Bradford Green and City Knights Red in Premiership battle
Barton head Sheffield in Championship thriller
Social Eyes sitting pretty in League One
Titans Yellow and Dooley Green neck and neck in League Two
Another hectic day in the South Yorkshire Ability Counts League with four County Cup quarter finals and a League Programme in all four divisions of our open-age 5-a-side competition. The usual huge crowds watched the action and contributed to more huge donations of food and money in support of the Food Bank Drive in support of The Hub Church Bank in Stocksbridge. The SYACL, Stocksbridge Park Steels, Sheffield FC, Penistone Church FC, Handsworth FC and Liberty Speciality Steels, joint supporters of the food drive, would like to thank everyone who contributed to a cause which will make such a difference to disadvantaged families in Sheffield.
Our prolific match reporters watched the action in support of their clubs, filed their reports and editor Margaret Gregory summed up the action for www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com, with the picture gallery already updated on the Website.
On a cold but dry day which finished under the floodlights, the County Cup took centre stage in the first matches of the afternoon at Goals Sheffield. Derek Dooley White from the Premier Division marched into the semi-finals after winning a close encounter with Rawmarsh St. Joseph’s Social Eyes. Dooley’s Claire Cowlishaw told Syacl.com, “Sunday was a successful day for Derek Dooley and saw the Premier White team progress to the semi-finals of the County Cup. The first Cup game was against Social Eyes, and was an even match with both teams having shots saved by the goalkeepers. Jordan Brown was solid in defence and there were some great saves by Craig. Mo passed to Tom on a run up who then passed to Mo who had his shot saved. At half-time it was still goalless, so after a motivating talk by Matt the coach, they came out fighting. Jordan Flowers passed to his brother Luke, and he scored, taking them into the lead. There were some more good saves from Craig to keep them in the lead and then after a run up from Mo they scored a second, sending us through to the semi-finals against City Knights.”
The second quarter-final tie saw an all-Bradford affair between the Diamonds and Greens. Here’s Bradford’s Paul Jubb. “The Diamonds played our own Green team in the County Cup; they gave 100% effort in the 1st half and kept the score to 1-1 Mark scoring, but they tired in the second half to lose 6-1.”
Paul also gave us the Greens’ perspective. “The Greens played our own Diamonds in the County Cup and struggled in the first-half to break down a determined team and kept the score to 1-1. In the 2nd half the Greens showed why they are top of the 5-a-side Premiership with 5 goals and came out comfortable winners 6-1; Charlie 2, Jason 2, Ethan & Lucas scoring.”
City Knights Red won their Cup tie against Sheffield FC Black. Knights Sharon Lavender takes up the story. “Our first match was our Cup Match against Sheffield FC Black and the guys played so well together. Sheffield FC gave us a good game; we were informed we were playing 20 mins with a half-time, however we ended up playing at least 40minutes! I was so proud of them and how they kept their stamina up. Kieron scored our first goal assisted by Chris, then Kieron scored another assisted by Eddie, Sheffield FC scored two, but then Eddie blasted in a goal for us. Final score; we won 3-2.”
Liam Hallett summed up the outcome for Sheffield FC. “Our Premiership team had 3 closely fought games, winning one and losing two; all by the odd-goal. We exited the cup competition with a 3-2 loss against City Knights with two goals from Kyle Johnson.”
In the final tie, City Knights White beat Titans Yellow to complete the semi-final line-up. City Knights White will face Bradford City Green and City Knights Red take on Derek Dooley White; with both games to be played at Goals Doncaster on the 16th January 2022. A big date for your diary!
In the Premiership, Bradford City Green fought out a terrific game with City Knights Red with Sharon Lavender again taking up the story. “We were straight back on, back-to-back matches; the lads were on a high after winning their Cup match, but they were tired and again we were informed it was 20mins with half-time, but no that wasn’t to be! My lads were to endure another 40 mins with a half-time because the referee stopped his watch when there was an injury as he had done in the first game.”
“Bradford scored first; then we got back focused and started scoring back,” Sharon told us. “Kieron scored a solo goal, then he scored another goal with Eddie assisting. Bradford scored so we were drawing, however Mark scored a whopping goal to put us in the lead. We were winning because there was so much team work, and the guys found their strength within, considering they had played over 1 hour continuously – with only a few minutes of half-time.”
Paul Jubb, Bradford Green summed up a thrilling game. “In our first League game we played City Knights and despite having chance after chance we were 3-1 down at half-time. In the second-half 2 great goals from Jason and Ethan got us the 3-3 draw our play deserved.”
“In the final game against Sheffield FC, we lost narrowly 4-3 as their keeper was again unstoppable, and they put all their chances away. Lucas scored 2 beauties and Jason again scored. It was their first defeat and leaves them joint top with City Knights.”
Derek Dooley continued their great form with a win over Sheffield Black, as reported by Claire Cowlishaw. “The next game was against Sheffield Black,” Claire told us. “This was a harder match for the lads, but they battled and worked as a team to come out winners. They took the lead and then went back to 1-1, but with solid defending from Jordan and a good run up by Brandon, who took us into the lead, we won the game 2-1, a good performance by the lads.”
Derek Dooley White Claire continued, “the final game was under the floodlights against the Doncaster Blue team and was another good game. They took the lead first from a power shot from Brandon after many went over the bar. There was solid defending from Jordan and super saves from Craig, but we managed to increase our lead. The game was end-to-end and they got 1 back; Brandon came back on and shot and scored; and then a super shot that sailed in from Tom B saw us come out the winners. So great afternoon for the Whites with a 100% success.”
Liam Hallett summed up the two games for Sheffield FC Black. “Both our League games were closely fought, losing 2-1 in the first League game to Derek Dooley with a goal from Kyle again. In the second League game, an end-to-end game finished 4-3 to Sheffield with goals from Ben, Millie Morgan and Kyle.”
Sharon Lavender gave us her verdict on City Knights Red and their final game with Titans Blue. “The guys had a well-deserved 25mins rest up before playing this match. Titans starting the scoring off to 2-0; then the guys gelled together, dug deep, and found the City Knights football passion and gave a great performance. Mark scored a volley, then not long after Chris got a great goal in the corner of the net; the Titans retaliated and scored; we were losing 3-2, then Kieron smashed it in the net and Chris assisted by Mark won the match for us. The final score was 4-3 to City Knights.”
“We were so proud of the determination and passion and stamina and attitude of our players, and they should be proud of themselves too!”
John Hibbert summed up the afternoon from a Titans Blue perspective. “City Knights versus Titans Blues started well; it was end-to-end and then we started to get control of the game. Connor scored first 1–0. We were dominating the game when Connor scored again; then they scored two goals on the trot. At half-time it was 2-2, but we began to lose focus which allowed them to score again, so they won 3-2.”
Titans Blue then took on Derek Dooley White. “Once the game started, we were in control,” John told us, “Connor scored first then they scored 1-1; they scored again to make it 2-1, then Danny scored to make it 2 -2; they scored again to make it 3-2. Then Connor sent his player the wrong way and scored, but with just a minute to go they scored again – so we lost 4-3.”
So, after six matches, it’s neck and neck between Bradford City Green and City Knights Red, both with thirteen points; Derek Dooley White and Sheffield Black are level on nine points, with Titans Blue fighting to get off the mark.
Latest table
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Bradford City FITC Disability Green | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| 2 | City Knights Red | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| 3 | Derek Dooley Football Academy White | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | Sheffield FC Disability 5-a-side (Black) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| 5 | Club Doncaster Titans FC (Adult) Blue | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -6 | 0 |
In the Championship, it was another great day for Barton Inclusive, with two good wins as Sophie Bartrup explains. “Our first match was against Doncaster Ladies,” Sophie told Syacl.com. “We did not get much time to warm up as there were not any spare pitches to train on before the game, but the lads started on the front foot and soon got into their stride. Matt had taken the captains arm band from the absent William and was commanding in his midfield position, passing the ball around the pitch creating chances for our strikers. It wasn’t long before the pressure told, and Inter Barton scored their first goal when Dan popped up and slotted the ball to the keeper’s right-hand side 1-0. The Doncaster keeper pulled off some great saves to keep the score down, but it was just a matter of time before Barton would score again. It was some great interchange passing between Matt and Joel that created that chance and Matt scored making it 2-0. Matt scored his second and Barton’s third very soon after, making it 3-0. Doncaster then brought an extra player on and made it difficult for the Barton players to control the game; with Doncaster having the extra player they started to move forward a lot more trying to create chances of their own, but the Barton Defence held tight – Scotty and James worked their socks off in both games, working so hard for the team and cutting the opposition down to long shots. Unfortunately, it was a long shot that undid Barton’s tight defence, a good shot from a Doncaster striker, but what should have been a comfortable save for Stu, the keeper took his eye off the ball and it hit his knee as he went down and squirmed into the corner 3-1.”
“As the second-half started Doncaster put us under pressure from the start, again mostly long shots but the Barton defence held tight and worked so hard for each other, and it was a deflected shot that brought the score to 3-2, game on. After that, each side had a number of chances, and the Doncaster keeper made some more great saves to keep the score down. The game finished 3-2 and although the score was very close it was a deserved win for Inter Barton, the squad played brilliantly working hard for each other making space and good movement, James (coach) swapped the team around during the game and everyone put in a great shift. Jacob was switched on as he got a number of chances and played really well, as did Dan scoring the first goal and battling hard to retain possession, Joel as striker worked hard to get free from his marker, Matt was superb as captain and Scotty and James were quality in defence.”
Next up for Barton was another tough win over Bradford City Ladies. “Bradford City Ladies only had four players, so James (coach) opted to play four also, to make it even,” Sophie told us.
“We started with Joel, Matt and James as outfield players; again, Barton started on the front foot and it wasn’t long before we were putting their keeper under pressure, but to her credit she was outstanding in goal. But the relentless pressure eventually told, and Joel scored the first one 1-0. He quickly followed up with another one, 2-0 then James scored after a great run from defence to make it 3-0. James was like a man possessed he was up and down the pitch all half helping his team, he was quality, shortly after, Joel scored his hat-trick after great work involving all the team 4-0.”
“For the second half James (coach) swapped the players; on came Dan, Scotty and Jacob; Barton kept up the pressure once again and after some great saves by the Bradford keeper the hard-working Dan got his much-deserved goal 5-0. Bradford got their second wind after that and put us under a bit of pressure getting plenty of possession and getting a few shots off, but could not get one back. As the game was running down on the clock Jacob popped up and scored a late goal, his hard work paid off 6-0.”
“Well done guys, you really are becoming a quality team, and I think you can only get better,” Sophie added, “I would also like to say a big thank you to James (coach) and Lauryn, also for the great support from the parents who came. You cheered on the lads all through the games. It was brilliant!!!”
Steph Hall summed up the afternoon for Club Doncaster Titans Ladies. “Titans Ladies lost 3-2 to Barton after goals from Nikita and Helen,” Steph told us. “It was a good game played by both teams, but Barton started strongly and pulled ahead with a three-goal lead. The ladies started to create more chances and pulled a goal back with a strike from Nikita. Both teams continued to create chances with our ladies continuing to defend well. The ladies pulled another goal back from a long-range effort from Helen and they continued to create chances and nearly found an equaliser. In the end Barton held on for the win despite a brilliant performance by the ladies.”
Next up for Titans was a huge clash with Bradford Diamonds, where Helen scored twice with two assists from Nikita. “This was another good game played by both teams,” Steph admitted, “the ladies started strongly creating many chances which resulted in them getting the first goal of the game which was scored by Helen and assisted by Nikita. Bradford then pulled one back, but shortly after the ladies replied with another goal scored by Helen who was assisted by Nikita. Bradford found another goal to equalise for the second time in the game. Both teams continued to create chances making it a tense finish to the game. Bradford scored the goal that won them the game. In the end it was another brilliant performance by the Ladies, but Bradford came out on top.”
Paul Jubb gave us Bradford Diamonds take on the afternoon. “In the League they played Sheffield FC in a very close game, but they lost 2-1 although Harvinder scored a great goal.”
“Their last game of the day was against Doncaster Titans Women team where they went down 1-0, then 2-1, but came out 3-2 winners in the end. Harvinder scoring 2 more and Matty scoring the winner. It was a tough afternoon for Bradford Fuchsia, the women’s team,” Paul added. “The Fuchsia ladies team again only had 4 on the day and really struggled, losing to Sheffield FC 4-0 and Barton 6-0.”
Scott Gregory summed up a good day for Sheffield FC. “Sheffield FC’s newly formed 5-a-side championship team continued their good form with another 2 victories, meaning 4 wins on the spin,” Scott was delighted to tell www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com. “Our first game saw a 4-0 win versus Bradford City Women with goals from Blake with two, Charley and Steven.”
“Our second game was an excellent closely-fought game typifying the spirit of the South Yorkshire Ability Counts League. Sheffield came out with a 2-1 victory over Bradford City Diamonds with goals from Charley and Blake. We would like to mention Russell, who again was a rock wall in defence.”
So, six games in and Barton Inclusive lead the way with a one hundred percent record, a six-point advantage over Sheffield FC Purple. It’s a close fight for third between Bradford Diamonds and Bradford Ladies, with Titans Ladies not getting the luck they deserve.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Barton Inclusive Football Club Inter Bar | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 18 |
| 2 | Sheffield FC 5’s (Purple) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| 3 | Bradford City FITC Disability Diamonds | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 7 |
| 4 | Bradford City FITC Disability Women’s | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -2 | 6 |
| 5 | Club Doncaster Titans FC (Adult) Ladies | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | -5 | 1 |
In League One, Derek Dooley Blue started their campaign against City Knights White and saw them take the lead from a super shot from Believe, but this was short lived as they got one past Ryan,” Claire Cowlishaw told us. “The heads weren’t down, and they fought back, but Ryan couldn’t stop the last shot, so their first game was a loss. 2-1. There was some solid defending from Cody and lovely runs from Rueben who played and passed with Adursh up to Believe who hit the crossbar.”
“Their final game was against City Knights,” Claire continued, “they showed their team spirit and Reuben had a shot saved, then they ran down the other way and shot past Ryan, putting us behind. The players gave their all and Rueben had a shot and scored taking it back to a draw. There was some good play in the middle from Adursh and Jordan up to Believe who hit the crossbar. It came off the wall and went past their goalkeeper to bring us back level. This was a good performance from all the team today.”
The last game of the day saw an absolutely wonderful game between Rawmarsh St. Joseph’s and Spartans, with Colin (Rawmarsh) and Mike’s (Spartans) teams in close competition. It was a fantastic match, with Social Eyes winning by 7-6 after an end-to end thriller. Both teams provided fantastic entertainment and great skill.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Rawmarsh St Joseph’s J.F.C. Social Eyes | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
| 2 | City Knights White | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | Derek Dooley Football Academy Blue | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| 4 | Spartans FC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -6 | 0 |
Just three games in League Two due to Covid restrictions, but thankfully a good day for Derek Dooley Green, as Claire Cowlishaw told us. “Our League 2 Green team only had 2 matches today, but they had a good afternoon winning them both and scoring lots of goals, which always makes them smile.”
“The first game was against Doncaster Titans Yellow with 6-a-side to give them all match time. Woody got off to a blistering start and scored 2 in quick succession, he was dribbling round a couple of players and his shot went in. We brought him off for a quick rest and Titans got 1 past Beth after she had saved a few shots. Stephen went up the wing and scored taking us back up in front, then Woody came back on and he passed to Ben who put 1 in and followed by Shaq, with his loud celebration everyone knew he had scored a goal. He came off for a drink and Stephen went in goal and Natalie in defence and Bethany who battled, then the deafening sound of Shaq meant we knew he had scored again. This was evened out when they scored and went from 4-3 to 5-4, 6-5 and then the final shot from Ben gave us the win.”
“The second game was against Bradford Emeralds,” Claire continued. “This saw Woody dribble past, but his shot was saved. Bradford had a shot which went past Bethany, but then down to Woody who was playing like Messi today, scored to bring us level. Ben got the ball on the right and had a shot, which went past the goalkeeper. Natalie needed a rest and came off, but this didn’t stop the team from trying their best, which saw Ben have a super shot which sailed past the goalkeeper 3-1, then Bradford got 1 back so 3-2. The team kept on going and then Shaq had another shot which went in, and I think everyone at Goals knew he had scored again! Each time Bradford came back; and then Woody dribbled past a couple of players to take us back into a 2-goal lead. They all left incredibly happy, and they all did amazingly well today. Well done!”
Paul Jubb summed up the afternoon for Bradford City Emeralds. “The Emeralds lost both their games to Doncaster Titans and Derek Dooley but most of our players scored on the day which meant they went home happy in the end!”
“Titans Yellow won their first match against Bradford City Emeralds as Paul made it 1-0 to Titans; Bradford scored to make it 1-1,” Liam Taylor told www.southyorkshireability countsleague.com. “Paul made it 2-1 to Titans and Barney scored to make it 3-1 to Titans and Bradford made it 3-2; Matt scored to make it 4-2 and Bradford made it 4-3; Matt B scored to make it 5-3 to Titans, then Paul scored to make it 6-3 to Titans. It was a great performance from the lads and a great result for the team and I am proud of them all – well done!”
Titans Yellow then took on Derek Dooley Green, but lost 7-5. “Derek Dooley scored to 1-0 and they made it 2-0 after kick off; Paul scored to make it 2-1; then Titans made it 2-2 from a goal from Paul,” Liam told us. “Derek Dooley scored 3-2 and 4-2; Titans scored with a goal from Barney to make it 4-3; Titans then made it with a goal from Paul to make it 4-4; Derek Dooley scored to make 5-4 and then 6-4; Titans battled back to make it 6-5 with a goal from Barney, but then Derek Dooley scored once more to make it 7-5.”
“Well played everyone today and I am proud of each and every one of you!”
So, two matchdays in and Titans Yellow and Derek Dooley Green have a big lead over Bradford City Emeralds and City Knights White.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Club Doncaster Titans FC (Adult) Yellow | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
| 2 | Derek Dooley Football Academy Green | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
| 3 | Bradford City FITC Disability Emeralds | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -2 | 6 |
| 4 | City Knights White | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Rawmarsh St Joseph’s J.F.C. Social Eyes | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -6 | 0 |
So, the last week of the 5-a-side League for 2021 is in the bag and we look forward to January’s fixtures.
Next week, the 7-a-side League finishes the calendar year at Concord Sports Centre. There will be a last chance to donate food or cash for the Stocksbridge foodbank drive, so please give generously if you can. For latest news and reports on League and Cup action, check out www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com or our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram sites.
South Yorkshire Ability Counts League 