official end of year magazine for the penrith & District Junior football league

All 8 Cup Final reports, league reviews, photosnick levett, ben snowdon, dave wilkes

Penrith& district junior football

issue 1 | May 2014 | Free | 32 pages

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me EDITORS NOTE

Harry Barker

As Press Officer for the Penrith & District Junior League for the past two and a half years I have to say it has been a pleasure working with everyone involved. I have thoroughly enjoyed the role and feel a great affinity towards the league. In my time I have witnessed a number of strong young teams progressing and have seen a number of players come on leaps and bounds. This I feel is a credit to the league and those who run it. I would like to give special mentions to the follow-ing; Colin Hodgson for initially recruiting me and setting me on my way, Peter Renwick for always being available to guide and assist me, every single coach that has helped me out with information and comments, Bill Martin for carting me around and Robert Read for the fantastic job he did on the Cup Finals as without him this magazine would not have been possible. I hope you all enjoy what I have produced and hope to see all of you again.

Contentsunder 9 under 10 nick levett under 12 11under 14 17ben snowdon dave wilkes 24under 16 25

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23

Under

9's

3

blenkinship trophy

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The Blenkinship Trophy was this year contested by two under 9’s teams having previously been a second under 10’s competition. Having beaten Keswick and Cockermouth Colts respectively, Penrith AFC and Cockermouth Cougars contested this year’s final in a close battle that attracted a big crowd.Penrith started the game on the front foot but defenders Leo Howland and Susie Burns were in impressive form as they worked together to form a strong Cockermouth spine. Eventually attacker Donovan Monkhouse was able to get through for Penrith but backing up the defence was goalkeep-er Connor Steadman who stood tall and blocked the forwards effort with his leg. Steadman would then save again this time from Mackenzie Fleming who got down the right and hit a decent shot that the goalkeeper had to tip away as Penrith cranked up the pressure.It wasn’t just Penrith who created chances though as Callum Smith caused some problems for the opposition defence forc-ing goalkeeper Harvey Reay into a great save.Also impressing for the Cougars was Captain Josh Palmer [seen on left hand page] who was strong in the midfield and coming forward. He forced Reay into another good save with a driving run from the midfield area followed by a shot from distance that the stopper had to hold in order to deny oncom-ing attackers.With two evenly matched sides the first goal was always going to be important and it was Penrith that got it. A good one-two from Finlay Hansford and Fleming saw the latter play a good ball across for Monkhouse who was able to stab home ahead

of the Cougars defender.The lead wouldn’t have lasted long however if it wasn’t for a great save from goalkeeper Reay who tipped over a dipping effort by Palmer whose shot came from a distance.For Penrith, Alex Harrison was terrific in defence as they saw out a great performance with a clean sheet. The defenders reading of the game was brilliant as he made some superb interceptions and showed great composure as the team’s sweeper.In the end the one goal would be enough to win the tie between two very promising sides and the Cougars can also be proud of a very good performance that saw them fall just short.

cockermouth cougars 0

Penrith AFC 1monkhouse

cockermouth

connor steadmansusie burnsleo howlandcorey stewarttom allportdaniel woodcockjosh palmerreegan scottjosh brown

callum smith

penrith

Harvey reayaiden docherty

alex harrisonsam kirkman

henry thompsonlewis burdon

mackenzie flemingharvey forster

lennox thwayteslewis gould

finlay hansford

donovan monkhouse

it was a great win and i’m proud of everyone that played their part!

Penrith Under 9's claim the blenkinship trophy with a 1 goal victory againstcockermouth cougars

-Jason CrawfordPenrith AFC

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Under

10's

“It has been my first season as manager of Penrith AFC Blues and I couldn’t of wished for a better group to manage. They have listened and learned and done everything I have asked of them and more. I am so proud of our achievements this season, To enter all competitions and win all of them is fantastic.-Peter Forrest, Penrith AFC Blues manager C

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“ achieved the double. This has been like a dream come true!-Ben Forrest, Penrith AFC Blues

I enjoyed this season with my teammates. I am so happy we

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U10 League Cup

Having been confirmed joint title winners in midweek tying with two other sides, Penrith AFC Blues had a double in their sights, standing in their way was a Castletown Athletic side that finished just behind the front three in the table and were seeking some silverware for themselves.The first chance of the game came for Athletic with Harrison Fowles and Jed Richardson working the ball in from the right to create a shooting opportunity which Fowles hit just wide. Penrith’s first chance went to Luke Robinson who had a fizzing shot from the half way line that goalkeeper Matthew Austin needed to be alert to push over. It was a credit to the Athletic defenders Evan Stephenson and captain Bradley Stewart that Penrith’s shots were restricted to long range with Ben Forrest having another long range effort well saved by goalkeeper Austin. Eventually all the shots would result in a one-nil lead for Penrith when Darcy Lee struck a free-kick powerfully beyond a crowd of bodies including the goalkeeper as the Blues put one hand on the cup.As well as his goal, Lee was instrumental across the pitch, controlling the midfield with strong tackles and a terrific work ethic, he then nearly provided Forrest with the second goal of the game but Harrison Fowles got back with a goal saving tackle on the forward.Adam Prentice was always deepest for Penrith and was superb in keeping the opposition attackers Richardson and Aaron Cavaghan at bay. There was nothing he could do

however about Fowles long range effort but fortunately goal-keeper Dylan Thompson was on hand to parry away.As the Castletown pressure built Prentice was back on his line defending desperately behind Thompson to keep the clean sheet intact, a missed penalty from Athletic could have changed the result, in the end though it wasn’t to be and Pen-rith Blues added the League Cup to their League success.

penrith afc blues 1lee

castletown athletic 0

blues

dylan thompsonadam prenticeluke robinsontaylor clarkemeg phillips craigdarcy leeben forrestjosh bowman

athletic

daniel carruthersmatthew austin

evan stephensonaaron cavaghannathan ellwood

harrison fowlesbradley stewartalex hoggarth

jed richardson

The committee members, and all the young footballers in the Penrith & District Junior Football League would like to dedicate this

match to Brian Thompson who supported our league for many years and sadly passed away

last year.

peter and ben forrest celebrate cup success

“We have been incredibly proud of our fantastic team this season. After a shaky start, we picked ourselves up and went on a fantas-tic unbeaten run to finish 4th in the league. The Cup Final was a great reward for the way they have battled and performed. We have taken points off all the teams we have faced this season and beaten a team never previously beaten before on the way to the final. The speed in which the lads are progressing is brilliant and we are looking for some big things from them in the coming years. The boys work together superbly as a team, are great friends on and off the pitch and thoroughly deserved their big day out. Despite the result they’ve done themselves, all the under 10s coaches and their parents proud. -Nigel Fowles, Castletown Athletic

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oveRviewU10 League

1st Penrith AFC Blues 39 pts 1st Castletown Dragons 39 pts 1st Keswick Blues 39 pts 4th Castletown Athletic 24 pts 5th Cockermouth Tigers 22 pts 6th Cockermouth Lions 16 pts 7th Castletown United 13 pts 8th Langwathby 10 pts 9th Crosby Comets 4 pts

It was a great team effort!-Jules WestKeswick Blues

“As Dragon’s managers, Alan and Myself are very proud of what the players have achieved this season. Winning the league and in the process only losing one league game all season ex-ceeded both of our expectations and bodes well for next season. Big thanks also to the parents for their support!-Darren Culling, Castletown Dragons Manager

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U10 League

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Q&ANick Levett

with sport england announcing the fa will lose £1.6M in funding for the amateur game, I spoke to national development manager nick levett about grassroots football and what the future holds.

What made youth football such an attractive career path for you?Well it’s not like having a proper job. It’s being paid for a hobby. I don’t get up on a Sunday and think: “oh god I have to go to work tomorrow!” I’m very fortunate to do a job that I love as my career and get paid to do that. It’s one of those things that’s not like having a proper job, it’s a fantastic opportunity to work in the game, and fortunate that I get paid for my passion.

There are obviously a lot of people that do not get paid and simply volunteer their time to working in the game, why do you think that is?People don’t get involved in youth football primarly for the money it’s often because son or daughter is involved in the first place and theyre driven by a different means. I’m just incredibly fortunate to get paid to do this a job. It’s a fantastic career that I’m sure many would enjoy do-ing and I’m certainly under no illusions with how lucky I am in that.

Projects such as St George’s Park prove that the FA are looking to invest in facilities to improve players but is this required right the way down and not just at the top?Without doubt. We estimated there was about a £2B deficit in terms of facility cost in England. Over the last 10 years we’ve had about £1B of investment going into the game but we understand that it’s a drop in the ocean. There’s a lot more that we will continue to work towards achieving within the world of facility develop-ment. Everyone understands that they have a role to play in terms of sourcing local funding. Things such as making sure that if there’s a new housing estate, there are football facilities built as part of that which we are able to do through funding agreements so

it’s about making sure that the money we have goes as far as possible for the development of the game. Every-one could do with better football facilities, of course they could. We have to understand however that the money can only be spent once. So do we spend it on subsidis-ing coaching courses or on subsidising facilities? There’s always decisions to be made and priorities to take but certainly facility development will be an ongoing battle.

Penrith Council are very good with pitch charges and amongst the cheapest in the country, how important is it for youth football to be kept at an affordable level?It’s absolutely important for the game and there are real mixtures across the country. Liverpool City Council have never charged for youth football pitches in the city. There was all sorts of talk about this happen-ing and there was uproar from local clubs when youtrade that off against what happens in London or Bir-mingham and you’ve got huge prices because land is at such a premium so we’ve got different issues and chal-lenges across the country. I think we’re at a time of aus-terity where the economics of the country aren’t as rosy as we would like but the game has to start to pay it’s way, it’s been subsidised for so long but equally, the game has to be affordable. That goes all the way to clubs making sure it’s affordable for players without extortionate costs and then sitting on loads of money, then to local leagues that have to make it affordable for clubs as well, the days of fining a club £50 for not putting in a match card or turning up to a meeting need to be addressed. There are youth leagues in this country sitting on over £100k in the bank, that can’t be right for the future of the game, we need to make sure leagues invest their money back into the clubs who can invest in the development of the coaches to ultimately make the experience better for young people.

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What is the importance of the individuals that put together these leagues to give kids a platform to im-prove as players?Volunteers are the lifeblood of the game and without them kids would never get the opportunity that they do. Everybody across the whole of the governing body rec-ognises the role that they play and are hugely thankful for that. The majority of people, certainly in the depart-ment I sit in, are all voluntaries as well. The associate director of grassroots football is a league chairman with 500 teams in it, the national leagues manager is mini-soccer secretary and also runs his sons team. The national clubs manager runs his sons under-12’s and his under-8’s so there are lot of FA staff involved as volun-teers as well. The game absolutely relies on them. They get a bad rap at times without people understanding the amount of hours that they put into making the game such a good experience for kids. Equally we need to make sure they are trained and supported in a modern way. As times are changing and the game is evolving we need to make sure these guys evolve with a bit of support so they continue to provide the best product for kids playing football. We need to keep moving forward and evolving and supporting these league administra-tors in the vital role that they are playing.

In order to counter the ‘minority’ of parents causing problems on the side-lines the respect campaign was introduced. What progress has been made with this campaign?If you go and speak to the kids. They’ll tell you that having parents stood further away from the touchline has made a difference to them. The question you need to ask is does it make the experience better for those involved. The kids are one group we need to ensure are better from the experience. A lot of the videos and clips we did to promote the programme helped parents understand what their behaviour needs to be. I feel a bit sorry for parents in general because they get a bit of a bad rap. We know that parents can be a nightmare on the side of a pitch, however, that’s a minority. The vast majority of parents are superb. Is there more we can do? Of course there is. We have to recognise that what goes on in the professional game we can’t control and it’s another form of the game almost. At the grassroots game the majority of adults know what’s right and what’s wrong in terms of behaviour at the side of the pitch. Although we can’t control what goes on in the professional game we can assure that at grassroots level everyone knows what’s right and what’s wrong in mak-ing sure the game is the best experience for everyone involved.

What feedback have you had on the recent innovation of “non-competitive” soccer for under 7’s, 8’s and 9’s?I wouldn’t use the word non-competitive because if you put two kids teams on the pitch they’re as competi-tive as you could possibly believe. What we are doing is making sure when children start playing football they’re having an experience that’s appropriate for them. When you’re 7 or 8 years old, playing in a league that lasts 30 weeks doesn’t really help a lot because the average 7 or 8 year old kid doesn’t know what they did last week let alone find out the winner in 30 weeks time. The aim is to still have competition at the heart of it and dip their toes in the water at what that experience looks like. This is very much finding the balance between not counting the scores at all which isn’t right and winning at all costs which we know isn’t right either. The feedback from the children has been really positive and they enjoy the mini-competitions. We need to do more with leagues to ensure they know what these look like and how they’re organised and that’s about us making sure that we take all of the best ideas from around the country and that we share these with everyone involved.

What else have you got in the pipeline for grassroots football?We need to develop a culture of change where we know we can try something and evolve and develop rather than having a big revolution every 15 years and throw it all up in the year and start again. It’s all about develop-ing a culture of change moving forwards where we can try things new if we think they’re the right things to do to develop the game.

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12's

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w.Jamison Cup

Harraby were in great form to prevail in a high quality game of football befitting of two cup finalists.The Carlisle side looked threatening in the opening moments of the game but Josh Trafford was solid at the back and able to thwart the majority of Harraby attacks. Similarly, goal-keeper Dan Craghill looked very assured, always on his toes and showing good handling ability to cancel out the threat of crosses and long balls.Soon the power of Harraby would prove to be too much for the back four, but the lead came fortuously for Harraby. A brilliant corner from Jay Nicholson was flicked towards goal by David Fraser but it eventually went in off a Keswick man as they fell a goal behind.The quality of the corners from Nicholson were superb and nearly forced another goal, this time Birkett got his header on target but Craghill saved well.The general play from Harraby was very impressive. Mikey Williamson played the role of target man well, holding up the ball, playing in runners such as Joe Batty and Birkett.At the other end Oliver Dodson looked most likely, nearly equalising having been played in by captain Oliver Anderton, goalkeeper Ryan Stewart did well to save.

Harraby knew they would have to score again to kill off the game and continued to press hitting the crossbar twice through Birkett and James Best whose curling effort was des-perately unlucky not to drop in.The second goal would soon come, a goal of shear class, David Fraser’s corner was not cleared and Jay Nicholson tak-ing a break from corner duty hit a blinding volley into the top corner.Keswicks Craghill had been in great form in goal saving a num-ber of Harraby chances that could have meant the game was beyond them already. Christian Fidoe had also been working hard and putting his body on the line to try and bring the trophy home. Those hopes were soon dashed however. Charlie Barnes had been sensational for Harraby in the midfield, he strode through the middle of the park but was denied again by Craghill only for Batty to steal in on the rebound finishing well with the outside of his foot.Keswick could have got a well-deserved consolation when Tom Parker got a shot off but Barnes did excellently to get back and block it.Instead Harraby would seal victory through Ben Watson, pok-ing home after a pinpoint pass by man of the match Birkett.

Harraby Catholic 4Own Goal, Nicholson, Batty,

Watson

Keswick Reds 0

Harraby Catholic

Ryan StewartJosh AbbottCharlie BarnesJames BestJamie HewittOwen BirkettJoe BattyBen GillDavid FraserJay NicholsonBen WatsonMikey Williamson

Keswick Reds

Dan CraghillBrad Edmonds

Oscar LinkDylan McCade

Tom ParkerJosh Trafford

Oliver Anderton Josh Day

Christian FidoeLouis Jenkinson

Josh WoodOliver Dodson

harrabys joe batty looks to get past oliver dodson

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We were delighted that despite losing this W.Jamison Cup The Reds were able to lift the clubs only trophy of the season in a great turnaround in the Joe Fisher Cup. This defeat spurred the lads on and the victory in the other final will stand the team in good stread as they move up to U14s.-Mike Anderton, Keswick Reds

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joe fisher Cup

In a repeat of last week’s league cup final Keswick would exact revenge on double winners Harraby in a great display that seemed to take Harraby by surprise.The upset was on the cards early on when Brad Edmonds cap-italised on a mistake in the Harraby backline and stabbed into the top corner to give his side the lead and more important a goal which seemed to elude them the week before. Edmonds then nearly doubled the lead moments later but this time a similar effort came back off the post with goalkeeper Ryan Stewart well beaten.It took a while for Harraby to come into the game but when they did it was down to goalkeeper Dan Craghill, so impres-sive last week, to keep his side in front. He duly obliged, first a diving save to deny Ben Gill, then tipping over a Charlie Barnes free kick destined for the bottom corner.Behind at half time Harraby knew they needed to step it up and they did just that. The danger was all coming from the right hand side and David Fraser whose delivery was causing all sorts of problems. Mikey Williamson was thriving on the balls coming in from Fraser but couldn’t make any of them count struggling to get anything on target. The closest Harraby came was an Owen Birkett header from a Fraser corner but Oliver Dodson was

behind Craghill to head off the line. In a near carbon copy moments later Birkett was again denied but this time by the inspired Craghill who pushed the header wide.For Keswick it was Edmonds looking most likely but when they doubled their lead it was through a Josh Trafford corner which somehow squirmed in causing great frustration for the Harraby defenders. It would leave too much for the Carlisle side to do and as they came forward searching for a way back in they left gaps at the back. This enabled Josh Wood to find space and when captain Oliver Anderton picked him out brilliantly Wood ran through and added a third to seal Keswick’s revenge and the Joe Fisher Cup.

Harraby Catholic 0

Keswick Reds 3Edmonds, trafford, wood

Harraby Catholic

Ryan StewartJosh AbbottCharlie BarnesJames BestJamie HewittOwen BirkettJoe BattyBen GillDavid FraserJay NicholsonBen WatsonMikey Williamson

Keswick Reds

Dan CraghillBrad Edmonds

Oscar LinkDylan McCade

Tom ParkerJosh Trafford

Oliver Anderton Josh Day

Christian FidoeLouis Jenkinson

Josh WoodOliver Dodson

david fraser was always a threat butcouldnt guide his team to victory

The Penrith and District Junior League, would like to dedicate this match to Joe Fisher who

this competition is named after. Joe sadly passed away earlier this year; a supporter of

our league for over 30 years. Rest in Peace.

“We were all very disappointed to lose the first final, in the changing room before the game we remembered walking past the cup after losing the game, we didn’t want to have that feel-ing again and after the first goal went in I knew we could do it. 3-0 was a great score.-Oliver Anderton, Keswick Reds

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joe fisher Cupoverview

indian plaza restaurant u12 League

“I was pleased with the manner in which we have gone on to win the league by four clear points after our cup final disappointment the week before. We turned it around to seal the league by changing our style of play in order to fluster Keswick and were able to win the game 4-0. It was different to our dynamic passing football that saw us win the league and shows terrific versitility amongst the lads.-Andy Conkey, Harraby Catholic ClubC

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1st Harraby Catholic 51 pts 2nd Cockermouth Galaxy 47 pts 3rd Penrith AFC 35 pts 4th Castletown Rovers 31 pts 5th Keswick Reds 27 pts 6th Keswick Yellow 20 pts 7th Castletown United 18 pts 8th Castletown Park 14 pts 9th Cockermouth Storm 8 pts 10th Penrith AFC Blues 6 pts

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Under

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U14 League Cup

Castletown Rangers went into this game on the back on a dominant league campaign but that would not intimidate the younger Castletown side who gave them some nervy mo-ments early on.It was indeed the Blues that had the early initiative, handing out a warning as Liam McCarron broke down the left showing exceptional pace. The attacker would see goalkeeper Rob-bie Simpson off his line and go for the lob but not get quite enough dip on it, finding the roof of the net. McCarron then threatened again with a poor clearance leaving him with a chance that he flashed just wide. Soon Blues attacking pressure would pay off though as they took a surprise lead, Henry Marshall this time catching Simpson too far off his line and lofting it over him perfectly.Blues continued to mount pressure with Cowley this time showing great pace and getting round the goalkeeper again, only for Adam Land and Okke Oudhuis to squeeze out the striker.At the other end Pritchard had his angles all right as he saved another effort from Shearer to keep his side in the lead. A lead which would then be extended when McCarron latched onto Cowley’s ball and fired low past the goalkeeper into the bottom corner. It had been a fantastic spell from the Blues with Box-Gill fantastic in midfield using the pace of Cowley, McCarron and Richardson in front of him. At the back John McKenna was strong with some great interceptions and all round reading of the game.

The anticipated Rangers comeback would then ensue. A Jordan Palmer free kick followed by powerful finish by Jack Huddart who was played in by captain Joseph Henderson brought Rangers level at half time.After the half-time team talk Rangers came out all guns blazing and quickly added three goals. Oliver Raine swept home a quality ball from Palmer, who then added two himself, first a good ball from Reece Simpson set him free and then a clipped pass from Jack Marshall found the striker to bag his hat-trick. The Blues then won a penalty which Cowley emphatically converted to reduce the difference to two. There was more yet to come from Rangers though.First there was some quality play that saw Henderson cross for Raine who cushioned a header down to Simpson but his shot was excellently saved by second-half goalkeeper Robbie Cameron. Then the goal rush began as Raine added to his tally and Palmer in emphatic form added another three to complete a devas-tating double hat-trick. The tenth and final goal was scored by Adam Land who finished Palmer’s cross at the far post.A superb second half performance by Rangers but the younger Blues side will take a lot of pride from a strong first half per-formance that had their opposition briefly on the ropes.

Castletown Rangers 10palmer 6, Huddart, Raine 2, land

Castletown Blues U13 3marshall, mccarron, cowley

Rangers

robbie simpsonelliot bulmanadam landokke oudhuisconner petrydeclan sutcliffejoseph hendersonjack huddarteoin mcgleenanjake marshallwarren porterreece simpsonkerran cotterelljordan palmer

oliver raine

brad shearer

Blues

robbie cameronkieran pritchard

john mckenna luke lamour

mackenzie marstonjordan kennydanny roper

brendan box gillconner carrick

euan chandlerhenry marshallliam mccarronjoe broadhead

ellis watsonrobbie cowley

tobin harttaryn reay

ben richardson

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U14 robert irving cup

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Castletown Rangers went into this game looking to complete an unblemished treble after last weeks success in the Under 14 League Cup Final. They would ultimately come out on top but the game was not without its difficulties for the league’s dominant force.In last week’s final with the younger Castletown side, Rang-ers got off to a slow start, falling two goals behind early on. This was not the case on this occasion, with Rangers starting quickly and taking the lead in the opening minutes, a close range finish from Oliver Raine as the ball fell loose inside the Penrith box.It could have been a formality from here on out for Rangers but Penrith made it difficult for them as they put on some pressure which lead to a mistake from goalkeeper Robbie Simpson. His clearance would go out only as far as Jack Davis who hit a decent shot that bounced right in front of Simpson but the goalkeeper did well to watch it and make amends with the save.Simpson was in trouble once more soon after as Ryan Bell knocked the ball past him and was bundled over. Daniel Lowes would take the resulting penalty but see it saved by Simpson, getting a strong hand to the ball to keep it out, again making up for his part in giving away the spot kick. Penrith continued to pile on the pressure, Brad Rogers clip-ping a lob just past the far post with Simpson beaten, and Bell getting on the end of Rogers clipped ball into the box got a great volley away but saw it come back off the crossbar.

At half time it was Penrith who were in the ascendancy despite being behind and when Rangers were reduced to 10-men after a strong tackle saw a red card brandished Penrith’s hopes of pulling level were boosted.Instead the booking caused Rangers remaining 10 men to work harder and ultimately led to them doubling their lead against the run of play. A great diagonal ball from Jake Mar-shall found captain Joseph Henderson peeling off his man, his shot across goal was excellently saved by goalkeeper Michael Watson but bounced up onto the head of Jordan Palmer who couldn’t miss.In defence Declan Sutcliffe had been in fine form for Castle-town and could have added to these efforts with a goal at the other end but put his close range attempt just wide.Instead Penrith made the last few moments interesting. Out of nothing Harry Ewbank dinked the ball over the head of Simpson from the corner of the penalty box to reduce the arrears. Unfortunately for Penrith it wouldn’t be enough as Rangers added two more goals, first a Brad Shearer penalty and then a second for Jordan Palmer, enough to complete a hugely impressive treble.

penrith afc 1ewbank

Castletown rangers 4raine, palmer 2, shearer

Rangers

robbie simpsonelliot bulmanadam landokke oudhuistyler hesserdeclan sutcliffejoseph hendersonjack huddartjoe cowinjake marshallharry beatyreece simpsonJack Lloydsjordan palmeroliver raine

brad shearer

penrith AFC

michael watsonfinlay watson

mark lucas winspearnathan ridleylloyd norman

alex parkerjack mavin

joseph suttonjack davis

nathan eilbeckharry ewbankdaniel lowes

matthew millerryan neale

euan wilsonryan bell

brad rogers

I am proud of the lads, they havent always listened to me but have managed to surprise me!-Ian HendersonCastletown Rangers

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U14 robert irving cup overviewast signs U14 League

“Our U14’s have continued to develop this season and have done really well. I say it every season but they work hard, never give up and most importantly have fun at our club. They are a great bunch of lads and both myself and Bob Norman (Coach) together with Andy Ridley (Coach) are proud to coach the guys. Not only have we a great bunch of lads but I could not wish for a better group of parents who are very supportive and understanding. We are all looking forward to our next season at Under 16 level and are ready for the challenge-Matt Rogers, Penrith AFC Manager

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1st Castletown Rangers 36 pts 2nd Cockermouth 22 pts 3rd Keswick 22 pts 4th Penrith AFC 19 pts 5th Castletown Blues 18 pts 6th Penrith AFC Blues 6 pts 7th Castletown Whites 1 pt

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interviewBen snowdon

Once a hopeful youngster chasing a dream at local club Sunderland and now the successful Chief Executive Officer for the Cumberland FA, Ben Snowdon feels much has changed during his years in the game.

Having taken up coaching at the age of 16 when he re-alised he wouldn’t be able to fulfil his dream of playing for boyhood club Sunderland, Snowdon has gradually progressed through the ranks. Working as a lecturer in an FA college in Cumbria, Ben helped out by doing some coaching for the local county FA, from here he was able to apply for and be appointed football development officer for the Cumberland FA and ultimately work his way up to where he is today. When discussing changes to the game in his transition from young player to respected coach Snow-don cited the emphasis has moved from school football to club football. “Grassroots football is an awful lot stronger now than it was when I first started playing, when I started playing the strength of grassroots football was within schools, you played regularly for your school team but club football wasn’t really developed. “In the 80’s you started to see club football develop, since then club structures are getting stronger and now youth leagues are going from strength to strength, clubs are more professional and are taking kids at a younger age whilst playing more fixtures. Also coaches are more qualified and are CRB checked which is a massive step in the safeguarding of children.” With money causing concern for all involved in the game Snowdon was reassuring in how Cumbrian football would cope with the reported cuts. At the Cum-berland FA it is their goal to make grassroots football affordable but they must ensure clubs realise that in line with everything else football prices are going to go up and assist these clubs in coping with such changes. “We need to look at where we can potentially look to save costs for clubs so that’s why we haven’t raised our affiliation fees over the last 8 years and it’s why we heavily subsidise our coaching education courses and provide as many grants as we possibly can to keep the price of football down and keep it affordable for grassroots clubs.”Snowdon also pointed out that the money being lost was a drop in the ocean and there would still be suffi-cient funding in place to help the grassroots game which bodes well for the future of English football and football

in Cumbria. For the 8th year running there has been a growth in provision with around 3,000 adults coaches and 3,500 children playing football. This growth has encouraged Snowdon and the rest of the Cumbrian FA greatly. “The largest growth we have had this year has been in mini-soccer and that’s got to paint a positive picture. The fact that there are more kids playing at the youngest ever entry age group is great so obviously we need to look after them. “When I started you played on a full 11 a-side pitch with full 11 a-side goals no matter what age you were but now with age appropriate matches on age appropriate pitches it is such a step in the right direction for grassroots football it’s unbelievable. “ The Cumberland FA’s Chief Executive who over-sees a number of leagues within the county had a few words to add about the Penrith & District Junior League and the volunteers that make it possible too: “I certainly think the league is a very well-run league staffed by terrific volunteers and have some very

Volunteers are not paid, not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless. Peter Renwick, fixture secretary

nice member leagues to make it a very nice league to play in and a very good league to deal with. “I think the volunteers should be very proud of themselves and their achievements beca--use ultimately whilst we have a role to play, the grassroots game is that because of thevolunteers andthe coaches who should be very proud of their achievements, which have got us to where we are now.”

He played for Barnsley and Carlisle United in a playing career cut short by injury, since then, Wilkes has put his energy into finding the best young talent the North West has to offer. Youth Team Coach and Head of Centre for Ex-cellence, Wilkes plays a big part in recruiting and training the best young players in the area, a job he says is made easier by the work done around him:“Local leagues and Schools are very useful for us in see-ing young players play football. “We have a recruitment officer, coaches and also scouts that will often recommend players from local leagues to come on a six-week trial.” The Penrith & District Junior League is one of the local leagues that are useful for a Professional Club such as Carlisle United. Players featured in this magazine such as Jordan Palmer of Castletown Rangers and Charlie Barnes of Har-raby Catholic have been on the clubs radar, as they look to bring through fresh new talent, a big aspiration for Wilkes: “My main aim is to try and secure as many good young players from Cumbria as we can. We just want as many young players that are capable of progressing their careers from youth team to first team football.” Names such as those mentioned above will no doubt be delighted to have been discovered by the club, however, for those that haven’t Wilkes was quick to point out that there is always time:

dave wilkesinterview

having played professionally himself, the now Head of Centre for Excellence at Carlisle United Dave Wilkes, expressed the importance of keeping your head up when looking to get noticed.

“It’s important that young players just keep going. Hopefully we aren’t overlooking players. We know players develop at different paces so if you haven’t been picked up at 9, 10 or 11 it’s not all over and you could still be picked up later on. Exposure wise someone might see these young players very early on or they might not see them until much later so just keep going and get yourself noticed.”

charlie barnes is set to play withcarlisle united next season

you can check on all of this seasons results and view the final league tables by logging onto the website below and

typing Penrith & District Junior Fotball League into the search box:

full-time.thefa.com

24

Under

16's

ted nanson trophy

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The final game on the first Sunday at Frenchfield stadium was the closest of the lot and it ultimately took extra time to see Penrith over the line. Keswick flew out of the blocks to stun Penrith after just two minutes. The ball falling loose to Charlie Robson who stabbed the ball into the top corner out of the reach of goalkeeper Damien Hutchinson.Penrith started to get the ball forward after this early set back and captain Joe Walton started picking out diagonal balls for his forwards to run onto. For Keswick Steve Moss, Dan Ball, Dan Cowperthwaite and James McGowan dealt with this threat well, showing good strength in the air. Keswick came dangerously close to doubling their lead though despite Penrith’s improvement. Alfie West danced past numerous tackles on the edge of the box before laying off Charlie Robson who cut back leaving behind the defender and giving him space to shoot but Hutchinson stood tall to make the stop from close range.Up front for Penrith Hayden Wilson was full of running and a big threat to Keswick. Another worry were the fearsome deliveries coming in from Walton which goalkeeper James Suddaby had to be alert to. For Penrith the through balls kept on coming. First a warning sign as Jack Overs was just flagged offside after a good pass from Josh Davis as he was clean through. Then Kieran Dawes beat the offside trap to race through to a pass from Wilson but he just failed to execute a chip over Suddaby.

Dawes then got another opportunity to bring his side level with a well struck shot being parried by Suddaby and then cleared by Robson. With Ball and McGowan working solidly in defence to stop Penrith’s pressure coming down the right, particularly through Kevin Garau and Ross Parkin, it was going to take something very special to turn things around. Right on cue as William Anderton got a solid header clear for Keswick Sam Mein of Penrith took the ball on his chest and sent a glorious volley into the far corner of the net giving Sud-daby no chance at all. Keswick could then have bit back to prevent extra time but for a stunning diving save from Hutchinson tipping wide a well placed effort from Hamish Lucas that was destined to find the bottom corner.Instead it took extra time and Hayden Wilson who had threat-ened all game got his reward when he chased down a hopeful ball and managed to get the better of goalkeeper Suddaby as he got beyond him and tucked it safely into the empty net.A fine game of football that didn’t deserve a loser, a point would have been a fair result, however the cup had to go somewhere and it was Penrith that came out victorious.

penrith afc 2mein, wilson

keswick 1robson

Penrith AFC

damien hutchinsonjack curriejosh daviskevin garaurhys hodgsonadam muddmatthew atkinsonkieran daweslewis feddansam meincharlie forsterross parkindaniel simpsonjoe waltonjack overs

hayden wilson

Keswick

James suddabydan ball

josiah fultonjames mcgowanfrazer meldrum

steve mossjonny piercy

william andertongabriel carr

dan cowperthwaitechris reay

jordon shoyorealfie west

hamish lucascharlie robsonjack thompson

The lads worked hard right to the end in a strong U16 league.-Mike AndertonKeswick

26

tommy hall trophy

The last cup final of the weekend and indeed the season was for the Tommy Hall trophy and was contested again by a Keswick side and a Carlisle side much like the Joe Fisher Cup Final. This time however the Carlisle side came out on top after a convincing second half performance.The first half struggled to get going and was marred by a worrying injury for Midfielder Matthew Baty who picked up a serious looking knee injury early on. After this it was Keswick that began to press looking to take a first half lead.Goalkeeper Marc Gallimore had plenty to do for Edenvale as he watched a decent Hamish Lucas effort well and gathered it in without any trouble and then saved an Alfie West free kick.The goalkeeper at the other end, James Suddaby, was also in fine form. He dominated his area at every opportunity, catching the high balls into the box, relieving pressure on his defenders. In front of him Dan Ball and Steve Moss were put-ting in good strong performances with the latter making some strong forward runs on the ball.After half time Edenvale improved and thought they had the lead after just a few minutes. Ryan Scott picked out Josh Mor-ley down the right hand side who found Robbie Graham free in the middle but the striker had strayed offside and his neat finish was disallowed. It wouldn’t be long however before the league champions took the lead. Connor Shields showing great desire and brav-ery to get on the end of Nathan Cox flick on and stab home under pressure.

Shields would double his tally soon after and put Edenvale in a comfortable position. He kept onside and latched onto Mor-ley’s ball over the top before sprinting away from the defence and blasting past goalkeeper Suddaby.With the wind very much in their sails Edenvale killed the game off with a well worked corner routine. The delivery from Scott found the head of Sam Chung who flicked on for defender Thomas Jardine who was able to volley home from close range. Edenvale’s defence was looking tight in the second half with the likes of Matthew Bulman, Jack Harris and Jardine keeping Keswick’s shots to a distance. The match had been far more even than the scoreline had suggested but could have got even worse for Keswick.Shields was played in behind again but this time was hauled over by a Keswick defender. The striker would place the ball himself as he looked for his hat-trick but his well taken pen-alty was brilliantly saved to his left by James Suddaby.Keswick nearly got a consolation right at the death as the man who looked most likely, Hamish Lucas, struck another long range effort that Gallimore had to tip over acrobatically and seal a league and cup double for the Eagles and confirm disappointment for desperately unlucky Keswick.

edenvale eagles 3Shields 2, jardine

keswick 0

edenvale eagles

marc gallimorematthew bulmanjack crowthergeorge faulderjack harristhomas jardineadam seymourmatthew batynathan coxsam chungjosh morleyryan scottmax walkerrobbie grahamconnor shields

james varah

Keswick

James suddabydan ball

josiah fultonjames mcgowanfrazer meldrum

steve mossjonny piercy

william andertongabriel carr

dan cowperthwaitechris reay

jordon shoyorealfie west

hamish lucascharlie robsonjack thompson

connor shields was in fine form netting two for the eagles

oveRview

27

tommy hall trophy oveRviewJ&J Graham u16 League

“ Having won the league and cup double I would like to congratulate the boys that have ALL contributed to what has been a successful season. I would also like to give a spe-cial mention to four players who have been with Edenvale Eagles since formation - George Faulder, Max Walker, Matty Baty and Jack Crowther. We also got to the County Cup semi final, beating Abbeytown in the quarters who at the time were unbeaten in the Carlisle league. On a final note I would like to say what a pleasure it has been to play in the Penrith league when compared to elsewhere.-Derek Baty, Edenvale Eagles Manager

Co

ac

hes

Vie

w

1st Edenvale Eagles 37 pts 2nd Penrith AFC 26 pts 3rd Cockermouth 25 pts 4th Castletown United 23 pts 5th Keswick 22 pts 6th Castletown Blues 16 pts 7th Castletown Whites 9 pts 8th Cockermouth u15 0 pts

photography

Snap

A big thank you to the leagues fantastic sponsors that all support youth in the

community

thompson scaffoldingservices

unit 29, bowerbank waygilwilly industrial est

penrithtel 01768899026 866757

indian plaza restaurantaward winning 45 middlegatepenrith ca117pttel 01768865566

ast signs premier creative signmakerunit 2, gilwilly rd

east lakes business parkpenrith

tel 01768892294

J&J Graham of penrithcumbria deli & baker6 to 7 market square

penrith