The RRG Toyota Silsden sponsored Sutton u14 travelled to league leaders Albion Sports in confident mood after the 7 nil victory the previous week. Before the game could get underway we had to spend half an hour picking up glass from several broken bottles in the penalty area. Sutton were under pressure straight from the kick off as Albion were looking to get off to a flying start. Sutton were doing a good containing job on the home side just as they had done in the reverse fixture but unlike the home game Albion took an early lead after a defensive error allowed an Albion midfielder time in the box and he picked out his striker on the six yard box who had a simple tap in to make it 1 nil after only 7 minutes. It was soon 2 nil but this goal came in controversial fashion after a through ball found the Albion striker who was at least 5 metres offside only for the ref to waive play on and the striker slotted the ball into the back of Sutton's goal. It wasn't all one way traffic though as last weeks goalie Nathen Keenan burst on to the end of a good pass but unfortunately his strike went just wide. Albion then made it 3 nil after 27 minutes and that is how it stayed until half time. There wasn't much between the 2 sides with the main difference being the Albion striker and the fact that Sutton were guilty of giving the home side too much respect. Unfortunately the 2nd half didn’t get any better for Sutton as Albion bossed the possession and just like in the 1st half Sutton weren’t doing enough off the ball. The home side went on to score 4 further goals with the 1st one coming 1 minute after the restart and the other 3 coming on 48, 52 and 56 minutes. The goal on 17 minutes was the pick of them as the striker lobbed Leon from about 30 metres out. Sutton then suffered a major blow as defender Reece Bithell was caught by an Albion player as he chased back and Reece landed awkwardly on his arm and had to come off as the injury looked a serious one. A trip to A&E and the Xrays show that Reece has unfortunately broken his wrist. There were several tasty challenges in the 2nd period which warranted a card or 3 but the ref had clearly left them on his kitchen top at home! Sutton finished the game on top which is credit to them as it would have been too easy to let there heads drop a d accept the inevitable. Sutton got there reward with 5 minutes remaining as Jacob Stephens received the ball on the right wing, Jacob then turned and found Nathen Keenan in centre midfield. Nathen then used his blistering pace to beat several home defenders. He made his way into the penalty area where he cut in side and beat a couple more players before picking out Matty Holmes who finished superbly giving the home keeper no chance to notch his 1st goal since returning to Sutton Juniors It may have been 7 v 1 and game over but Sutton had deserved that goal by sticking in the game and not losing their cool. The visitors were awarded a free kick after a bad foul on Chloe Hodge had sent her tumbling to the turf holding her foot. Leon decided to leave his goal mouth and come up for the free kick but unfortunately Albion intercepted the cross and charged up field. With no chance of Leon getting back in goal both Charlie Crook and Thomas Harrison got themselves back on their goal line and the Albion midfielder could only find the side netting. That was it the final whistle blew and Sutton fell to a disappointing 7 v 1 defeat. That scoreline did flatter the home side a little but Sutton must now pick themselves up as it’s another tough away game next week at Menston. The RRG Toyota Silsden man of the match went to Nathen Keenan as the former goalie looked extremely dangerous in his 1st game in the outfield and he also got himself an assist for the Sutton goal.

On Sunday 24th February Sutton u14 B played host to Farsley Celtic at South Craven School. The Yellows were yet to taste victory on their home pitch as their only previous home win was on the astro turf and not the grass pitch. The Sutton line up included all 4 new signings of Max Harrison, Nathen Keenan and Ethan Pitts all making their debuts and Matty Holmes who was making his 2nd debut after returning to the club after several years playing for Silsden. The Yellows were missing a number off players so it was a good chance for the new lads to stake a claim for a place in the team. Nathen Keenan came in to replace regular goal keeper Leon and Max Harrison came in to midfield with Ewan Hanbury-Wallace shifting into centre back to cover for the absence of captain Gregg Riddiough. Both Matty Holmes and Ethan Pitts started from the bench. Sutton were straight out of the blocks with Chloe Hodge having a go from distance with a cracking shot that just clipped the bar on it’s way over with just 1 minute on the clock. Sutton didn’t have to wait too long for their 1st goal. Striker Matt Akrigg did well to beat a couple of players on the right and then sent in a cross which was met by Max Harrison who put it past the Farsley keeper to give the home side a well deserved 1 v 0 lead after just 8 minutes. Sutton then had a scare as a Farsley shot was deflected but keeper Nathen Keenan did really well to change direction and make the save after initially being sent the other way. On 19 minutes Sutton nearly doubled their lead as Matt Akrigg linked well with substitute Matty Holmes and after some good interplay between the two Matty Holmes saw his shot well saved by the visitors keeper. A minute later Holmes was at it again but once more his shot was saved by the keeper although this time he could only tip it wide for a corner. A minute later Callum Filkin who was causing the visitors allsorts of trouble down the left sent in a lovely cross which was met by Ethan Pitts but his shot went just wide. On 25 minutes Matt Akrigg worked his way into the area and his shot beat the keeper only for it to be blocked on the line by a defender who turned it away for a corner. Somehow despite all the possession Sutton had had it was still only 1 nil to the home side. On 27 minutes Farsley broke away with a quick counter attack but thankfully Max got back to make a tackle and the ball ran through to the safe hands of Nathen Keenan. For some unknown reason the ref decided this was a back pass and gave a free kick to Farsley. The visitors tried to catch Sutton out with a quick free kick but this was cut out by Charlie Crook who found Chloe Hodge, Chloe then picked out Max who took the ball forward and sent in a quality cross which Matt Akrigg turned into the back of the visitors goal to make it 2 nil to Sutton. Matt rounder off a fantastic move which took Sutton from their own area to having the ball in the back of the net in less than 20 seconds. With just 3 minutes remaining until half time Sutton had a corner which Matty put just wide. Matt Akrigg intercepted the resulting goal kick and laid the ball off to Ethan Pitts, Ethan decided to try his luck from 20 yards out and his finely struck shot flew past the Farsley keeper to make it 3 nil. That was that for the 1st half and what a half by Sutton, that was the best 35 minutes of the season from The Yellows but the big question had to be could they keep it going or would they switch off for 10 minutes as they tend to do every week. Farsley came out in the 2nd half looking to get back into the game but were denied by Nathen Keenan who was quick off his line to clear the danger. Sutton soon settled in to the 2nd half and extended their advantage with the half only 5 minutes old. After great work from Brett Parkin he sent in a brilliant cross from the right which was met by Callum Filkin unfortunately he skewed his shot but the clearance only went as far as Jacob Stephens again his shot was blocked but the clearance found Chloe Hodge lurking on the edge of the area. Chloe calm as a cucumber coolly lobbed the Farsley keeper to make it 4 v 0. After 47 minutes Matt Akrigg received the ball just outside the area and he took on the Farsley defence beating 1, 2 then 3 defenders before seeing his persistence pay off with Sutton's 5th goal. Sutton won a corner on 52 minutes which Callum sent into the 6 yard box where his cross was met by Reece Bethell. Reece's strike was hit with such venom that it burst the back of the net. At 6 nil you could have forgiven Sutton easing off but this week The Yellows weren't going to let that happen as they went looking for more goals. Matty Holmes went close several times but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn’t get on the scoreshee. Matty somehow managed to hit both posts and the crossbar of both goals as well as seeing his efforts denied by the keeper. Brett went on yet another raid down the right and sent in a cracking cross which found Callum in the penalty area and he calmly slotted the ball past the keeper to make it 7 nil after 57 minutes. Farsley tried again to launch an attack but again were denied as Nathen came flying out of his penalty area and nearly up to the halfway line to once again clear the danger. Even after 7 cracking goals the highlight of the game was still to come. With 1 minute left on the clock Farsley finally got around the back of the home defence and the Farsley striker let fly a shot that was heading into the top bins of the Sutton goal only for Nathen to somehow get a strong hand to the shot and he tipped it over the bar to pull off a world class save. What was more impressive was the fact apart from a few clearances when Nathen came out of his area he'd spent the majority of the game with little to do and yet kept his concentration to pull off an amazing save to keep his clean sheet intact. The resulting corner was easily dealt with and that was it Sutton had finally won on a grass pitch. Final score 7 v 0. It would be unfair to pick any player out as all 13 players were outstanding and it gives the coaches a massive headache when the missing players return. One player I will mention is Thomas Harrison who I didn’t get round to mentioning in my report. Thomas like his team mates was outstanding but the defenders probably had their quietest game for a long time as Sutton totally bossed the game. Player of the Week unsurprisingly is the whole team as I said its impossible to single anyone out. Magic Moment has to be Nathen Keenan's save in the last minute.

On the 3rd February 2019 the RRG Group Toyota Silsden sponsored Sutton 14 B player host to Silsden Knights on the astro turf at South Craven School. The 1st meeting between these 2 neighbours finished 4 v 1 to the Yellows in the away fixture so The Knights were looking for revenge. Silsden only had 10 players available but they were never going to be pushovers as they wanted the bragging rights at school on Monday. The game got underway and Sutton dominated from the off as they created plenty of attacking opportunities but they were denied any real clear shots by the Reds keeper who is always very quick off his line. Sutton were warned about this and were instructed to play wide and keep the game moving with quick restarts from dead ball situations. Sutton were doing the latter and kept the game flowing at a fast pace but unfortunately they kept trying to play down the middle and sending balls over the top. This made things too easy in the final 3rd of the pitch which was a shame as they totally dominated play. The 1st half finished level at 0 v 0 with Sutton having only a few shots which after all their dominance was a little disappointing. That said the Yellows did go close with shots from Callum Filkin, Chloe Hodge and Matt Akrigg forcing the Silsden keeper into some good saves. At half time Sutton were reminded to get the ball down and play it into wide areas and to keep it a flowing fast game. This time Sutton listened and were looking far more dangerous in the final 3rd of the pitch but they were still struggling to get a good shot on target. Both Jacob Stephens and Brett Parkin went close and Callum Filkin brought a good save from the keeper. It was still nil nil when Silsden broke and after some good creative play they managed to put their striker through on goal but he was denied by a superb save from Leon Jashenica who had had little to do until then. It was beginning to look like Silsden might pinch one and get a 0 v 1 win as Sutton just couldn’t get a clean shot away. Chloe Hodge then went close but he shot went just wide. Moments later Chloe was through as she made her way into the penalty area she was brought down by 2 Silsden defenders one pushed her and the other tripped her. The ref pointed to the spot but vice captain Chloe didn’t fancy the shot so she handed the ball to Callum Filkin who stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way as he buried his penalty into the bottom corner of the net. Finally the Yellows were 1 nil up which was the least they deserved. Sutton were soon 2 up as Charlie Crook did well in playing out of defence he then fed Callum with a smart pass. Callum took the ball and drove into the Silsden penalty area and unleashed a vicious shot which flew past the Reds keeper and nestled into the bottom corner of the goal to make it 2 v 0 after 56 minutes. Sutton now started to get a bit over confident and Silsden were trying to take advantage as they broke again but they were thwarted by some excellent defending from captain Greg Riddiough who picked up an ankle injury for his efforts. While receiving treatment Sutton were told not to slack off and stay focused or they’d let Silsden back in to the game. No sooner had Greg got to his feet Sutton took a free kick but sold themselves short and Silsden pounced on the ball and put it under the advancing Leon to get back in the game at 2 v 1 with 7 minutes remaining. The Sutton coaches were furious but that mistake seemed to wake the Yellows up from their little nap and were back in command of the game after 64 minutes. Callum again was running at the Silsden defence as he cut inside and laid the ball off to Ewan Hanbury-Wallace who thumped the ball past the Silsden stopper to make it 3 v 1. Sutton then put the game to bed with 2 minutes remaining as they won a free kick 5 metres outside the area on the left hand side. Callum stepped up and sent in a delightful cross to the far post where Greg somehow managed to direct the ball past the keeper from what looked an impossible angle. A very well taken goal to make it 4 v 1. That was the final score but credit to the Silsden players for making things very difficult for the Sutton side with only 10 players. Sutton may have dominated but the Reds did themselves credit with their performance. The RRG Toyota Silsden sponsored player of the week went to Ewan Hanbury-Wallace for his all action display. Special mentions go to Brett Parkin who was looking back to his best after a couple of quieter games of late. Brett was taking on the opposition terrifying them with his pace and quality crosses. Also Callum Filkin who was dangerous all the game and had a hand or a foot in all four of Sutton’s goals. Well done again to all the players who fully played their part in doing the double of arch rivals Silsden.

The RRG Toyota Silsden sponsored Sutton 14 B were looking to do the double over a Bingley side who were there for a beating. After playing them off the park in the away fixture The Yellows should have been full of confidence going into this game. Sutton were attacking the Clayton Hall end in the 1st half although they didn’t do much attacking as they were really slow out of the blocks. The Yellows had to ring the changes with a couple of players missing but this was no excuse for what was a very lacklustre 1st half performance. There were some good moments as Reece Bithell and Brett Parkin linked up well down the right side and Callum Filkin looked dangerous down the left. Unfortunately despite some good play they didn’t create any clear chances for Chloe Hodge who was playing as the lone striker. Bingley took the lead after they had won a corner after 7 minutes and unfortunately Sutton were once again caught ball watching as the cross bobbled along the 6 yard box and the Bingley midfielder had all the time in the world to pick his spot giving Leon no chance. The visitors could have added more goals but for some good last ditch defending from Thomas Harrison, Reece Bithell, Greg Riddiough and Charlie Crook. Both Reece and Thomas were having good games as they were kept busy. Reece switched to centre back as Thomas switched to the right so Sutton could deal with the threat of Bingley’s tall centre forward. The home side thought they’d pulled level 3 minutes before half time as Ewan Hanbury-Wallace beat the keeper only to see his shot hit the side netting. Somehow Sutton were only 0 v 1 down at half time but they had their defence and keeper to thank for that. The Yellows came out for the 2nd half looking like a totally different team after having a good long talking to at half time. In fact Bingley were left waiting a couple of minutes as they received their telling off! Sutton were now playing fast flowing football taking quick dead balls to keep up the momentum. This had the desired effect as both Callum and Chloe went close to scoring early in the 2nd half. Unfortunately though it was the visitors who scored 1st much against the run of play. The Reds had a speculative shot from outside the area which took a lucky deflection and flew over Leon into the top corner of the goal. Sutton really didn’t deserve that after how they had played in the first 5 minutes of that 2nd half. The Yellows didn’t let their heads drop though and carried on working hard and making sure they were 1st to every ball. 12 minutes into the 2nd half and they were back in the game as a good through ball found Chloe who's shot was well saved but the ball fell to Ewan on the edge of the area and he smashed his shot onto the cross bar. This time the ball landed at the feet of Jacob Stephens who's well struck shot flew into the net for his 1st ever goal for Sutton Juniors. At 1 v 2 Bingley were rattled and they were starting to argue with the ref and their own coach. 2 minutes later and Chloe was through again as she chased down a through ball she lobbed the advancing Bingley stopper and just when it looked the game would be all square a Bingley defender chased back and cleared off the line. It’s a shame we don’t have goal line technology as I’m sure the whole of the ball had crossed the whole of the line but the ref made what was probably the sensible decision of no goal. Callum then went close twice more as he caused panic in the visitors defence but both shots missed the target. Sutton were well on top now and it was surly only a matter of time before they would pull level. With 7 minutes remaining Ewan was 1st to a clearance and he drove down the centre of the pitch from the edge of the centre circle. He went past half of the opposition players as he made his way to the edge of the penalty area. He then had sight of goal and curled his powerful shot past the keeper and into the goal. What a goal and it was only what Sutton deserved. The Yellows were now looking for the winner and both James Kitson and Callum went close to giving Sutton the lead. With 3 minutes remaining Bingley went on the counter and won a corner which Sutton failed to deal with and Bingley regained the lead. For about the only time in that 2nd half Sutton switched off and they were made to pay with 32 minutes gone in the second half they were now 2 v 3 down. A minute later Chloe took on the defence again and outmuscled 3 defenders to get a good shot away but the visitors keeper pulled off an amazing save to deny Sutton a point. Bingley then went up the other end and what ever the Bingley keeper could do Leon Jashenica can do better as he pulled off an absolutely amazing save. The Yellows kept going til the end but just couldn’t find the equaliser. The finished in a defeat but Sutton had themselves to blame for that poor 1st half performance. The 2nd half though was brilliant and they deserved much more. The RRG Toyota Silsden player of the week goes to Thomas Harrison for his none stop battling in defence and some good forward runs. Thomas is getting back to his best.

Sutton were looking at making it 2 wins on the trot for the 1st time this season and they were able to field the same 11 that had started the previous week at Silsden. In the previous meeting between Sutton and Salts the visitors came out on top after a spate of injuries during the 2nd half ruined The Yellows day. This time it was more the weather and the fact that Salts played the very testing conditions better than Sutton. After a very promising 1st half when Sutton more than matched their opponents the 2nd half went badly wrong. With gale force winds driving across the pitch it was going to be very difficult to play football but to both teams managed to serve up a very entertaining 1st half of football. Salts took the lead after 5 minutes with a very scruffy effort which bobbled over Leon Jashanica's hands and trickled into the goal. Leon didn’t let this affect him which he never does and he was soon called into action again as he pulled off a cracking save diving to his right and turned the ball round the post. Sutton then went close themselves after good work from Callum Filkin and Chloe Hodge but unfortunately striker Jacob Stephens saw his shot drift inches wide of the post. Leon then made a string of top quality saves and denied the visitors with some clever one on ones. This keeper has come on so much this season and he keeps getting better as he’s learning his trade. The Yellows levelled things up on 18 minutes after substitute Matt Akrigg pounced on a back pass which sold the Salts keeper short. Matt chased it down and forced the keeper into an error which Matt took full advantage of to score a well taken goal. In this weather it was always going to be very difficult for Matt up front on his own as the supply was limited. Sutton created quite a few chances in the 1st half mainly through Callum and Brett Parkin but again it was always going to be difficult for the wide players to get quality balls into the box with the wind affecting everything they did. The half finished 1 all and it looked like Sutton could be on their way to a 1st home victory of the season. Unfortunately the 2nd half went totally against The Yellows half time plans. Salts went on to score 6 unanswered goals on 3, 12, 21, 23, 24 and 25 2nd half minutes. The straw which inevitably broke the camel’s back was a big piece of look for the visitors as they sent in a cross from the left and it was turned in off the head of centre midfielder Ewan Hanbury-Wallace who couldn’t have done anything about it. That was after 12 minutes of the 2nd half and although Sutton didn’t let their heads drop it did knock the wind out of their sales (which considering the gale that was blowing it was no mean feat). The home side did come close to getting a goal or 2 back but it just wasn’t to be despite some good efforts from Matt, Chloe and Ewan. This wasn’t a bad performance by any means even though the 1 v 7 final score might suggest otherwise it was more that Salts played the conditions better in the 2nd half. The Player of The Week went to Leon Jashanica for some outstanding goalkeeping. Also special mention goes to birthday boy Reece Bithell who again played away from his usual position of CDM but he's making a name for himself at right back. Finally thank you to everyone for your efforts today in what can only be described as atrocious weather conditions.