TOURNAMENTS
Second Round results of the ScottLee Financial Planning East Midlands WFL
The Senior Spireites played the second round of matches in the ScottLee Financial Planning East Midlands Walking Football League on Tuesday October 15th. The fixtures were against Nottingham Bramcote Whites and Leicester which were both very tight games which the Spireites won, to go joint top of the table. Well done guys - an excellent performance!
The first game against Nottingham Bramcote Whites was a thriller for both players and spectators. Senior Spireites quickly settled, marking tightly when necessary and retaining possession well. However, the tide appeared to turn when a Senior Spireite player was blue carded and Bramcote scored from the resulting penalty. Senior Spireites played well for the three minutes when they were a man down. Senior Spireites drew level only for Bramcote to take the lead again. By half time Senior Spireites were ahead 3-2 with two goals from Stewart Parsley on his league debut and a goal from Dave Simpson.
In the second half Senior Spireites hoped to pick off Bramcote on the break. However, Bramcote were always a threat going forward and scored to leave the match tied 3-3. The decisive moment occurred when Manohar Raju moved forward found space and hit the winning goal in an entertaining 4-3 victory.
The second game was against a resilient and well organised Leicester team. The Leicester keeper played well and their team kept their shape throughout. The decisive moment late in the first half was a goal by Dave Walker with the final score 1-0 to Senior Spireites.
Full details of the teams playing in the league can be found at https://scottleefpeastmidlandswfl.leaguerepublic.com/matchHub/65762067/1_490464200/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/false.html
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Spireites Runners Up in Mansfield's 10 year Anniversary Over 60's Tournament
The Senior Spireites were Runners Up in the Over 60's tournament which was organised by Mansfield Walking football club to celebrate their 10 year Anniversary. The eventual winners, Mansfield Reds, did so on goal difference indicating what a close and competitive tournament it was.
The Spireites first match was against Worksop and the boys in blue took an early lead through a well taken goal by Nigel Green. Unfortunately, Dave Walker fell foul of the strict interpretation of the running rules and was sin-binned for 3 minutes but the rest of the team defended well to maintain the lead. In the second half Worksop equalised in the first 2 minutes but Steve Ward quickly restored the advantage and the Spireites won the match 2-1.
The second match verses Mansfield Reds was very competitive between two well matched teams. Mansfield had some good players and their Number 5 was a particular threat who ended up scoring two of their three goals. The final score was a loss for the Spireites by 0-3.
In the final match the Spireites had to win and Mansfield Yellows had to at least draw to stand a chance of winning the cup. Derek Lowe scored a great long range shot to take the lead for the visitors. However, the lead did not last long as the Yellows equalised 3 minutes later. In response, Derek scored again and Dave Walker got on the score sheet to make it 3-1 at half time. Virtually with the first kick of the second half the Yellows scored setting up a tense rest of the match. With seconds to go Keith Arrowsmith made a couple of vital saves to maintain the lead and win the match 3-2.
Congratulations to hosts Mansfield Reds on winning the trophy and thanks for the efforts of all the Senior Spireites' players who took part. The Runners Up medals, that were awarded, were well deserved!
Fourth Round of Mel Pullen Cup games held
The fourth series of games of the Mel Pullen CPR Awareness League Cup were held in late July.
Matlock 1 Senior Spireites 1.
The referee refused to explain the rules at the start and this proved to be a problem during the games. Senior Spireites took an early lead with a fine goal from Dave Simpson. Matlock scored an equally good equaliser and overall a draw was a fair result.
Worksop 0 Senior Spireites 3
In the first half Paul Sloane opened the scoring with a powerful shot from a tight angle. Two warnings from the referee lead Shane to request substitution rather than risk a third. In the second half the Worksop defender lost possession and Steve Housley was able to score. In the last minute the goalkeeper almost stopped a shot from Steve but the ball crossed the line.
Mansfield 2 Senior Spireites 1
Senior Spireites went into this game knowing they needed to match Matlock’s score to retain the trophy. They took the lead through Steve Housley but then the game took an unexpected turn. With Paul Sloane winning possession in his own half and managing to get a shot in at goal the referee decided to award a penalty to Mansfield as a punishment for a third “running” offence. The decisive goal also came from the penalty spot following a challenge in the opposite half.
Congratulations to hosts Matlock on winning the trophy and thanks for the efforts of all the Senior Spireites' players.
Over 70's Tournament at Mansfield
The latest round of matches amongst the Over 70's teams in the region were played in late August. The Senior Spireites competed well but only won one of the matches but it is the taking part that counts!
In the first match Doncaster won 3-1. The Spireites scored first and then lost two quick goals, the second of which was “very dodgy” and as the team chased an equaliser a third goal was given away.
Against Mansfield Yellow the Spireites won 7-0. The team played very well and man of the match was probably the Mansfield goalkeeper.
In the final game Mansfield Reds won 2-0. Although it was another good performance the Spireites didn’t get the goals that the approach play merited.
Almelo Tournament 2024 - Report and results
A small group of Senior Spireites did a sterling job of representing the Club at the annual Almelo international tournament in Holland. Daily reports were collated by Steve Gleadall, in his inimitable style and communicated to the rest of the Club, extracts of which are below.
The tournament was a great success considering the squad of six included three first timers to the competition. Overall the results were two games won, two draws and four games lost, scoring 14 goals with 12 against. To reach the final of their placing group was a brilliant achievement for such a small group of players - well done guys!
Commenting on the squad Pete Jacques provided this summary:
John L - Mr Reliable played right side and in the middle of defence and also had a stint in goal (he keeps telling me) and kept us all on our toes shouting instructions where we should be, his stories where you are just waiting for the punch line kept us all entertained.
Steve B - Played mainly on the left of defence and also in goal a couple of times was always looking for that pass to the front players.
Graham B - Another one who found a new position playing in front of goal and adapted well played up front or wide and created chances for myself and Steve W
Steve W - New position found in the middle of defence on the final day but he got the goal that he deserved against DRL after coming so close on numerous occasions.
Clive E - My man of the tournament playing so soon after his illness he gave everything and played really well with a big smile on his face, another one who had a stint protecting the goal.
Pete J- Won’t forget the final day and three hat-tricks but none of that would have been possible without those supplying the pass to me but I will keep reminding John L how many I scored
Steve G - Many thanks Steve for agreeing to still being our roving reporter and keeping all our members informed you did an excellent job.
Over 70's matches Vs Doncaster October 2023
The over 70s squad played a series of 4 x 15-minute matches against Doncaster in late October. The Senior Spireites managed to win all four games - 4-3,3-1,3-0 & 2-0 so a total score 12-4. Of our total score of 12 Neil McKinnon reckons he got 15 of them!
The squad was ably managed by non-playing manager Pete Harris and they benefited from playing as an over 70s team at Dronfield whenever possible. As a result they worked very well together with everyone able to slot into different positions throughout the match, with no reduction in performance. That said, the best player on the pitch was the Doncaster goalkeeper who was magnificent.
The whole game was played in a good spirit. The Doncaster team and officials made the Spireites feel very welcome and provided hot drinks and cakes after the game.
