Thursday 4th. November 2010

The League would like to pass on their sincere condolences to the family, friends and Club members at Billingham Town following the sudden death of Peter Cooper, the Billingham Town Juniors Club Secretary. Peter was a well-respected and well-liked member of the TJFA who enjoyed junior football immensely. He will be greatly missed by all those who knew him and the TJFA has lost an enthusiastic and hugely popular member.

On Sunday 31st. October 2010 we played 241 League matches, one League Cup tie and an amazing 1,253 goals were scored. There were 77 hat-tricks or better and from them a couple of special mentions:

Eleven players scored 5 times, but this was bettered by Ethan Irwin who scored 6 for Tollesby Athletic away at South Park Rangers "b" in the Under 10 North Riding third division. However, the best performance last Sunday was by Jack Wilding of St. Francis 2000 "a" who knocked in 7 of his teams goals against Ferryhill Town in the Under 15 fourth division.

There were five matches which pitted "a" against "b", or teams under the same Club banner against each other last Sunday:

Greatham "a" beat their "b" team 4-1 in the Under 10 Durham second division.
Matthew Richardson of Redcar Town "a" gave his team the "bragging rights" at school this week as they beat their "b" team by a single goal in the Under 10 North Riding third division.

Marton FC proved too strong for their Hall Drive team in the Under 12 top flight and won by 7 goals to nil (a hat-trick in that game for Bradley Graham). But Hall Drive reversed the trend and beat FC 8-0 in the first division in the Under 14 age group with four of their goals coming from Jonathan Helm.

TIBS FC "a" beat TIBS FC "b" 3-0 in the Under 12 third division, with all the goals coming in the last seven minutes of a thrilling and well-spectated encounter, with Jacob Bradshaw, Samuel Candlin and Dominic Tiffany finding the back of the net late on for TIBS "a".

A sportsmanship mention for Darlington RA now. Andy Bell from Leven AFC Under 16 came into the office on Monday with his team sheet. The two teams had mutually agreed to play their League Cup match one week earlier as both were free from League fixtures and Leven were missing a few players for the scheduled Cup weekend. Well, Darlington RA turned up to play, but unfortunately they themselves found they only had nine players on Sunday. However, and to their credit, they still played the match in tremendous spirit and put up a great show, losing only towards the end as tired legs set in. It was actually only 2-1 after 70 minutes of the tie and I know Andy Bell wanted us to give Darlington RA a special mention in terms of sportsmanship this week.

A couple more matches to mention from last Sunday:
Redcar Town "a" Under 15's travelled across to Marton FC in a superb top flight game and came away with all three points with a 3-0 win. Goals from Josh Dowsland, Jordie Duncan and Brad Plant extending their lead at the top of that division.

Acklam FC made the journey down to Bedale JFC in the Under 16 third division with both teams unbeaten and they both kept up their impressive starts to the League season with a 2-2 draw. Goals from Joshua Fullarton and Brad Simpson for Bedale were cancelled out by goals from Michael Bond and Liam Talukder for Acklam.

Trimdon United kept their 100% record intact last Sunday with a comprehensive victory over a previously 100% Stockton Rangers, in the Under 13 6th. Division, winning by an amazing 10 goals to 2. Four of their goals for Josh McKeown (now leading goalscorer in the whole of the TJFA) and a hat-trick from Conner Young kept them on track for end of season honours.

Finally, in the Under 11 fourth division Guisborough Town dented the 100% record of Leven AFC when they won over there by 5 goals to 2, with Kain Ward getting two of the Guisborough goals. Guisborough are going well this season and are one of only two unbeaten teams in that division now.

Other mentions:

U14 - 1 - Redcar Athletic "a" 1-2 Boro' Rangers. Close match between two previous 100% teams, but Boro' Rangers maintain their record and are currently sitting top of that division.

U15 - 1 - Stokesley won 3-1 at Whinney Banks YCC in that impressive division in terms of the standard of football. Stokesley move into third in the division, with games in hand.

U9 N/R - 2 - Stokesley FC 0-1 Thirsk Falcons. This match saw the "Falcons" stay second in the division with games in hand and they still boast an impressive 100% record after six games.

So, again, some great games last Sunday as the season gathers pace, some great fixtures on the horizon and League Tables continue to take shape.

We are back with a "Cup weekend" this coming Sunday (07/11/10) with the start of the TJFA Challenge Cup competition and the continuation of the TJFA League Cup for those successful so far, and there are some cracking games to look forward to (all League Cup chosen):

Under 10D - Round 3 - Golden Flatts "a" v St. Francis 2000 - 12:30pm
100% in the second division and who haven't yet conceded a goal in the League, St. Francis travel the short distance across Hartlepool to face first division opponents Golden Flatts "a" who are currently sitting in third place having lost just the one game so far. A great mini-soccer cup tie.

Under 13 - Round 3 -Nunthorpe Athletic "b" v Redcar Town "a" - 10:30am
Probably the best 11-a-side Cup tie this weekend sees Redcar Town "a" play away at Nunthorpe Athletic "b". Redcar, currently second in the top flight, won't relish the trip to Nunthorpe who are 100% and flying in the third division.

Under 13 - Round 3 - Lingdale Athletic v Greatham FC - 10:30am
A possible cup upset in this tie with Lingdale, second in the fifth division, hosting bottom of the first opponents in Greatham FC. Current form sometimes speaks louder than divisional positions in Cup ties and this could be a close match.

Under 15 - Round 3 - Redcar Town "a" v Marton FC - 1:30pm
A reverse of the League fixture played last Sunday when Redcar won by 3 goals to nil, but this is a Cup tie and a game between two very good sides. Should be a great game for the neutral spectator.

Under 18 -Round 2 - Stokesley FC "b" vRedcar Athletic "b" - 1:30pm
In the oldest age group we have 100% Stokesley "b" from the third division, going brilliantly at present, hosting, on their day, a very useful Redcar Athletic "b" who are in second spot in the second division and another Cup tie which will be a very close affair and one which could go either way.

So, with 62 league fixtures in addition to the 175 Cup ties, as the TJFA runs three separate Competitions this weekend, there should be plenty for everyone to enjoy.

Other match of interest:

U16 - Round 2 - Greatham FC v Marton FC - 1:30pm

Chris Ord, League Secretary, TJFA

Back