28th February 2025

  Friendly  – Bradford City v Harrogate Strays over 65s 

Strays Over-65s took on Bradford City in a mixed, but mostly positive, set of games played in glorious sunshine next door to the hulking shape of Valley Parade, as the 65s'  management team experimented with different line-ups in three matches.

Game One was extremely impressive. A disciplined team shape, quick passing and lethal finishing all combined to earn Strays a whopping 7-0 victory. Graeme Bell hit a purple patch, twisting and turning his marker and giving a masterclass in deadly finishing. Five goals were his reward, some struck with venom, some slotted home. In the midst of this demonstration, Paddy Keightley scored from a rebound after Graeme's shot was saved, and Bernie O'Brien scored with a low shot after a pass from Graeme. Bradford City looked shell shocked.

To their credit, Bradford tightened up and showed much more resilience in Game Two. The Strays didn't exert the same control, and Derek Rowe was given a very physical battle up front, eventually resulting in his marker being blue carded for a dangerous slide tackle late on. It remained a tight game throughout, with the Strays possibly having the edge overall, but not the cutting edge needed to follow up with another win. A 0-0 draw came as something of a shock after the opening game, but Bradford earned their point with an improved performance.

In Game Three Bradford showed a lot more attacking intent and took advantage of a drop in the Stray's positional discipline. Sloppy defensive work allowed Bradford to drive in their first goal of the day and they looked to be heading for a win as the Strays began to rush their attacks and paid for their haste. Fortunately Graeme rammed home an equaliser towards the end, but the general flow had dissipated, and another draw was the best that could be achieved.

Following the football, the squad enjoyed post-match samosas and onion bhajis with their hosts at the community centre and then retired to a nearby pub to rehydrate after their physical exertions.

Squad: Adrian Harrison, Bernie O'Brien, Derek Rowe, Graeme Bell, Mike Pyle, Neil Waite, Paddy Keightley, Steve Platt, Steve Williams

Rod Clifton

Secretary

  Friendly  – Doncaster Rovers v Harrogate Strays over 70s 

The Strays over 70 squad were invited by Doncaster Rovers to play in a re-arranged 3 game friendly fixture at their training venue in the city at a great facility called Goals and at no cost!

This was an opportunity to try a new playing formation with the available squad in an attempt to make the attacking midfielders play a dual role of defensive cover and wide attacking positions in order to open out more goal scoring opportunities across the team and as a decoy tactic against future opposition by drawing defences to the central striker in a revised 1-1-3-1 formation.

The format was 3 x 20 minute games with no breaks so fitness would count, unusually they had two referees in each game, both of which had different duties.

The first game was a question of re-assessment of our opposition and to test our new formation, we knew some of the players but not all and it was clear from the off that we had to watch two of them in particular. As we settled into our new formation the rhythm of the game was almost immediately in our favour, they simply could not get the ball and when they did we fought hard to win it back resulting in a great opening goal from Mike, followed almost instantly from Paddy then Colin and a final second goal from Mike putting the game beyond doubt, it was a pleasing performance and an easy opener. 

Result Doncaster Rovers 0 Strays 4

Next game they brought on two bigger players up front and midfield so our formation was changed putting Colin to right Midfield and Derek as the striker, we continued as we left off but increasing the tempo of the game and putting them under constant attacking pressure, resulting in a hat trick from Derek and a very well executed game plan from the team 

Result Doncaster Rovers 0 Strays 3

The final game gave us the opportunity to try Mike up front and Derek back in midfield, we stuttered even with going 1 up from Mike so we reverted back to our starting formation, Colin getting two, Mike another, Paddy a solo effort and Derek with a further two, admittedly we had worn them out and they conceded that our fitness, passing movement, defensive solidity, team work from the goalkeeper to strikers and hunger to get goals was exceptional, Frank the manager complimented the team attitude and behaviour making a point of how much we as a team had improved.

Result Doncaster Rovers 0 Strays 7

Not wishing to decry our opposition, who clearly had an off day, but taking nothing away from our squad, we still turned up, kept our discipline and secured 3 very good results from a team that are in our Northern Counties Alliance 70’s League, so we take the three wins, 15 goals for and 0 against as a good day at the office and a confidence booster ready to go again at Wakefield in the NCA on 4th March 2025 as we look to improve further and cement our place.

The squad was: Steve Simpson, Adrian Harrison, Mike Pyle (captain), Paddy Keightley, Colin Stringfellow and Derek Rowe.

Rod Clifton

Secretary

Northern Counties Alliance 70’s Walking Football League

  This new League, with very, very stiff competition, is what the Stary’s over 70’s squad have been building up to from last year, as the squad travelled to Wakefield we were all in high spirits with a clear ambition and intent to start the league season off in the strongest possible manner.

Six teams in our region (West Riding) are to compete in this league with an Eastern Region of six teams replicating our region to amalgamate during the year in quarterly competitions. The teams competing in our league being - Bradford City, Leggy Mambos, Doncaster Dynamos, Wakefield Wanderers A, Wakefield Wanderers B and Harrogate Strays.

First up was Wakefield Wanderers B, the style of play from our opponents was visible from the off, sit back, frustrate, defend and break, we got completely sucked in to the tactics they deployed with very few chances coming our way, despite our attempts to break open the play we were in the doldrums resulting in a disappointing opening game ending in the draw. 

Result Wakefield Wanderers B 0 Strays 0

Next up were Bradford City mindful of what they did to us last time out we were not going to a repeat, our performance level and tempo in this game was much higher. Numerous chances came our way with Derek securing our first goal on 7 minutes, followed by a well struck goal from Colin on 10, Bradford got one back with 3 minutes to go meaning a re-grouping to shut the game down to secure the win. 

Result Bradford City 1 Strays 2

Our next opponents, Doncaster, faced us on the back of two defeats in a row and we took full advantage with our tails up, we completely controlled the pace and tempo of the game, Mike striking a great opener on 6 minutes and, following the best team passing movement on the day from us enabling Derek to put he game to bed on 11 minutes, despite a late rally from Doncaster we held our formation to secure the win. 

Result Doncaster 0 Strays 2

Our penultimate opponents, Wakefield Wanderers A, came to us on the back of 2 wins and a defeat so these were the team we had to beat considering our last game against Mambos, the team continued in the same manner as we left off, controlling the game at our pace, Colin striking our first goal to be followed by a very well taken Paddy strike, a change of players to rest for the last game allowed Wakefield to hit one back but we stayed resolute to get the game past the line in our favour. 

Result Wakefield Wanderers A 1  Strays 2

The ultimate game brought our old adversaries, Leggy Mambos, to face us on the back of 3 wins and a surprising draw against Bradford City, this was to be a very stiff test with them fielding 3 England Players and an exceptional Striker we had to be on our game, unfortunately it was Xmas for them gifting them 2 openings to put us 3 down before we knew it, a Strays reset and uptake in tempo with 2 quick goals from Derek had us playing as we should until error struck again allowing them to increase the lead, a third goal from Derek to bag a hat trick put them into a tailspin and as we pressed they were teetering but, with time running out we could not find the equaliser or winner ending in a bitterly disappointing result. 

Result Leggy Mambos 4 Strays 3

Three wins, a draw and a loss is yet another improvement on last time out and another fine achievement for manager Derek Rowe and his squad. We go again 11th February 2025 in a friendly against Doncaster Rovers at their ground aiming to put that last defeat against Mambos behind us and use these next games to change the formation to improve our performance even further.

The squad was: Steve Simpson, Adrian Harrison, Charlie Florance, Dave Byrne, Mike Pyle (captain), Paddy Keightley, Colin Stringfellow and Derek Rowe.

Rod Clifton

Secretary

 The Kevin Fielden Memorial Cup 

Players from our 60s squad took part in the Kevin Fielden Memorial Cup at Leeds, Goals.

The format for the competition saw 10 teams being placed equally into two leagues (A&B) with each team in the league playing four games and the winners of each league meeting in the final.

First up we met Leeds Irish who were a mixed team of men and women and we managed a convincing 5-0 win with Graeme Bell scoring a hat-trick and Derek Rowe and Neil Waite scoring a goal apiece.

Next up were Rothwell B, a team of old adversaries we have met several times in the Northern Premier League with mixed results. Well today was our day! Having played well and defended resolutely, we won 1-0 with the goal coming from Graeme.

This was followed by our game with Leeds Social, and despite having the majority of play we conceded a late goal due to a lapse in defending. Even then we managed to score, only for the referee to disallow our goal because he had already awarded us a free kick. A 1-0 defeat which was hard to take.

Our final game was with Pennine Parkies, a group of players who suffer from Parkinson’s disease, but boy were they a very good side, and their goalkeeper was phenomenal in the saves he made; not just in our game, but throughout the tournament! Even though we peppered his goal with shots from every angle we still only managed a 1-0 win with a goal from Derek.

Having completed our games, with 9 points in the bag, we then had to wait on the result of the Leeds Social v Rothwell B game. Leeds Social had 7 points and if they secured a win they would have won our league. However, they were held to a 0-0 draw meaning that we topped the table.

In the final we met ‘The Fieldens’ (the family of Kevin Fielden) who had won their place after a penalty shootout with Bradford. The Fieldens consisted mostly of a number of much younger players who benefited from a certain amount of latitude from the referee with regard to walking football rules.... But the game was played in a highly competitive and friendly spirit nonetheless, befitting the occasion, and the family-based team ran out winners at 2-0.

After the final we learned that the 9 points earned by the Harrogate Strays was the most points won on the day by any of the 10 clubs in the Memorial Cup competition.

Not a bad day’s work....

The Strays squad was: Adrian Harrison, Debbie Naylor, Derek Rowe, Graham Bell, Mike Norris, Neil Waite, Terry Tuplin, and Tom Robinson

Tom Robinson, Treasurer, 

Harrogate Strays 

Walking Football Club

Strays’ Over 65s v East Riding Rangers

Harrogate Strays Over-65s made the long trek to Cottingham, Hull, on Wednesday 22 January to take on East Riding Rangers. 

Forewarned that East Riding would present a significant challenge, the Strays began the first game in the worst possible way, conceding an early goal and looking slightly shellshocked. East Riding lived up to their reputation with another quick goal, and rounded off a comfortable 3-0 victory in pretty short order.

The second game began more cagily; the first half scoreless and short of major goal attempts. But East Riding raised their game in the second half and again rammed home three goals thanks to excellent link-up play and clinical finishing. The Strays persevered and managed to snatch a consolation goal via an artful, left-footed volley by Paddy Keightley to lift the team's spirits, despite the ultimate 3-1 defeat.

In the final game of the three-match series, Strays began with an improved period of passing and support to Graeme Bell up front. Bernie O'Brien scored with a sumptuous drive after a free kick taken by Adrian Harrison to put Harrogate ahead. In the second half, Paddy Keightley burst from midfield to take on the keeper and slide home a second goal. This roused East Riding into greater effort, and sloppy defending allowed them to pull back two goals to equalise. However, at the death, East Riding paid the penalty for committing four team running offences, with Steve Williams stepping forward to score from the penalty spot to secure a hard-earned 3-2 victory for the visitors.

Plaudits to Steve Williams for a battling display in defence against top notch attackers, to Steve Platt and Mike Norris, who shared goalkeeping duties and pulled off some excellent stops, and to Paddy Keightley for getting on the scoresheet twice. Other squad members were Mike Pyle, Adrian Harrison, Graeme Bell and Bernie O'Brien.

The home team graciously treated the Strays squad to a pub lunch afterwards, a welcome ending to a set of games played in a good spirit. Harrogate returned home extremely envious of the facilities enjoyed by East Riding Rangers and pleased to have given a decent account of themselves against a quality outfit.

Bernie O'Brien

Chairman

Harrogate Strays

Walking Football Club

Strays’ Over 60s v Riverside Seniors

In our first game of the new year, a trial run for prospective Over-60 players took place, hosted by Riverside Seniors, a fairly new walking football club, at Middlesbrough Sports Village.

Strays played out two goalless draws in a bitterly cold lunchtime session. In view of the conditions, the teams agreed to keep as many players active as possible, resulting in a 7v7 contest in the first game and an 8v8 in the second. Despite a large pitch, neither side was able to take advantage of the spaces. In addition, the goal areas were huge because of the pitch markings, which meant any attempted shots had to be from distance.

In the first game, play was fragmented, with both midfields struggling to assert control, and in the words of one observer "no flow to the game". Efforts on goal were rare, although Riverside tried a few potshots to no avail during a short period of sustained pressure, whereas their own keeper was at least forced into a couple of saves at full stretch. 

The Strays had more possession and greater pressure in the second game, but again failed to beat the keeper despite creating more opportunities in a good second half spell. Credit goes to Riverside for their dogged determination when retreating into defensive positions around the edge of the box, which forced the Harrogate efforts to be hurried and largely off target.

Many thanks to our hosts on the day for arranging the fixture, and we wish them well as their club continues to develop. 

The Harrogate Strays squad consisted of: Adrian Harrison, Bernie O'Brien, Debbie Naylor, Derek Gibson, Mike Norris, Mike Pyle, Paul Rogers, Terry Tuplin and Tom Robinson.

Bernie O'Brien

Chairman

Harrogate Strays

Walking Football Club