2:22pm Wednesday 17th March 2010
By Sports Desk
Bradford under-12s were denied title glory by a single goal as they finished runners-up to Ben Rhydding in the Yorkshire Youth Hockey League championship tournament at Pocklington.
It meant Bradford were not quite able to complete a remarkable full house during the season, winning Divisions Four, Three and Two as a reward for their hard work.
They opened with a 1-0 win against Leeds. Charlie Sorton netted the decisive goal after earlier good work by Kez Cairns, Spike Johnston and Carter Singleton, while Logan Wood was solid in defence.
Defender Sam Bhullar excelled against Ben Rydding in a game that saw no shots from open play and it needed a contentious last-minute goal from a penalty corner to seal Bradford’s 1-0 defeat.
Bradford then dominated against Slazengers but could only win 1-0, albeit from a fantastic goal that saw Alex Stewart find the net after superb build-up play.
A wonderful game followed against Rotherham and Bradford won 3-1 through goals from Stewart (2) and Cairns, with keeper George Prescott making two great saves to protect the advantage.
Bradford then wrapped up with a 5-0 victory over Airedale but it was not quite enough to nudge Ben Rhydding off top spot.
Johnston (2), Stewart, Singleton and a penalty corner provided the firepower in this emphatic finish.
Meanwhile, the Bradford B team drew twice and lost three times in Division Three.
They opened against Kirklees (Huddersfield Dragons) and Alex Speck-Zolte’s goal earned a 1-1 draw after falling behind to Matthew Stacey’s powerful strike.
Anna Craig and Cathy Caines inspired the fightback and Ben Craig was excellent when he came on midway through the game.
Craig scored the opening goal against Wakefield and Bradford were unlucky not to hang on to the lead, again drawing 1-1.
Bradford were unable to build on these results in their remaining games as they lost to eventual champions Driffield (4-0), Harrogate (1-0) and Sheffield (2-0).
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