Blackpool and District Youth League match of the week: TM Sports Under-11s v Spirit of Youth Neos

One brand new side and another that feels like a new team provided us with an excellent Blackpool and District Youth Football League match of the week.

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Under-11s teams TM Sports and Spirit of Youth Neos managed to dodge the worst of the weekend weather on Saturday morning and served up a super spectacle at Blackpool Road North.

Home team TM Sports are actually in their third season but wholesale changes over the summer resulted in a new-look side.

There was a change on the sidelines too on Saturday, with CJ Truby standing in as manager for the day as brother Neil had work commitments.

CJ told The Gazette: "A lot of the players have moved on from last season, so basically it's a new team.

"We only had two or three left from last season, but within a couple of weeks we'd got five or six more and we built it up over the summer.

"They didn't have the best of starts but are improving every week, which shows the players are listening to the coaches. It was a really good game against Spirit."

The Neos are a completely new side as manager Kayleigh Molyneux explained: "The team only formed over the summer, so we are still finding our feet. A lot of the children haven't played before, so it's quite a big step.

"We started recruiting and training at the end of last season. We started with four players and now we have 10. The whole club is growing and now we have three under-11s teams."

As Storm Austen made way for Storm Beolo over the weekend, our teams enjoyed a window of calm as CJ explained: "Having the early kick-off helped. The wind didn't pick up until later and the ground was nice and firm."

Kayleigh added: "We were between the storms and conditions were all right. That helped us to continue to improving each week.

"Seeing how the other teams play is helping us too and Saturday was a good game for us."

Kayleigh also runs an under-nines team at Spirit, while CJ is enjoying a quieter year.

He explained: "I've been involved at TM Sports since my brother and his wife set the club up. I have taken a step back this season, so I'll have more time to watch my son play, but I still step in on days we need someone to take a game.

"We started the club with just one team. Now we have four playing at different age groups."

The Spirit player of the match chosen by the parents was Isaac, who never stopped running on a day everything clicked for him.

The captain's armband for the next game was awarded to Daniel, who stepped in to play in goal and worked really hard as an outfield player too.

The TM Sports player of the match went to the whole team for their collective performance and sportsmanship.

CJ said: "They were fantastic as a team on Saturday and that's probably the highest standard they have played at this season."