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After endless postponements our two Syndicate Trust Youth Finals are scheduled to be played this week at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium Bamber Bridge.

The Youth Trophy Final between Bolton County and Fleetwood Town Rangers is on Thursday 26 April with a 7.30pm kick off. Bolton County, who beat Broughton Amateurs in the semi-final, sit in second spot in youth division red, eight points behind leaders AFC Fylde but they have two games in hand. Fleetwood Town Rangers whose league form has been indifferent, rise to the occasion in cup matches and they beat a strong Coppull United in their semi-final. their semi-final.

The Youth Cup Final sees BAE Warton face Foxhall on Sunday 29 April at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium, Bamber Bridge with a 2.00pm kick off. This is the first time that one of our finals has been played on a Sunday which is the clearest indication of just how difficult this season has been.

BAE Warton who beat Winstanley Warriors in their semi-final, have a 100% record in youth division white but they have plenty of catching up to do following their run in the LFA U18s Youth Cup as well as this one. Their opponents Foxhall are in third spot in the very competitive youth division white and they beat youth division red leaders AFC Fylde in their semi-final.

Tony Alty will referee the Youth Trophy Final assisted by Leon Cooper & Will Manley and Steve Downer on 4th Official duties. Harrison Hodges takes charge of the Youth Cup Final with his Assistants Jamie Law & Courtney Hughes, Joe Larkin will be on 4th Official duties. Admission to both finals is £4.00 with £2.00 for concessions and children. The Bamber Bridge Social Club will be open for their excellent range of real ales and there will be hot food available from the club kiosk.

Eamonn McNamara.

Winstanley Warriors beat BAE Warton 3-2 at the County Ground to win the LFA U18s Youth Cup (sponsored by Phil Collier Associates) and in doing so earned their place the both the League and LFA History.

It was also a proud day for the League to have two of its teams contesting this important cup final. Winstanley Warriors (youth division red) met BAE Warton (youth division white) on 18 March in the semi-final of the Syndicate Trust Youth Cup and on that occasion, it was BAE who triumphed on penalties after the scores were level on 1-1.

Today’s final kicked off in warm sunshine on the immaculate pitch at the County Ground and it was Winstanley who struck first as early as the 9th minute, Dylan Rutter’s hard low free kick evaded the BAE wall and hit the back of the net. Another well rehearsed free kick on 25 minutes saw Winstanley double their lead as the ball was played to Sam Unsworth and his cross shot found the back of the net.

Winstanley were well on top at this stage and they made it 3-0 on 35 minutes with some audacious play by Dylan Rutter who took on the BAE defence and coolly finished. This spurred BAE into life and they were unlucky to pull one back when Alex Gibbons fierce shot was brilliantly headed off the line by Jack Rooney, so the interval came with Winstanley winning 3-0.

BAE looked the stronger side in the early exchanges of the second half, they had the ball in the net on two or three occasions only to be foiled by the Assistant’s flag, correctly for offside. However, their hopes were raised on 65 minutes when Tom Preston collected the ball, drew out Daniel Adamson the Winstanley keeper and slotted the ball past him, 3-1. Five minutes later it was 3-2 when BAE did beat the disciplined off side trap and Alex Gibbons had the final touch 3-2.

Endless pressure from BAE and some stout defending by Winstanley ensured that there were no further goals. Both teams gave their all to the delight of both sets of supporters who certainly made plenty of noise by the spoils went to Winstanley Warriors who ere marginally the better team on the day and were worthy winners of the LFA U18s Youth Cup.

The Cup was presented to Winstanley captain Lewis Rotherham by Phil Collier who then presented the souvenir medals to both sets of players and the match officials, referee Alex Smith and his Assistants George Dennis and Harrison Hodges.

On a more sombre note, when we go to a football game we expect to come home safe and sound. Sadly, that was not the case for Dean Kellett who sustained a serious injury playing for Walton in their division 2 game against Leyland Orient on Thursday evening. Dean dislocated and fractured his hand/wrist in two places which resulted in emergency surgery.

Dean had this third operation yesterday and the consultant treating him, who is an expert in his field, has said that it is the worst footballing injury that he has seen. Dean’s team mates have been into to see him and they are certainly rooting for him. I am sure that all of us connected with the Lancashire Sunday League send Dean our best wishes and hope that he has a speedy recovery.

Report & photos by Eamonn McNamara.

Two of our youth clubs, BAE Warton and Winstanley Warriors will meet in the Final of the LFA U18s Youth Cup (sponsored by Phil Collier Associates) at the County Ground, Leyland on Sunday 22 April 2018, kick off 4.30pm.

The U18s Youth Cup is the LFA’s oldest running youth competition first competed for in 1954. Both Chorley and Southport have won the competition the most times with four Cup victories each and Chorley had the opportunity to become the Cup's record winners last season, but they were defeated by AFC Fylde.

BAE Warton, managed by Mark Sevens have a 100% record in youth division white but their success in cup competitions has left them with a backlog of league fixtures but they have the youth sections top goal scorer in Matthew Van Wyk who has netted 29 to date. They will meet Foxhall FC in the Final of this League’s Syndicate Trust Youth Cup Final a week on Sunday at Bamber Bridge FC, kick off 2.00pm.

Winstanley Warriors are managed by Shaun Rotherham find themselves in 4th spot in the competitive youth division red. To reach this final they have beaten Coppull United, Midway, Ramsbottom United and Nelson, their strike force of Callum Best with 23 and Dylan Rutter with 15 goals are the ones to watch.

Eamonn McNamara.

Clubs are reminded that the final date to register for the UCLan Summer Challenge Football League is 30th April. The league will operate from Tuesday 8th May until Friday 29th June 2018.

All games will be played on UCLan’s excellent 3G surface on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays and all teams must be flexible with this for everyone to benefit from the League. If any team is only available on one evening it may affect their chances of being guaranteed a game every week.

Games will last for 50 minutes with two equal haves of 25 minutes and a ten-minute half time interval. Kick off times are 6.00pm, 7.00pm and 8.00pm and games will be finished by 9.00pm sharp.

The League is sanctioned by the Lancashire Football Association (LFA) and clubs must provide their LFA affiliation number when registering. Match fees are £21.00 per team per game which are inclusive of the pitch fee and referees fee.

Interested clubs can register for the League by contacting the UCLan Football Development Officer Cian McEvoy here

Eamonn McNamara.

League Champions Hunters beat Acregate Lane LC 6-1 to capture the Syndicate Trust Challenge Cup and complete an impressive league and cup double.

After months of wet and miserable weather it was a joy to see the game kick-off in glorious evening sunshine in front of a large crowd over 450 at Bamber Bridge FC. And it was Acregate Lane who made the first impressions with some energetic play and plenty of possession. They had their chances too, which were either just off target or were saved by Danny Roccia in the Hunters goal.

It took 29 minutes before we saw the first goal, a close-range header from Dee Edmonds, something against the run of play but nevertheless it gave Hunters that all import lead. Six minutes later Ash Ball made eluded Acregate’s keeper Paul Howson with a shot off the post to make it 2-0 and Ash then celebrated with his signature somersault.

Acregate started the second half as they had the first with plenty of possession, but no end product and they paid the price on 58 minutes when Damian Green fired Hunters into a 3-0 lead with a long range effort. You could visibly see the Acregate heads drop and they weren’t helped when Man-of-the Match Jamie Sanderson made it 4-0 and four minutes later Adam Thomas dummied the keeper to make it 5-0 and by this time Hunters were well on top and in control.

A ray of hope came for Acregate on 75 minutes when the precocious Paul Turner scored to pull one back but two minutes later Andrew Naylor converted a corner to complete the scoring and give Hunters a well-deserved 6-1 victory.

The Cup and medals were presented to the teams by Sponsor John Carrig of Building Supplies West Coast Ltd. There was warm applause at the end for both teams and the match official Referee Bob Roberts, his Assistants Martin Winters & Dan Hooton and 4th Official Mark Fitzpatrick. And a special word for the two mascots wearing the team’s replica outfits, Chanel Paige Dixon, daughter of Hunters manager Dixie Dawson and little Archie Bell whose Dad Connor is the Acregate full back.

Report & photos by Eamonn McNamara with special thanks to Paul Vause for his photos.

The eagerly awaited Syndicate Trust Challenge Cup Final between premier division big boys Acregate Lane LC and Hunters will be played at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium, Bamber Bridge on Wednesday 18 April 2018, kick off 7.30pm.

League Champions Hunters retained their title on Sunday and manager Dixie Dawson will be looking to make it a league and cup double. Their form this season has been impressive with 13 wins and a draw from their 14 league games and they have a potent strike force in Dee Edmonds who has bagged 28 goals and Adam Thomas who has scored 26 this season.

Standing in their way are Acregate Lane LC who are nothing if not resilient and manager Gary Duboulay has ensured that that they will be well prepared and they will have no intention of playing second fiddle. Whilst Acregate’s league form has been indifferent they certainly turn up for the big occasions as cup holders Ingol Rangers found out when Acregate beat them 4-2 in the semi-final and to press the point they have the premier league’s top scorer in Paul Turner who has netted 36 this season.

The match will be refereed by Bob Roberts, with Assistant Referees Martin Winters & Dan Hooton and Mark Fitzpatrick on 4th Official duties. Admission is £4.00, concessions and children £2.00 for what should be a mouth-watering game.

Eamonn McNamara.

Physical Training: The Society provides physical training for its members at UCLan Sports Arena Training every Monday evening between 6.30-7.30pm except on Society Monthly Meeting nights when it will be brought forward to 6.00-7.00pm.

For further details about the physical training sessions please contact Paul Marsden here.

Lancashire Sunday Football League is always happy to accept new referees to its list of officials. If you have any enquiries about refereeing on the League or would like to be added to the list of officials, please contact the League’s Referee Manager David McNamara here.

Mid Lancashire Football League operates on Saturday afternoons for Open Age clubs and they are also happy to accept new referees to its list of officials. If you have any enquiries about refereeing on the League or would like to be added to the list of officials, please contact the League’s Referee Secretary Tony Hawkes here.