Lilly Street Lions FC

12/09/2026

🦁⚽ MATCH REVIEW – STAVELEY ⚽🦁

A real mixed bag today, but plenty to take from it.

A fantastic debut from Kian, and although the boys started a little slowly, they grew into the game and showed plenty of character, resilience and determination. Most importantly, they never gave up, never backed down and enjoyed their football.

We know we stepped off it a little compared with recent weeks, so we’ll take that away, work on our pre-match preparation and look to sharpen things up at training.

🏆 Parents’ Player: Kian
🏆 Coaches’ Player: Junior
🦁 Captain next week: Leopold

⚽ Goalscorers:
Kian x1
Logan x1
Junior x2

Plenty to be proud of, plenty to learn from, and now we look forward to training and the next game.

PLAY • LEARN • GROW • ENJOY

🦁 YOUR SUPPORT. THEIR FUTURE. OUR PRIDE.

10/09/2026

⚽🦁 GAME 2 — THE SEASON FINALLY STARTS! 🦁⚽

Following the cancellation of our first game, the boys finally get the chance to kick off their season in Game 2 as we take on Staveley Miners Welfare this Saturday.

It’s been a frustrating wait, but the lads are ready to get out on the pitch, enjoy their football and start putting all their hard work into practice.

📅 Saturday 12th September 2026
📍 The Arc, High Street, Clowne, Chesterfield, S43 4JY
⏰ Kick-Off: 09:20

As always, the focus is simple — work hard for each other, be brave on the ball, keep learning and most importantly enjoy the game.

PLAY • LEARN • GROW • ENJOY

Come on Lions! 🦁❤️🖤

YOUR SUPPORT. THEIR FUTURE. OUR PRIDE.

10/09/2026

Firstly how good does that van look!

Secondly please back a business who supports our boys. Sticky Pebbles backed us from the very first conversation, they have helped provide vital sponsorship to secure our home shirts!

Go ahead, give them a call to get a free, no obligation quote.

Delivering quality every single day here at Sticky Pebbles.

Contact us to get a free, no obligation quotation!

09/09/2026

🟡⚽ SUPPORT OUR YOUNG REFEREES ⚽🟡

This season, if you see a referee wearing a yellow armband, it means they are under 18.

That young referee has had the courage to step into the middle, make decisions and help the game take place. Just like our players, they are still learning — and they deserve patience, encouragement and protection.

At Lilly Street Lions FC, we want to be absolutely clear:

* We support, not criticise
* We respect all referees
* If you disagree with something, speak with the coaching team
* Abuse towards referees will not be tolerated

Refereeing takes bravery, especially for young people under pressure from the sidelines. The way adults behave around the pitch can have a huge impact on whether they continue in the game.

Please help us create the right environment:
Be patient. Encourage them. Protect them. Let them learn.

🦁 YOUR SUPPORT. THEIR FUTURE. OUR PRIDE.

08/09/2026

🦁⚽ INTRODUCING LILLY STREET LIONS CUBS CREW! ⚽🦁

We’re excited to be launching our brand-new Cubs Crew in January 2027, giving boys and girls in Reception and Year 1 the chance to start their football journey in a fun, positive and supportive environment.

Our Cubs Crew will focus on helping children build confidence, enjoy being active, learn the basics of football and most importantly — have fun!

📅 Launching January 2027
📍 Venue TBC
👦👧 Reception & Year 1 children welcome
⚽ Boys and girls welcome

The aim is for children progressing through Cubs Crew to move forward into our Under-7s team for the 2027/28 season, giving them a clear pathway into grassroots football.

We’re also looking for COACHES to help us deliver the programme. Experience is desirable but not essential — if you’re enthusiastic, reliable and passionate about helping young children enjoy football, we’d love to hear from you.

📩 Register your child’s interest today
📩 Interested in coaching? Get in touch

PLAY • LEARN • GROW • ENJOY

🦁 YOUR SUPPORT. THEIR FUTURE. OUR PRIDE.

07/09/2026

05/09/2026

⚽️ GAME CANCELLED ⚽️

Unfortunately, today’s fixture has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control.

We’re obviously disappointed, especially as Lilly Street Lions FC were ready and prepared to play. We do want to make it clear that the cancellation is not due to Lilly Street Lions FC.

The boys won’t miss out completely though — we’ll still get them together for a small training session so they can enjoy some football and keep developing.

We’ll regroup, keep working and look ahead to the next one. 🦁⚽️

PLAY • LEARN • GROW • ENJOY
YOUR SUPPORT. THEIR FUTURE. OUR PRIDE.

02/09/2026

⚽🦁 IT ALL STARTS HERE — OUR FIRST EVER LEAGUE GAME! 🦁⚽

This Saturday marks another huge moment in the Lilly Street Lions FC journey as our U8s play their first ever competitive fixture at the start of our first season, taking on Palmer School Of Excellence U8 White in the North Derbyshire Youth Football League.

📅 Saturday 5th September 2026
⏰ Kick-off: 09:30
📍 The Arc, High Street, Clowne, Chesterfield, S43 4JY

We go into this one with just five boys available, with a few of the squad away on last-minute holidays before it’s back to school, so we know it’s going to be a tough test.

But for us, this first game isn’t about the scoreline.

We want the boys to take in the environment, enjoy the experience and produce a committed performance for one another. Work hard. Help your teammates. Be brave enough to make decisions. Keep going when things are difficult.

Most importantly, we want every one of them playing with a smile on their face and walking off the pitch afterwards feeling happy and proud of themselves.

That’s what this club is about.

❤️ PLAY.
⚽ LEARN.
🦁 GROW.
😁 ENJOY.

The first chapter of our league journey starts Saturday.

COME ON LIONS!! 🦁🔴⚫

01/09/2026

🦁 LILLY STREET LIONS FC

⚽ SEPTEMBER COACHES CHALLENGE ⚽

🎯 THE CHALLENGE

Complete:

100 BALL ROLLS
100 FOUNDATIONS
(moving the ball quickly from one foot to the other)

🏠 PRACTISE AT HOME

Work on:

⚽ Right-foot ball rolls
⚽ Left-foot ball rolls
⚽ Inside touches
⚽ Outside touches

🏆 BONUS CHALLENGE

Can you complete the challenge without looking down at the ball?

Keep your head up, stay balanced and try to feel where the ball is using your feet.

🎯 SEPTEMBER FOCUS

⚽ Ball familiarity
⚽ Close control
⚽ Using both feet
⚽ Confidence on the ball

The more comfortable we become with the football at our feet, the easier it becomes to make decisions when we play.

PLAY • LEARN • GROW • ENJOY 🦁

29/08/2026

What a way to finish pre-season ❤️🖤🦁

Today was probably the toughest test the boys have had so far, but also one of the most valuable.

They had three completely new challenges to deal with all at once:

🌧️ Playing in the rain
🏟️ Playing in a stadium environment
⚽ Playing on Astroturf for the very first time

For the first 15 minutes, we simply didn’t look like ourselves. It was clear the boys were put off by the pitch, the surroundings and how differently the ball moved on the surface.

We spoke to them, reminded them that the scoreline didn’t matter, and asked them to focus on one thing — working hard for each other.

From that point onwards, the response was much better.

The boys kept going, supported one another, battled for each other and played some really good football at times against a very good, well-drilled Ilkeston Town Robins side.

These are the experiences that help young players grow. Not every game will be comfortable, not every performance will be perfect, but what matters is how we learn from it and move forward together.

⚽ Goal scorers
Logan x2
Junior x5
Alex x1

🏆 Parents’ Player of the Match — Alex
🏆 Coaches’ Player of the Match — World Class Defender
©️ Captain for next week — Waitesy

And with that, pre-season is complete.

The boys have worked incredibly hard over the last few weeks, they’ve developed, they’ve bonded and they’ve experienced plenty along the way.

Now the real journey begins.

❤️🖤 Our first league game is next Saturday.

Whatever happens this season, we’ll keep doing things our way:

PLAY. LEARN. GROW. ENJOY.

Proud of the boys.
Proud of the effort.
Proud of the attitude.

Bring on the season! 🦁❤️🖤⚽