Sunday 16th October 2022
Season-opening 5-a-side thrills in Doncaster
Bradford Claret and Sheffield Black top the Premier League
Titans Blue hit the front in the Championship
Barton Vikings and Hornets share early League One lead
Titans (Yellow) and Bradford (Emerald) are Week One League Two leaders
On a sunny Sunday afternoon at Doncaster Goals Centre, the South Yorkshire Ability Counts League’ open-age 5-a-side teams got their seasons off to a great start with goals galore and thrilling action in 21 games across four pitches.
As always, a good crowd turned up to support the players and they were rewarded with some spectacular action.
The competition again adopted the FA’s Respect and Reward Campaign, and if the football was outstanding, the sportsmanship was too, with only minor incidents reported. Well done to our four referees, Sean, Brian, Dennis and Martin; and to all our participants.
As always, our brave reporters were on hand to cover the action for www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com under the watchful eye of editor Margaret Gregory.
In the Premier Division, Barton Inclusive Inter Bar got off to a flying start with a win over City Knights [Red]. However, Barton didn’t have the return fixture all their own way, and City Knights [Red] came from behind to snatch a point from a high-scoring draw.
Barton Inclusive Inter Bar match report.
The opening game of the 2022/23 South Yorkshire Ability Counts League saw Inter Barton FC play in the 5-a-side Premiership division, after successfully gaining promotion from the Championship at the first time of asking.
Inter Barton FC, managed by James Branford, were without captain Wills (who is recovering from an ankle injury), so Vice Captain Matt wore the armband, proudly displaying the Rainbow Flag in support of the LGBTQ+ community within football.
The team were ready to play, with Callum (striker) making his league debut. And what a debut it was, as Inter clinched four points from six, in two exciting encounters.
Their manager James commented: “Game 1 – great overall performance, coming back from a 1-0 deficit to win 3-1, shows the resilience and determination of the team. Great energy shown by both teams, all of the players coming off after the second half knowing they had won the first of two battles.“
“Game 2 – a slightly different story, after going up early in the game Barton threw their lead and had to work hard in the second half to level the score, with 5 goals from Callum showing his class in front of the goal. Ending 5-5 in a lung busting game for both teams.”
“Inter did themselves proud, showing exactly why they deserved promotion last year. Captain for the day Matt would go on and win Player of the Day after a fine, professional performance. Callum fired home seven goals on his debut, with Joel pocketing one for himself in a feisty performance. Stu was confident and commanding in goal, picking up a slight knock which ruled him out of training this week. Jacob and Dan were excellent team players, who both played their part in such competitive games.“
“Inter still have versatile and athletic Captain Wills to return, who will add strength to their defence with Scotty also due back in November who will no doubt add intelligence and composure to the team. Brandon is due to make his league debut in November, who can be a threat all over the pitch. Inter also have Rob and Ben available for selection as the season progresses.”
Barton Inclusive FC would like to congratulate James and his team for a terrific start to their league campaign and thank team volunteer Lauryn for her incredible on and off field support. Special mention to all the league volunteers for hosting a successful day.
Derek Dooley Premier White team report.
A new season for the whites and with only 5 players it was a hard afternoon for the team, with Craig not able to go in net after having his covid jab; Mo stepped in for him and was a superb replacement. This was quite an even game with shots saved at both ends. Tom was solid in defence with some great work in midfield by Luke, Craig & Keiron. Mo rolled the ball out to Luke who passed diagonally to Craig, and he scored taking them into the lead. Heads were up, but Sheffield came back stronger and managed to beat Mo, bringing it back level. It stayed this to very near the end with some great play by both teams, but the last kick of the game saw Sheffield come out winners. Just a short water break and the second game was on, with Tom going in goal. This was a competitive game but Dooley soon tired and it saw them on the losing end of 2-0, they rallied together and managed to get back to a 2-2 draw, but Sheffield had subs to help with the fitness and this was the downfall of the Whites losing 5-2.
Sheffield (Black) came out on top win their back-to-back fixtures with Derek Dooley (White), and in the final set of matches, Bradford Claret took the points with two hard-fought wins over league new-boys Wath Stars Junior Hub United, who gave an excellent account of themselves in their first SYACL outings.
Bradford City DFC Clarets sit top of the South Yorks Ability Counts League Premier Division; at the end of the afternoon, their coach Paul Jubb commented, “we beat Wath Stars United 4-1 with goals from Anna x 2 and Ian x2.”
“In the second game against Wath Stars United the Clarets won 6-2 goals from Jack F x 4 and Ian and Ben – who scored on his debut.”
“Our player of the day has to go to Toby Hunter for some amazing reaction saves. I still don’t know how he managed to save some of the shots!” said his coach, Danny.”
So, after the six games, Bradford Claret and Sheffield Disability (Black) have one hundred per cent records and lead Barton Inclusive FC Inter Bar by two points. City Knights (Red) have that one point from that thrilling draw with Barton, and Dooley (White) and Wath (Purple) will look to get on the scoreboard when the 5-a-side resumes in November.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Bradford City FITC Disability Claret | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Sheffield FC Disability 5-a-side (Black) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Barton Inclusive Football Club Inter Bar | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | City Knights Red | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
| 5 | Derek Dooley Football Academy White | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| 6 | Wath Stars Junior Hub United | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
So, to the Championship, and newly promoted Social Eyes Green started their season at the higher level with two tough matches with Club Doncaster Titans (Blue). The matches were watched and reported by Titans’ coach John Hibbert.
Club Doncaster Titans (Blue) match report.
“In match one, we started strongly but then Conner scored his first goal assisted by Jamie,“ John told us. “Then Brad took a free kick and scored us a second goal, and Jamie scored from a rebound to make it 3-0. So, I told Social Eyes coach to put the extra player on. Conner scored again assisted by Danny, so 4-0. Then Jamie scored 5-0 assisted by Danny; by now the other team had all their players on and then Jaimie scored again to make it 6-0 so I took a player off then Danny scored 7-0 then Jamie scored again 8-0 then swapped Jamie for Cameron. We then scored a cracking goal to make it 9-1 then Cameron scored again by accident from a defensive rebound to make it 10-1!”
“In the second game I put Cameron, Brad and Danny on and Ashley in the net, so we started. It was end-to-end stuff then Cameron scored from an assist from Danny 1-0,” John reports. “Then Cam scored again with another assist from Danny 2-0 then Danny scored to make it 3-0 told them to put extra players on. I took Cam off and replaced him with Conner, so then Conner scored to make it 4-0. The top and bottom of it was Conner scored again 3 times, so we won 7-0.”
Now I would like to congratulate Social Eyes goalkeeper who pulled off some cracking saves, so well done for your performance and brilliant play from their striker Liam – well done mate for putting pressure on our keepers. Well done Social Eyes; we enjoyed how they played, and they are as friendly on the pitch as off; thank you to everyone who took part it was a good day.”
Next up, Club Doncaster Titans (Ladies) fought out a tough battle with Sheffield FC (Purple). Titans’ coach Steph Hall watched the game for http://www.syacl.com.
Club Doncaster Titans (Ladies) match report.
“This was an incredibly good game played by the ladies. They stayed solid at the back and made it difficult for Sheffield to break them down. Both teams created good chances but both goalkeepers made some brilliant saves keeping the game level. Midway through the first half Sheffield got the breakthrough goal by a screamer scored from their own half. CDT kept pushing for an equaliser and continued to defend with brilliant keeping which kept Sheffield out. Near the end of the game Sheffield scored their second goal of the game and secured the win.”
After a quick turnround, Titans’ ladies took on Bradford City Diamonds. Titan’s Steph Hall reported on another great game.
“This was another good performance by the Ladies team. Again, they showed some good defensive and attacking play. Despite this Bradford pulled ahead with two quick-fire goals. Just before half time the ladies’ comeback was on. The first goal was a quick attack started by Kaz the goalkeeper who passed to Nikita who then scored with a nice finish. Then the second goal came from some good defending by Shauna who won the ball back, passed to Nikita who again scored with a nice finish. Bradford kept pushing for more, but Kaz continued performing brilliant save after save. Bradford scored two more quick goals before halftime. Second half continued the same, both teams creating many chances and Kaz producing more brilliant saves. In the end Bradford continued pushing and scored several more goals before the end of the game.”
“Well done to Bradford City DFC Diamonds,” coach Paul Jubb told us. “They beat Doncaster Titans Ladies 8-2with goals from Ben 3 (hat trick), Matty 2, Harvinder 2 & Matt. The game was closer than the score suggests!”
“They then went down 2-0 in the first 5 minutes against Sheffield FC Purples but managed to get 2 goals back. In the second half Matty scored from the halfway line and Ben came on to score the equaliser to make the final score 2-2 in a close game.”
“Player of the day was Matty,” Paul reported. ”He gave 110% in both games and scored 3 goals despite playing in defence.”
“The final Championship game of the day saw an absolute cracker of a draw between Bradford Diamonds and Sheffield (Purple). The game finished 2-2 after a fiercely contested twenty minutes. Emotions tipped over just towards the end, but the situation was quickly dealt with by referee Brian Eaton, and it was all smiles and handshakes when the points were shared at full time.”
Those two early wins see Titans Blues two points clear at the top of the Championship table, with Bradford (Diamonds) and Sheffield (Purple) in hot pursuit. Titans’ Ladies will feel a little hard done by not to have at least a point from their two excellent games, and Social Eyes Green will look to get to grips with the Championship on their next matchday.
Pitch Seven Referee Dennis needed all his fingers and toes to keep score as the goals flew in at both ends in each of the five matches. The League One season started with two convincing wins for Barton Inclusive Hull Vikings over a City Knights White team affected by late withdrawals due to illness. To take nothing away from Barton, they played extremely well and were deserved winners, and would be more than happy to make the long journey home with a well-earned six points.
Hillsborough Hornets Gold made a great start to their League One campaign with wins over Derek Dooley Academy Blue and Derek Dooley Academy Green; special word here for the Hornets coaching staff who did everything they could to make the games competitive. Hornets also remained unbeaten during the afternoon.
Derek Dooley Blue & Green teams match report.
It was a tough afternoon for both Dooley Blue and Green, but, as always both sets of players put on a great show, watched by Coach Claire Cowlishaw.
“The Greens started us off against the new team Hillsborough Hornets, but the team was depleted due to illness, so they put on an amazing try with only 4 players. Bethany started in goal with Woody, Shaq and Ben the players doing the running. Shaq did his usual standing in 1 spot but unfortunately the ball didn’t get to him, Woody & Ben did all the running up and down the pitch and both had shots that went wide and over. The Hornets were better than us and took a commanding lead by 4 goals, this saw Bethany come out of the net and Woody go in, so this left a lot of work for Ben. Woody let more goals in so that was the end of him in the net, so threw the gloves on the floor, thankfully half time came to have a quick drink. Ends swapped and Shaq went in goal with Nathan standing behind to encourage him, he made a few good saves. Ben had a great shot, and it went in so heads up a bit, Woody was then able to dribble past a player and score but unfortunately Hornets kept on scoring to make double figures! Thankfully then the Greens could have a rest and it was the Blues turn.
The Blues were also depleted and only had 4 players, they had Ryan in goal so it was down to Adursh, Cody and Tanisha, being her first game with the team. There was some solid defending from Cody and good saves by Ryan, but they were better than us and got past Ryan and they soon took a 3-0 lead, so we borrowed Ben taking us up to 5 players. They tried and had some good shots and eventually Tanisha scored a consolation, finishing 5-1.
The teams had a rest before they had to play themselves, which saw a more relaxed game with lots more smiling and moving up & down the pitch. We borrowed Tom to go in the goal to give them all a chance to play. The early leaders were the Greens with Ben scoring first and then Woody taking them into a 2-0 lead. They kept trying and Cody took the ball upfield and shot past Tom bringing them back to 2-1. Shaq got the ball on the left and turned and shot past Ryan so his unmistakable goal celebration ensued. Mo came on to help the Blue team and this saw some good passing between Cody & Adursh up to Tanisha who scored her second, 3-2. The players were still going for it and enjoying the football and Shaq scored again 4-2, then some good play saw Shaq score again for his hat trick, I think they heard his celebration in the bar!
This spurred the Blues to better passing and Mo got 1 back then Cody and then Tanisha took the ball up herself and scored bringing it to a 5-5 draw. It was very tense the last few minutes, but all were getting tired, but Cody had a burst of energy and scored past Tom to take the lead for the Blue team.”
Barton Inclusive FC Hull Vikings match report.
On the 1st October, BIFC – Hull celebrated their first birthday, so it was absolutely fantastic to see their Vikings team play their first ever competitive league game in the South Yorkshire Ability Counts League on Sunday 16th October, hosted at Doncaster Goals Centre. What a fantastic year it has been leading up to this historical moment.
The team began training together in October 2021, under the guidance of coach Joe. The team have enjoyed a number of friendlies and tournament events and have developed into a fantastic team under Joe who has created a brilliant team environment where every player is able to contribute to the team, develop their footballing skills and enjoy playing the beautiful game.
Prior to the beginning of the season, coach Mikey joined and together with Joe, they make a superb coaching team. As Sunday approached, the players were excited to pull on their BIFC kit and kick start their league campaign. With coach Joe and Mikey, they were prepared and ready to play after enjoying their final training session the Friday before.
The team really did enter the league in style, winning both their opening games, with coach Mikey commenting, “the players started off their day with a positive attitude. Considering they only had 3-4 minutes to warm up due to traffic inconveniences causing lateness, from the get-go the players were switched on and determined to fight for a win. Through some tactical passing and runs from a whole range of Barton players and a long-lasting winner’s mind-set, they managed to bag two wins with the games finishing 9-1 and 14-3. They were phenomenal, an absolute pleasure watching them pass the ball about.”
The whole day was a brilliant success with players enjoying every moment, supported by enthusiastic parents and carers.
Barton Inclusive FC would like to thank coaches Joe and Mikey for their continued support of BIFC Hull – Vikings and congratulate them on such a wonderful start to the league. Special thanks also to Seb from the U16’s team who came to support. Thank you to Jo and Marc for all their hard work in preparation. Thank you to the parents and carers for their continued support and thank you, most importantly, to our players who represented our club exemplary. The team are excited for their November fixture and thank the whole committee at the league for all the incredible work they do.
Let’s go team BIFC!
So, after two games each, Barton Hull Vikings and Hillsborough Hornets (Gold) set the early pace with six points. Dooley Blue have three points after their derby win, and City Knights (White) and Derek Dooley Green will look to regroup ahead of matchday two in November.
Here’s the League One table: –
So, to League Two, which kicked off with back-to-back battles between Club Doncaster Titans (Yellow) and Rawmarsh St. Joseph’s JFC Social Eyes (White). It was the team from Doncaster who came out on top in both matches, watched and commented on by Titans’ coach Liam Taylor.
“In the first game, there was an end-to-end start and Titans were playing good football and Titans hit the post 3 times in a row with finally a goal scored by Barney to make it 1-0 to Titans,” Liam told www.syacl.com. “Barney made it 2-0 with a good shot and Barney got his hat trick to made it 3-0 to Titans and Matt R made it 4-0 Titans and Shaun made it 5-0 with a solo goal and a penalty for Social Eyes made it 5-1.”
“In the second game, again end-to-end from the start,” Liam explained. “Matt R had a penalty and a great save from the keeper to keep it 0-0; Barney made it 1-0 Titans with a good goal. A good goal from Social Eyes made it 1-1 and Matt B scored to make it 2-1 Titans and Shaun made it 3-1 Titans and Matt R scored to made 4-1 Titans and Titans make it 5-1 with a goal through Barney and Matt R made it 6-1 Titans, with his hat trick.”
“A great performance from the lads and I am really proud of each and every one of you,” Liam summed up. “Great games from everyone too and I am really happy with how you all played.”
Any neutrals watching five-a-side matchdays should look out for Spartans FC if you’re a fan of close, high-scoring games. The team in all green lost out in an incredibly close contest with League newcomers Wath Stars Junior Hub (Blue) to give Wath a debut win in the League. Spartan stayed on pitch three for another goal fest, again losing out narrowly to Bradford City Emeralds.
Spartans FC match report
Darren, the Spartans FC coach told http://www.syorksacl.com. ”Spartans FC were involved in 2 cracking and high scoring matches.”
“In the first match against Wath Stars Purple, despite some terrific defending by Sam and goals from Matt, Dan & Jake, we lost by the odd goal.“
“The second match against Bradford Emeralds was also high scoring. Trailing by 4 goals at the end of the first half, the lads put in a great effort to draw level towards the end of the second half. Goals from Matt & Jake and some great efforts and assists by Dom & Dan were sadly not enough to gain any points in the new season, as Bradford Emeralds scored 2 late goals to win the match.”
“Due to illness, we only had 5 players throughout both matches and we are extremely proud of the contribution they all made, regardless of the final scores.”
In the final game of the day, Bradford Emeralds won by the odd goal in fifteen against Wath Stars (Blue).
At the end of an enthralling League Two afternoon, Bradford Emeralds and Titans Yellow share the early lead with six points each. Wath Stars (Blue) made a great start to life in the SYACL and have three points, whilst Social Eyes and Spartans FC brought so much to a great afternoon of football and will be looking to get off the mark in November.
| 1 | Bradford City FITC Disability Emeralds | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Club Doncaster Titans FC (Adult) Yellow | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Wath Stars Junior Hub United blue | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Rawmarsh St Joseph’s J.F.C. Social Eyes | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| 5 | Spartans FC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
Everyone at the South Yorkshire Ability Counts League can now look forward to a couple of weekends off before we get back in action with the Juniors Under-12’s and 16’s on November 6th.
Follow us at www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com for the latest news, reports and features, or on Twitter @SYorksACL.com
Sunday 9th October 2022
SYACL 7-a-side action resumes at Concord
Sheffield clubs share the early lead in the Premier Division
Hundred-per-cent Titans White head the Championship
Dooley Orange set the pace in League One
After the Juniors’ fantastic start to the SYACL season last weekend, our open-age Under-7’s teams got their campaigns under way at Concord Sports Centre on Sunday. The League welcomed Rotherham United Community Sports Trust to the Championship, and the Sheffield FA’s Respect and Reward campaign was again adopted for the 14 fixtures at Concord.
As always, our trusty reporters were on hand to capture the action, and our www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com Website editor Margaret Gregory summed up another exciting afternoon in the SYACL.
In the Premier Division, Barton Inclusive sadly missed the kick-off, but we look forward to welcoming them back in November. There were four Premier League fixtures on Sunday, and when all the matches had finished, Sheffield Red and Sheffield Blue led the way with four points each with a win and a draw apiece. Both clubs beat City Knights, who were always up against it with just six players on the afternoon, and in the final fixture with Sheffield Blue were reduced to five after a red card, and both Sheffield clubs drew with a plucky Aston Swallownest (Red).
Aston Swallownest sit third in the table, with City Knights, who hope to be at full strength for the November fixtures and will be looking to make up ground on the unbeaten teams above them.
Early Premier League positions are:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Sheffield FC Blue (Disability) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Sheffield FC Red (Disability) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Aston Swallownest Juniors Disability Red | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Barton Inclusive Football Club Barton At | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | City Knights Black | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
In the Championship, it was a fantastic start for Club Doncaster Titans (White), who won both of their games to head the table with a one hundred per cent start, beating Brunsmeer Awareness and Derek Dooley (Red).
Martin Taylor watched the game for SYACL.com.
“In our first match against Brunsmeer, both teams were playing lovely football and both teams had chance after chance after chance,“ Martin told us, “Danny Grubb put the ball up in his own half and ran with it, taking players on beating them. Then he scored to make it 1 – 0 to the Titans. The game carried on, being end-to-end stuff. Brunsmeer scored on the counterattack and then Doncaster Titans stepped their game up again level with Keith Parker scoring again -a brilliant goal -to make the final score 2 – 1 to Doncaster Titans.”
Derek Dooley (Red) started their season with a win in a high-scoring clash with Rotherham United, covered for us by Dooley’s Claire Cowlishaw.
“In our first game against Rotherham United, the team started well passing between each other, getting used to playing matches again with some new players,” Claire reported. “There was passing from defenders Adam and Jack up to Stephen in midfield, but the pass didn’t reach Aiden this time. The lads at the back had to show their defence skills to stop the Rotherham advance, who got through but super save from Nathan to deny them. They started from defence again, but this time managed to get up to Aiden who scored. There were substitutions to give the others a chance and Lewis came on with his pace, dribbled around 2 players but shot saved.”
“There was some good play between Lewis and Brad and back to Lewis who scored to put them in the lead by 2,” Claire told SYACL.com. “From the kickoff Rotherham showed good skill and managed to squeeze one past Nathan bringing them back into the game. The game was end-to-end, and Dom kicked up field to Elliott on the wing who passed to the centre for Brad to shoot and score. The kickoff saw Rotherham have another shot saved, Nathan passed out to Dom who sent it up front to Brad who turned and scored taking them into a 4-1 lead. Rotherham added 2 more players and they made a comeback to 4-2 but some good skills from Brad who scored again finishing 5-3.”
Titans (White) came out on top in a close battle with Dooley (Red). Martin Taylor summed up the game for www.syacl.com
“It was another end-to-end match for the Titans, with both teams playing some lovely football, and both playing with heart and soul,” Martin explained. “The game looked like it was going to be a 0 – 0 draw but lovely football from Titans made it 1 – 0 with a goal by Chris Flanaghan from a cross from Danny Grubb. Then Derek Dooley (Reds) put the pressure on. In the last minute, the Titan’s keeper Phil Siddons got injured and with no substitute keeper on the bench I decided to gamble by putting my striker in the net. The last five minutes was the most nervous five minutes of my coaching career, but somehow the stand-in ‘keeper Liam Taylor played out of his skin and kept us in the game. The game ended with Titans winning 1 – 0 and keeping our 100% winning streak for the day intact.“
Claire summed up the game from Dooley’s perspective. ”Our second game was against Doncaster, but I think the lads had become too cold to play after the big gap between the matches, as they didn’t get into the flow of their play from the first game,” Claire admitted. “There was some strong defending from Adam and great saves from Nathan to keep them out. Jack showed his skills in midfield dribbling round two players but shot wide. This was a competitive game which saw Doncaster take the lead. The lads kept passing and working together but couldn’t get a shot through; there was a cheeky back heel from Brad but it was saved again.”
“Well done to our Red team,” Claire concluded.
This next report was from Chris Pow, Wheatley Wanderers JFC Ability.
1 – Brunsmeer Awareness 0 – Wheatley Wanderers JFC Ability
“We played strongly in the first half, with Justin playing well in goal. Ben was causing the opposition all kinds of problems.
A mistake in the second half gave Brunsmeer the chance to take a good goal, but we still had our own chances too. A good, fair game.”
0 – Wheatley Wanderers JFC Ability 4 – Bradford City Amber
“Bradford were a physical team, and there were a few free kicks awarded. A few of their goals were down to defensive errors (we lost a few of our defenders over the summer) but they were the better team.
Steven came close and Chris had a long range shot glance off the post. Justin had another blinder in goal.”
Elsewhere, Bradford City Amber enjoyed a win over Wheatley Wanderers, but tasted defeat to newcomers Rotherham United, who were making an excellent start to life in the SYACL. Brunsmeer Athletic won their game against Wheatley.
With all the scores added up, Titans lead the way by three points from Bradford (Amber), Brunsmeer Athletic, Derek Dooley (Red) and Rotherham United, all of whom won one game and lost one. It won’t be long before Wheatley get off the mark on what appears to be a very competitive division.
Standings after Matchday One are as follows:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Club Doncaster Titans FC (Adult) White | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Bradford City FITC Disability Amber | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Brunsmeer Awareness Awarness | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Derek Dooley Football Academy RED | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | Rotherham United Community Sports Trust | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Wheatley Wanderers SYACL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
So, to the four games in League One and a draw and a win for Derek Dooley (Orange), who kicked off their season against Club Doncaster Titans (Red).
“The Orange team only had seven players, so they had a lot of work to do between them,” Claire Cowlishaw reports. “The first game was against Doncaster, and they started well with Josh having a long range shot too high and then saved. Nathan was solid in midfield taking on a couple of players and passing to Jamie Lee who scored taking them into the lead. The team with new players worked well with guidance from Nathan. John was solid in defence alongside Clark who were supporting Gregg taking on the goalkeeping duties today. They worked as a team with some good passing and Believe had a shot saved.
Doncaster scored from the left, but the lads heads didn’t go down to keep themselves in the game and ended in a draw.”
Commenting on the same game, Titans’ Dan Hall told SYACL.com “In our first game of the season, the game was end-to-end from both teams, with action from both sides. Derek Dooley looked dangerous on the counter, but so did Titans Red player Callum Bisby who stepped up to take a free kick, bang, it hit the back of the net, so 1-0 to Titans Red. A little confusion just before half time as both teams heard a whistle and both teams stopped playing; the ball rolled into the back of Titans net, even Derek Dooley didn’t know they’d scored, but the referee gave the goal. The second half was end-to-end again but no team could find the net, so the game ended 1-1.”
Derek Dooley (Orange) were soon back in action under the watchful eye of Claire Cowlishaw. “The team lined up the same with Clark and John in defence, Jamie Lee, Josh and Nathan in midfield with Believe upfront,” Claire told SYACL.com. “There was some lovely passing between Nathan to Jamie Lee who scored our first goal. The lads started up again and Josh shot from out of the area, but it went way over. There was some good passing and moving by the players and Josh took the ball, ran with it, and scored taking them into a 2-0 lead. Aston swapped some players and had a shot which was saved by Gregg. He passed out to the side to Clark who passed to Nathan, and he passed to Believe who toe poked the ball past the keeper and celebrated with all his teammates!”
“Well done Orange team!”
Club Titans (Red) took to the field for their second game with Sheffield FC (White). Dan Hall, covered the game for www.SYACL.com.
“The game started out well with action from both sides,” Dan reported. “Unfortunately Titans defender Malcolm tried clearing it, but it hit the back of Titans net, making it 1-0 to Sheffield FC (White). Titans had all the work to do and during the second half it was better from Titans and the pressure was great. Our defender Owen R hit the post, but the team didn’t stop fighting, and Titans finally broke free from an excellent pass from Callum Bisby for Dan Hall to smash it in 1-1.”
The other game in this Division ended in a goalless stalemate between Aston Swallownest Juniors Blue and Sheffield FC (White).
Dooley (Orange) lead the way on four points, Titans (Red) and Sheffield FC (White) have two apiece, and Aston Blue have one point from that drawn game.
The table at the end of Matchday One looks like this:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Derek Dooley Football Academy Orange | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Club Doncaster Titans FC (Adult) Red | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Sheffield FC White (Disability) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Aston Swallownest Juniors Disability Blu | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
Nine of the fourteen clubs received 100% Respect and Reward scores, so congratulations to all of them.
All to play for in the 7-a-side Leagues when the action resumes at Concord in November. Many thanks to our match reporters Claire Cowlishaw, Martin Taylor and Dan Hall, and to editor Margaret Gregory.
Next Sunday afternoon, our 5-a-side teams get their seasons under way at the Goals Centre in Doncaster. For news, reports and pictures from Donny, follow us here at www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com or on Twitter @SYorksACL.
Sunday 2nd October 2022
Huge crowds greet new SYACL season at Goals Sheffield
Bradford Amber and Hornets early leaders in Under16’s Premier Division
Bradford Clarets and Barton fast out of the traps in Under-16’s Championship
Sheffield Red and Bradford Greens top the Under-12 Divisions
Sunday, October 2nd saw the start of a new South Yorkshire Ability Counts season; and it was the junior teams who set the scene at Goals Sheffield, playing 35 fixtures across four Divisions.
The SYACL welcomed new teams from Chesterfield FC Community Trust and Rotherham United Community Sports Trust on Sunday; more welcome additions to the League which continues to grow in popularity. If any further evidence of the strength and appeal of the League was required, it came in the form of the huge numbers of parents and supporters who turned up to support the players, coaches and referees.
The SYACL has also adopted Sheffield FA’s Respect and Reward programme, and so after each game on Sunday, the referees ranked the behaviour of players, coaches and spectators. The results will be published on the SYACL website shortly.
In the Under 16’s Premier Division, there were six games on Sunday, with each club playing twice. With all the matches played, Bradford Amber and Hornets Yellow shared the lead at the top of the table. Bradford enjoyed victories over Sheffield FC Blue, whilst Hornets took maximum points after victories over Chesterfield and Rotherham.
New boys Chesterfield got off the mark, sharing the points with Sheffield Blue, and Club Doncaster Titans sit in fourth with one point from their two matches. Titan’s Coach John Hibbert described their two close matches for http://www.syacl.com.
“Our first game with Rotherham was good, end–to-end stuff, “John told us. “Rotherham scored first, then gave a penalty away for their keeper kicking the ball over the halfway line. Ben took it and scored. We then took our eyes off the ball, and they scored again. Devon scored to make it even, then Rotherham scored again to go in front. Devon scored again and it finished 1-1 “
“Well done to Jacob on his debut – he played well, as did Dan,” John added. “Well done to Charlotte – she got battered but kept coming back. Well done to all – a good game!” In our second game Bradford scored first, John reported. “We were not working together, and they scored again. At this point Bradford was dominating the game. The referee told us to put an extra player on, but we still didn’t improve. Then we got a break when Devon scored, but then Bradford scored again. Devon scored a scorcher, but it ended up Bradford 1 Titans 0. “
“We have to work on looking for each other and passing and moving into space – but most of all, man- marking.”
At the end of the afternoon, the Premier League table is as follows:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Bradford City FITC Disability U16 Amber | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Hillsborough Hornets Disability FC U16 Y | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Chesterfield F.C. Community Trust U16 Pa | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
| 4 | Club Doncaster Titans Ability Counts FC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
| 5 | Rotherham United Community Sports Trust | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
| 6 | Sheffield FC Youth U16 Blue | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
| 7 | Barton Inclusive Football Club Hull – U1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
On to the Under-12’s, with all teams playing five times during the afternoon, meaning that every team played the other. Sheffield Red finished with a fantastic hundred per cent record with five wins. Hornets are second, with three wins, a draw and that one loss to Sheffield Red. Bradford Diamonds won two, lost two and drew with Hornets, and Rotherham United made a good start to life in the SYACL with two good wins over Chesterfield and Titans Blues. Chesterfield enjoyed a terrific first win over Titans, and Titans scored an early season win over Bradford Diamonds.
Titans Coach Phil Siddons summed up Titans’ afternoon for the SYACL Website.
“In our game with Sheffield FC, Titans started well with just four players,” Phil told us. “Sheffield went one up. There was some some good passing from both teams and Sheffield showed good sportsmanship. Well played everyone!”
In our game against Hornets, and despite some good saves from Joseph, Hornets went one up. Titans lost heads a bit, but still battled till the end, as they did in a tough match with Rotherham,” Phil told SYACL. Fair play to Bradford who played with four, then in our final game with Chesterfield, they started the better team, then James scored. Chesterfield went ahead again, but we got back to evens with Jacob scoring both. Chesterfield scored again then Jacob scored, but then we gave a penalty away to end it.”
So, League positions after the games are as follows:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Sheffield FC Youth U12 Red | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 15 |
| 2 | Hillsborough Hornets Disability FC U12 O | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | Bradford City FITC Disability U12 Diamon | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | Rotherham United Community Sports Trust | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | -1 | 6 |
| 5 | Chesterfield F.C. Community Trust U12 Pa | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -3 | 3 |
| 6 | Club Doncaster Titans Ability Counts FC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -3 | 3 |
To the Championship; and the early leaders are Bradford Greens with three wins and a draw from their four games. Hornets White sit three points behind after two wins and a loss to Titans. Sheffield FC White just a point back on six points after two wins of their own, and Bradford Emeralds and Titans both on three points with one win each.
Standings are as follows:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Bradford City FITC Disability U12 Greens | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| 2 | Hillsborough Hornets Disability FC U12 W | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 3 | Sheffield FC Youth U12 White | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Bradford City FITC Disability U12 Emeral | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 3 |
| 5 | Club Doncaster Titans Ability Counts FC | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -4 | 3 |
So, after a thrilling afternoon, the Juniors have a month before their next matchday. Next week attention turns to the seven-a-side teams, who kick off their season at Concord Sports Centre next Sunday afternoon.
News and updates can be found at www.southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com or our Twitter feed @SYorksACL.
I have received some great match reports from parents with their take on the games played, which follow now. Many thanks to all who took the time to be involved; if you took any photos of the afternoon or would like to write a match report then please email them to me @ poplars11mags@aol.com and I will add a page for each matchday with parents/carers photos.
With everyone’s support we can make this the best disability website available.
Can I just remind that this league does not record the huge goal differences in some games. It is reported as a 1-0 win. The players who score goals in the games get their names mentioned but not the big difference in respect to the losing team.
Parent’s match reports.
Zach’s Dad wrote these match reports.
Hornets Yellow v Chesterfield – Premiership Match – 1-0
“Great start to the season against unknown opposition with a dominant win. There was some beautiful passing football and excellent finishes with goals shared throughout the team. Zakir, Lewis, Lucas, Jacob, Alex and Levi all getting on the scoresheet. Great energy and team spirit and it was nice to see Chesterfield compete to the final whistle.“
Rotherham v Hornets Yellow – Premiership – 0-1
“Another fantastic performance against a spirited and determined Rotherham side, great goals from Lewis started it off before Levi and Zack added a couple more before half time. Excellent squad rotation from the manager Alex continued a great team performance throughout the second half. Sam solid in goal, Zakir and Jacob contributed a goal each to complete the 1-0 win. Well done.“
Thanks to Masons Parents for these match reports.
Hornets Orange V Sheffield FC – Premiership – 0-1
“Hornets first match was against last season’s league winners and the match started well. Great to see Cohen communicating with the team, Mason made some excellent saves and found space to pass the ball. Newcomer Jack made great tackles in defence. Excellent shots from Hadley, Henry and Walter, the Orange squad had great communication throughout and passed the ball well. Great first game to the new season. All involved showed great respect to their opposition.“
Doncaster Titans v Hornets Orange – Premiership – 0-1
“Great second game with goals from Henry, Walter, Cohen and Hadley. Great defending once more from Jack. Passing was great and the team finding space led to the goals.
Jack shows passion when defending, Hadley always finding good space.“
Bradford City v Hornets Orange – Premiership – 1-1
“Goals from Hadley and Walter in this match and a great pass from Jack lead to Walter’s goal. Mason made some great saves and looked solid in goals with Cohen showing excellent management of the team and ball control. Hadley scored a great goal from again finding himself space for the pass. Jack was immense in defence and worked well with Mason in goal.“
Chesterfield – Hornets Orange – Premiership – 0-1
“Goals from Walter and Hadley in the penultimate game. Mason made some excellent saves this match and managed to find his players well. Hadley had a good attempt on goal but narrowly missed out. Henry made a great shot and hit the bar. Cohen made great tackles. Walter scored his goal by using excellent communication and teamwork.
Jack once more solid in defence and has made a great impact in the team.“
Hornets Orange – Rotherham – Premiership – 1-0
“The last match ended in a 1-0 win for the Hornets. The goal came from Henry in this match and all the team were using what they had learned in training to find space and communicate with their teammates. Jack follows the ball and tackles when needed. Mason made some excellent saves and Henry scored the winner for the last match.
Great start to the Hornets Orange season.“
Thanks to Miley’s uncle for these match reports
Bradford – 1 Hornets Blacks – 0
“The 1st time playing in the under 16s divination together, and Bailey was strong in defence, Jonathan & Harry worked great as a team. …. With Lucas scoring a goal for Hornets.”
Hull – 1 Hornets Black -0
“Jonathan & Kaitlin both hit the post in a sustained attack and there was great communication from Bailey & Harry. Miley saved more goals than were scored and had a great impact in the net.
Good sportsmanship from Hull as they were a stronger more advanced team.”
Thanks to Harrisons Mum for these Match Reports.
U12s championship (white)
“What a great effort from all the teams today they all played brilliantly.
The first game against Doncaster we won 1-0.
Harrison scored the first Goal, followed shortly by Micky; Oliver had some great chances and got the third goal in.
Micky was on a right roll and put the fourth one in. And lastly Evan scored the fifth goal but had so many great chances. Carter saved some great shots; Alfie made some great tackles. Jake played amazingly in defence, getting his boot into the ball to get it away from the goal. The first match they came out ready to win more!”
Game 2 Bradford 1-1
Oliver scored a brilliant goal in this game. They battled hard, Evan had some great shots, Jake again was great in defence. Carter made some cracking saves. And the rest of the team made some great tackles. And finished very happy with a 1-1 draw.
Game 3 Sheffield FC an amazing 1-0 win for the boys!
Oliver came in with the first goal, followed by Harrison for the second and Harrison again for the third goal.
Oliver for the fourth, Harrison again for the fifth getting him a hat trick.
Alfie scored the sixth goal, and what a goal that was from the halfway line. Absolutely brilliant. All the other boys played amazing, passing and they all had some great chances.”
Game 4 against Bradford 1-0
First Goal to Harrison with a second that was an own goal by Bradford; then Harrison went on to score the third, fourth, fifth and sixth goals with some amazing passes and teamwork from all the players.
South Yorkshire Ability Counts League 