July 2021
On the evening of Thursday 1st July U11s concluded their season at Grange Park with an exciting win against Pannal Sports followed by pizzas for the players, beers for parents and the traditional end of season presentations. Pannal Sports also provided the opposition for U15s last match on the following Sunday. Our boys played good football to take a 2-0 lead, then after a Pannal injury we took off a player to even up the teams, lost our shape, and conceded twice to finish with a 2-2 draw.
The season finally came to an end on Sunday 11th July, with a 4-0 win for the U12s over Beckwithshaw.
June 27th 2021
A champagne (or maybe Lucozade Sport) day for the U12s, who took a couple of teams to the Ilkley 5 a side gala. One of our sides topped their group table with five wins and a draw to qualify for the semi-final. A 1-0 win against hosts Ilkley took us to the final. We went a goal down to Salts, scored a late equaliser to take the game into overtime, during which we scored the winning goal to take the honours back to Grange Park. U9s finished their season with a trip to Pannal, winning three and drawing one.
June 19th and 20th 2021
Congratulations to the U13s who cliched the league title with a comfortable 11-0 win away at Shadwell. The boys finished the season with 15 wins and a draw from 16 games and a goal difference of 102-20.
Elsewhere U13s Girls lost 6-1 to league winners Ilkley, and U16s went down 5-1 at Burley.
June 10th-13th 2021
U8s used their friendly match against Bardsey to introduce the team to 7 a side football in preparation for next season, winning both games. U11s played a return match at Knaresborough. Having beaten them at Grange Park a week ago, this weekend the result was reversed, and despite battling well and missing a few good chances we lost the game. U13s last home game of the season was played on a gloriously sunny Thursday evening at Grange Park. Playing three at the back and flooding the midfield, we ran out 9-1 winners to complete a 100% home record for the season.
U16s played an epic cup quarter final tie in the hot sun on the slope at North East Leeds. Due to a combination of COVID, sunstroke and work commitments we were down to just 12 available players, who battled hard, coming from behind three times against an excellent passing side. The game finished 5-5, only for us to lose the penalty shoot-out 6-5.
June 5th and 6th 2021
A double header for the U11s. One of our sides played against Harrogate Railway, the other took on Knaresborough, with both ending up victorious. U16s were 5-1 up at half time in the cup away at Boroughbridge, an admittedly flattering scoreline thanks to three outstanding saves from our stand-in goalkeeper. We increased the lead in the second half, only to concede four in the last ten minutes, just managing to hold on for a 6-5 win and progress to the quarter final. U17s finished the league season at home to Pannal Sports. Playing our best football of the season, we raced into a 3-0 lead but eventually succumbed to a 7-5 defeat.
May 27th-30th 2021
U9s played some of their best football of the season against Pannal Sports at Grange Park, winning three and drawing one. Some great goals and everyone worked hard for the team. A couple of games this week for the U13s. A 3-0 home win on Thursday evening against Farsley saw us go level at the top of the league, followed by a Sunday match away at joint leaders Whitkirk. An outstanding team performance against tough opposition saw us run out 6-1 winners to go three points clear at the top of the table with three games left to play.
May 22nd and 23rd 2021
U9s played against Wetherby in an entertaining match on The Ings, winning by a single goal. U13s beat third placed Shadwell 7-0 at Grange Park.
May 15th and 16th 2021
U9s were comfortably beaten by a strong Pannal Ash side on The Stray. U11s combined their two squads for a match against Pannal Ash B at Grange Park, enabling us to give a number of players some game time. We got a well-earned win in a competitive match against a good team. The first ten minutes of U13s game at Drighlington was fairly close, followed by 11 minutes of madness during which we scored six times. 9-0 up at half time, we switched our defenders and forwards around in the second half to try to even up the game, scoring twice more to win 11-0 for the second weekend running. U14s bold move to a 3-1-4-2 formation against Leeds Maccabi paid instant dividends as we raced into an early 2-0 lead. A couple of defence-splitting passes led to two more goals, giving us a 4-1 half time advantage. Maccabi responded robustly in the second half, but we stayed calm and scored four more without reply. Final score 8-1. U15s Girls were beaten 9-2 by Guiseley. Despite being without both of our main strikers U16s looked good as we took a 3-1 lead against Pannal Sports Panthers. Unfortunately we then lost a central defender to injury and Pannal took full advantage, scoring four times for a 5-3 win.
May 8th and 9th 2021
U13s played some wonderful football against Wrenthorpe. 5-0 up at half time, the boys were relentless in the second half, finishing with an 11-0 win. U16s drew 3-3 with Pannal Ash Eagles.
May 1st and 2nd 2021
U7s got two wins and two draws against Clifford at Grange Park, playing some pleasing football and showing signs. U9s took two teams to Wigton Moor and played six games. We won, drew and lost, coming out just on top on goal aggregate. U11s played a couple of games on The Ings against Wetherby, winning both by good margins. U14s dominated the first half away at Wigton Moor but conceded two breakaway goals. We pulled a goal back in the second half, but conceded twice more. Our finishing let us down, failing to convert three one-on-one chances against the Wigton keeper. U16s took full advantage of an immaculate pitch at Menston, playing some good passing football for a 7-0 win with five different scorers.
April 24th and 25th 2021
A number of our teams were in action against Knaresborough this weekend. U14s dominated the first half but only managed to score once before the break. A host of changes after half time saw us move up a gear and hit three more without reply, for a final score of 4-0. U15s got their first win of the season with a 4-2 win. U16s played their first competitive league match since February 2020 (!). Despite hitting the post twice in the second half the game finished as a 0-0 draw. U17s were missing both regular goalkeepers due to injury. We played good attacking football in the first half but went off the boil after the interval, and fell to a 5-0 defeat.
Our girls teams both played against Skipton. In an entertaining game U13s Girls took a 3-1 lead, were pegged back to 3-3, scored a late goal to regain the lead only to concede again for a 4-4 draw. A depleted U15s Girls side lost 7-3 against the team that will most likely top the league at the end of the season.
Elsewhere the U8s played their first game in a while against Wetherby at The Ings, with three new players making their debuts, and helping us to three wins and a defeat. U11s shook off last week's rustiness and helped by a full strength squad and a couple of U10s recorded two good wins against Beckwithshaw. U13s Boys faced Chapeltown for the second time this month and once again won 3-1 to go up to third in the table.
April 17th and 18th 2021
U11s first post-lockdown game was at home against Pannal Sports. The boys were a bit rusty and this was reflected in the result. U12s stormed to victory in a couple of friendlies, a 9-1 home win against Nidd on Saturday and a 10-1 win at Otley on Sunday. A good 4-1 win in the Garforth League for U13s away at Farsley Celtic saw us maintain our unbeaten record and sit fourth in the table. U17s lost 3-0 at home against Guiseley. We could have won the game but spurned our chances and then gave away a couple of sloppy second half goals.
April 10th and 11th 2021
Saturday 10th April saw the stop-start 2020-21 season emerge from its latest lockdown, with the U15s Girls welcoming Guiseley to Grange Park for a league match. On a sunny, windless morning we played well but Guiseley's goalkeeper played a blinder, with the visitors taking the match by a 3-2 scoreline. The next day U15s Boys went down 3-0 to Leeds Maccabi in a 'league friendly', U12s drew 2-2 at Clifford in a competitive 10 a side match, and U17s also drew 2-2 in an entertaining game against Collingham. It is good to see our players back on the pitch after a three month layoff.
The players, managers and coaches from KDR and Leeds Maccabi U15s stand for a minute's silence in honour of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away on April 9th
Action from the U15s Girls match v Guiseley
Action from the U15s match v Leeds Maccabi
December
The end of the second lockdown of the year saw a return to the training ground and some friendly matches for our boys teams, with the restart of the league season scheduled for the second weekend of the New Year. U17s managed to play four friendlies over three weekends, and the U11s and U12s also got some much needed game time against fellow tier 3 opponents.
In contrast the girls teams were back in league action almost immediately, without even the benefit of any training sessions to get back into condition. U13s Girls were in action each weekend, starting with a home game against Killinghall Nomads on Saturday 5th December. We took the lead but conceded an equaliser straight from the restart. Despite being on top we went into the break 2-1 down. The lack of football during lockdown took its toll in the second half; we went off the boil and conceded twice more for a 4-1 defeat. A week later we were away at Ilkley on a very muddy pitch. We were a goal behind after just two minutes, and two down after ten. Recognising that we were giving Ilkley's midfield too much space and time we moved a centre back further upfield, and the change in formation helped us get the score back to 2-2 by half time. Ilkley scored again after the break, we equalised, and so it stayed until seven minutes before the end. Ilkley's goalkeeper was penalised for picking up the ball from a back pass and we scored from the resulting free kick. A fifth goal just before the end wrapped things up for a very satisfying 5-3 win. The last Saturday before Christmas saw us entertain Bedale at home. A solid defensive performance couple with good interplay between midfield and attack saw us go in 3-0 up at half time. We played into the wind in the second half and found it a little harder, failing to convert our chances but conceding just one goal for a 3-1 win.
Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October
The first weekend of half term meant a break from competitive matches for a number of our teams. U11s Whites played some good football in a friendly away at Harrogate Railway Greens, scoring some good goals on the break and keeping a clean sheet. U12s lost 3-0 to Wigton Moor in a friendly at Roundhay Park. We had a couple of key players missing but the team played well and deserved at least a goal for their efforts. U13s Girls were also in friendly action at home against Clifford. A ding-dong first half in windy conditions saw us take a two goal lead, concede a goal, score a goal then concede a goal to go into half time 3-2 up. We had the wind behind us in the second half and took full advantage, scoring four goals without reply for a 7-2 win.
Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th October
U10s travelled to Knaresborough Celtic, winning one and losing three. We played some good football, and welcomed a couple of debutants to the squad. U11s played a couple of games against Harrogate Railway. U11s Blues match was their second league game of the season against the team that beat us last month in our first. We have played a number of tough friendlies in the meantime, and it obviously paid off as we avenged the previous defeat. U11s Whites also won, maintaining their unbeaten record at 9 a side level. U12s dominated possession in the first half against Otley but only had a single goal lead to show for it. A couple of goals for each side after the interval gave us a 3-2 win. U17s beat Tockwith in an entertaining friendly.
Action from the U15s match v Ilkley
Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th October
U8s won four out of four at home against Beckwithshaw. U9s fielded a number of new recruits against Pannal Ash. We lost the first two games, but performed much better in the next two games, drawing one and narrowly losing the second, missing three penalties in the process. U11s also gave starts to new players in a couple of friendlies against local rivals Clifford. U11s Blues played their best football to date, losing narrowly to a team that is a division above us and the reigning league champions to boot. U11s Whites drew with Clifford's second team. U12s made hay in the autumn sunshine with a 6-5 win against Ripon. U13s Girls were left to rue missed opportunities against Skipton, creating lots of chances but unable to put them away, only to concede a goal via a defensive slip to lose the game 1-0. U17s were away at table-topping Guiseley and produced a much improved performance, though our tendency to gift easy goals to our opponents meant we lost 4-2.
Action from the U13s Girls match v Skipton
Action from the U17s match at Guiseley
Sunday 4th October
U11s played at home against a couple of teams from Knaresborough Celtic. Our league team got a draw, a pleasing result after a run of three straight defeats. The second team convincingly beat Knaresborough's B team. Each member of the U13s team had an outstanding game away at Leeds City Juniors. We were 4-0 up at half time, scoring three more in the second half for a 7-0 win. U14s took the lead with a well worked goal against Ripon at home. We scored a second, only to concede almost immediately, then scored a third, only to concede almost immediately. We managed to stay on top and hang on for a 3-2 win. U16s were away at Ripon. The first half was finely balanced, with Ripon ahead by a single goal at half time. After the interval we made the mistake of sitting back, allowing Ripon to control the game, and score four more goals without reply.
Action from the U17s match v Ilkley
Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th September - First game of the season for U8s; U13s Girls best game ever
Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September - A first game for the U7s and a storming win for the U13s
This weekend saw the U7s play their first ever competitive match, with the boys performing really well against Beckwithshaw. A new challenge also for the U9s, who have made the step up from 5 a side to 7 a side. Playing for the first time since January, and missing a couple of key players, we lost narrowly on aggregate to Wigton Moor. Ahead of the start of their season U11s are playing a series of friendly matches against higher division teams with a view to building character and improving fitness. Despite going down to a defeat against Pannal Sports the boys can be proud of the way they performed.
U15s succumbed to a disappointing defeat against Pannal Ash Rangers. A good first half performance was followed by a second half collapse, with the final score 6-2 to Pannal. U15s Girls also lost to Pannal Ash - it was our first game in six months, and with just one training session since the restart our lack of match sharpness showed, going down to a 7-2 defeat. U17s were soundly beaten last weekend in their first game in Division 1, so the boys had a point to prove against Harrogate Railway. Despite missing two key players to injury, other players playing out of position, and conceding early we hit back to deservedly lead 2-1 at the break. Harrogate got back into the game as the second half progressed and equalised on the hour. The game looked to be heading for a draw only for us to gift our opponents three late goals. Final score 5-2 to Harrogate, but a massive improvement from the last match.
Our team of the weekend was the U13s. Despite having the better of the first half against Garforth Rangers we struggled to find the net, while Garforth converted all three of their chances to lead 3-2 at the break. In the second half our defence was rock solid, midfield dominant and the attack clinical, scoring six goals without reply. Final score 8-3.
Action from the U13s match v Garforth
Action from the U15s match v Pannal Ash
Action from the U17s match v Harrogate Railway
Sunday 13th September 2020 - Girls triumph in last season's Cup Final
If you thought that August 23rd was a late finish to last season's Champions League Final, think again. On a weekend when other teams were starting their 2020-21 league season last season's U15s Girls team - who are now the Harrogate Town U16s Girls - finally played their 2019-20 Cup Final against a Guiseley team who were top of the league when COVID-19 stopped play. Guiseley are one of the best teams in West Yorkshire and soon let us know it as they raced into a 4-1 lead. A 30 yard strike pulled one back for us and we hit the post and another long range piledriver was tipped over but Guiseley were well worth their commanding first half lead.
Cue a motivational half time talk and a move to a 3-4-3 formation saw the girls respond magnificently. Another 25 yard screamer and a seriously hard strike from the edge of the area brought us level. We then failed to clear a long ball over the top and Guiseley were ahead 5-4. It quickly became 5-5 when we scored direct from a corner. With the on-pitch temperature exceeding 20 degrees it then became a question of who was the fittest and most determined team. We took the lead with a well worked goal, Guiseley pushed forward for an equaliser but the girls defended stoutly and with the last kick of the match a defence splitting pass and a fine finish saw the girls triumph 7-5 and lift the trophy.
U12s played a friendly against Clifford. We got off to a slow start (this seems to be a recurring theme today), our players looked tired and we went two goals behind. As the game went on we slowly cranked up the pace and scored with a few minutes left to set up an exciting finale in a 2-1 defeat. U14s were at home to Wigton Moor and also suffered from slow start syndrome, conceding five goals without reply in the first 20 minutes. An inspired substitution and positional reshuffle put a halt to the one way traffic, then at half time the team identified the problems and as a result improved greatly in the second half. Final score 6-2 to Wigton.
Newly promoted U17s first game in Division 1 was a reality check for many of our players. After being unbeaten - and never really stretched - in the league last season, we were outplayed for long periods by Pannal Sports Lions, going down to a 6-0 defeat. We didn't think fast enough, we disn't close the opposition down fast enough and we never really tested their goalkeeper.
Action from the U17s match at Pannal Sports Lions
Saturday 8th August - Football's (finally) come home
March 15th was the last time we saw any football at Grange Park. 146 days later, and thanks to a lot of hard work behind the scenes to ensure that all necessary measures in line with the FA guidance for restarting competitive football are in place, we are finally back on the football pitch. A warm summer's morning welcomed a number of our teams back to training, with more to follow in the coming weeks, and a return to competitive fixtures on the horizon.
Managers and coaches, players, parents and carers will have noticed some changes at Grange Park, with one-way systems, traffic cones and hand sanitiser dispensers in place. We ask you to please follow these precautions in the interest of everyone's safety and continued good health.
Welcome back everyone.
