Teams from across the North of England gathered at the Rolls Royce Sports Ground on Saturday the 16th February to compete in a mini 7-a-side football tournament run by the Manchester FA.
The venue was set in glorious countryside on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, just a few miles from Skipton and the weather, bright, sunny but very cold, was perfect for the players.
The Yorkshire Disability team had been training hard for the event, meeting at Tapton School in Sheffield prior to the tournament.
Players from Sheffield and Doncaster made up the squads for the U14’s and U17’s with a healthy presence from East Hill and Bents Green School in Sheffield and Athelstane School in Doncaster.
Yorkshire –v- Cheshire (U17s)
Cheshire brought a very strong team and started strongly and it was thanks to some good saves from Shane Waldron that Sheffield were able to defend strongly before breaking away and scoring the first goal. Dan Burkhill and Jarrod Hobson worked hard in midfield to set up goals for Ryan and Daniel who play for Sheffield Wednesday Ability Counts football team.
In the second half Cheshire came out in a determined mood and scored a magnificent goal. They kept up the pressure on the Yorkshire goal but Shane was pulling off some great saves. Eventually the pressure was too much and Cheshire scored to take the lead. A fantastic move from Tom and Jack of Bents Green ended with a pass to Daniel who hit a shot from way out, which beat the keeper at the near post to put Yorkshire on level terms. With only a minute to go Yorkshire broke out of defence and as the ball bounced the Cheshire keeper came out to collect but Ryan got there first and sent a delightful lob over the keepers head to win it for Sheffield.
Yorkshire –v- Lancashire (U17s)
Yorkshire who didn’t have any time to rest between matches, fought and battled gallantly against a very strong Lancashire team before losing 6-1. The boys never let their heads go down and tried to score right up to the final whistle.