Hope Valley teams progress in the Derbyshire Cup

A Saturday of cup and league action was ready to go this weekend, with the quarterfinals of the Derbyshire Divisional North Cup finally ready to be completed after last weekend’s wash out. The involved premier division teams were looking to book their spot in the final 4, however, Hayfield Firsts and Dove Holes Firsts would have to wait a little longer due to their game being postponed. The 19th Hole and Furness Vale also saw their league game postponed, as did Dronfield FC and Tideswell United.

Chapel Town Firsts and Bamford kicked off the cup fixtures, with both teams eyeing glory and a potential match up with a Central Midlands Alliance squad. A new keyboard may be needed soon, with the letter’s ‘J’, ‘O’, ‘S’, ‘H’ fading and slowly ceasing to work, as Chapel’s Josh Wood and Josh Edwards both sealed another fantastic win for the men from Rowton Park.

Edwards opened the scoring on the 15-minute mark, and Bamford held strong until half time keeping the tie alive. Nerves would have been building for both sides, but with less than 20 minutes to go Chapel’s anxiety reduced, as Wood doubled their lead and gave Bamford an even harder task if they wanted to progress. The game finished and confirmed Chapel Town First’s as the first Hope Valley Football League team to enter the last 4 of the Derbyshire Cup.

Buxworth Firsts travelled to the historical market town of Wirksworth for their Derbyshire Cup fixture. Wirksworth Ivanhoe are flying in the Central Midlands Alliance Premier Division, sitting in 4th place. Buxworth are not a team that will lie down however, so an action-packed game was expected.

Unfortunately for Buxworth, Ivanhoe won the tie 4-1 and booked their place in the semis, ending a fantastic cup run for the ‘Buggy Boys’. Ivanhoe join Chapel Town, Rowsley 86 and either Hayfield or Dove Holes in the semi-final, and dependant on the draws outcome the league could see at least one team guaranteed a spot in the illustrious final in 2025.

The A Division saw 4 league fixtures go ahead this weekend which was the last match week until the new year. Blazing Rag hosted Chapel Town Reserves firstly, with Chapel wanting to get back to their expected winning ways. Owen Berry and George Rowland both grabbed a brace which was enough to secure all 3 points, as Chapel dispatched of the Rag 5-1 to move into 2nd place in the A Division table.

Calver welcomed Hayfield Reserves for their final fixture of the year as they looked to climb the table. Hayfield had different ideas however, and with their first team not in action, The ever-reliant Joe Armstrong helped Hayfield to a resounding 6-2 victory with his hattrick. James Ramsey got himself a brace, with Ollie Wyatt rounding off their scoring and 3 points for Hayfield. Calvers consolation goals were provided by Joseph Shafie and Jake Casey respectively.

Dove Holes Reserves have been one of the leagues best teams so far and wanted to ensure top spot status over the Christmas period. Hathersage travelled to them this weekend and knew a win would put them amongst the mix at the top before Santa arrives as well. A close game was fought, but Dove proved yet again that they are the team to beat by getting a 3-2 win over the line. Billy Halsey got himself an early Christmas present in the form of a goal, with Ryan Bradd continuing his impressive scoring form and adding another 2 to his seasonal total. Dove will enter the new year at the summit of the A Division, and things will most definitely be getting tighter as the end of the season slowly draws in.

The last game of the weekend saw Youlgrave United play their first game since the beginning of November as they welcomed Buxworth Reserves to Alport Lane. Although the first team bowed out of the Derbyshire Cup, the weekend was not all lost for Buggy. The reserves put on a display worthy of few mulled wines post-match, as they beat Youlgrave 8-0 on the day. The ‘2 Bens’ stole the show for Buxworth, with Ben Percival notching a hattrick alongside Ben Stanton who hit the net 4 times! Finlay Rodgers completed the scoring for Buxworth who must have enjoyed their day out and journey home.

The Christmas break is now upon us, and the teams won’t be back in action until the 4th of January 2025. Chapel Town Firsts enter the new year as Premier Division leaders as well as Derbyshire Cup semi-finalists, with Dove Holes Reserves topping the A Division table. 2024 has been a fantastic year for the league, and 2025 should be even better!