Busy weekend of fixtures in the Hope Valley Amateur Football League

Five teams remain unbeaten as the Hope Valley Football League saw a stacked week with the majority of teams completing two fixtures in just 4 days.

Wednesday September 9th provided teams with what could be the last opportunity to fulfil an evening game until the later stages of the season, an opportunity which saw every team in action for the second time this season.

The 19th Hole welcomed last seasons A Division champions, Dove Holes (reserves), as both sides looked to make it two wins from two following on from their opening day wins. A closely battled game would be won by Dove, with Jacob Hodgson’s brace proving too much for the 19th Hole, whose very own Harvey Smith also scored two. Jackson Watmough grabbed the winner from the bench for Dove, who maintain a perfect start and are replicating their form from last season perfectly.

Bamford’s opening day draw with Darley Dale Lions will have left them hungry for a victory, and they would get the opportunity as they visited Hathersage at the Leadmill Football Ground. Samuel Passingham got his second goal of the season for Bamford, with Oliver James and Christy McCorry securing all three points with a 3-1 victory over the hosts. Hathersage would have had another opportunity to gain their first victory of the season against Dove Holes on Saturday, had their fixture not been postponed due to poor weather conditions.

Youlgrave started their campaign with an away loss to Dove Holes and would find themselves travelling to Matlock for their second fixture as Darley Dale Lions were hungry for more points after their draw with Bamford on the opening day.

A closely contended local derby saw the Lions barely claw their way to victory thanks to Leo Gilman’s goal. However, to tie could have swung either way with Youlgrave refusing to back down until the referee’s final whistle halted play. Darley remain unbeaten and will travel to Hayfield Reserves next, hoping that they can keep their loss record at zero for another week.

Chinley enjoyed their debut weekend back within the league with a 3-1 victory and showed no signs of slowing down as they hosted Hayfield Reserves on a clear evening in the Peak District. Hayfield Reserves lost to their first team in their opening fixture and would have to wait until this weekend for a chance to get their first points onto the board as Chinley won the game 2-0 to maintain their perfect start. Jason Mellor and Will Cooke were the scorers on the night, providing Chinley with another win and sending a message out to future opposition that they refuse to lie down as the new boys and want to compete for glory.

Tideswell scored 6 in their opening fixture and would have to overcome a strong Calver side if they wanted to maintain their electric form. William Osgathorpe put Tideswell ahead in the first minute, but Calver quickly flipped the game on its head as James Littlewood scored two goals in five minutes to give them hope of claiming all three points. Jack Bradbury continued his fine scoring form to level the game just three minutes after Calver took the lead, but he wasn’t finished their as he completed his hat-trick with two more goals towards the later stages to secure another big three points for Tideswell. Bradbury now has five goals in just two games, indicating that his name will be amongst the leaders of the golden boot race come May 2027.

Another ‘in-house’ match was on offer last Wednesday as Buxworth Reserves face off against their first team. Benjamin Stanton grabbed the only goal for the reserves, with Matthew Sherlock, James Simpson and a Chris Williamson hat-trick put any post-match ‘pub’ debates to bed with the first team claiming bragging rights come full time after their comfortable 5-1 win.  

Blazing Rag had started the season strongly with their win over Calver but would have to really knuckle down if they were to get a win against one of the title favourites and last seasons Derbyshire Cup finalists, Hayfield Firsts. Oliver Wyatt put Hayfield ahead before James Tighe levelled the scoring for Rag, but Wyatt ensured his team entered the break a goal to the good with his second of the evening on the stroke of half time. A second half flurry proved too much for Rag to contend with, as George Howell, Oliver Feehan, William Lambert and Matthew Walshaw each hit the back of the net to give Hayfield another victory with their 6-1 win.

The Saturday fixtures would see just four games go ahead, as Hathersage and Dove Holes game was postponed alongside Tideswell and the 19th Hole’s fixture.

Winless Youlgrave welcomed Buxworth Reserves, who also arrived without a win thus far, with both teams eager to pick up some points. Buxworth would leave victorious however, as Benjamin Stanton and James Wild’s goals cancelled out Youlgrave’s only goal scored by Tim Renwick to win 2-1 and take all three points back to Buxworth.

Chinley’s fine start to the season would come to a grinding holt this weekend as they locked horns with Bamford who maintained their unbeaten record for another week at least. Christy McCorry’s goal proved to be the decider as Bamford claimed their second victory of the season with their 1-0 win. Bamford now sit top of the table by a point but do so having played one game more than Tideswell, Hayfield and Dove Holes in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively.

Buxworth Firsts only win so far came at the hands of their reserve side, with Calver arriving at Western Lane in search of their first win. Another closely contested fixture was on display for those in attendance, with the breakthrough arriving on the half hour mark courtesy of Joe Wragg’s goal to put Calver 1-0 up. This would be the only goal of the game, ensuring Calver earnt their first win of the season and moving them up from the bottom end of the table.

The final game of a stacked week of fixtures was played out at Cote Heath Park in Buxton. Blazing Rag met a bitter fate against Hayfield Firsts mid-week but would get a chance at some form of retribution against their reserve side this weekend. Dean Lomas gave Rag an early lead, which was doubled by James Tighe twenty minutes later. Sam Lomas responded for Hayfield Reserves in the second half providing the team with some hope of gaining something on their travels, but Owen Berry crushed that hope after seventy minutes to make it 3-1 to Blazing Rag, securing all three points for the home side.