Jason Curtis' Needham Market side one step away from national final ahead of hosting Junior Hoops in Nerf Junior Premier League U15 Cup
Needham Market JPL Under-15s will be flying the flag for Suffolk when they host Lancashire outfit Junior Hoops in the Nerf Junior Premier League U15 Cup semi-finals at Bloomfields tomorrow (11am).
There were joyous scenes at the club’s 3G facility last weekend as Jason Curtis’ side, who are made up from players around the county, held their nerve to come through a penalty shootout 4-1 against Stourbridge.
The Young Reds, whose goals had come from Dylan Sadler (1’), Magic Smalls (30’), Ashton Dozier (50’) and Oliver Fleming (60’), were pegged back on four occasions in a nail-biting quarter-final which ended 4-4.
Curtis has been in charge of the original group from U7s level at Hadleigh United, having a year at Needham Phoenix at U12s before entering the Eastern Junior Alliance at U13s as Needham Market’s side. He also happens to be head of community at Ipswich Town Community Trust.
Asked what it means to have reached the national semi-finals in their first season since the JPL came into the region, he said: “Absolutely gigantic. We are a very good team locally within East Anglia but we haven’t come up against anyone that has worried us too much or been better than us tactically.
“But once you go into a national competition you always wonder how good you actually are when you start to see other teams out there.
“To get to the last four in the whole country is some achievement, a massive achievement and I’m really pleased for them. It is fully deserved as well.”
Needham had held a five-point lead in their East Anglia league when the Covid-19 lockdown came in at the turn of the year. The table was eventually split by top and bottom, without results carried over, to form two mini league competitions.
After finishing second in that, they began their journey in the national cup, winning 5-2 at Lowestoft, 6-3 at home to Coventry City and 2-1 at home to Corby Town before last weekend’s quarter-final.
And now the final, to be held at Gloucester City FC, is tantalisingly close, Curtis is hoping they can extend their season to one more game with another home victory.
“It would be the icing on the cake. It has been frustrating because last year, when we were still in the Eastern Junior Alliance, we were going to win the league and we were in the semi-finals of the county cup. To have both of them pulled away from us as the season was made null and void was tough to take,” he said.
“To then come into this season and have a similar scenario in the league where we looked on to win it before it was restructured, I would forget about all that if we could win this national cup!”
It is free entry to watch the side captained by Connor Lane tomorrow, one of Curtis’ original U7s team members, and the manager is hoping for more strong support.
"The last two games inparticular have been really well attended by Needham Market first-team supporters and board members.
"I have also spotted a few neutrals turning up, alongside the parents, to take a game in which is wonderful to see and with The Hub open I think the club are hoping it can be busy."
Opponents Junior Hoops are attached to Haslingden St Mary FC, whose nickname is Hoops. The side, near Blackburn, play within the Step 7 West Lancashire Football League.
Travelling down on Friday for an overnight stop, Needham Market will be hosting them and their parents to watch the England versus Scotland Euro 2020 match.
In the other U15 Cup semi-final, Oakwood (Sussex) host Henley Lions (Oxfordshire), also taking palce on Saturday morning.
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