Northern Counties East League

League Cup 2nd Round

Wednesday 8th October 2025

Kick Off 19.45 Actual 19.50

Route One Rovers 7 Parkgate 1, attendance 63

10’ 1-0

15’ 2-0

17’ 3-0

37’ 3-1

50’ 4-1

72’ 5-1

81’ 6-1 (pen)

90’ 7-1

@ Myra Shay Sports Hub, 3G Pitch

489 Barkerend Road

Barkerend

Bradford

BD3 8QX

£6 Admission

£3 Programme available, didn’t bother buying.

There was plenty of time to grab something to eat after this afternoons game, as it was under six miles drive. There’s a large car park as you enter, with the clubhouse/changing rooms to the right. The pitch runs widthways in front of the building, at a slightly lower level, with two kit stands this side, one of which is seated, but the view is awful, due to people standing in front and the dugouts also being on this side. At least there’s access behind each goal, if you don’t mind dodging the spare goal frames plonked there. This once again completes this league for me and was a double tick, as Premier Division Albion Sports also host their home games here.

This was a League Cup tie, with Division 1 hosting Premier Division. Route One Rovers got off to a great start and were 3-0 up after just seventeen minutes. They could easily have doubled that amount as Parkgate struggled to get into the game, but the visitors did pull one back eight minutes before halftime, when a through ball down the right was finished with a dinked shot over the ‘keeper from 15 yards. Any hopes of a comeback disappeared five minutes into the second half though, when a low shot into the bottom corner made it 4-1, as Umar Alizahoor completed his hattrick. ROR had a chance to add to that five minutes later, but a penalty was missed, hitting the outside of the post. They did score a fifth with eighteen minutes left, poking in from close range, before a second penalty award of the night was this time dispatched by Zak Khan and the same player rounded off the scoring in the last minute, cutting in from the left, before turning two defenders inside out before sending a low shot into the bottom corner.

The journey back south wasn’t great. Firstly, the M62 eastbound was closed, meaning a diversion through Leeds and once onto the M1, there was a ridiculous stretch from just south of Leicester, down to the other side of Milton Keynes, where a 50 mph limit was enforced, despite there being no lane closures or roadworks taking place. To cap it off, the M25 was closed from J11 to J9, meaning arrival home was dead on 2 am.

National League U19 Alliance

North Division

Wednesday 8th October 2025

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 13.56

F.C. Halifax Town U19 2 Blyth Spartans U19 2, attendance 22

4’ 1-0

9’ 2-0

43’ 2-1

55’ 2-2

@ Wyke Community Sports Village, 3G Pitch

Wilson Road

Wyke

BD12 9HA

No Admission or Programme.

After an overnight stop following the game at Barrow last night, this game fitted in perfectly with my intended evening game. F.C. Halifax Town play their U19 Alliance games at Wyke Community Sports Village, which is roughly halfway between Brighouse and Bradford. It’s a standard cage set up, with viewing along one side. On the far side is just a single dugout, which was used today by the visitors. There’s plenty of car parking here, with toilets available inside the changing room building.

The match was 2nd versus 6th in the league table, with Halifax having three wins and one defeat from their opening four games, whilst Blyth were unbeaten, with one win and two draws from their games. Halifax got off to a flyer, when a well worked corner to the angle of the box was lashed into the bottom corner after just four minutes. Five minutes later they doubled their lead, when an original cross was headed out to the edge of the box, but was volleyed straight back, giving the ‘keeper no chance. Two minutes before halftime Blyth pulled a goal back, when a shot was half blocked before the rebound was hit into the bottom corner from the edge of the D. Ten minutes into the second half the visitors made it 2-2, when a cross from the right was hit first time, with a curling shot into the far bottom corner from just inside the box. Blyth came closest to getting a winner, midway through the half, with a shot that hit the angle of crossbar/post with the ‘keeper nowhere near it.