9th March 2024
Saturday 9th March saw our 60s side in their first encounter with Whixley, at Rossett Sports Centre. Whixley brought a mixed age squad, including two players in their 50s. The fixture was designed to give both teams the opportunity for a ‘run out’ before our respective league seasons start.
We played two hard fought matches. In the first, both sides had a number of shots, but unfortunately no goals, although Neil Waite did (rightly) have three goals disallowed! Whixley also had a goal disallowed, after pointing out their own infringement. The second game started in the same way as the first had finished, with both sides pressing for a goal. The first came shortly after kick-off for the Strays and was a result of a penetrating drive down the right wing by Derek Gibson, followed by a right foot shot into the corner of the net. We then defended well but were undone by a wicked deflection off a Whixley midfielder five minutes from the end, which sent Mike Norris the wrong way. We responded well and Tom Robinson hit the post with minutes to spare.
Special mentions to Mike Norris (The Cat), who made some outstanding saves and kept our side in the game throughout, and Debbie Naylor, making her Strays debut. At times Debbie found herself up against some fierce opposition, both in terms of their strength and size, but never conceded ground and gave as good as she got!
Thanks also to referee Richard Abbott. Rich’s pre-game brief emphasised the need for safety. He then allowed the games to flow freely, but applied the rules where necessary in a firm, fair and consistent manner. This was a hard fought yet enjoyable fixture which was played in the right spirit.
Tom Robinson
Treasurer
Harrogate Strays Walking Football Club
Club Day - Sunday January 14th 2024
Our Club Day was held at Rossett School, with drinks and a buffet at the Shepherd's Dog!
Results
GREY v ORANGE 1-1 GREEN v BLUE 1-0
BLUE v GREY 3-1 YELLOW v ORANGE 4-1
BLUE v YELLOW 1-0 GREEN v GREY 2-0
YELLOW v GREEN 2-2 ORANGE v BLUE 3-1
GREEN v ORANGE 0-0 GREY v YELLOW 2-4
Table
P W D L F A Pts
GREEN 4 2 2 0 5 2 8
YELLOW 4 2 1 1 10 6 7
BLUE 4 2 0 2 5 5 6
ORANGE 4 1 2 1 5 6 5
GREY 4 0 1 3 4 10 1
Congratulations to the Greens for an undefeated tournament built on the foundations of a defensive masterclass - three clean sheets in four games. As with the Yellows, the Greens prospered on Pitch 2, home of theCir two victories and the venue for higher scoring contests. By contrast, the Blues made the most of Pitch 1, where they were the only team to manage a win, but they faltered on their travels to the wilds of Pitch 2.
Thanks to everyone for playing in a good spirit. We hope everyone enjoyed the occasion, whether the exercise on the 3G or the socialising in the pub.
Thanks to all our referees, to Mike Norris for sorting the raffle, and to everyone who donated prizes.
We’re also pleased to report that the raffle achieved a marvellous total of £271 for the Candlelighters charity to round off a successful day’s work. This, added to the £550 that was collected on our JustGiving page, means that in the 3½ months our club has been running, we have raised and donated over £820 to Candlelighters. A fantastic achievement; thank you.
The event also saw the launch of our new home playing kit. Unfortunately, the delivery of our change kit did not arrive in time for Sunday’s event, but we’ll do another modelling assignment when it arrives! Thanks to Dean for all his work co-ordinating this with the supplier, and Paul Rogers for the pics!
Bernie, Rod & Tom