win in the semi-final sent the Pumas into the final against the hosts. Unfortunately, settling for Runners-Up in the end, but the Pumas played some great football throughout and most importantly achieved as a team. Congratulations to South Woodham Ferrers United on the win. For the Pumas, we now look forward to the new season after officially capping off a fantastic season at U8s. Moving forward together, the Pumas way ❤💙🍓❤💙

❤💙 St Clere's FC Tournament ❤💙
Finished 3rd in tough group of 6 behind the eventual two finalists. Unfortunately missed out on the knockouts, but a great effort against some top teams.
🍓 Well done Pumas 🍓