Top two march on in new youth league

4 joulu 2014 By David Watters

NPL Football Academy

Matchday Five in the NPLFA saw yet another feast of goals as the top two continued their unbeaten form with two excellent wins in the NPL Youth League.

In the first of Wednesday's fixtures which kicked off at lunchtime, Romulus hosted Leek Town and it took a Daniel McDonald-Taylor hat-trick to win the game for The Roms despite the visitors taking the lead on two occasions through Jack Parkes on 12 minutes and Dylan Shilcock on 26 minutes.

McDonald-Taylor dragged his team back into the clash with equalisers in the 22nd and 38 minutes before winning the game with his third goal 12 minutes from time, his strike temporarily taking the Roms to the top of the league.

Mickleover Sports ensured it was only temporary a few hours later when they recorded an emphatic 6-0 victory away to Radcliffe Borough.

The Boro had not played for three weeks and it showed in a game where the visitors dominated throughout, two quickfire goals from Sports' dangermen Craig Bagshaw and Joe Alldread earning them a deserved two goal lead going into half time.

The home side were starting to look more competitive in the early stages of the second half but Sports' fitness and quality shone through when Bagshaw added two more to his total, completing his second hat-trick of the season in the 64th and 72nd minutes.

Kieran Cronin then scored a stunning free-kick in the 75th minute before Alldread wrapped up the game with his second and his team's sixth in the 82nd minute to take the three points back to Derbyshire.

Look out for highlights and interviews from the Radcliffe Mickleover clash on the NPLFA's website this week.

* The EVO-STIK NPL is the first league in English football to launch a youth league and academy combining football with further education.

The NPLFA opened its doors to its first intake of students in September at five pilot clubs - Leek Town, Mickleover Sports, Newcastle Town, Radcliffe Borough and Romulus - after being officially sanctioned by the Football Association in May.

The initial pilot programme sees up to 20 students aged 16-18 studying for a BTEC Level 3 in Sport on two year courses at each club while working with FA licensed coaches on a daily basis. As well as competing in the new EVO-STIK NPL Youth League, they will also play in national competitions led by the FA Youth Cup.

Two more clubs, Witton Albion and Lancaster City, have already signed up for next season with the NPLFA set to continue expanding.

Follow the new academy's progress at nplfa.co.uk, twitter.com/NPLFA and at facebook.com/NPLFA.

NPL Youth League Results - Wednesday 3 December

Romulus 3
Daniel McDonald-Taylor 22', 38', 78'

Team: C.Jones, Goldsmith, Murchington, Campbell, McLoughlin, Rutty-Smith, Pitt, McDonald-Taylor, Mfoyi, Newman, Teckle.

Leek Town 2
Jack Parkes 12', Dylan Shilcock 26'

Team: R.Jones, Harris (Ellis), Bromfield, Dawson, Burndred, Hall, Faulkner, Knight, Shilcock, Graham-Shea, Parkes.

...................................................

Radcliffe Borough 0

Team: Jefferies, Jones, Granner, Hodkinson, Brennan, Daniels (Brown), Duncombe, Henshall, Quasi, Oldroyd, Livsey.

Mickleover Sports 6
Craig Bagshaw 32', 64, 72, Joe Alldread 35', 82, Kieran Cronin 75'

Team: Tolley, Amiri, Cronin, Hussain, Tickner, Sanderson, Tompkinson, Buxton (Haidary), Bagshaw (Jones), Alldread, Ward (Murphy)