The fund raising for our Easter 2023 Holland tour started some 8 months before at the club awards day and with a very successful John Nelson Cheese & Wine evening as well we’d managed to cover the costs for the kids, buy them all a full tracksuit, training and change kit as well as a few extras in Center Parcs….which seemed to be consist of a mountain of bread rolls, cheese, yoghurt and ham!

Our squad of 10 and their parents along with coaches Stephen Johnson and Rob Shalliker met at the Grapes with the tour flag early on Good Friday to travel to Manchester Airport. Due to Rynair being Ryanair and cancelling the outbound flight to Eindhoven, we had to fly in to Amsterdam then travel to our Center Parcs base near Eindhoven by coach….cue countless questions of “are we there yet…mainly from the adults!

The luck of the draw meant we had an early start on Saturday for the qualifying day of the Easter Open South so it was early nights all round (honest) to be fresh for the first game at 9.35. Our group had another English team, along with one each from Holland and Denmark. It was a misty start to the day and the fantastic facilities and organisation made the team even more excited to get going.

First up was Aston Villa’s shadow Academy squad so a nice easy game to get going! It really was a tight affair but credit to the lads who worked so hard to come away with a 1-0 win in a game in which every player could be proud of how they played against a technically excellent and organised side. It really set the tone for the tournament in terms of team spirit and togetherness.

Time for a quick debrief and prep for the second game against SV Nootdorp from Holland…a team who were perhaps more physical then we’d expected but again the Yellows ran out winners with the 2-0 scoreline not reflecting our dominance.

Last up, and now in glorious sunshine was Stensballe IK from Denmark with us knowing that a win would take us through to the top tier games the following day. In a one-sided affair we won 9-0 – not bad for a 20 minute game!

Winning the group meant we had a later start on Sunday so after some food and drink in the club house we made our way back to Center Parcs (via a supermarket for some refreshments) and spent the afternoon enjoying the pool, having a kick about and just hanging out. Safe to say, the lads had a blast!

Sunday’s games were at a different, bigger venue. We even had the luxury of our own changing room with the lads taking turns to choose the dressing room tunes as they got their game faces on.

First challenge was Toolroom Academy from Essex and like the first game on Saturday it was a tight game, ending 0-0 with us having a goal controversially ruled out for an imaginary foul. Again the lads played really well and didn’t rise to the theatrics of their opponents.

If we thought playing Aston Villa’s shadow team was a test then the second game versus pro cub RSC Anderlecht surely going to be a step up again. We raced in to a 2 goal lead and seemed comfortable until 3 players who seemed a little overage came from another Anderlecht team to help out. We later found out that they were U14s & U15s. Given the physical advantage we conceded 2 goals and were holding on – at one point we had 3 players down injured by the same player (one had been punched in the head!) who had rampaged through us with little regard to the ball! We held out until the last kick of the game and conceded from a corner to lose 3-2. We did challenge the organisers but to no avail and we went in to the last game against needing to win 5-0 to make the final.

Dutch team Dosko ’32 stood in our way and we couldn’t fault the team at all as we won 3-0, hit the bar twice with some other near misses but it just wasn’t to be.

All’s that was left was to relax in the sun, have a burger and a drink or two and see just who was the best at the crossbar challenge! Then it was back to Center Parcs for the evening….

Footballwise we’d lost one game all weekend (and that was in the last minute), only conceded in one game, drawn with the ultimate winners and gone toe to toe with some excellent teams. Overall, we’d finished third and we’d have taken that on Saturday morning!

But more than that, the lads had represented this great club of ours immaculately. They conducted themselves on and off the pitch perfectly - respecting their opponents, officials and hosts. When the organisers go out of their way to praise not only their behaviour but the style of play and attitude you know you’ve got a special group of kids.

Memories were made (and not only for the kids!) and yes, they were disappointed for a few minutes when we didn’t make the final, but when they look back in years to come they’ll remember being away with their mates on a footy tour, the camaraderie and all the laughs.

Finally, massive thanks to everyone who made this trip such a success – the burger flippers, face painters, cheese platter preparers and anyone who donated auction and raffle prizes – and to the coaches for all the organisation and admin!