U9 academy lads face Manchester City in a friendly
For the second season in a row our academy U9 team popped along to Manchester to play Manchester City in a pre-season friendly.
Academy coach Ben Benson said: "This has become a bit of a curtain raiser for our new intake of U9s.
"We arrange this fixture every year and it gives both sets of players a good test before the start of the season. We take two squads and play four against Manchester City and they are always very good games to watch.
"The games also give us a chance to introduce a few of our U8 players into the system. It gives them an appreciation of what will be expected next season when they join us on a full time basis."
"We were delighted with how our players conducted themselves both on and off the pitch," he continued. "They played some great stuff and, with only one week of training under their belts, we were really pleased with what we saw.
"The Manchester City staff were very impressed with how we tried to play and gave our group great reviews. That is testament to the work done by the players and the coaching staff. They were so impressed with how we tried to play they have invited us back in the New Year to play at their brand new training facility."
"I would like to thank our players and parents for their commitment for this fixture," he concluded. "They were fantastic ambassadors for the academy and for the football club.
"I would also like to thank Manchester City Football Club for their terrific hospitality."
