Under-16’s glory for Club Doncaster Titans
Sheffield FC Reds take the honours in the Under-12’s League
The final matchday of the season for the Under-16’s and Under 12’s at Sheffield Goals Centre; and when the final whistles blew across the venue it was glory for Club Doncaster Titans in the Under16’s competition, and for Sheffield FC Red in the Under12’s. Both trophies were presented at the end of the afternoon, and match day photographs are available on a new page titled 2021/2022 medal presentation photos on the website .
As always, however the bare headlines tell only a small part of the story, so our www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com website editor Margaret Gregory picks out the best of the action from a thrilling afternoon.
In the Under16’s League, the first match saw League leaders Club Doncaster Titans win a thrilling clash with Sheffield FC Blue. Titans coach John Hibbert takes up the story, “in the first game we started strong with James getting the first three goals then Levi scored assisted by James. Half-time came and the team shape was changed; they scored to make it 4 -1 then James scored again making it 5 -1. James came off to even it up a little, and they scored again, 5 – 2.”
“Danny scored to make it 6 – 2, then they got another back, 6 – 3.” John added. ”Danny scored another making it 7 – 3, then I took Danny off leaving me with 4 against 7 – so we just stood firm; and the game ended Titans 7 – 3 Sheffield FC.”
In the second fixture, a depleted Bradford City Amber shared the points with Hillsborough Hornets Black. “Bradford City DFC Under 16’s Ambers started with just 4 players against Hillsborough Hornets, as a few players arrived late,” coach Paul Jubb explained. “In the 1st half they went went down 3 – 0 however, once the other players arrived, they managed to pull it back to 3 – 3, thanks to goals from Daniel (2) and one from Jonathan to earn a well-deserved draw.”
Hornets Alex Whitehead agreed that it had been a splendid watch. “It was a great game for the neutral,” Alex told www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com “Hornets started strong taking a 3 – 0 lead, with two goals from Jacob and 1 from Zakir, but Bradford rallied very well in the second period to earn a well-deserved draw.
Next, Sheffield Blue took the three points in their game with Hornets Yellow. Hornets Alex Whitehead was pitch side and reported. “After another bright start from the Hornets, we took the lead through Zakir,” Alex said. “In training, though we’re going to have to work on game management. Sam our goalkeeper, kept us in the game with a number of high-class saves. It was a great performance from Sheffield FC Blue to come out on top.”
Next up, Club Doncaster Titans continued their march to the title with a victory over Bradford City Amber. Titans’ John Hibbert admitted that his team had started on the back foot. “In our second game, they seemed to be the stronger team,” John said, “then we got a penalty which Ben took and scored to make it 2 – 0. They scored making it 2 – 1 and then Devon finished with goal in the top corner, and we won 3 – 1.”
“Well done everybody who took part today,” John said, “and, to our goalkeepers, well done guys for only conceded two goals each. I’m proud of everyone today.”
Bradford’s Paul Jubb was typically gracious in defeat. “In their second game the Ambers lost 3-1 to Club Doncaster Titans who won the League, winning every game; but once again our young team played well, Daniel again scoring our goal. Esea was the star player on the day,” Paul told us.
“Well-done to Bradford City DFC Ambers Under 16’s who came 4th in their League with a young team.”
The Under16 season was completed by a local derby between Hillsborough Hornets Yellow and Black teams, and Alex Whitehead admitted that it had been a tough match to watch. “It was a game where it was hard to manage, because whoever won would be finishing second,” Alex told SYACL.com. “Yellows started very well again, taking a quick lead and team Black just never recovered. Scorers were Coley, Zakir, Lewis, Zach and Jacob.”
Alex was rightly delighted with the progress his young team had made. “Overall, it was a fantastic day for us, with the team only being 18 months old,” he said. “Walking away finishing 2nd and 3rd in the Under 16’s is a big achievement when we’d been written off by many.”
So, with all teams having played 8 fixtures across four thrilling matchdays, Titans are clear winners of the League with a one hundred per cent record. As we have just seen, Hornets Yellow edged Hornets Black for second after that win in the last game, and Bradford Amber and Sheffield Blue boasted two wins in good seasons for both clubs.
So, congratulations to Hornets Yellow as runners-up, and to our Under-16’s champions, Club Doncaster Titans.
Here’s the final table;
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Club Doncaster Titans Ability Counts FC | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 24 |
| 2 | Hillsborough Hornets Disability FC U16 Y | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 |
| 3 | Hillsborough Hornets Disability FC U16 b | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -1 | 10 |
| 4 | Bradford City FITC Disability U16 Amber | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -3 | 7 |
| 5 | Sheffield FC Youth U16 SFCD Blue | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | -4 | 6 |
So, to the final matchday in the Under-12’s division, and the last nine games of a hectic season.
In the 10.30 kick off, there was a win for Club Doncaster Titans over Bradford City Blue, watched by Doncaster coach Steph Hall.
“It was a good game played by both sides,” Steph reported, “the game was dominated by a good Bradford side who had lots of chances to score. CDT had very few chances, but took them when they came. The goal came after Jacob passed to Andrew in the box who then dribbled the ball and scored. The score was kept down by a good goalkeeping performance from Joseph and by excellent defending from the whole team.”
“The two teams did battle again almost immediately after, and this time the points were shared.”
“It was another good game played by both teams” Steph reported, “this was a more open game than the previous one, but again it was dominated by Bradford having more chances to score. There were goals scored by both teams. Jacob B got a hat-trick for CDT! Once again there was a good goalkeeping performance this time by Andrew and good defending from the whole team to keep us in the game.”
Taking nothing away from Titans, it had been a difficult afternoon for Bradford City Blue. “The Bradford City DFC Under 12’s Blues had only two players on the day, due to Covid. Even their coach Sara was unable to attend. They borrowed players mainly from the Wildcats, so lose all the points on the day,” coach Paul Jubb told us.
“In the 1st game they lost to Club Doncaster Titans 1 – 2 Fabian scoring; they then played them again and drew 3 – 3, with Fabian scoring a hat trick.”
Bradford Wildcats opened their afternoon with a narrow loss to Hillsborough Hornets. “The Wildcats, whose players had helped the Blues earlier, played Hillsborough Hornets and lost by the odd goal, 2 – 3 with Skye scoring both,” Paul Jubb told us.
Next, Club Doncaster Titans were back in action with a thrilling draw with Bradford Wildcats, watched by Steph Hall. “This was an entertaining end to end game played by both teams. CDT took the lead early with a goal by Jacob B from inside the box,” Steph told us.
“Bradford got an equalising goal not long after. CDT went ahead again this time with Jacob B scoring from outside the box after an assist by Kellie. CDT pulled further ahead with another goal from Jacob B giving him a hat-trick! Bradford then managed to pull two late goals back to earn a draw. This was a fair result in the end after the efforts from both teams.”
“The Wildcats went 3 – 0 up against Doncaster, which allowed Doncaster to bring extra players on, ”Paul Jubb reflected for Bradford. “Doncaster then scored 3 goals to make it 3 – 3 Skye scored 2 more and Maisie 1.”
Bradford City Claret took all three points with a win over Hillsborough Hornets. “In their last game Clarets beat Hillsborough Hornets 6 – 3 Fabian scoring 4 this time! Leanne and an own goal sealed the win. Fabian with 8 goals was star of the day.”
“In their last game a very tired Wildcats team played Sheffield FC and lost 3 – 7, Skye once more scoring 3 goals. Skye was star of the day scoring 7!” Paul Jubb commented.
“Well played everyone you all gave 100% on the day and that’s all we ask!” Paul concluded. “Next up are the Divisional Cups in March.”
Sheffield FC Red continued their progress to a well-deserved League title, drawing with Bradford City Claret, beating Bradford Wildcats as noted above, and in their final match beat Bradford Claret to round off a fine season.
The final table sees Sheffield Red as Champions with just one defeat in their fifteen games, giving them a nine-point margin over Bradford City Claret who finish as runners-up. Bradford City Blues finish third after that difficult last day’ edging Club Doncaster Titans for third place. Excellent seasons too for Bradford City Wildcats, with three wins and a draw, and Hillsborough Hornets who also won three games in an exceptionally good campaign.
The final table is as follows:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Sheffield FC Youth U13 SFCD U-13s Red | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 38 |
| 2 | Bradford City FITC Disability U12 Claret | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 29 |
| 3 | Bradford City FITC Disability U12 Blues | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 23 |
| 4 | Club Doncaster Titans Ability Counts FC | 15 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 22 |
| 5 | Bradford City FITC Disability U12 Wildcat | 15 | 3 | 1 | 11 | -8 | 10 |
| 6 | Hillsborough Hornets Disability FC U12 O | 15 | 3 | 0 | 12 | -9 | 9 |
So, for the Junior Leagues the regular season is over with deserving champions and runners up; well done, though, to every one of our players, coaches, referees, and spectators.
A big thank you too, to Mike, Andrew, Paul, and Sean for their fantastic organisation and support on matchdays.
Next up, the seven a side Leagues reach a conclusion at Concord Sports Centre next Sunday, 13th February. Follow us at www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com or on Twitter @SYorksACL.
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