Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd October

A good weekend for ducks, but not so good for playing football. U12s were far from their best in a 3-1 defeat against Collingham. U11s recorded a good win at home against Knaresborough Celtic, but the opposite outcome for the U10s, who were beaten heavily at Ilkley. U9s played Beckwithshaw on a wet and foggy Stray in Harrogate, and won all four games, playing some good football in the process.

Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th October

U16s served up a fabulous rollercoaster Barkston Ash Cup tie against Garforth Villa at Grange Park. We started well and had control of the game but got caught on the counter not once but twice and went in 2-0 down at the half way stage. After a rousing team talk we came out all guns blazing and stormed into a 3-2 lead. Disappointingly, just before the end Garforth found an equaliser taking the game straight to the dreaded penalty shoot-out. After the regulation five penalties it was 4-4 so it went to sudden death. Just as we were beginning to run out of volunteer penalty takers our keeper pulled off a great save to give us a 7-6 win.

U15s Girls slumped to a shock 11-0 defeat away at Pannal Ash. U12s had three first team players missing for the trip to Ripon, and it showed in a 2-2 draw, which saw the opposition get their first point of the season. U10s got a win, a draw and two defeats against Wetherby.

Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th October

U16s got off to a slow start at home to Beckwithshaw Saints and could easily have found ourselves two goals down within the first ten minutes. We managed to weather the storm and started to get a foothold in the game, only to concede first, but managed to equalise before the break. Saints keeper pulled off a couple of brilliant saves to prevent us taking the lead, then they hit three goals without reply, the game finishing with a 4-1 defeat.

Playing against Chapeltown at home U15 Boys failed to capitalise on their chances in the first half and went into half time level at 1-1. We had the lion's share of possession in the second half but didn't manage to add to the score until five minutes from time, when we scored twice for a 3-1 win. U15s Girls got off to a good start against Scotton, racing into a 2-0 lead within ten minutes of kick off. We conceded a goal before half time, but stepped up a gear in the second half, mounting wave after wave of attacks, to record a 6-3 win. Despite playing some of the best passing football this team has ever played, U12s were let down by their finishing, and went down to a 3-1 defeat at Killinghall.

Both U11s teams were at home this weekend. The 'A' team took the lead against Pannal Ash, who are probably the strongest side in the league. The visitors got back on top on the stroke of half time, and extended their lead in the second half. The 'B' team lost against Pannal Sports. We played some nice football but just didn't take our chances. U10s were away at Beckwithshaw, some great teamwork resulting in three wins and a draw. Two good wins from two for the U7s against Ripon.

Action from the U16s match v Beckwithshaw

Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd October

U16s faced Horbury Town in the First Round of the County Cup. Despite having the lion's share of the possession and chances in the first half we failed to get on the score sheet and went in 0-0 at half time. The second half followed a similar pattern. Disappointingly we gave away a cheap free kick allowing Horbury to pump the ball into the box and they scored from a stunning overhead kick. In an effort to get back in the game we went to three  at the back. Ten mins from time we conceded a second goal which took the wind out of our sails and it was all over.

We very rarely see a goalless match in junior football, but despite an entertaining contest against Pannal Ash, U15s Boys were held to their first 0-0 draw in ten years of competitive football. U15s Girls had just 12 players available for their game at Bedale, due to injury, sickness, and prior engagements. Forced to play with a winger at full back and a midfielder in goal, the omens were not good, but a determined performance in the first half saw us go into the break with a 1-0 lead. More hard work in the second half paid off. Our persistence and attacking football led to four more goals, and some excellent saves from our stand-in keeper kept our goal unbreached. Final score 5-0.

U11s recovered after conceding an early goal against the run of play to get a good win away at Beckwithshaw. U10s match with Wigton Moor was a close, evenly matched contest, with one win, two draws and a defeat.

Action from the U13s match v Collingham

Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th September

U15s Girls were missing two key players due to injury for our home match v Clifford. On a typically breezy Grange Park morning we took a one goal lead into half time, and almost witnessed our keeper adding a wind-assisted second. It was a different story after the break. We struggled attacking into the wind, and Clifford scored three without reply. The opposite scoreline for the U12s, recording a 3-1 win against Ripon. We got off to the worst possible start, conceding after just 20 seconds, and it took us almost half an hour to start playing with any sense of urgency. We equalised before the break, then after a strong half time team talk played much better in the second half, scoring twice more.

Contrasting fortunes for our U11s teams. The 'a group' team got a convincing win at Collingham; in contrast the Blues lost heavily at Killinghall. U10s won their first two games against Pannal Sports with some excellent football, but then went to sleep for the next two games, drawing one and losing the other. U7s visited Pannal Sports for their first ever matches against another team. A positive start, winning three and losing three, and all of the players enjoyed themselves.

Action from the U15s Girls match v Clifford

Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th September

The season finally got under way this weekend, a week later than originally scheduled, with all of our teams observing a minute's silence ahead of kick off as a mark of respect for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The picture below shows the U8s before their game with Castleford.

U17s had an exciting home match against Nidd. Seven goals (all in the first half), three penalties, two of which were saved, four yellow cards - all you could want on a Sunday morning apart from the final result, a 4-3 defeat. U16s were away at Leeds Maccabi on an uneven Soldiers Field pitch at Roundhay Park. Missing a few key players and kicking up hill in the first half, we struggled for the first ten minutes to get going but then hit our stride and went into half time with a slim 1-0 lead. After the break the lads really stepped up and the second half was a joy to watch as they put together some fabulous football scoring another three goals to run out 4-0 winners. We did get a slice of luck when Maccabi missed a penalty to keep our clean sheet intact.

U15s Boys were away at Wortley. A hard fought game which we lost 2-1, but overall it was the right result. U15s Girls were away at local rivals Wetherby. After a poor first half with not much quality football from either side, the second period was a lot better. We scored an early goal from a corner and then added a second later in the game for a 2-0 win. U12s kicked the season off with a trip to Garforth Rangers in the BML Sports Cup. We came away with a very comfortable 6-2 win and could have scored more - we missed a penalty, saw numerous shots hit the post and squandered two open goals.

U11s were away at Killinghall. We played some good football in a competitive game and came home with a win. U11s Blues had a tough opener away at Pannal Sports. We were trailing heavily at half time but came back in the second half with a few goals of our own. A defeat, but a more respectable scoreline than we might have anticipated at the interval. U10s started with four wins form four against Knaresborough. A great performance by all involved, they actually listened to the coaches and passed the ball around with attacking intent.

Action from the U17s match v Nidd

Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September

Following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the 8th of September, all English football fixtures this weekend were postponed, from grassroots football to the Premier League. During training at Grange Park on Saturday morning, players, parent and carers, managers and coaches observed a minute of silence and reflection to honour the life and devoted service of Her Majesty.