Hornets buzzing but Titans head the Under-16’s table
The Goals venue in Sheffield saw a thrilling Matchday 2 for our South Yorkshire Ability Counts League Under 12’s and Under 16’s, watched by another fantastic crowd of carers and parents. There were nine fixtures in the Under 12’s competition, and five in the Under 16’s Division; and when all the dust had settled, three teams sat within a point of each other at the top of the Under 12’s; and Club Doncaster Titans had eked out some daylight between themselves and a ferocious chasing pack in the Under-16’s.
As always though, these simple statistics are underpinned by a couple of hours of fierce competition, so Website Editor Margaret Gregory and Colin Muncie picked out the best of the match reports from all our clubs for www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com.
In the Under 12’s division, the action started with Sheffield FC taking on Bradford City Claret, with the team from the world’s oldest Football club taking the points.
“The Under 12 Clarets were missing their star player Freddie and lost to Sheffield Reds 4-1,” Bradford’s Paul Jubb told us. “Alex scored his first ever goal for the team. They then lost to our own Wildcats 1-0; the last game of the day was a top of the table clash with the Blues, who came out winners on the day 2-3. The Clarets, though, are only one point behind the leaders.”
Sheffield coaches Chris Morris and Charlie Hicks summed up the win. “Bradford started strongly taking the lead until half time, but Sheffield FCD came back strongly with great team spirit and some individual skill from 4 goal hero Kyle Inkles, which included a 20-yd rocket shot.”
Hillsborough Hornets started the afternoon by winning a thrilling encounter against Bradford Wildcats. “It was a brilliant game from both sides,” Hornets Olivia, Zoe and Sally told www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com. “Hadley scored a brace and got his first 2 goals for the club in a League game and scored the first 2 goals for the Hornets U12 EVER!!! This was an amazing game and gave the Hornets some confidence, Bailey played excellent in defence and Jonathan enjoyed his very first League game, making excellent contributions to the game. Henry was super-fast, and Oliver was amazing in goal. Evan and Mickey had some great touches, and the first match was a vast improvement on their last League experience.”
Club Doncaster Titans got their afternoon off to a tough start against Bradford City Clarets, as Titans’ coach Steph Hall explained. “This was a good game played between the two teams. The Titans played very well and battled hard against a particularly good Bradford Blue team. In the end the better team won.”
Paul Jubb added, “the Under 12’s Blue won their first game against Doncaster Titans, Patrick & Callum scoring 2 goals each.
Game four saw an all-Bradford clash between Clarets and the Wildcats, and Paul summed the day up for SYACL.com. “The Wildcats won all three of their games on the day and played really well, especially Skye who scored four goals in the final game against Club Doncaster Titans.”
Bradford Blues went down to Sheffield Reds before claiming an important win in their last game. “They then lost 2-3 to Sheffield Reds in a close game,” Paul Jubb reported. “ In their last game they won against our own Claret team 3-2, which put them joint top of the league with Sheffield Reds.”
Sheffield’s Chris Morris and Charlie Hicks agreed that it had been a tight battle. “A great early goal from Cameron, who curled in a lovely left footer, with Noah making it 2-0 to Sheffield,” they told us. “Bradford then pulled a goal back before half-time and then went onto valiantly equalise to level up the scores. We lost a couple of players to tiredness and injury in the second-half, but kept on trying with the winner coming from young Kyle just before the final whistle. A brilliant end-to-end and equally matched game against our Bradford friends.”
“Meanwhile, Hillsborough Hornets maintained their thrilling resurgence when they took on Club Doncaster Titans. Olivia, Zoe and Sally take up the story. “It was an excellent game again,” they told www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com; Jonathan scored his first ever goal and Hadley added to the score sheet scoring his 3rd of the day. Doncaster scored a great goal and Oliver was super in the net. The Hornets took the overall win and it was amazing to see the smiles and teamwork from the players. This is a match they’ll remember for a while. The Hornets game has improved so much since their first League matches back in October, it was great to see the confidence and the players putting their training into practice.”
Titan’s Steph Hall agreed that it had been a wonderful game. “A fantastic game played by both teams as they played brilliantly and battled hard. It was an end-to-end game,” Steph noted. Hillsborough went two goals up, but we pulled one back with what will likely be the goal of the season! Jacob R shot from the right side of the halfway line, the ball flew through the air and dipped just under the crossbar into the goal! Our team continued to push for an equaliser, but unfortunately it didn’t come due, to a fantastic performance by Hillsborough’s goalkeeper.”
Next up for Titans was a tough fixture with Bradford Wildcats. “It was a brilliant end-to-end game played by both teams,” Steph, the Under-12’s coach told us. “Some wonderful goals scored by Jacob B, Jacob R and Zach got us into the lead; then a late comeback from Bradford Wildcats gave them the win.”
Hillsborough Hornets finished a memorable day going down narrowly to title-chasing Sheffield Reds, and Olivia, Zoe and Sally were pitch side for SYACL.com. “Hornets played a very good Sheffield FC side in their final match; Oliver made some really great saves and was able to stop even more shots from Sheffield FC going in the back of the net.”
“All the teams played with passion and enthusiasm and supported each other throughout the game,” the girls summarised. “A great day was had by all, and we can’t wait to come back and do it all again in December. #demhornets.
Sheffield’s coaches were delighted with the win. “A great solo goal from Noah made it 1-0 and continued attacking pressure resulted in another goal for Noah, with a first-time effort from a rebound to make the score 2-0.” Chris and Charlie told us. “A second half hat-trick for striker of the day Kyle made it 5-0 backed by a solid defensive display from Henry and Charlie.”
So, after two matchdays and six games each, it couldn’t be tighter at the top of the Under-12’s Division. Bradford Blues and Sheffield Red lead the way with thirteen points apiece, but Bradford Claret are right behind with twelve. Hornets two wins sees them close in on Club Doncaster Titans; and it can’t be long before Bradford City Wildcats get off the mark.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Bradford City FITC Disability U12 Blues | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| 2 | Sheffield FC Youth U13 SFCD U-13s Red | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| 3 | Bradford City FITC Disability U12 Claret | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| 4 | Club Doncaster Titans Ability Counts FC | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| 5 | Hillsborough Hornets Disability FC U12 O | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -2 | 6 |
| 6 | Bradford City FITC Disability U12 Wildca | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -6 | 0 |
In the Under-sixteen’s League, the afternoon got off to the best possible start with a goal fest between Bradford City Amber and Hillsborough Hornets Black, with Hornets edging the win. Olivia, Zoe and Sally commented, “the Hornets started the first half strong with Glodi and Jacob scoring their first League goals for their team. Mackenzie made some amazing saves this half, but couldn’t stop them all. Bradford played well to bring it back level and then overtook the Hornets to make the score 3-2 to Bradford. Luke scored the equaliser with a great shot, Bradford fought hard to score another before half-time meaning the Hornets went into the break trailing by one goal 3-4. Nathan and Jamie again made a great wall in defence and prevented even more goals being scored by Bradford, Alice was great in midfield and made some great tackles.”
“After the break, the Hornets started strong but gave a penalty away which Bradford took well taking the score to 5-3, this is where the Hornets team dug deep. Zach played some great balls in and worked hard retrieving the ball, with great crosses from the corner positions. Jacob came on and went on to score a further three goals giving him a ‘Haul’ finishing the match 6-5 to the Hornets. What a game, the atmosphere was amazing, and all the players were understandably shattered after a very well-played game from both sides. Hornets Goal-Keeper Mackenzie saved fourteen shots in this game! 14!”
Bradford’s Paul Jubb said, “the Under 16’s first game was against Hillsborough Hornets team and they went into a 2-0 lead straight away, but we managed to pull a couple back. Johnathan scored his first hat-trick of his Under 16’s career and was asking for the match ball, Hillsborough were too big and strong in the end and went on to win the game easily.”
Hillsborough Hornets Yellow got off to a fast start against Sheffield FC and never looked back. “Both teams started strong and were playing for their shirts,” Olivia, Zoe and Sally told http://www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com. “Zakir scored the first goal and Coley scored from a free kick taking the score to 2-0 to the Hornets. Both teams had some good shots, and the first-half was played well. Leah was again a machine in defence and Kaitlin was showing off her skills on the pitch. Sam was great in the net and was protected well by his team. In the second-half, Hornets again started well. Alex scored to make it 3-0, Lewis then scored the next three goals getting his first League hat-trick and dedicated his goals to his Nan who he sadly lost last week. At 6-0 Zakir shot and scored the seventh goal giving him a “Brace” in his first League match. Sheffield FC fought hard to keep the Hornets at bay, but Coley and Enrique sealed the game with two late goals. Max made some great tackles and had a couple of attempts on goal.”
From Sheffield’s coach Carl Richardson, there were words of praise for his brave keeper. “A special mention to our goalkeeper Alex who, despite the score line, played and tried brilliantly before having to come off with injury – a credit to his team.”
Club Doncaster Titans got their afternoon underway with a narrow win over Bradford Amber. “First we were just kicking anywhere, then we got control of game,” coach John Hibbert told us. “Danny Hall scored first and the second goal for Danny was assisted by Owen Robson. Then Levi Benson scored; then Owen got a rebound off the wall to score his first goal and they scored an own goal. Then after half-time their coach had a word with them, and they scored; then our lads’ heads went down and they got control of the game, but it ended 5-4 win to Titans.”
For Bradford, it was a tough loss. “The second game was against club Doncaster Titans and again our young team struggled against a stronger and older team,” reported Paul Jubb. “We went 4-1 down after 2 unfortunate own goals, including a rebound off the back board; which allowed us to bring an extra player on to pull it back to 4-3, but Doncaster just stepped up their game and won 5-4 in the end. The star of the day was Daniel who gave his all in both games, but we were proud of all the team on the day.”
The next fixture saw an all-Hornets derby between their Black and Yellow sides, and the Hornets’ girl reporting trio summed up the clash. “The first half started slowly from both sides,” Olivia, Zoe and Sally said, “it was the first time playing each other in a competition and nerves were high. Mackie made two excellent saves in the first half and both teams played well putting into practice their training skills and using the boards to their advantage. The match went into the half-time break at 0-0.”
“A few substitutions were made at half-time and Lewis was first on the score sheet followed by another great save by Mackenzie. The second goal came from Enrique meaning the Yellow’s led 2-0. Lewis scored a further goal giving him five goals scored over two games! Zakir fired a third goal into the net for the Yellow’s bringing his goal tally to three for the day. Hornets’ Black’s fought valiantly, and Luke came through to score a cracking goal just before the end of the game, meaning the Yellow’s won 3-1 in a very evenly matched and well fought game.”
“It’s not easy playing your team mates,” the girls told http://www.southyorkshireabilitycounts league.com, “but both the Yellow and Black teams played superbly throughout.”
The final game of the day saw Club Doncaster Titans take the three points against Sheffield FC. “Danny scored first, Owen scored then Levi scored,” John Hibbert reported. “Danny got an assist from Devon and scored his second in the match. Then Danny got his hat trick, Levi took a free kick and scored. And Sheffield FC got three back on the trot, but the game ended in a 6-3 win to Titans.”
Sheffield’s Carl Richardson was philosophical in defeat, “Doncaster took the lead with 2 goals by half-time despite great goalkeeping from Alex,” Carl told us. “Rudy scored a penalty to bring the score to 2-1, before Doncaster went on to score another 4 goals with a brilliant display. Sheffield didn’t give up with Kaiden scoring 2 great goals late on.”
So, with all five teams having played four matches each, it’s John Hibbert’s Titans who lead the way with that 100% record and twelve points. Hornets Yellow sit second, just three points adrift, with Hornets Black three points further behind on six points. Bradford Amber has that one win, with Sheffield FC Blue keen to get off the mark.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Club Doncaster Titans Ability Counts FC | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 2 | Hillsborough Hornets Disability FC U16 Y | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| 3 | Hillsborough Hornets Disability FC U16 b | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | Bradford City FITC Disability U16 Amber | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -2 | 3 |
| 5 | Sheffield FC Youth U16 SFCD Blue | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 0 |
So, after another thrilling afternoon and fourteen thrilling games, the Under-12’s and Under 16’s will be back in action on 5th December. For safety reasons, however, the matches will take place at Sheffield Goals and not indoor at Pontefract. The action starts at 11.00a.m.
Next week, the focus switches to Concord Sports Centre, when our 7-a-side Leagues will be back in action. In the meantime, thanks to all our guest reporters; and for latest news and reports, visit the website at http://www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com.
And finally, here come the photos: –
South Yorkshire Ability Counts League 