Beeston Orange u11s are moving up to 9-a-side after successful promotion-winning seasons at 7-a-side, but they are yet to find their feet in the new format and at a higher level.

On Sunday, they quickly fell behind to Eastwood Whites. The Whites played really well, particularly in the first half, tackling strongly, keeping their width and pushing the ball in behind the Beeston defence.

However, Beeston battled away in the second half and while we didn’t get our passing game going the boys showed determination and were eventually rewarded with a goal from a brilliant free-kick by Will.

Training sessions for the next six weeks will focus on how we play in possession, which will include building possession, progressing up the field and creating scoring chances. We began these sessions last week.

At the same time, we want to encourage them to play with more intensity, in order to match the teams they are now up against.

Promotion brings new challenges and it will be exciting to see the team take this on. Stick at it, boys!