Woodkirk Valley U7s v Howden CloughGame 1: Woodkirk Valley 0 Howden Clough 3 In blustering conditions Woodkirk and Howden Clough gave an entertaining game with Howden Clough winning 3-0. Williams in goal was in good form making some excellent saves denying Clough twice in the first five minutes. Defenders McCarthy and Shaw were getting in some strong challenges, but couldn't keep Clough out when they scored two quick goals. Matthews was having a great game in Midfield, tackling and passing with great authority. Penny-Larter made some great runs down the left and set Bentley up but the in form striker shot narrowly wide. Clough made it 3-0 early in the second half. Edwards nearly pulled a goal back for Woodkirk but the Clough keeper made a good save. With no more goals in the game Woodkirk can take credit for a very good performance. M.O.M - Matthews (An incredible all round performance) Game 2: Woodkirk Valley 2 Howden Clough 1 The second game saw Woodkirk overturn a 1-0 deficit to beat Howden Clough 2-1. A few changes in the team saw Matthews in goal who put in a confident performance. Defenders Bathie and Williams were very strong at the back but were unable to keep out Clough who scored a scrappy goal. Midfielders Stead and Tommy were looking good in midfield putting in a lot of work. With the weather getting worse Woodkirk went on the attack in the second half, with a change in strikers as Bentley and Edwards combined well for Bentley to equalize with a corner shot. With more pressure from Woodkirk the winner looked inevitable and when it came the goal was worth waiting for. When Bentley picked up the ball twenty five yards away he looked no danger to the Clough goal but after he beat two defenders he hit an absolute pearler which flew into the back of the net. Woodkirk carried on to dominate the remainder of the game with Penny-Larter running amok in midfield. Final whistle Woodkirk 2 Howden Clough 1. M.O.M (Harry Bentley) A terrific all round performance * Reports by Jo Bentley Woodkirk Valley U8s v Tingley AthleticGame 1: Tingley Athletic 2-2 Woodkirk Valley Gold Woodkirk opened play with what is becoming consistent good tackling and passing, quickly pushing Tingley to make their first save. The ball was kept in the Tingley half with repeated stabs at goal. Tingley ripped the ball out of their half and forced Rodgers to make a valiant run back to disrupt their run. With strong goal kicks from Parker Woodkirk brought the ball back to Tingley and Kilroy pushed his team a goal ahead. Auty played with mature team awareness and skill and made some good passes keeping a persistent amount of activity in the Tingley half, and when Tingley showed their good form they were robbed and pushed back by Sherwood and Cross. Another good corner led to a strong shot on Tingley's goal that was defended well, but Kilroy again pushed it into the back of the net. The second half saw Tingley roar out and pull back a goal and then quickly pushed our subbed keeper to make a strong body save, Tingley really pushing hard. Woodkirk’s stride was ruined for a moment by 2 quick in succession injuries but once the team found their feet they returned with more good tackling and passing. Leadsford’s pass back to Auty was a good chance but Tingley pulled a trick out of the hat, with an inspired run and after hitting the wood scored their second goal on the rebound. The game then got passionate and exciting with both teams playing good football, with Tingley getting the greater number of chances but were held to a fair 2 all draw.
Man of the Match: Cross
Good Effort: Defence; Sherwood, Cross, Parker (Keeper), Smith (Keeper).
Game 2: Tingley Athletic 2-6 Woodkirk Valley White
Williams soon had the ball running at Tingley and his second run was rewarded with the first goal. It was then Warrior’s turn to have a shot on goal caught by their Keeper, and the game got scrappy, with bunched tackles won by Woodkirk and Warrior made sure of a goal this time 0 – 2. The game continued in the Tingley half with Wilson throwing the ball into the net, but no goal. The game then opened up with good runs from one end to the other, both teams showing good form. Tingley then squeezed the Valley into a good clearance and from a strong corner by Wilson, Warrior scored again. Tingley then copied, from a good corner they had a shot deflected off our keeper into the goal, half time was 1 – 3. A lot of good play from both teams yet a strong strike from Warrior was deflected by Tingley's defence over their keeper. Wilson and Warrior continued to be a dangerous combination forcing Tingley to knuckle down to good passing and shooting to draw another goal closer. The Valley had a good amount of play across the goal mouth of home side with the spectators screaming at the ball to “just get in the net”. It seemed that the ball heard its orders and Martin scored with a good run on goal, followed up by Wilson with a slick shot on goal. Tingley showed the visitors a good game of football and both teams deserved a pat on the back.
Man of the Match: Williams
Overall: good team effort.
100% effort in both games, Martin * Report by B Sherwood Woodkirk Valley U10s 4-2 Rothwell TownThe last time Woodkirk and Rothwell Town met the score was 5-1 to Woodkirk. Could they make it 2 wins out of 2? It didn’t look promising early on as Rothwell scored first. They then went on to score again from a corner, despite some great defending from Valley. Woodkirk also had some good chances and were unlucky not to score. After trailing by 2 goals at the break Woodkirk were fired up to get back in the game. They started the best in the second half in both attack and defence and were rewarded with a goal. Hashim Daneshyar’s cross was chested in by Antony Rhodes. Within a few minutes of the first goal, Hashim netted to level up the scores. From that point on Woodkirk were in complete control and pushing hard for the winner. After being put under a lot of pressure the Rothwell defence finally cracked and allowed George Bowles to score. The game ended with another goal from Hashim Daneshyar to complete the comeback. Woodkirk: Joe S, J.J, Liam, James, Joe M, Hashim, Will
Subs: Jordan, Eliott, Antony, George
Goals: Antony, Hashim (2), George
M.O.M: Joe M * Report by Tom Eddison Gildersome Spurs U12s 0-6 Woodkirk ValleyA fine win for Valley U12s sees them through to round two of the GJFL Supplementary Cup. Midday kick off and a day to keep hands in pockets, as a bitter cold wind swept across the pitch. Woodkirk lost the toss and found themselves having to combat the headwind in addition to playing uphill. The opening exchanges saw no shortage of runs on goal for Woodkirk but the tall Spurs defenders were quick on their feet and did enough to deny Valley a clean shot on goal. P Kennedy’s jinking run was worthy of more but his shot deflected out off the post. The home side weren’t without chances and had some good spells later in the half, forcing some quality saves from Naylor. 0 – 0 at the break. Shortly after the restart and Woodkirk finally made the breakthrough - Spurs netting an own goal as Hartley's shot was parried away to be rebounded back in off a defender. Minutes later Holden crossed in from the right wing to set Hartley up for a second. Now with a two goal cushion Valley looked comfortable and were able to push players up field. L Kennedy McNicholl, Kemp and Lloyd dealt with any threats from Spurs whilst Ellis pushed up to feed some useful crosses in on the left side. Good creative play from Parry, Widdowson, Jaggar and Barstow ensured Valley stayed on top and more goals were to follow. P Kennedy got the third, Stott the forth, Webster the fifth and defender Chadwick's strike was finished by Hartley to make it 6 – 0 at the full time whistle. A superb performance by Barstow earned Man of the Match. * Report by Mark Holden | 
