Fantastic last match day of 2022 for SYACL’s Under-16’s
Bradford City Amber and Hornets Yellow ahead in Under-16’s Premier
Club Doncaster Titans lead the Under-16’s Championship
Bradford Diamonds lead the way in the Under-12’s Premier Division – just
Hornets White edging Bradford Green in the Under-12’s Championship
A cold but dry day at Sheffield Goals saw an outstanding day of Junior football, with 16 league games across the four divisions and a couple of friendlies. Sadly, Rotherham United Community Trust were affected by illness and absence, and so were forced to forfeit both their planned fixtures with Barton Inclusive Fc (Hull), who understandably decided not to make the long journey on the day. We look forward to seeing both clubs in January.
There were the usual excellent crowds for the Juniors matchday, and some fantastic donations to the Stocksbridge Park Steels FC/Liberty Steel/South Yorkshire Ability Counts League in support of Stocksbridge Foodbank.
As always, www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com had its impressive band of reporters on hand to bring you the best of the action under the watchful eye of our website editor Margaret Gregory.
In the Premier Division, Hillsborough Hornets got the afternoon under way with two wins over Chesterfield FC Community Trust.
Next up was a double-header between Bradford City Amber and Sheffield FC Blue. The two excellent games were watched by Bradford’s coach Paul Jubb.
“It was an amazing day at Sheffield Goals,” Paul told syacl.com. “Our 4 junior teams played 8 games, all against Sheffield F.C, all were close games; we won 6 and drew 2 not one defeat all day! #proud. Well done to all the players and coaches!”
“Bradford City DFC Under 16’s Ambers continued their 100% record in 2 closely fought games against Sheffield FC,” Paul reported. “They won the 1st game 7 – 2; Lennon 3 Darcy 2 Shane 2.”
“They then won the 2nd game 5 – 3, after being 3 -1 down at half time, but proved too strong in the 2nd half Shane 2 Jack 1 Lennon 1 & Tyler 1 goal scorers. Player of the day was Shane with some great goals from distance.”
“Well played everyone!” Paul added. “Thanks to Dave for coaching them!”
After Sunday’s four games, both Bradford City Amber and Hillsborough Hornets Yellow boast one hundred per cent records, with four wins. Barton is third with six points, Rotherham Community Trust have four with Chesterfield FC Community Trust and Sheffield FC Blue looking for their first wins in the New Year.
The Under-16’s Premier table going into Christmas is as follows:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Bradford City FITC Disability U16 Amber | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 2 | Hillsborough Hornets Disability FC U16 Y | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 3 | Barton Inclusive Football Club Hull – U1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | Rotherham United Community Sports Trust | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 4 |
| 5 | Chesterfield F.C. Community Trust U16 Pa | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -3 | 1 |
| 6 | Sheffield FC Youth U16 Blue | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 0 |
In the Under 16’s Championship, Referee Mike Stylianou oversaw four exceptional games on Pitch 5. The action started with two close games between Club Doncaster Titans and Hillsborough Hornets Black. Both games were watched by Titans coach, John Hibbert.
“In our first match against Hillsborough Hornets we had four players and they had all theirs, plus subs,” John reported. “We started well then, they got the ball – then Charlotte won the tackle passed back to Isaac who then laid it on for Devon to score, which made it 1 – 0. They got the ball again, but Devon was too strong and scored again 2 – 0 so then Charlotte passed to Devon, and he scored again 3 – 0. They kicked off and I told them to put players on; at one time they had eight players on – but then Devon got another goal, so the score ended up 4 – 0 Titans.”
“The second match was different,” John explained. “It started end to end, then Devon passed the ball to Ryan and he scored; they got one back 1 – 1 then Charlotte laid it off to Ryan and he scored again 2 – 1. They clawed another goal back 2 – 2 then Devon won his tackle and passed to Ryan again, and what a pass straight to Ryan and he volleyed it in the back of the net 3 – 2. Back they came and scored again 3 – 3 then Ryan scored again 4 – 3; then Ryan passed to Charlotte, and she got her first goal for the team which was fitting because she must have had at least 20 chances, so it was nice for Charlotte to get on the score sheet, so well-done Charlotte! 5 – 3 then the ball rebounded off the crossbar onto the back of the leg of one of their players and it was an own goal; so well played to both teams it ended up 6 – 3 to Titans. I could not be prouder with the few players I had – they all put in 150%. A brilliant day at the office!”
Next up were two more stunning matches, this time between Bradford City DFC Under 16’s Blues and Sheffield FC Black, again played under the scrutiny of Bradford’s Paul Jubb. “The first game ended up 5 – 5 despite us being 4 -1 up at half time. Sheffield FC fought back in the 2nd half,” Paul told www.syacl.com. “Carter made some fantastic saves to avoid the defeat. Dylan made some great runs in the game, Jonathan scored a hat trick, and Alex and Joshua got the others.”
“In the second game Alex went in goal,” Paul continued. “Maisie played amazing in defence and they won their first game of the season 6 – 4 against Sheffield FC.
This time it was Joshua’s turn to get a hat trick and Jonathan got the other two. Our player of the day was Jonathan with 6 goals!”
Coach Vicky told us, “I’m incredibly proud of you all today, of course there’s always going to be little bumps in the road, but you all played so well together.”
Four games into the season for all the Championship clubs, and it’s Titans out front with a one hundred percent record. Sheffield FC (Black) is chasing hard, Bradford City (Blues) are off the mark, and Hornets (Black) aren’t too far behind.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Club Doncaster Titans Ability Counts FC | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 2 | Sheffield FC Youth U16 SFCD Black | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 3 | Bradford City FITC Disability U16 Blues | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 4 |
| 4 | Hillsborough Hornets Disability FC U16 B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 0 |
So, to our Under-12’s and in the Premier Division, Hillsborough Hornets played a double-header with Chesterfield FC Community Trust, winning the first game; after a short break, however, it was the youngsters from North Derbyshire who took the points with a battling 5 – 3 win.
Bradford City FC (Diamonds) then took on Sheffield Fc (Red) for two outstanding, tight games.
Bradford’s Paul Jubb summed up both games. “A fantastic day for Bradford City DFC Under 12’s Diamonds, winning both games against Sheffield FC 4 – 2 twice, to take them to the top of the League.”
“There was some fantastic goalkeeping from Fabien in the 1st game and Jack in the 2nd, plus some great goals from Patrick, Aron and Jensen, and fantastic team play from Kayden, which helped the team to two close wins Paul told us. “The player of the day went to Jack, for some great defending and goalkeeping on his league debut!”
Diamonds coach Sara was delighted with the afternoon, “I’m very proud of each and every one of you, your progression as a team is fantastic,” she told us.
So, in the Under 12’s Premier Division, it’s a titanic struggle between Bradford Diamonds and Sheffield Red, with just one point between them. Hornets (Orange) are just three points behind, with Chesterfield Fc Community Trust, Rotherham United Community Sports Trust and Titans.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Bradford City FITC Disability U12 Diamon | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| 2 | Sheffield FC Youth U12 Red | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 19 |
| 3 | Hillsborough Hornets Disability FC U12 O | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 16 |
| 4 | Chesterfield F.C. Community Trust U12 Pa | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | -3 | 9 |
| 5 | Rotherham United Community Sports Trust | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | -3 | 9 |
| 6 | Club Doncaster Titans Ability Counts FC | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | -5 | 6 |
In the Under-12’s Championship, Hornets enjoyed two wins over a depleted Club Doncaster Titans, watched by coach Steph Hall.
“The first match with Hillsborough Hornets was a good game played by both teams,” Steph reported. “It started at a fast pace with both teams creating many chances, but the score stayed level due to some good saves by both goalkeepers. Eventually the deadlock was broken, and Hillsborough went ahead with a goal. CDT soon equalised with Hillsborough scoring shortly after. Then CDT equalised again just before half time. The second half was much the same with both teams scoring many goals. In the end Hillsborough came out on top. CDT played really well, did some good passing, worked as a team and produced some good moments of defending.”
“Match 2 was fast paced from the start,” Steph went on. “CDT had kick off where Andrew passed the ball to Alex who then scored within 1 minute of the game! CDT kept pressing for more and it paid off with Alex scoring his second goal of the game after some brilliant passing. Hillsborough came back into the game and scored two goals to come back level. Part way through the first half Alex scored his third goal of the game with Andrew assisting him. Just before half time Hillsborough scored two quick back-to-back goals to go into the break ahead. The second half produced more chances for both teams, with the goalkeepers keeping their teams in the game. Hillsborough scored several quick goals, but CDT responded with Alex scoring two more with Kellie assisting one of them. Both teams scored several more goals, but Hillsborough held on for the win. CDT showed some good passing and worked really well as a team.”
Bradford City Greens then faced Sheffield FC (White) for two more fantastic games. Here’s Bradford’s Paul Jubb, “Bradford City DFC Under 12s Greens won the first game 5 – 2 against Sheffield FC. Callum scored 4 and Jude scored one.”
“The second game was a lot closer, and they drew 3-3, Oscar scored 2 and Matthew got his first ever League goal,” Paul added. “This result dropped them into second in the league. The player of the day was Edward who played great in defence. The weather stayed dry all day which was good!”
Hornets White go into Christmas unbeaten, with six wins and a draw. They enjoy a narrow, two-point lead over Bradford City Greens. Sheffield FC (white) has one win, and it can’t be long before Titans get their first points.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Hillsborough Hornets Disability FC U12 W | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 19 |
| 2 | Bradford City FITC Disability U12 Greens | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 17 |
| 3 | Sheffield FC Youth U12 White | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 4 |
| 4 | Club Doncaster Titans Ability Counts FC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -7 | 0 |
So, that’s 2022 done and dusted for our Junior clubs. Thanks to all our players, coaches, referees and spectators, and to everyone who contributed to our Food Bank Drive.
Next Sunday is the last matchday for our open-age 7-a-side squads who are in action at Concord Sports Centre.
Catch up on the action at www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com or our Twitter feed @SYorks ACL
Five -a side fixtures rescheduled
City Knights take the plaudits over a battling Derek Dooley
With one eye on the World Cup, Derek Dooley and City Knights rearranged their 5-a-side fixtures from the 18th of December at Doncaster to Saturday 3rd December at Sheffield Goals.
Dooley’s Claire Cowlishaw covered the action for www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com.
“In the Premier League, our White team only had 2 of our players turn up this morning so we had to forfeit the game to City Knights,” Claire reported. “So, we played a friendly to give the City Knights a game and this was played in a competitive manner with a couple of 7-a-side players and the League 1 players. This was a very enjoyable game with a good show from the City Knights team. Thank you.”
“In League One, this was a good competitive game for our Blue League One side with a good show from the girls Tanisha, Fallon and Cody. Ryan was good in goal saving some good shots and completing the team Adursh who scored a screamer from halfway and Matt who is the workhorse of the team covering all the positions and gaining a goal too – but they lost only by a single goal.”
“Also in League One, our Green team were on the wrong end of a very one-sided match for City Knights who were so much stronger than us,” Claire admitted. “It was Brandon’s first match in goal, who was rather shell shocked, and spent most of his time picking the ball out of the back of the net. It was a great performance from Ben who did a lot of runs, up and down the wing but to no avail. Archie did well on the other wing but just wasn’t strong enough.”
Sharon of City Knights view on the matches was, “Our match game against Derek Dooley Academy Green, we started off strong and carried it on through the game. We were the stronger team, so after 3 – 0 we removed our striker, after 4 – 0 we went 2 touches and after 5 – 0 we removed another player. After 6 – 0 we went 2 touches and kept at 2 touches, but the goals kept going in. Dooley Green were fighting back, they were having a few good shots at goal, our Keeper Sheree stops them all.
Final score 13-0 to City Knights FC.
Well done to our goal scorers and assists:
Keenan Sampson
Micheal Sutton
Morgan Hassall
Josh Musvinu
Our Second match game that was straight after our first was against Derek Dooley Blue, who were a stronger team. They gave us a challenging game. Our players pulled together well and played a great game, coaches, management were so proud of them, they kept going till the end and ended up winning 4-3.
Our Goal scorers were:
1st Goal was Michael Sutton assisted by Josh Musvinu
2nd Goal was Michael Sutton from a penalty
3rd Goal was Keenan Sampson
4th Goal was Keenan Sampson
We would like to thank all at Derek Dooley who helped support the day.
Thank you to the referee and Mike.
Sharon Lavender of City Knights filed this match report for 5-a-side Prems from Saturday 3rd Dec.
Our matches were cancelled so the Manager’s came together and decided that our teams were going to play 2 friendlies, which would comprise of our City Knights 5 aside Prems and Derek Dooleys mixed teams of 5-a-side and 7-a-side players.
Both matches were good practice for our players and challenged them, they stood up well considering 2 players were 7-a-side, we played 6 v 6 both games.
Our first match we won 7-6 with goal scorers and assists by:
1st Goal Lewis Mansell assisted by Chris Brown
2nd Goal Lewis Mansell assisted by Leo Pollard
3rd Goal Leo Pollard assisted by Lewis Mansell
4th Goal Chris Brown
5th Goal Lewis Mansell assisted by Liam Bingham
6th Goal Chris Brown assisted by Jack Challenger
7th Goal Lewis Mansell assisted by Jack Challenger
Second friendly’s final score was 2-1 to Knights, goal scorers and assists by:
1st Goal Lewis Mansell assisted by Chris Brown
2nd Goal Chris Brown
Management and Coaches are very proud of our players performance and fair play attitude on the day.
Thank you our Coaches and to all that supported City Knights on the day.
Thank you to Claire and Dawn and all at Derek Dooley that supported on the day.
Thank you to the referee and Mike.
“Well done to all the team for trying and having fun playing football. There are more photos in the gallery.
Have a Happy Christmas and see you in 2023 from all at South Yorkshire Ability Counts League and don’t forget to check the gallery for more photos of the day!”
We’ll cover the remaining 5-a-side fixtures later in the month!
South Yorkshire Ability Counts League 