Match day had arrived. Barton Athletics first game in the Sheffield League and I don’t know who was more excited, me or the players. We were trying a new formation and I was looking forward to the lads taking on this new challenge, writes Manager Richard Day.
The game kicked off against Brunsmeer Awareness and Brunsmeer started off the better team. There were a few nerves from the Barton lads and an early injury for our captain Bentinio who soldiered on. With early pressure from Brunsmeer, there was a shot deflected and brilliantly saved by our stand in keeper Zak (His first of many world class saves) Barton did produce a good chance in the first half with play between Jamie, Ben, Dave and Seb creating an opportunity for Dave which was saved by their keeper. Half time 0-0
Barton started the second half a different team, you could see they had found their confidence. The guys had found their flow and started to cause Brunsmeer problems with Barton’s own Messi – Jamie in midfield. Jamie was working so hard at winning the ball back and starting our attacks.
Then the breakthrough, 1-0 from Dave. Dave was superb holding the ball up in both games and struggling through a knee injury; turned his defender and powered it passed the keeper. Brunsmeer worked hard to get back into the game. Shaun and Ryan at the back were defending brilliantly along with another great save from Zak.
Another great goal comes this time from Seb who had found space and drilled a powerful shot into the bottom corner. It was a great reward for Seb who has been incredible with his coaching role with the Barton Inclusive Wildcats.
Final whistle 2-0 Barton.
A brilliant game played by two very honest teams, I thought Brunsmeer was superb and wish them well for their season. We will look forward to another great game when we play them again.
Our next game was against Derek Dooley FC and a bit like the first game, Barton were trying to find their feet. We found ourselves 1-0 down early on, which came from a good strike from eight yards out. After their goal, Derek Dooley FC kept their pressure on with plenty of corners and shots. It was only thanks to our brave defending and saves that we kept the score at only 1-0. Then on the break, the ball falls to Seb who is a long way out and he hits an unstoppable shot that flies into the net. 1-1
Upfront, our striker Dave succumbed to his knee injury. The game was stopped and he was helped off the pitch. Hopefully with rest, he will be ok. Because two of our players, Jay and Tim couldn’t make the game through other commitments, we were without subs and had to continue with a player less. Claire, the manager of Derek Dooley FC seeing our predicament showed incredible sportsmanship and took a player off to level the sides. Derek Dooley FC are very lucky to have a coach setting all the right standards for their players.
Another great show of team work sets up our man Seb who fires in a skilled shot from a tight angle. 2-1
Barton was unlucky not to make it 3-1 and with another class save from Zak, could have been 2-2. Barton finished strong to see in the win.
I am so proud of the players who gave everything for their team and their coach. Their behaviour on and off the pitch did everyone at Barton Inclusive proud.
A special thanks to club chairperson, Sophie Bartup, who made our first league game possible. To Zak in goal who was world class. To the captain for the day, Bentinio. To both teams we played and to Seb, the Man of the Match, for his brilliant goals and movement.
Fans were back as SYACL Junior League action kicked off in Doncaster; and the sun shone on the Under 12’s & Under 16’s as the goals and tackles flew in.
The newly-formed Under 12 and Under 16 League’s made a fantastic start to their membership of the South Yorkshire Ability Counts League last Sunday, 3rd October; and, for the first time in 19 months, the games were watched by a huge crowd of parents and carers who made their own fantastic contribution to a brilliant atmosphere.
The SYACL had managed to keep the Under 7 and Under 5 competitions running during the earlier part of 2021 by respecting the restrictions imposed by the Covid pandemic, and it was great to see the players on the field after lockdown; but having the fans there on the first day of competition made the day all the more special, writes Margaret Gregory for www.syacl.com
The only downside to the afternoon was an unfortunate and accidental injury to Kai Hall, one of our players from Club Doncaster Titans, who we all wish a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back in action as soon as possible.
New League, new referee, Evan took the whistle for the Under-12 fixtures on Pitch 7 at the Goals Centre, with our good friend and referee’s secretary Sean Wright as the man in the middle for the Under-16 matches on Pitch 9. The SYACL used the middle pitch,8, as the holding area for spectators and players – this configuration had proved hugely successful during last season’s matches.
So, to the action; the opening Under-12 fixture saw Club Doncaster Titans edge a tight encounter with Hillsborough Hornets. Steph from Titans takes up the story. “A very close game was played between these two teams,” she told us. “It was end to end and a very entertaining game to watch. There were many chances for both teams and it was surprising that there were not more goals in this game. When the goal did arrive, it was scored by Jacob R and assisted by Jacob B.”
Hornets were delighted by the performance of their young Orange team. Head coach Alex Whitehead told www.syacl.com. “This was the very first time that the Under 12’s playing a match against anyone – and they performed amazingly! They learned a lot and are already looking forward to their next League fixture.
Next up for Titans was a tough match with Bradford City Claret, but this time the Titans were on the wrongend of the result. “This was a fairly one-sided game,” Steph admitted. “Club Doncaster Titans played very well, battled hard and created some good chances of their own against an exceptionally good Bradford team. In the end the better team won the game.”
Titans third game of the afternoon saw them beat Sheffield FC Red in another Pitch 7 thriller. “This was another end-to-end game of football,” Steph told us. ”Club Doncaster Titans players played fantastically and really looked like a team, playing and working together. They all worked really hard and loved every minute of it. Again, it was surprising that there were not more goals in this game with the number of chances created by both teams. When the goals did arrive, they were scored by Jacob R and Jacob B and both were assisted by Kellie.”
At the end of the nine fixtures, Bradford City Claret topped the table with three wins out of three, closely followed by Bradford City Blue, who played out a tight drawn game with Sheffield Red to drop their only points of the day before wins over Hillsborough Hornets Orange and Bradford City Wildcats.
Sheffield Red took the three points with a win over Bradford Wildcats, who ended the day level with Hillsborough Hornets after just failing to pick up a win, but both sides contributed hugely to a great afternoon of Under-12 action.
After three fixtures each, standings are as follows: –
Over on Pitch 9, the longer, game-of two halves Under 16’s League kicked off with a narrow win for Club Doncaster Titans over Hillsborough Hornets Yellow. Hornets Alex Whitehead told us “Alex scored for Hornets in the first half with Coley (twice) and Lewis [one] in the second half as the Hornets just failed to snatch a point. The match finished 5-4 and the Hornets made a brilliant second half comeback. We narrowly missed out on a draw.”
Titans Coach, Martin Taylor, told us “Titans’ goals came from James Cota, with two – one a penalty – two from Devon Fordham and one from Levi Benson. Both teams played some lovely football in this, the first League match back and both teams were a bit nervous to start off with. It was a close fought game which the final score showed.”
Hornets Black got off to the best possible start with a win over Sheffield FC Blue. A penalty from Nathan saw Hornets Black lead at the break, and goals in the second half from Luke, Zack and an own goal clinched the win.
Coach Alex was delighted “A brilliant game from the Hornets, composed and calm throughout and used the boards to their advantage. Nathan stepped up to take the penalty for the team.”
Hornets Yellow got on the winning trail with a win over Bradford City Amber in their next game, with Luke and an own goal seeing Hornets ahead at half time, and Coley and Enrique doubled the score in the second period. This was no easy win, as Alex reflected. “This was a tough physical match with a few injuries on both teams. Leah took a nasty knock to the ribs but soldiered on and was a machine in defence.”
Hornets Black closed out their day with a defeat to Club Doncaster Titans, Luke scored for Hornets in the first half, but three Titans goals clinched the points. Coach Alex was philosophical in defeat. “It was a tough game against Doncaster,” he admitted, “Luke scored his second goal of the day, but we couldn’t hold them up. Alice and Nathan were sterling in defence.”
Titans’ Coach Martin Taylor told us that James Cota, with two, and Devon Fordham had scored the goals which clinched the three points.
“In the second match the U-16’s played in honour of their team mate Kai Hall who got injured in the first match,” Martin added. “There was lovely football played in this match too. In both games they all had the team spirit, and I would like to say well done and well played today to everyone involved and I am so proud of you all.”
“I would like to thank all the parents / carers for their support, too.”
After the first round of two fixtures each, it’s Titans Ability Counts who lead the way with two wins, with Bradford City Amber in joint second place with three points thanks to their win over Sheffield FC Blue. The two Hornets teams are also on three points, leaving brave Sheffield Blue hoping to take points in the next round of fixtures.
Overall though, the three Hornets teams had enjoyed a great start to life in the SYACL, as Coach Alex summed up. “An amazing day was had by all, and we are super proud of the all the players who wore their Hornets colours with pride. We had some tears from the parents who never thought this could happen for their kids. Win, lose or draw the Hornets did us ALL proud today.”
“We can’t wait for the next round of fixtures!”
All Bradford City DFC 4 junior teams at the South Yorkshire Ability Counts Junior League had a great day; with Bradford City DFC Under 16’s played 2 – won 1 – lost 1.
With a big mixture of abilities, and it being the first time playing together, the team did well on the day. losing to Hillsborough Hornets and beating Sheffield FC.
Star player on the day was Jonathan, who really struggled in the first game, but scored 2 great goals in the second.
The Bradford City DFC Under 12’s Blues played 3 games – won 2 – drew 1.
Sara, the coach for the Blues said, “great team work, great footy played and lots of empathy towards other teams and lots of great behaviour.” Star player on the day was Callum who scored a couple of goals in his first ever competitive games.
The Bradford City DFC Under 12s Clarets played 3 – won 3.
The Clarets went top of the league and played really well with some great football. Star player was Freddie who scored most of their goals for the team, with some Messi like skills.
The Bradford City DFC 12’s Wildcats played 3 – lost 3. Bev Dove, manager of the Wildcats said, “I just want to say thank you to all the girls in the Wildcats team at Doncaster. It’s tough being the only all girls team in the League, but you gave everything you had, so so proud of you all.” The highlight of the day was little Jessica scoring against the Blues at the end of the day.
Well done all the players and coaches with some great football played on a lovely sunny day for football.
And so say all of us. We’ll see our Junior teams back in action at the beginning of November; but next Sunday, attention turns to the 7-a-side League and a full afternoon of fixtures across three divisions at Concord Sports Centre, Shiregreen Lane, Sheffield.
The action starts at 1.30 pm, and you can stay in touch with the action on Twitter @SYorksACL or here at www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com. In the meantime, if you have any features or pictures, why not send them to Margaret via the contact form on the Website.
Aston Swallownest had a good pre-season and all the lads and lasses are buzzing for the upcoming season.
We now have a 5-a-side team; and two 7-a-side teams. [one in the Premier League and one in Division 1.] Our club is growing all the time, so why not join us.
If anyone is looking for a team, please ring James Scally on 07955680651
Feel welcome to say hello to Jazmine Scally watching her first games of football.
On behalf of the Leader of Leeds City Council, Councillor James Lewis, we are delighted to inform you about an exciting event – Team Yorkshire The Homecoming!
Olympic and Paralympic heroes will be given a homecoming to remember with a major event at the Leeds First Direct Arena on October 10. Olympians and Paralympians will take to the stage to talk about their exploits in an event hosted by 2016 Olympic medallist Nile Wilson and sports broadcaster Tanya Arnold.
Athletes attending include Jess Learmonth, Jonny Brownlee, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Jack Laugher MBE and Hannah Cockroft MBE among many others – with more athletes being confirmed daily.
Channel 4, who have just setup home in Leeds, are supporting the event – which will take place on Sunday October 10 from 3-5pm.
The event will include live entertainment including headline Yorkshire act, Starlights, along with Phoenix Dance, Yorkshire Prose live poetry and other fantastic acts.
Tickets are available to the public for just £5 per ticket (plus booking fee) which includes a donation to charity Sports Aid, an organisation that has supported so many of the Yorkshire athletes via www.firstdirectarena.com
Tickets are available from 9am Friday 24th September.
A new team has joined our league and their coachAlex Whitehead, Head Coach, Hillsborough Hornets DTFC tells us all about them, but if you want to read more then visit their excellent website. www.hillsboroughhornets.co.uk.
Tell us a little about the background to your club and players – how long have the teams been together, and where were they playing before? How many teams will you be entering?
We are the Hillsborough Hornets Disability Football Club; the club will have been running for 1 year in October. We have 48 kids who attend sessions on a Saturday morning, which is a big achievement for us. To say that in October 2020, we started with 5 kids, then Covid etc. We have kids with conditions ranging from Autism to Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy.
We welcome boys and girls to play for our team. Some of them used to play for Sheffield FC, but most of them have never played in this type of environment. We will be entering 1 team in the under 12’s League and 2 teams in the under 16’s League.
What are you looking forward to most about participating in the SYACL?
Having a league that cares about the kids and the teams involved; and hopefully helping the kids enjoy more than just training and giving them the that feeling of winning a League fixture!
Tell us what the spectators can look forward to from your teams. Are there any particular players we should be looking out for?
A togetherness, fun, and all involved, despite ability performance is what you’ll see from our guys. They play to win, but do it the right way by enjoying themselves first! All our players are people you should be looking out for, we don’t make it about one player or two we make it all about it being accessible and all about inclusion.
How has pre-season training gone so far? Have you been involved in any competitions over the summer weeks?
Pre-season is going great, the togetherness is really there to see, and we’ve been having some really fun session, loads of smiles and laughter.
We had a summer tournament in Killinghall, Harrogate where we finished runners up!
Held on Tuesday 7th September 2021 Via Zoom Video Call at 8pm
Roll Call @ 8:15pm – Chairman, Secretary, Covid Officer, Referee representative, Club representatives from Aston Swallownest, BartonInclusive, Bradford City DFC, Brunsmeer Awareness, City Knights, Club Doncaster Titans, Derek Dooley FC, Doncaster Deaf Trust,Sheffield FC, Social Eyes, Spartans FC & Wheatley Wanderers SYACL FC
Absent –
New Disability Officer Chair introduced the new disability officer for Sheffield & Hallamshire FA, who told us of her plans for the role in the up-and-coming years. The FA are really pushing female football at the moment and that is where she will be pushing for higher numbers and possibly a female only disability league. There was also mention of maybe playing a cross county competition, as was tried before the pandemic. Overtures had also been made with professional football clubs across the county, asking them what they are doing to promote disability football and what their pathways are? The FA are pushing specific disability teams such as CP, visually impaired and blind football.
League Dates & VenuesChair checked that all representatives knew the dates for the upcoming season which have been sent out via texts and emails; everyone said they had received them. 7-a-side will be 2pm to 5pm at Concord Centre Sheffield & 5-a-side at Doncaster and Sheffield Goals 2pm to 5pm. He then discussed the County Cups Adult (for the 7-a-side teams) and Junior (for the 5-a-side teams). County Cup matches cost £30 entry fee, but clubs will likely have to pay costs towards matches, unlike previous seasons. These games will be played on the same day as the League games. We then discussed the format of the 5-a-side Leagues; there will be 4 Leagues of 5 teams. It was voted that League 2 teams will play a round robin of 4 x 10-minute games on the day, the other Leagues will be 2 x 20min games, plus any additional Cup games.
Referees CostsThe costs of referees have risen for the first time in years; to cover these costs it will be £27 per team per match day for 7-a-side & £22 per team per match day for 5-a-side
Wearing of bibsChair asked teams to let him know their team colours, so if there is any colour clash one team will be asked to wear bibs, secretary suggested all teams bring a set of bibs of alternative colours on the day.
Squad Lists Chair asked for all Clubs to send him their squad list, so he can check that all the players are on the Whole Game System and that players are not in various teams and that female players are not in the 7-a-side. Also, that all players have the correct proof of disability, usually PIP or DLA letter (doctors letters) The Whole Game System was discussed [the new registration system set up by the FA], there has been major issues with it since it was updated; but Chair said to keep trying to enter players, but any major problems let him/FA know.
Junior SectionThis season the SYACL will be running a junior league with an under 16’s & Under 12’s League. Chair has booked the venues and will arrange the fixtures, Bradford City DFC, Club Doncaster Titans, Hillsborough Hornets and Sheffield FC will be providing the teams this season but hopefully new clubs will enter in future seasons. These fixtures will be the first Sunday of every month.
Media Department & Social Platforms The League’s Media & Social Platforms department try to give the League and its clubs maximum exposure to a wide audience. Anyone visiting these sites can gain an insight to the clubs within the League and hopefully encourage more participants. Chair stressed we need to keep sending articles for the social media site, to keep interest for the league. It always seems to be the same clubs that send the articles; can a few of the teams that don’t send, please try send something to put on the website. A good news story or how your players enjoy disability football. Once the Leagues are up and running, can ALL teams send match reports (they don’t have to be kick by kick reports) just how you did, maybe someone played well or achieved something that they usually don’t? No worries about literacy as they can work wonders with a few sentences and a photo or two. It’s all about promoting the openness of the League and their players and clubs to the general public.
FA representativethen told us that the FA are bringing in a 3-star award for any mainstream clubs that have adult, junior, boys, girls and now disability teams. The idea being that new clubs might be formed to play in our Leagues or some clubs might try to adopt’ teams that already exist. She also told us about a mental health course she is trying to run for disability clubs to raise awareness within the clubs; everyone said they would be interested in the course. The Flourish League was discussed alongside this topic.
Fair Play RuleCovid officer reminded Clubs about the fair play rule which is; – In order to best reflect the importance of competition and in order to reduce the possibility of excessively one-sided and demoralising fixtures, the following rules will apply without exception and will be enforced by our match referees.
If a team establishes a three goal advantage at any stage in the match (i.e 3-0, 4-1, 5-2) , the match referee will invite the losing side to bring on additional players until the lead is reduced to a single goal. In 7-a-side fixtures, the losing side may bring on up to three more players, and in 5-a-side fixtures the losing side may bring on up to two additional players.
If the losing side has no additional players to bring on, the team with the three goal advantage will be restricted to two touches only per player in 7-a-side football and to three touches in 5-a-side football.
The match referees will use their discretion in enforcing the limit on the number of touches. This message needs to be sent to all coaches of all teams in the leagues, so there is no confusion on the day.
Barton Inclusive FC thanked everyone who have accepted them into the league and have arranged friendlies such as the Spartans Tournament, Bradford City DFC, Sheffield FC & Club Doncaster Titans. They are really looking forward to the new season as are all of us!
Close of meeting – 9:35pm
Next meeting to be arranged once the League is underway.
Let’s make season 2021/2022 a great season, in Darren’s memory.
One minute silence and applause for Secretary Darren Warner, who passed away during Covid. RIP Darren.
We would like to thank SWFC and Wednesdayite for featuring our League in their matchday program and allowing us to republish the article.
Mike paying tribute to Darren
Wednesdayite Column- Doncaster Rovers FC
Everyone associated with Wednesday extends a warmer-than-usual welcome back to Hillsborough for this afternoon’s League One local encounter with Doncaster Rovers. We also extend our deepest sympathies to the families who have lost loved ones over the last 18 months.
For the season ahead, the Wednesdayite matchday column plans to cover the buzzing Non-League, Ladies, Junior and Disability competitions – and the many fantastic volunteers – in and around our city, which is the true Home of Football.
It’s appropriate, then that today’s piece spotlights the South Yorkshire Ability Counts League, which features three Divisions of open-age 7-a-side footballers living with a range of disabilities, and three further Divisions of 5-a-side players living with mental ill-health or learning difficulties, including Autism.
The feature is particularly poignant today as Darren Warner, the SYACL Secretary and its key driver – alongside Darren’s friend and Chair Mike Stylianou – was also the founder of Club Doncaster Titans, which he set up so that his son, who has autism, and other boys and girls like him had a place to play football. Over time, the popularity of the Titans rocketed, further enhancing the chances for children and adults with disabilities or mental ill-health to play the game that we all love.
In 2019, Darren won the “Unsung Hero” award for the BBC Yorkshire region and was invited to the Sports Personality of the Year Award in Aberdeen, where he just missed the National Award.
Sadly, Darren died in January of this year, aged just forty-nine, after a period of prolonged ill -health; despite this, he remained a regular at SYACL matchdays as recently as the previous December. He leaves behind loving wife Sharon and sons Jordan and Cameron, and over three hundred footballers across six leagues and thirty-one teams who owe him a great debt and regard him as a True Titan of the game.
Rovers paid tribute to Darren ahead of their home game with Rochdale, and hundreds of families and friends paid their own socially-distanced tribute when the funeral cortege paused briefly outside the Keepmoat Stadium on its way to the Crematorium.
Darren’s was recently recognised posthumously as a Grassroots Football Coach of The Year by the Sheffield and Hallamshire FA.
In the meantime, the SYACL continues to grow under Mike’s leadership, and plans to add a junior division for the season ahead, offering even more playing opportunities.
The South Yorkshire Ability Counts League restarts in September. Seven-a-side and 5-a-side fixtures played alternately once per month, with participating teams from South and West Yorkshire, and from this season, North Lincolnshire.
Up at Social eyes Rotherham the football training is underway; they have moved to a new training facility @ Kickabout Football Centre, Unit 1-2 Vantage Drive, Tinsley, Sheffield. S9 1BG.
If you visit their website http://www.socialeyesrotherham.co.uk and visit their daily blog page, you will see the great time they had yesterday during training.Now they are back, after the pandemic, it looks like they have their eyes firmly fixed on the top of the SYACL again.
All the other teams training shots will follow. Come back soon.
