Darlington 1883 look the real deal

Amar Purewal

By James Grayson (Twitter: @jamesAgrayson)
Saturday’s 6-1 FA Trophy drubbing of Ossett Town was my first viewing of Darlington 1883 since their arrival in the Evo Stik Division One North.
Darlington are heavily tipped to win the league and it is easy to see why. Their attack, which former Durham striker Amar Purewal leads, is arguably one of the most formidable in recent Division One North history.
Purewal is a battering ram, whose strength and power, makes him almost impossible to stop unless the opposition defence has an experienced and good centre-half. Ossett never got close to stopping him on Saturday and couldn’t cope.
On the wings, Steven Thompson and Chris Moore are quick and physically powerful. For the first goal, Thompson ran almost the whole pitch before his deflected shot was converted by David Dowson.
Not many teams will beat them this season. I did think that defensively they are a bit weak, based on the defenders that featured at Ossett. Alan White is an aging centre-half and Ossett did cause a few problems – I think a team firing on all cylinders upfront would have scored a few against them. Farsley and Ramsbottom have shown that Darlington can be vulnerable. That said the full-backs at Ossett were physically strong and were brilliant going forward.
As Craig Elliott said, they’ll only get stronger. They have the resources to bring better players in, if they need. Based on the Ossett Town victory, if they sign any further players, who are better than they have already, then they’ll be almost unbeatable. In my view, they just one powerful centre-half and they’ll be the complete side.
After ten games, Darlington are top of the league, but have suffered two defeats and drew 0-0 with Harrogate Railway.
Only Curzon seem to have real consistency as they remain unbeaten, but Darlington look primed and ready for an unbeaten run and I think it will take some effort to stop them from lifting the title. This is a club that has huge ambitions to go higher and the resources to do it. I don’t think anyone will be able to match them.

Ossett Town boss Craig Elliott set to make changes for Tadcaster West Riding Cup clash

Craig Elliott

By James Grayson (Twitter: @jamesAgrayson)
Ossett Town boss Craig Elliott admits Tuesday night’s West Riding County Cup first round tie with Tadcaster Albion is not at the top of the priorities list.
Ossett are entering an important week as on Saturday Elliott’s men are travelling to Conference North outfit Colwyn Bay for their FA Cup third qualifying round clash.
Elliott is hoping to lead Ossett into the hat for the fourth qualifying round for only the second time in Ossett’s history.
Steve Kittrick is the only man to have taken Ossett that far when his team were knocked out by Leamington in 2005 and Elliott admitted that players will be rested.
Elliott could also have Jason Mycoe available. The utility man recently signed for Ossett from Paul Marshall’s Tadcaster. The West Riding's rules have been relaxed in recent years as a new player must have been signed five days before a County Cup match rather than the old rule that said players must have played at least one competitive match.

Jason Mycoe

“I think it is important to bounce back (from the Darlington defeat), but I’m not going to lie, I have one eye on the FA Cup,” he said.
“We have done really well in the FA Cup and with where we are at in it, it’s a great opportunity for us.
“There will be definitely changes for Tuesday. I’ve got three or four lads that are going to get a run-out. They’re good players and have been unlucky not to be playing, it’s just that we have been on such a good run.
“It’s a difficult week for us, Darlington yesterday, Tadcaster who are top of the NCEL and then Colwyn Bay.
“I know Tadcaster have been doing well by looking at their results and I know they have a few lads who I released so I’m under no illusions that they will want to turn us over. It will be a difficult game.”

Farsley AFC Ladies enjoy heavy victory over Keighley Oaks Ladies

Farsley AFC Ladies 5-2 Keighley Ladies

By James Grayson (Twitter: @jamesAgrayson)

Match Photos are HERE

Farsley AFC recorded a second consecutive West Riding County Women’s League Premier Division victory with a comfortable victory over Keighley at Throstle Nest.

Only the Keighley goalkeeper Laura Thurling prevented the score from being double figures as she made a string of fantastic saves

After a catalogue of chances, Farsley finally broke Thurling’s resistance to open the scoring on 26 minutes when Helen Gresty’s long range attempt proved too high for the goalkeeper to reach.

Close to half-time, Farsley scored again. A Farsley corner hit Kirsty Mayne on the head and found the net and Rob Womersley’s side looked set to record a heavy victory.

But, Keighley dug-in and pulled a goal back early in the second half. Farsley responded as Vicky Mladenovic’s blast found the top corner to ease any worries.

Keighley hit back again on the hour and Farsley survived a few nervy moments as the game reached a close. Clare Parker was guilty of wasting a glorious chance to seal the win on 85 minutes, but the former Leeds United player made up for it with a stylish finish during injury-time.



As the game reached its 95th minute, there was still time for another goal. Star player Orla Haslam, who had caused mayhem for Keighley with her skilful play, chose to shoot from 30 yards and managed to beat Thurling to round off a memorable victory.

Farsley AFC: Sonia Penney, Charlie Roberts (Colette Haslam 77), Beccy Singer, Tora Oetgen, Sarah Firth (captain), Kirsty Mayne, Orla Haslam, Vicky Mladenovic, Clare Parker, Helen Gresty, Millie West (Hayley Hare 61). Sub unused: Meghan Pearce.
Farsley player of the match: Orla Haslam

Darlington 1883 hit six past Ossett Town in FA Trophy clash

Ossett Town 1-6 Darlington 1883

By James Grayson (Twitter: @jamesAgrayson)

Match Photos are HERE

Craig Elliott tipped Darlington 1883 for the Evo Stik Division One North title after watching his Ossett Town side suffer a heavy defeat in the FA Trophy Preliminary Round clash at Ingfield.
Having beaten Town’s rivals Ossett Albion 7-0 after leading 5-0 at half-time in midweek, Darlington were cruising at 5-0 at the break against Town through goals from David Dowson, Alan White, Chris Moore (2) and Amar Purewal.
Jimmy Eyles pulled a goal back for Ossett on the hour mark, but Paul Robinson rounded off a memorable victory during injury-time.
The crushing defeat ends Ossett’s nine-match unbeaten run and Elliott admitted that his team could not cope with Darlington’s attack.



“I think we defended poorly in the first 20 minutes and we found ourselves 2-0 down,” he said.
“Every-time in the first half they took a shot it seemed to go in and sometimes that happens on the day. The fifth goal just before half-time fell nicely for him and he bent it into the top corner. On another day that would have gone over the top.
“The front four totally bullied us and every-time they got into forward positions they created a chance for themselves.
“I don’t buy into that Darlington won’t walk this league, I think they will walk this league and they’ll only get stronger.
“I’ve read a few reports where people have said they are not as good as they think. I think they will have a few losses along the way, but having seen the league I don’t think there is anyone better than them.
“I think they are physically strong all over the pitch and they have two extremely fast wingers. Whether other teams can counter-act that, I don’t know. I can see why teams like Farsley have beat them as they have experienced and strong players.
“We’re a bit more about getting the ball down and playing and today they didn’t let us play. We were on a nine-match unbeaten run before today so it’s brought us back down to earth.”



Darlington took just five minutes to take the lead. Ossett’s Fernando Moke lost the ball inside the Darlington box and Steven Thompson raced from his own half to the Ossett penalty area before shooting. The shot was blocked, but Dowson was on hand to score from an angle.
Ossett did respond with a Chris Wood shot which was blocked, but poor marking then cost them as Darlington scored again. Terry Galbraith took a corner and former Harrogate defender White rose above Andrew Fox and goalkeeper Tom Taylor to double the visitors’ lead.
By the half-hour mark Darlington were out of sight with Thompson was the provider again. The winger passed to Moore and the midfielder found the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
The Ossett defence were not coping and goalkeeper Taylor was being left exposed. Taylor was able to keep Darlington at bay for brief period when he denied Purewal, but he couldn’t stop the ex-Durham City forward on the stroke of half-time.



Darlington were 4-0 up and there was still time for another goal before the break – arguably the goal of the game. Upon receiving the ball 25-yards from goal, Moore hit the ball straightaway and found the top corner – Taylor had no chance.
If the game had continued in the same manner in the second half, Darlington could have reached double figures and Elliott added: Sometimes as manager you shout and rant at half-time, but I was quite calm.
“I said ‘look we’ve got to try and win the second half and go out and get a bit of respect back because we’re a lot better team than we are showing’.
“To be fair we drew 1-1 in the second half.”
Ossett defended well in the second half and scored a deserved goal on 62 minutes. Left-back Steven Jeff made a break down the left-wing and crossed for Eyles to slot home from close range.
The game fizzled out with neither team creating many chances until the final minutes when Darlington made a late attempt to score for a sixth time. Martin Gray’s team got the goal deep into injury-time as Robinson fired the ball into the bottom from eight-yards.
Ossett Town: Taylor, McGrory, Jeff, Patterson, Fisher, Qualter (captain), Fox, Sharry, C Wood (Hawthorne 64), Eyles, Moke (Sibenge 64). Subs unused: N Wood, Grant, Liburd.
Darlington 1883: Bell, Pilatos, Galbraith, Hunter, White, Edwards, Moore, Scott (J Robinson 80), Purewal, Dowson (Johnson 61), Thompson (P Robinson 64). Subs unused: Cocks, Jameson.
Referee: C Buxton
Attendance: 408
Man of the Match: Amar Purewal (Darlington 1883)

AFC Emley boss Darren Hepworth: The NCEL Division One promotion race is wide open

By James Grayson (Twitter: @jamesAgrayson)
AFC Emley chief Darren Hepworth insists that the Toolstation NCEL Division One promotion race is wide open and that no-one will run away with top spot.
After almost a quarter of the season, the table remains congested from second place to mid-table with only ten points separating second-placed Eccleshill and 12th placed Selby Town.
Shaw Lane Aquaforce have a five point lead at the top of the Division, but Hepworth says it is far from over and believes his sixth-placed side could have a good chance of winning promotion.
“In this Division I think it is important that you get some level of consistency,” he told Sports Performer.
“Everybody is capable of beating each other and the team who is brave enough to try and put a run of eight or ten games unbeaten together will suddenly find themselves in a decent position.
“It’s only October and I only look at the league twice – once in December and then in May. We’ll see where we are at Christmas and if we’re in the top four or five, I fancy us, I really do.
“We don’t want to fall away from the top five pack (right now). There are five or six teams (who could get promotion), but as I say everybody is capable of beating each other.
“We saw Shirebrook, who started well, come unstuck against a strong Worsbrough side who are growing in confidence and are fancying their chances.
“Shaw Lane are obviously the favourites with the money they have been spending. Eccleshill with the technical ability they have got are doing well along with the likes of Cleethorpes and Bottesford who have started well.
“I don’t think Shaw Lane will run away with it. As good as they, this is a very tough division and they have got to find that silk and steel to get out of the division, like we all have to.
“I don’t think anyone is nailed on.”

Brighton Mugadza

After two defeats in early September, Emley have responded with three wins in four league games. But during the middle of the matches, Hepworth was relieved from his duties before being reinstated.
He returned in the 4-0 defeat at Bottesford Town and then led his side to a 7-2 victory over Grimsby and a 3-2 League Cup win at the expense of Teversal.
And Hepworth spoke of the impact that the last two wins have had.
He said: “It has been a big-time boost.
“Grimsby was a great response from the Bottesford game. The Bottesford game was slightly tough on us because at 0-0 we were on top and we then lost our goalie. Jake Lawlor had to come off with an injury which meant Paul Sykes had to go in goal.
“It meant we lost our shape and took the momentum out of our game.
“But, I was pleased on Saturday with the manner that we came back. We hammered a poor Grimsby side who I know they are much better than that.
“We put them to the sword, but I was more pleased with our performance on Tuesday in the League Cup against Teversal.
“I think we really performed well and I think the squad we have got now is really shaping up well and hopefully we can keep that momentum going on Saturday against Hall Road.”
On Tuesday, new striker Adam Todd fired Emley into an early lead which Doran Jordan doubled.
Callum Pursglove responded for Teversal, but Brighton Mugadza scored Emley’s third goal before Colin Cockerill scored for Teversal to set up a nervy finale.
But, Hepworth claimed he was very happy with the performance.
“We nearly paid the price for not taking our chances and not killing the game off,” he said.
“We had some good chances and were 2-0 up and to be fair Teversal came right out of the blocks and so did we so it was a well-contested game.
“But, for me when we went in at half-time, it was the most complete performance I’ve seen of the boys. Defensively our shape was good and tactically everything was there. At 2-0 up it was well-deserved and it could have been four or five.
“We went at it against in the second half and should have finished it off. We had four or five really good chances to kill the game and didn’t. They pulled one back against the run of play and we then went 3-1 up.
“They got another one and then at the death they had one disallowed so from a situation where we were well on top to one where Teversal nearly got back into it. But, we played well.”

AFC Emley captain Paul Sykes praises Darren Hepworth

By James Grayson (Twitter: @jamesAgrayson)
AFC Emley captain Paul Sykes has spoken of his admiration for his manager Darren Hepworth.
Sykes is in the twilight of his glittering career that has seen him play for the likes of Stalybridge Celtic, Harrogate Town, Worksop Town and Ossett Town.
The centre-half, who has played in a variety of positions over the years, has featured for Glasshoughton Welfare, Ossett Town and Worksop Parramore in recent years before joining Emley last season.
And when comparing managers he had worked with, on Hepworth, Sykes said: “His strengths are his honesty. He says it like it is.
“He wears his heart on his sleeve in the dressing room and the dugout. He heads every ball.
“I’ve played for a number of managers and a lot of managers tell you what you want to hear and sometimes you want pure passion.
“Like the Wigan game where he was on the pitch, you want that.
“John Reed is very similar to Darren, he wears his heart on his sleeve and a very passionate man.
“I’ve played under the Steve Burr’s who are the quiet people. He did all his talking in private to players and he passed on all the responsibility to the players.
“He took the all the stick from the chairman, but he was all about telling the players to go out and express themselves.”



Sykes played under Reed at Harrogate during the 2002-03 season before playing under him at Stalybridge when Reed pulled off the great escape in the inaugural Conference North campaign.
When Reed stepped down in 2007, Sykes played two seasons for current Kidderminster Harriers boss Steve Burr, who guided Celtic to the Conference North play-offs final.
Whilst it doesn’t compare to a play-offs final, Sykes scored a ‘Roy of the Rovers’ penalty in the 97th minute of Emley’s sensational FA Cup victory over Wigan Robin Park in August – a moment that could have easily not happened.
“It was Darren who stopped me from retiring in the summer,” he said.
“Over the summer I changed job and I’m working a lot of long hours trying to set up a business.
“I questioning my motivation in pre-season and it was Darren who said it will be a long time before I retire.
“I enjoy it here. I am the old man, I’m nearly double the age of the lads. But, it’s nice the responsibility the club gives me or the manager gives me, like looking after the players.
“I’m skipper and all the lads get on with me. Its games like the Wigan match that keep me playing. You can’t beat the buzz of playing football.”



Sykes nearly retired again two weeks following the sacking of Hepworth. He scored with the last kick of the 4-0 victory at Appleby Frodingham and was all set to hang up his boots until Hepworth was reinstated.
On the recent events, Sykes said: “It is the first time in 20 years in adult football that I have ever experienced anything like it.
“We had a training session on the Thursday night and the manager got the sack on the Friday and then got reinstated on the Sunday, but to be told by the chairman an hour before kick-off (at Appleby Frodingham) that it wasn’t for football reasons, it is not how I see football.
“You expect football decisions to be based on football matters, not personal issues. I don’t know what the personal issues were and I don’t care what they were. But it left a sour taste. Things seemed to be going well for us.
“Yes (I was going to retire). I just thought that I don’t want to be involved in a situation where football decisions were made on personal issues and with a manager already being appointed, it sounded wrong and I thought ‘no’.
“As soon as I received a couple of phone calls on the Sunday saying the gaffer was back. I thought ‘well I made a commitment to the gaffer in the summer’.”



So what does the future hold? Sykes has dabbled with management during a spell as Phil Sharpe’s assistant at Ossett Town in 2010 and he also applied unsuccessfully for the Glasshoughton manager’s job in June 2012.
But, despite a couple of knockbacks, he would like to enter the world of management.
“It is something I want to do, I’ve spent a lot of time in football and learnt a lot of things off different managers,” he said.
“I was close to getting the Stocksbridge job three years ago. It is something I want to try my hand at and I feel I have something to offer.
“I’ve had a good career out of football and as much as anything, I want to give something back. I have earned a lot of money playing football, I’m not earning a lot now, but it’s about giving something back (here at Emley).”

Garforth Amateur Dramatics Society announce next production

Garforth Amateur Dramatics Society’s next production will be ‘An Evening One-Act Comedies’.
It will run for three nights from Wednesday 20th to Friday 22nd November 2013, commencing at 7:30PM at the Garforth Miners Welfare Hall.
There will be 3 separate play-lets – 'Blind Date' and 'The Holiday' – from 'Duets by Peter Quilter plus 'Split Ends' by Frank Vickery.
In addition there will be a brief presentation about GADS, plus a 'comic address' at the end of the second interval.
There will be a raffle during the first interval between the 2 'Duet' playlets and then a longer tea interval before 'Split Ends'.
Our licenced bar, serving beer, wine and soft drinks will be open from 6:45PM to curtain up and also during both intervals.
Tickets are available from any GADS member or on the door at the prices of £6.50 for Adults or £5.50 for Concessions.
Doors open at 6:45PM.
Tickets will also be available from Garforth Library from November 1st.