Goals galore again in the Hope Valley Football League

A Saturday of both league and league cup action was on offer this weekend, with teams from both divisions beginning their cup journeys in drizzly conditions.

The Premier Division saw 3 league fixtures played, with Bamford and Furness Vale getting us started. Both sides began the fixture sat on 5 points each and desperate to get some more points onto the board. Furness Vale would come out on top as 7-1 winners, a much-needed result for the 22/23 treble winners. Furness’ Jose Carlos Da Silva Pinto Junior scored 2 goals for the 2nd week in a row, with Dylan Moore also grabbing a brace, before Oliver Goulding and Patrick O’Brien sealed the deal and the 3 points.

The 19th Hole faced Chapel Town Firsts in the second Premier Division Fixture, with the 19th Hole sat 2 points ahead of Chapel, who have a game in hand and remain unbeaten after 4 games. Chapel haven’t quite hit their peak yet according to manager John Theyer’s analysis, but they certainly made a statement this weekend, winning the tie 4-1. Josh Wood got himself another goal, making his total for the season 7 goals in 6 games, with Lewis Coates scoring a further 2 for Chapel, equalling Wood’s record for the season so far. Charlie Gyte got the 19th Hole’s consolation goal.

Tideswell United welcomed Dronfield FC (Baslow) to their sports complex in the final Premier Division fixture of the weekend. Dronfield arrived off the back of an impressive victory over their neighbours, whilst Tideswell were looking to shake off a disappointing result against Hayfield. A TWELVE goal thriller was on display for all in attendance, as Dronfield FC (Baslow) took all 3 points on the day with an 8-4 win.

The A Division saw just 2 league fixtures played, with Blazing Rag looking for their first win of the season against Hayfield Reserves. A well fought battle ended in Hayfield Reserves narrowly edging Blazing Rag with a 2-1 victory. James Clancy put Hayfield ahead early, and Callum McCormick won it for Hayfield in the 75th minute seeing the young side move into 4th place.

Calver welcomed Dove Holes Reserves in the final A Division Fixture. Dove Holes Reserves remain the only team to win all of their opening fixtures across both divisions, and Calver knew they’d need to make a statement in order to change that. The statement was most definitely made, as they beat Dove 4-1 and moved into 2nd place. Rob Littlewood opened the scoring, with Jake Casey and the ever-reliant Ayr Barker adding goals to Calver’s strong start. Alex Airey kept Dove in the game, but Littlewood killed off any hope with his 2nd of the day in the 70th minute securing a very impressive win for Calver.

The league cups kicked off this weekend with the Premier Division teams competing in the Dore Shield. Dove Holes Firsts are the reigning champions, and also kicked off the cup campaign welcoming Dronfield Woodhouse to the cricket club. Dove went into the game following an impressive Derbyshire Cup victory over Central Midlands Alliance Premier Division team Bakewell Town FC. Dove showed no signs of slowing down their impressive form, as they progressed into the quarter final with a 7-0 win over Dronfield Woodhouse. Tom Forder and Aaron Hodgkinson each scored a brace, with Ben Bagshaw, Adam Sircar and Dan Gilbride making up the rest of the scoreline.

In a game that seems to occur every week in some capacity, Hayfield Firsts took on Buxworth Firsts in a game which always produces fireworks. Both teams are more than capable of winning this trophy, but one team had to go! Hayfield Firsts meant business and put their name into the quarter final draw with a resounding 6-0 victory over Buxworth. Hayden Brownsword was on the scoresheet again as he hit the back of the net twice, with Jack Sidebottom getting his first goal of the season. Hayfield’s other 3 goals came from the same player who now has 15 goals in just 5 games. Joe Armstrong grabbed yet another hattrick, as the Hayfield hitman continued on with his scoring rampage. If Joe continues on at this rate, he will hit the same, if not better figures that Furness Vale’s Jimmy Wood did in the 22/23 season.

Four A Division sides were due to begin their Cliff Ellis Memorial Trophy journeys, which is currently held by Hayfield FC, although their first team are now unable to defend the trophy due to their unbeaten 23/24 campaign and subsequent promotion. Their reserves have the opportunity to retain it for the club as a whole next week however, when they travel to Calver. Buxworth Reserves and Youlgrave were the only fixture of the weekend which didn’t go ahead, due to adverse weather conditions. The tie will be replayed at a later date.

Table toppers Chapel Town Reserves capped off a wonderful weekend of football as they welcomed Hathersage to Rowton Park in the Cliff Ellis Memorial Trophy. This fixture has now been played 3 times in the last 4 weeks, and both teams clearly knew what to expect from each other. The sides couldn’t be separated come the 90th minute with a 1-1 draw being played. Hathersage eventually progressed through, beating Chapel 4-3 on penalties.

Hayfield Firsts remain top of the Premier Division, as do Chapel Town Reserves in the A Division. Hayfield’s Joe Armstrong increased the gap in the Premier Division golden boot race to 8 goals, with Calver’s Ayr Barker leading for yet another week with 9 goals in 7 games.