The Pontefract Pirates team for people with learning difficulties returned triumphant from the meet of the West Yorkshire Ability Counts League at Bradford Goals Centre on Sunday, with all of the club’s teams excelling in the tournament.

The meets, which are held on a monthly basis, allow all teams to meet and play a series of small-sided games during the course of the day. At the Bradford meet, all Ponte Pirates teams excelled, and are well-placed in their respective divisions as the season nears it’s climax.

For the top-rated Championship side, it was a fabulous day, as the team won four and drew one of their five games. The draw came against the Bradford City side, who are vying with Ponte for the Championship title. The team were managed for the day by Aiden Flavell and Frank Burnley, who did a terrific job in steering the team comprising Aiden himself, plus Lee Percival, Ryan Smith, Nathan French, Steven Wilson and Kyle Hill to their success. Kyle was named Man of the Day for his performances in goal, marking his recent call-up to the Great Britain team for the forthcoming European Championships with a series of stunning saves. 

The League One side also excelled, with Jez Eccles awarded Man of the Day, just shading Gary Kirk, who also performed well for the side.

In League Two, GB-capped Gary Hope took the reins of the team, achieving four wins from the side’s six games during the day. Michael Eccles won a deserved Man of the Day award for a fine all-round performance, which included two good goals for the team.

In addition to the league games, the meet was used to launch the forthcoming Juniors Leagues, with several clubs sending trail teams to play a series of friendly matches. Ponte Pirates were represented by 11 kids aged between 8 and 13 years, and the kids enjoyed their games against other teams from the region that will comprise the league structure. A couple of teams from the North East region were also invited to attend, and played several friendlies against their Yorkshire rivals.

West Riding County FA Ability Football chief James Doyle was delighted with the event, and is thrilled that the long-awaited juniors leagues will shortly be up and running. In particular, Bradford City and the Pontefract Pirates have played major roles in assisting the County Association is the success of the league and in getting juniors football established.

The Pontefract Pirates are run under the wing of Pontefract Collieries Football Club, from The White Rose Stadium on Beechnut Lane. The club enables people of all ages with learning difficulties to play organised football, and runs weekly training and coaching sessions for all teams.

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