OPTIMISM was aplenty at the start of the Bradford Sunday Alliance League Premier Division campaign for Tyersal Sunday following their opening day 4-2 victory against West Bowling, a side tipped to compete at the top.

But following that, it went from bad to worse for the Reds as players struggled to commit to attending fixtures, and this resulted in the the side folding.

Speaking on the matter, Tyersal's club secretary, Neil Silson, said: "Unfortunately the Sunday team folded because of the commitment of some players.

"We had the numbers but there wasn't a great deal of commitment from them, so in the end the manager just had enough.

"It becomes difficult not being able to raise a team and the manager had to take action and he did.

Silson added: "It's a mixture of emotions really. It's upsetting to see a part of the club disappear like that, but at the end of the day, it can too much hassle trying to keep too many times running.

"And that's why the decision was made to call it a day."

In other news, Tyersal' First Team's return to league action has brought the feel good factor back to the club after such an abnormal 18 months.

The Bradford side are four games into the Yorkshire Amateur League Division One season and are currently in seventh spot, following a record of two wins and two losses.

Most of the other sides in the division have currently played between six and seven league fixtures, but Tyersal fall short because of cup commitments.

And manager Wayne Wright is delighted with what he has seen from his side so far this campaign.

He said: “First of all, it’s been brilliant get back to it and having that buzz of being involved with football again.

"The whole feel around the game is just fantastic, even the simple things like warming up and getting into the changing rooms.

“Obviously, it has been a difficult period for everyone and football at this level has been affected massively, but we certainly feel like we are on the right path to putting it behind us.

“And by doing this, I think it’s all about preparation before the game. We want to bring back our football and bring it to the level it was before covid hit, so preparation is key.

“Training needs to be on point, our warm ups need to be on point and then we can bounce ideas off each other as a group.

“With covid, we had social distancing and a lot of restrictions in place, so to be back as a group and sharing some kind of normality again is great.”

“And now we are back together, we can put everyone back into practice.”

Wright added: “We have ambitions to challenge for the league title this season, and although we’ve lost two of our opening league games, I’m really happy with the start we’ve made.

“We are playing a really nice and eye-catching brand of football, with playing out from the back.

“We have also kept three clean sheets in the seven league and cup games we have played so that is also really pleasing.

“Prior to the season, we had a goal of playing this attractive brand of football, and it is now showing in the work we put into it in the lead up.

“It’s the first time in a few years as well in which we’ve made it past the first round of the District Cup, and hopefully we can continue going from strength to strength.

“I think most importantly, teams we come against are coming away from the fixture knowing exactly what they’ve come up against.

"I know what I want from my players and they know exactly what I want them to deliver, so there is a real good feel around this season and hopefully we can achieve our goals.”

Tyersal return to action this Saturday (2:00 PM) as they host Middleton Park.