North Lancs FC under 13s win cup final against Paris Saint-Germain Academy London

North Lancs FC’s under 13s were victorious in their cup final beating PSG Academy London on penalties.

They triumphed in the Junior Premier League Cup final on Saturday, winning on spot-kicks after a 4-4 draw. at the home of Macclesfield FC, the Leasing.com Stadium.

It was Zach Williams who scored the winning penalty for the local side. 

North Lancs FC were formed in 2013, originally under the name ‘NLDDC FC’, and their under 13 team have had huge success and unforgettable experiences in recent months, with this cup victory just adding to it.

The club play their home games at the Mossgate Sports & Community Centre in Heysham. 

The team finished third in their league - the JPL Under 13 League Bracket A - this season and went on a fine run of form from just before Christmas onwards. 

The team are coached by Gary Williams, Paul Squires and Chris Mayne.

The final marked the end of the JPL season.

Last month, Gary Williams and Paul Squires spoke on the Beyond Radio Saturday Sport Show about their team. 

Gary said: “All three of us have been involved in the team for three seasons, all our sons play for the team so that’s how we got involved and the growth of the team in that time has been unreal.

“We have an under 14s, under 13s, under 12s and two under 10s teams who all play in the JPL and an under 9s but the JPL don’t have a league for that age group currently so they’re training ready for next season.

“We have players who have gone from us to academies but also players who’ve gone the other way too, players who’ve dropped out of academies and gone to us.

“You’ve got grassroots and you’ve got elite level and we try and fit ourselves in the middle and bridge that gap.

“We give the kids some great experiences and that’s really rewarding.

“We’ve been to the Etihad Stadium twice and won, been to Manchester United’s training ground three times and made a final one of those times, we’ve been to Everton and Preston too.

“They are experiences that, without their involvement in the JPL, some of the boys maybe never would’ve got.”

Gary and Paul also discussed their cup run, and how they had already been victorious at the Leasing.com stadium in a previous round.

“The first round, funnily enough, was against Macclesfield”, said Gary.

“We’re hoping it’s an omen that we’ve already won on that pitch!

“We beat them 2-1 but the scoreline was tighter than it should’ve been.”

They went on to play and beat Sheffield United Under 14s Girls (girls teams play in many boys-dominated JPL competitions but at a higher age group), Warrington Rylands Under 13s, then faced what was, on paper, their “biggest challenge yet” in the quarter finals.

“We played the Yorkshire Regional Talent Centre - the RTC is where the JPL teams in that area handpick their best players to make up a team, they have all the best stuff, they go to Real Madrid for their pre-season tours, we knew it was going to be a challenge," said Gary.

“It was one of our best performances, running away 7-3 winners, scoring 4 30-yard screamers in the process!”

Paul said: “That took us to the semi final against Rushden and Diamonds at home, a good side.

“We were 1-0 down at half time but we said to the boys, ‘we’re well in this game, carry on, it’s even’, and we ended up 3-1 winners.”

Gary said: “The biggest thing about this cup run is that all the rounds, apart from the semi final, were away so as you can imagine, parents have driven to the moon and back to get to all these venues. 

“The boys did not let that faze them so the final is a short time in comparison to some of the places we’ve been too!”

Going into the game, the team weren’t fazed either by the big reputation that the opposition had.

“There’s no fear at all, we could put anyone in front of the boys and they’d just play their game, it wouldn’t faze them one bit,”, said Gary.

“The big win against the Yorkshire RTC re-instilled that belief, playing a team who’ve gone to Real Madrid and they showed that you’re kicking the same football on the same pitch and it’s the talent that wins you the game.”

Paul said: “It was also that run of form starting around Christmas where they started believing in themselves - we believed in them all along - but ever since the first couple of victories, it’s just built and built and they seem fearless once they get on the pitch.”

North Lancs FC will be holding an end-of-season presentation evening, the date and other details for which will be announced shortly.