Captain Spikes his rivals for U12s (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Captain Spikes his rivals for U12s

9:51pm Wednesday 25th November 2009

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Bradford under-12 boys marked their return to the top flight of the Yorkshire Youth Hockey League with a hard-working and largely error-free display against the best teams in Yorkshire.

Opening against Airedale, they were never in trouble and Alex Stewart and Charlie Sorton could both have sealed victory but for last-gasp tackles in a somewhat disappointing 0-0 draw.

Against defending champions Ben Rhydding A, one of the best teams in the country, Bradford deserved better than a 1-0 defeat as Stewart pushed the ball inches wide and Kez Cairns had a shot cleared off the line.

The Bradford youngsters then dominated against a York team that had finished runners-up at the previous meeting, captain Spike Johnston putting in a wonderful display with Cathy Hall and Seb Shaw working hard down the wings in a 1-0 win.

Johnston netted the winner and carried on his fine form against Ben Rhydding B in a 2-1 win, with goals from Stewart and Cairns and strong defence by Samraj Bhullar and Carter Singleton.

Assured of third place, Bradford rounded off with a 4-3 defeat to Slazengers as Johnston scored twice.

Bradford’s success as a club in continuing to attract new young players meant that a B team was entered in the YYHL for the first time this season, captained by Anna Craig. Logan Wood excelled but Bradford could not score and lost two games.

Meanwhile, there was a mixed bag of results for the senior men’s sides but the first team were emphatic 5-1 winners against Hull.

Steve Hodgson opened the scoring early but Bradford made hard work of beating a side who were a man short.

Richard Kent made it 2-0 at the interval, with further goals coming from Jason Johnson and two from Adam Ashton after Hull had pulled back to 3-1. Mark Backhouse and Martin Wright also played key roles.

Bradford seconds were without five regular players and lost 3-2 at Kingston-upon-Hull fourths.

Juniors Mathew Stubley and Ben Bateson made excellent debuts at this level and Bradford dominated for the first 20 minutes, with James Hunt running the midfield.

But from 2-0 up, including a goal from Daniel Stubley at the back post, Bradford were gradually pegged back and Hull’s flying finish secured the points.

The third team won 4-1 against Sheffield on Saturday, their first success of the season, but lost 3-0 to Hull University seconds the following day.

The first game saw all the goals come in the second half, with Nim Pathmanan netting twice on his return to the team.

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