A Final Full of Heart – Kestrels Stand Tall Against the Best in Surrey

Yesterday, the Mytchett Athletic Kestrels took on a very strong Nork Park Rangers side in the Surrey Youth Cup Final. Nork Park are widely recognised as one of the top Sunday teams in the county, playing in the Premier Elite division of the Surrey Youth League, and they have several former Sutton United academy players in their squad. From the start, we knew this was going to be a tough game.

The final score of 4–2 to Nork Park doesn’t tell the full story. Our boys gave absolutely everything on the pitch — creating chances, defending with courage, and pulling off some brilliant saves from Henry to keep us in the game at key moments, but I do have to accept that Nork Park were understandably the stronger team. While there were decisions during the game that were extremely disappointing and undoubtedly made things tougher for us, I would like to focus on the performance and character of our team rather than the extremely frustrating officiating.

The boys responded admirably, showing tremendous attitude, work rate, and resilience from start to finish. What stood out most was the togetherness of the squad — in the changing room afterwards, they supported each other with honesty, respect, and pride, demonstrating exactly what makes this team so special. This result doesn’t define us, it only makes us stronger. Reaching a final and competing against one of the best sides in Surrey highlights what this team is capable of, proves we belong at this level, and gives us real belief for the future and the plans ahead.

Now our focus turns back to the league. The boys need to bounce back quickly as we face second place in a top-of-the-table clash. I hope we can all take the learnings from this game and use them to keep improving for the rest of the season. We still have so much more to play for — the league is really in our hands, and the League Cup semi-final is coming up extremely soon. Let’s really push as a team to give the lads some silverware and get exactly what they deserve.

A massive thank you to all the parents, families, and supporters who were there yesterday. Your support makes a huge difference, and I hope you’re as proud of the boys as we are — they gave everything on that pitch. We can all take huge pride in what this team has achieved.

🏆 Player of the Match – Archie

For an superb performance in the middle of midfield. From the first whistle, Archie showed incredible work rate, energy, and determination, consistently putting himself about, trying making things happen all over the pitch.

📅 Next Up

• Training: Thursday @ Ash Manor, 6–7pm
• Next Match: League AWAY vs Eversley & California Aces (details to follow)

Enjoy the rest of your week — recover well — and we go again Thursday!

UTK’s! 🔵🟡⚽️