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Issue 16

Vs PONTEFRACT COLLIERIES PITCHING-IN NPL EAST DIVISION SATURDAY 30TH DECEMBER – 3PM

OSSETT UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB INGFIELD, PROSPECT ROAD, OSSETT, WF5 9HL

CLUB PRESIDENT: NEVILLE WIGGLESWORTH CHAIRMAN: PHIL SMITH VICE-CHAIRMAN: NEIL SPOFFORTH SECRETARY: NEIL SPOFFORTH TREASURER: PAUL BILLING BOARD MEMBERS: LEE BROADBENT, STUART GARSIDE, JOE HANKS, STEVE HANKS, KATE HENNIGHAN, DAWN ROGERS, JAMES ROGERS INTERIM MANAGER: DAVID BROWN COACH: PADDY MILLER, RYAN PUGH MEDICAL TEAM: VACANT MENTAL HEALTH & WELLBEING OFFICER: KATE HENNIGHAN HEAD OF MEDIA: JOE HANKS MEDIA TEAM: MATT BLACKBURN, CHRIS CASSIDY, HARRISON CARPENTER, OWEN GERRARD, JAMES GOTHARD, GEORGE NORTHOVER, KEITH WOOD PROGRAMME DESIGN: JOSEPH WILLIAMSON

CLUB HONOURS (OSSETT UNITED, OSSETT TOWN, OSSETT ALBION ) WEST RIDING COUNTY SENIOR CUP WINNERS: 1949/50 WEST RIDING COUNTY CUP WINNERS: 1958/59, 1964/65, 1965/66, 1967/68, 1981/82, 1998/99, 2018/19 RUNNERS UP: 2000/01 NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE FIRST DIVISION RUNNERS UP: 2001/02 PLAY-OFF RUNNERS UP: 2016/17 NORTHERN COUNTIES EAST PREMIER DIVISION WINNERS: 1998/99, 2003/04 RUNNERS UP: 1998/99, 2000/01 NORTHERN COUNTIES EAST FIRST DIVISION WINNERS: 1986/87 NORTHERN COUNTIES EAST SECOND DIVISION WINNERS: 1988/89 OSSETT UNITED IS A TRADING NAME OF OSSETT UNITED LIMITED, A PRIVATE LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES. IT IS A COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES. IT IS REGISTERED AT COMPANIES HOUSE, COMPANY NUMBER 11162425. THERE ARE TWO PEOPLE WITH SIGNIFICANT CONTROL. J. ROGERS (30.4%) AND D. ROGERS (30.4%)

WELCOME TO INGFIELD PHIL SMITH, CHAIRMAN would be the case.

Welcome to Ingfield for the final time in 2023, we hope you all had a great Christmas, and we wish you a very Happy New Year. Our Christmas became much busier following the Sheffield game here as Grant Black, after 14 months as manager, left the club on Christmas Eve. Grant was the Boards unanimous choice to take the job in October 2022 after very successful spells at his previous two clubs.

Unfortunately, results have not gone the way we hoped, and the club has not progressed as we believed

We are pleased to say David Brown will take interim control of the side, assisted by Ryan Pugh and Paddy Miller. Brownie joined the club alongside Grant and over the last 14 months he has proven very popular on the training field with innovative and impressive sessions. The squad are fully behind David and are fully focused on putting things right on the field. Today we welcome local rivals Pontefract Collieries to Ingfield, before our opening game in 2024 is a trip to league leaders Stockton Town. The reaction of the supporters has been excellent this week and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible getting behind the side as we look to a new era in 2024.

Follow your club on social media: Ossett United FC @OssettUnited @ossettutd

THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS NEVILLE WIGGLESWORTH

The events swirling around Ingfield over the past seven or eight days should normally, I suppose, provide enough material for many pages of programme notes though I intend to leave that area to other contributors should official comment be felt appropriate. We remember at this time of year, and especially this particular year, the passing in early January 2004 of Josh Hudson the father of two of our current most valued volunteers namely Simon and Wayne Hudson. Simon and Wayne were introduced to Non League football via their father’s interest and their involvement with Ossett United to this day originated way back then. Simon, Wayne and their father Josh left home as usual one Saturday afternoon to watch the match between Eccleshill United and Ossett Albion. En-route Josh, feeling unwell, felt the need to turn back and return home. By the time the half time whistle sounded at Eccleshill news was received that Josh had sadly passed away which must have come as a devastating shock to his two sons. Josh’s death

was 20 years ago on January 3rd 2004 and the subsequent postmortem examination determined that the cause of death was an asbestos related illness. Josh left behind a wife Margaret and three children Simon, Wayne and Joanne all of whom have carried on Josh’s interest in Non League football and Ossett United benefit to this day. I reported in these notes a short while ago that the former longserving Ossett Town Treasurer and Committee man Dave Huggins had sadly lost his battle with cancer. Dave often made financial contributions to Ossett Town and subsequently Ossett United and after his death we received from the family Dave’s substantial collection of lapel badges which he had accumulated over the years. I was tasked with the job of deciding what to do with them as a fitting memorial to Dave. After a few months of trying, unsuccessfully I have to add, to mount and frame the badges I handed the project over to his brother Peter. Pete had little more creative ability than I did and soon gave up and took a backward step. Fortunately into the breach stepped Pete’s wife Sandra and, possessing infinitely more patience, artistic prowess and ability than both of us put together finally got the job done – and what a job she has done! The badges have now been successfully mounted, framed and a suitable dedication to his memory supplied.

The finished item is now in the can bar with all the other memorabilia and, if you can find the time and manage the steps, is well worth a visit. Many thanks also to Sandra for her time and trouble in successfully putting her husband to shame. This afternoon we welcome our good friends and near neighbours Pontefract Collieries for this Northern Premier League Division One East fixture. There can be no contesting who holds the advantage in terms of past results with Pontefract having won 6, drawn 2 and lost only 2 of the ten games played to date. It will be good to meet up again with three of our former players currently in the Pontefract side so a special welcome to Ingfield to Jack Vann, Danny Burns and Oli Metcalf.

The Club acted quickly and decisively to fill the void created by the departure of our manager Grant Black and we hope supporters will get behind the new regime and the team in our quest for much needed points. We are desperately keen to protect our Northern Premier League status and what better way to start than with three points this afternoon? Happy New Year.

Neville.

THE DUGOUT DAVID BROWN – INTERIM MANAGER Pontefract who sit in the play offs and Stockton currently sat top of table. Ultimately, I firmly believe in this team. I value every single member of the squad as players and as people. Results have been somewhat up and down which is something that needs to be consistently better.

Firstly, I’d like to wish everyone from both sets of clubs a Merry Christmas and hope everyone has had a great festive period with their loved ones. It’s been a tricky few days for everyone involved with the club. However, with certain agreements made it’s left me in charge to navigate through a tricky time for the club. Which doesn’t get much trickier than two upcoming games against

We pride ourselves as a club as being “stronger together” and I think if everyone was to be honest with themselves, we can all do more to ensure the club becomes exactly that, stronger together. And that starts today! Enjoy the game.

David

CAPTAIN’S COLUMN HARRY COATES - CAPTAIN Hopefully it won’t be too long before I can be back on the pitch and helping the team pick up wins. Good luck to the team today and get behind the lads. Unfortunately this week saw grant Black depart as manager. No one likes to see a manager part ways, especially one that brought you in as captain and I have every respect for Grant. However this happens in football and all the lads will now be focused on todays game and will try and bounce back with Brownie in charge.

Thanks as always

Harry

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OSSETT UNITED OFFICIAL MEDIA PARTNER

Player’s Number

Sponsor

Number 1

Stanley Kelly

Number 2

The Scottish Supporters Club

MEET THE TEAM 2023/24 BACKROOM STAFF DAVID BROWN – INTERIM MANAGER

BROWNIE HAS STEPPED UP FROM A COACHING ROLE TO BECOME ASSISTANT MANAGER THIS SEASON AS HIS OFF-FIELD REPUTATION CONTINUES TO GROW WITH A VARIETY OF INNOVATIVE TRAINING SESSIONS KEEP THE PLAYERS ON THEIR TOES. HE HAS RECENTLY STEPPED INTO THE ROLE OF INTERIM MANAGER FOLLOWING GRANT BLACK’S DEPARTURE.

RYAN PUGH – GOALKEEPING COACH

RYAN’S PLAYING CAREER SAW HIM FEATURE FOR GOOLE, NEW MILLS, MATLOCK TOWN AND A FAMOUS SPELL AT OSSETT ALBION FONDLY REMEMBERED BY OSSETT TOWN FANS AFTER ONE PARTICULAR OSSETT DERBY (ASK HIM, HE LOVES TALKING ABOUT IT…) PUGHY JOINED GRANT’S BACK-ROOM STAFF AT BELPER TOWN AND HAS PROVEN POPULAR WITH GOALKEEPERS HE HAS WORKED WITH, PUSHING THEM TO BE THE BEST THEY CAN BE.

PADDY MILLER – DEFENDER/COACH

PADDY SURPRISED THE NON-LEAGUE WORLD AS HE CAME OUT OF RETIREMENT LAST SEASON TO RETURN TO THE FIELD RE-IGNITING A DEFENSIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH HARRY COATES WHICH PROVED SUCCESSFUL AT BOTH HYDE UNITED AND TADCASTER ALBION. PADDY ADDS EXPERIENCE AND A SENSE OF CALM TO ANY SIDE HE IS PART OF. HE HAS STEPPED INTO A COACHING CAPACITY AS A MEMBER OF DAVID BROWN’S BACKROOM TEAM. SPONSORED BY JP NUGENT LTD PLUMBING AND HEATING

MEET THE TEAM 2023/24 PLAYERS JOE GREEN - GOALKEEPER

FORMER GUISELEY, NEWPORT COUNTY AND HYDE UNITED GOALKEEPER, JOE IS STRONG IN STATURE, AN EXCELLENT SHOT STOPPER AND HIS DISTRIBUTION OF THE BALL WILL BE A HUGE ASSET THIS SEASON. JOE MADE HIS PROFESSIONAL DEBUT FOR NEWPORT COUNTY IN THE FA CUP 3RD ROUND AGAINST BLACKBURN ROVERS. SPONSORED BY THE HANKS FAMILY

DARYL OMBANG – GOALKEEPER SIGNED ON LOAN FROM LEEDS UNITED IN OCTOBER. HAS MADE AN IMPRESSIVE START TO LIFE BETWEEN THE STICKS FOR THE SHEEPICORNS. IMPRESSING IN A RESOLUTE WIN AWAY AT STOCKSBRIDGE. SPONSORSHIP AVAILABLE

JACOB MCLOUGHLIN – DEFENDER SIGNED IN THE SUMMER OF 2023 HAVING IMPRESSED IN THE FRIENDLIES. STRONG AT THE BACK AND HAS THE ABILITY TO STEP INTO THE MIDFIELD WITH THE BALL TO START ATTACKS, HE WAS MOST RECENTLY AT YORK CITY. SPONSORSHIP AVAILABLE

HARRY COATES - DEFENDER

A KEY SIGNING LAST SEASON FROM ASHTON UNITED DESPITE BEING CHASED BY NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH AND NPL PREMIER DIVISION SIDES. APPOINTED CLUB CAPTAIN THIS SUMMER. HARRY IS A COMMANDING CENTRAL DEFENDER AND COMFORTABLE WITH THE BALL AT HIS FEET AND MORE THAN CAPABLE TO STEP INTO MIDFIELD.

SPONSORED BY PAUL COOPER

RHYS PLATER- MIDFIELDER

YOUNG WINGER SIGNED FROM ARMTHORPE WELFARE WHERE HE HAS SCORED 12 GOALS IN 50 APPEARANCES AFTER HE IMPRESSED IN PRE-SEASON AGAINST US. RHYS HAS MADE AN IMPACT ON THE SQUAD WITH AN ASSIST ON HIS DEBUT. HE ADDS SPEED AND SKILL TO THE GROUP AND IS AN EXCELLENT OPTION FOR THE MANAGEMENT TEAM

SPONSORSHIP AVAILABLE

KELAN SWALES - FORWARD

YOUNG SIGNED ON DUAL-REGISTRATION FORMS WITH NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH SIDE ALFRETON TOWN. KELAN HAS SPENT SEVERAL SUCCESSFUL YEARS PLAYING IN AMERICA AND IS NOW LOOKING TO ESTABLISH HIMSELF BACK IN ENGLAND. KELAN SPENT TIME IN THE HALIFAX TOWN ACADEMY BEFORE HIS MOVE TO AMERICA. SPONSORED BY SPOFF & KATE

DESMOND AMPONSAH – FORWARD

QUICK AND TRICKY FROM EITHER FOOT, DESMOND IS SURE TO GET THE FANS EXCITED, A REAL DEFENDERS NIGHTMARE. DESMOND SPENT LAST SEASON WITH LIVERSEDGE AND TADCASTER ALBION GAINING NPL EXPERIENCE. SPONSORSHIP AVAILABLE

SAM KELLY - FORWARD

ANOTHER SUMMER SIGNING AND ONE THAT WILL UNDOUBTABLY EXCITE THE INGFIELD FAITHFUL. TALL, STRONG AND QUICK, SAM WILL ADD A NEW OPTION UPFRONT FOR THE SIDE HAVING SPENT TIME IN AMERICA WHERE HE EARNED A PLACE IN THE TEAM OF THE YEAR THANKS TO HIS PROWESS IN FRONT OF GOAL SCORING 22 GOALS IN 31 APPEARANCES FOR FAULKNER UNIVERSITY EAGLES.

SPONSORSHIP AVAILABLE

MEET THE TEAM 2023/24 TJ IBRAHIM – FORWARD

A DYNAMIC WINGER WITH AN EYE FOR GOAL, TJ WAS THE FIRST SUMMER SIGNING JOINING THE CLUB FROM BRIGHOUSE TOWN WHERE HE HAS SPENT THE PAST FIVE SEASONS. TJ HAS GIVEN FULL BACK’S SLEEPLESS NIGHTS OVER RECENT YEARS AND KNOW HOW THEY THINK AS HE IS MORE THAN CAPABLE OF FULFILLING THAT POSITION HIMSELF IF REQUIRED. SPONSORED BY KEITH & KATH WOOD

ALEX PETERSON - FORWARD

A KEY MEMBER OF THE SIDE, ALEX’S WORK RATE IS SECOND TO NONE AND HE IS A HANDFUL FOR ANY DEFENDER THAT HE COMES UP AGAINST. STRONG AND EXCELLENT IN THE AIR HE IS A FOCAL POINT OF THE OSSETT SIDE BRINGING PLAYERS AROUND HIM INTO THE GAME WHILST ALSO FINISHING ANY CHANCES CREATED. SPONSORED BY MOZ & MARZ

RAFA FERREIRA – FORWARD

A FLAIR PLAYER WHO IMPRESSED IN PRE-SEASON AND EARNT HIMSELF A DEAL AT THE CLUB, RAFA HAS SPENT TIME AT GUISELEY, PICKERING TOWN AND TADCASTER ALBION AHEAD OF JOINING OSSETT UNITED THIS SUMMER. SPONSORSHIP AVAILABLE

THE OPPOSITION Pontefract Collieries – A History Pontefract is known to have had a football club as far back as the 1890s when a side, presumably composed mainly of soldiers, competed in the West Yorkshire League as Pontefract Garrison. Much of the history of the game in the town is still in need of further research, but it is known that a Pontefract Borough club reached the dizzy heights of the Yorkshire League in the late 1920s. They failed to finish the 1929–30 season, though. But by 1935, a club called Tanshelf Gems managed to acquire a ground on Ackworth Road, moved there, and became Pontefract United. United ruled the roost in local football before the war, but when hostilities ended in Europe, they were rekindled in the town with the appearance of a Pontefract Collieries side, who by the late 1950s had gained slight bragging rights over their town rivals, both playing in the West Yorkshire League. But in 1960 the old Collieries club became extinct, only for the name to return a couple of years later when United merged with a local youth side and adopted the name for themselves. The new club quickly gained in stature and found considerable success in the West Yorkshire League, before joining the Yorkshire League in 1979. Progress on the field continued, culminating in a Yorkshire League Division Three Championship win in 1982. This was the last season of the old Yorkshire and Midland Leagues, which then combined to form the Northern Counties East League. The Colls were founder members of the new league. Successive promotions were gained in the first two seasons; the Runners-Up spot in Division Two (North) being followed rapidly by the Division One (North) Championship. This meteoric rise saw the Colls into the top flight of the NCEL, a position they held for a decade. Progress on the field was matched by ground improvements, as floodlights, a new clubhouse, stands, seats, and other major changes took place. Much of the work was done during the miners’ strike, cementing further, literally, the club’s relationship with the mining industry and local community. The floodlight opening in 1987 saw the Collieries take on Hull City in a friendly, watched by the record 1,000 crowd for the Skinner Lane ground.

THE OPPOSITION More honours came the club’s way as the NCEL Floodlit Cup was won twice, and two West Riding County Cup Finals were reached. Another near miss was the appearance in the NCEL Presidents Cup Final in 1994. Managers Paul Cooper, John Brown, and Ged Elliott had been the main inspirations behind the footballing rise of the club during this sustained period of progress. But when the last of this line, Ged Elliott, left the club during 1994–95, a sudden decline could not be halted and the first relegation for many a year came about. The appointment of new boss, Jim Kenyon, soon halted the slide, however, and the Colls bounced straight back, taking the Runners-Up spot, and winning the Wilkinson Sword Trophy along the way.

Success could not be sustained, though, and by 1998–99, a disastrous start saw the first 11 games lost, and only 7 points gained by Christmas. New manager, Peter Daniel, came in, and almost turned the fortunes around in an amazing rear-guard battle. The club still lost its Premier Division status, finishing second bottom, but only on goal difference. Steve Kittrick then took up the challenge with a more locally based squad, and an emphasis on youth development. 1999-00 saw the Under-16’s win the West Riding Junior Cup, and the Under-19’s reach the Northern Youth Alliance League Cup Final. The senior squad also reached the Wilkinson Sword Trophy Final, which was narrowly lost on a 4–2 aggregate to Goole. But successes at youth level were ultimately unable to be repeated by the senior squad, and Steve Kittrick left, after a disappointing finish to the 2000– 01 campaign. The successful youth coach, Gary Batley, took over for the 2001–02 campaign, but a very young and unsettled side saw a disastrous season end with the Colls rock bot-tom of the NCEL First Division. 2002–03 saw Peter Daniel return, and improve-ments on the field were obvious from the very start. Ironically, despite bringing in a few key players to strengthen the squad, much of the side were graduates from the club’s youth policy, which seemingly had not matured quite quickly enough for previous managers. The season saw the club reach its best ever stage in national competitions, reaching the Second Round Proper of the FA Vase, and with another Cup Final appearance in the Wilkinson Sword Trophy, this time losing out to Mickleover Sports, 3–1 on aggregate. A strong run in the second half of the league season saw the Colls finish in fourth place in Division One.

THE OPPOSITION But optimism for the 2003–04 campaign soon evaporated, and after a poor start, Pete Daniel resigned. Reserve team manager Roly Lanes took over the reins, and the club were pulled off bottom spot, but still needed to apply for re-election. Battles off the field have dominated recent times, with fires destroying seats and parts of the stand, the tea bar, and the closure of the adjacent Prince of Wales Colliery and loss of the electricity supply. On the field, Collieries continued to struggle, and only avoided relegation on more than one occasion as a consequence of Pyramid restructuring. Progress in national competitions was virtually nil. Things reached rock bottom in 2007–08 when, despite winning the first league game, Ponte then failed to win another for the rest of the season, and finished with just 9 points, a staggering 15 adrift of the club above them. Once again, relegation was avoided as the club were saved by the constant restructuring of the Pyramid league system. Turmoil and bad feeling dominated the summer break, seeing the departure of the management team and most of the Committee as well. But this provided an excellent opportunity for the club to rebuild, and to put in place a plan for the future where none had previously existed. 2008-9 saw a new and enthusiastic, Committee appoint new manager, Simon Houghton, from local Central Midlands League side Kinsley Boys, and after just 4 league games the new team gained the 9 points it won the previous season. For the first part of the season, the club kept pace with eventual champions Scarborough Athletic at the top of the table, but unfortunately, a disastrous spell into the new-year saw the club embark on a run of 1 win in 9, which saw the club finish in ninth place. 2009–10 saw continual improvement from Houghton’s players. The side was strengthened and despite a slow start, the side eventually finished the season in fifth place, taking four points off promoted Brighouse Town during the campaign. Despite the team topping the league during the Christmas and New Year period in the 2010–11 Season, the team’s results fell away badly in the early months of 2011. As a result, Simon Houghton left the club, with former Leeds United captain Brendon Ormsby being brought in as manager. During his first dozen games in charge of the club, Ormsby used the remainder of last season to assess the players at his disposal and start to implement changes to the playing style of the team. With several target signings brought in during the closed

THE OPPOSITION season to enhance his squad, Ormsby prepared his team for an assault on the NCEL First Division. Unfortunately, success wasn’t forthcoming for the Colls, and a bad spell during the middle of the 2012-2013 season led to Ormsby leaving the club by mutual consent. Player-managers Nick Handley and Duncan Bray stepped into the breach for the club, and with one defeat in the last ten league games, they ended the season with the club in-form. The 2013-2014 season was one of consolidation as Bray and Handley brought in new players and stamped their style of play on the squad. Ending in a ninth place league finish. The plan was delivered and 2014/15 turned out to be a successful season for the Colls as they finished as runners up in the NCEL Division 1 and achieved promotion to the NCEL Premier League after an absence of fifteen seasons. Along the way they achieved the season’s records for highest away win, best aggregate score, most goals scored (joint with Louth Town), second best defence and most clean sheets. Ponte now in the NCEL Premier (in 2015/16) new players arrived to strengthen the promotion winning squad. However struggles saw a new management team announced with manager Craig Parry assisted by Craig Rouse and Nigel Danby. They fought to the bitter end and unfortunately ended up in the third from bottom spot and back into division one. The 2016/17 season saw many changes in players and staff behind the scenes and on the field, with emphasis on the clubs infrastructure being paramount. The team had a great pre-season and that gave the side the building blocks for the year they had. After a great start with 9 wins out of the first 9 games (including friendlies) the Colls had started will in both league and the FA Cup. The latter saw us reach our joint furthest in the competition after wins against Runcorn Town and Bootle who both went on to have good league campaigns in their own right. 2017/18 saw what can only be described as a spectacular season. The mighty Ponte Colls surprised everyone (probably most at the club too). We started the season brilliantly winning 12 out of our first 13 games scoring 50 goals in the process. By the end of 2017 Ponte had only lost 3 times in league football and were still going strong in the FA Vase. Due to these cup runs we sat third in the league and 18 points behind league leader AFC Mansfield

THE OPPOSITION but many games in hand. A strong run at the end of the season saw the Colls achieve promotion as champions. After 2 consecutive promotions the Colls had an extremely successful first ever season at Step Four in 2018-19 in the NPL Division One East finishing as runners- up to Morpeth Town. The Colls narrowly lost out on promotion to the NPL Premier Division at the first time of asking after losing to Brighouse Town in the Play-offs. The 19-20 and 20-21 seasons were curtailed early due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 2021/22 season saw Craig Rouse return to the club as First Team Manager, along with a number of former players. We struggled to get started in the league, but history was made in the FA Cup as Ponte reached the fourth qualifying round. FC Halifax Town needed a return leg to beat The Colls, following a draw at home in front of a club record attendance, with only league games remaining follow exits from other cup competitions, it was time to pick up poor league form. Colls sat second bottom in early November but a string of big wins saw a jump to mid table. A strong bond between players and fans built from the start of 2022 and some big wins followed. The 2022/23 season was a real rollercoaster ride for The Collieries, our season got off to a flyer with a 4-0 win on the opening day and some strong performances put us in good stead in the early months. Another good FA Cup run saw us get through the first three rounds of the competition, before being knocked out on the road away at Chester FC. The campaign began to fall away with the squad heavily depleted due to injuries and bad discipline a major factor. The turn of the year proved difficult as we only picked up one win in the month and dropped away from the play off spots. We ended our season in middle table and will be looking to push on again in 23/24.

THE OPPOSITION Lloyd Allinson - GK Lloyd started his senior career at Chesterfield in the football league. He’s since gained experience in National League and NPL. Now into heading into another campaign with the club. Sponsored by Tina &Phil Goodworth Aleksandar Petrovic – GK Aleks is a young keeper on dual registration from Buxton FC to provide cover for Lloyd and has already made a good impression with some important saves. Jack Greenhough - DF Club Captain - Jack joined The Colls academy following leaving Bolton Wanderers. He quickly joined the first team and made a big impression. One of the club’s youngest captains, he is a massive part of how we play. Sponsored by David Gray Elliot Owen - DF A young defender who has impressed while on trial this summer. Arriving following time at York City, Owen has shown to be a solid 1v1 defender and signs of further improvement too. Sponsored by Pontefract Collieries Committee Harry Spratt - DF Vice-Captain this year, Harry had an outstanding campaign and claimed a number of end of season awards, strong at both full back and in midfield, another big year to come. Sponsored by SKH Plumbing Jack Steers - DF The big centre half rejoined The Colls from Liversedge, a commanding presence at the back and adds strength to our back line after being retained again this year.

Danny Burns - DF Another big figure at the back, Burnsy joins The Colls having featured for a number of NPL clubs in recent years, he will provide key experience as well as ability in defence. Sponsored by Colls U9’s Whites Josh Burns – DF Brother of Danny, Josh is a great, tough tackling, addition to our defensive line up.

THE OPPOSITION Jimmy Williams - MF A Ponte stalwart, Jimmy joined the club at the start of our rise from NCEL to NPL and has played a key role from the off. Now player/coach he provides experience to our squad. Sponsored by John Carlton Jack Vann - MF Vanny joined Ponte a couple of years ago and made a real impression, a real cog in The Colls engine room controlling the midfield. Occasionally popping up with a beauty from range. Gavin Rothery - MF Midfield dynamo and now Head Coach, Gavin is a real menace when in possession and makes his impact when dancing passed defenders. Missed parts of last season through injury but when fit another key component to our side. Sponsored by Dave and Alicia Hotchkiss

Callum Nicell - MF A former Leeds United academy product, Callum joined the club after impressing over the summer and quickly was snapped up. A tidy midfielder that looks like he’ll play a big part. Connor Smythe - MF A real fan favourite during his first spell at the club, Connor returned this summer, following spells at Worksop and Liversedge. The left sided man has real quality and is a great coup for Ponte. Sponsored by The Benchwarmers Podcast Jack Boyle - MF A summer signing from Brighouse Town, he has already shown his ability this pre-season, with some great moments. Fans are excited to see what he can do this year. Sponsored by E@Keats Joe Lumsden - FW Another striker that knows where the back of the net is. He rejoined the club in 2022 and will be looking to add to his tally of goals so far for Ponte, as well as being well known for his constant work rate. Mikey Dunn - FW ’Magic Mikey’ a defender’s nightmare, this lad on his day can be one of the best players in the league. His footwork and speed often leave defenders on the floor.

THE OPPOSITION Rob Guilfoyle - FW A man returning to the club for another spell is Rob, a fox in the box that can finish all kinds of chances, he’ll be looking to kick on from where he left off. Adam Haw - FW Adam joins the club this summer from Guiseley and has already impressed the home fans, clinical in front of goal but has shown class in linking play too, big season ahead. Sponsored by The Shed on Tour Frankie Sinfield – FW Wing wizard Frankie has been terrorising defences with his speed and fantastic footwork. Backroom Staff Craig Rouse – Manager Jimmy Williams – Assistant Manager Gavin Rothery – Head Coach/Player Lee Kelsey – GK Coach Megan Parsley – Head Physio Adam Lax – Assistant Physio Previous Meetings

MOVE ON UP DAVID POTTINGER In Conversation With Apollo Junction... I recently caught up with Leeds band Apollo Junction to chat about what they've got in store for 2021. Fresh from releasing their critically acclaimed single, "On The Ropes" the lads mean business this year and have got some huge things planned. Here's what we chatted about... MOU: I hear a lot of 'Electro' in your tunes would you say bands like The Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode inspire you lot? AJ: Yes, we are hugely influenced by those bands and also many other bands as well such as; New Order and Joy Division. As a band we all have bands and artists we collectively love and respect and as individuals we also have our own likes and dislikes when it comes to our own influences and when you throw all of that into the mix I guess the output of that is Apollo Junction.

MOU: "On The Ropes" sounds huge, was this track written about anything in particular? AJ: We wrote and recorded that song during lockdown so it was certainly influenced by how we were all probably feeling at the time. The song is really about overcoming obstacles and being out on a limb, but then sticking together throughout the difficult times. It was the first time we worked with a choir, which was great fun. We were aiming for a big sounding song that blows people's doors down! We have never played it lived before, so we're all excited to hear it on the big stages and festivals later this year (hopefully). MOU: Did the band find new ways of recording during 2020? AP: Yeah, we had a batch of songs that we were wanting to record that were all sitting there ready to go. We had to find a way to record them within the socially distanced guidelines which we did. We often had to record individual instruments/parts at a time which

MOVE ON UP DAVID POTTINGER actually worked really well. It meant we all got quite a lot more one on one time with our producer finessing a lot of the things that perhaps we wouldn't ordinarily have had time for. We obviously can't wait to all be back in the studio together as that's when a lot of the magic happens. MOU: What albums did you listen to during 2020 and in 2021 so far?

David Pottinger is a writer, interviewer and teacher from Middlesbrough. He has written his own blog – Move On Up - since 2013. The blog is inspired by Modernist culture and covers Music, Fashion, Football and everything in between. From now until the end of the season, we will be featuring a selection of his articles from the last decade. To find more visit moveonupblog.co.uk

AJ: We had a lot of time to listen to a wealth of music during the last year, and it probably all varies on each band member. I know collectively we have been listening to a lot of Idles, Sports Team, Fontaines DC, Sea Girls and the new Foo Fighters record is also incredible. MOU: Sum up your sound in one sentence... AJ: Described recently by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 music; swaggering electro rock.

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THE UNTOLD GAME MARTYN GREEN Vasco versus Racism and Rice Powder Vasco da Gama are one of the more successful clubs in Brazil. In a country with no long-term dominant force, their four league titles is bettered by just four teams, and just one from the Rio do Janeiro region (Flamengo). The club that gave us Romario and the excellently named Roberto Dinamite is a fixture on the Brazilian and continental stage, winning the Copa Libertadores in 1998 and, despite some recent struggles, consistently competing at the summit of Brazilian football. But their proudest moment wasn’t any of their league titles. It wasn’t even their South American dominance. It was when they were kicked out of the league. Football was a game for the elites in Brazil. It came to the country late, two decades later than it had in neighbouring Argentina and Uruguay, and reflected some of the worst attitudes of Brazilian society. They had been the last nation on the continent to abolish slavery, and carried the racism of those days into the sport, where white players were expected. The problem for Brazilian society was that some black and duel-heritage players were simply too good to ignore. Arthur Friedenreich, son of a black Brazilian mother and German father, was included in the team for England’s first ever match, against a

touring Exeter City side. His contemporary, Carlos Alberto, forced his way into the Fluminense team that had won five of the first seven regional championships. But while Friedenreich played in his own skin, Fluminense would very literally have preferred Alberto to play out of his. They whitened his face with rice powder, and when he sweated it off and the ruse became clear, it gave Fluminense their dark, derogatory nickname: rice powder. Vasco da Gama were a sailing club for the first decade and a half of organised football around Rio de Janeiro, fitting for a club named after the famous Portuguese explorer. They allowed members of any colour, but football has always been a booming business in Brazil and in 1921 the sailing club added football to its list of activities, and joined the Campeonato Carioca. Not without comment.

THE UNTOLD GAME Despite the reservations of the region’s other clubs, including Fluminense, Vasco continued to accept and play black players. Rio’s clubs initially held their noses and allowed their new member to compete in the 14 team league, while Vasco became increasingly proud of their stand against the racism of their opponents. And then, disaster struck, at least for 12 of other clubs in the Campeonato. Having finished the previous season 8th out of 8 in the Campeonato’s Serie A, Vasco improved. And then continued to improve. The 1923 competition was, to use a phrase, a whitewash. Vasco lost just one game on the way to their first trophy, winning the league by six points - the highest margin for five years - and causing chaos among the regions clubs. Twelve of their opponents immediately withdrew from the league in protest at the regional football association’s allowances of non-white players. They broke away to form their own league, with rules they controlled, and most importantly with their own racial criteria. Vasco, as reigning champions, were invited to join, on the understanding that they would fulfil those racial criteria. Vasco, to their credit, refused. Villa Isabel followed their lead. The 1924 season was farcical. The original league was flooded with clubs from the region, presumably to try to recreate the competitiveness

that had come before. Vasco dominated once more, against teams that had previously been in Serie B, or not even included in the league the previous season. The breakaway league contained the biggest names in Rio de Janeiro’s footballing landscape - Botafogo, Flamengo, and of course Fluminense - and was far more competitive. But tainted, even as it progressed, by the absence of the champions. It was won, almost as a direct challenge to Vasco’s ideals, by Rice Powder themselves, Fluminense. Vasco issued a statement saying they would not sacrifice the twelve nonwhite players who had helped them to win their first trophy, and would continue to play competitive (or uncompetitive) football to the values they had always held. They won the public relations battle, being seen as the future of Brazilian football, and the breakaway clubs eventually folded. Vasco were admitted for the 1925 season. They lost their title in a close fought campaign to Flamengo, but they had already won the real battle. They forced the door open a little bit wider for non-white players, and without their stand against racism who can say what talent might have been lost to the game. All the titles in the world can’t add up to the impact of actually changing the sport. Enjoy the game.

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CLUB HISTORY THE FORMATION Ossett United was created on 1 June 2018 following the merger of Ossett Town AFC (est. 1936) and Ossett Albion AFC (est. 1944). Both Ossett Town and Ossett Albion had managed to gain Northern Premier League status and maintain that level of football for a remarkable period of time.

The two clubs merged under the leadership of a new board brought together from the two previous clubs. The Club made its new home Ingfield, the previous home of Ossett Town, and used Dimple Wells, the previous home of Ossett Albion, as its Ladies and Academy Team base.

EARLY CHANGES Despite a successful first season on the pitch, off field things were not as successful with a number of board resignations and some challenging financial issues to deal with following the merger. By the end of the 2018/19 season, Phil Smith had taken on the mantle of club chairman with Stuart Garside, Steve Hanks, Paul Billing, Neil Spofforth and Joe Hanks joining the board. There were more troubles for Ossett United in November 2019 as a significant and unprecedented court case, dating back to a tackle in 2015 when Ossett Town were playing Radcliffe Borough, was lost with United facing legal and damages costs amounting to £135,000. Fortunately, the club received a generous loan from two of its closest supporters to avoid the club going into liquidation (at worst) or selling the Ingfield ground (at best).

CLUB HISTORY Despite a successful first season on the pitch, off field things were not as successful with a number of board resignations and some challenging financial issues to deal with following the merger. By the end of the 2018/19 season, Phil Smith had taken on the mantle of club chairman with Stuart Garside, Steve Hanks, Paul Billing, Neil Spofforth and Joe Hanks joining the board. There were more troubles for Ossett United in November 2019 as a significant and unprecedented court case, dating back to a tackle in 2015 when Ossett Town were playing Radcliffe Borough, was lost with United facing legal and damages costs amounting to £135,000. Fortunately, the club received a generous loan from two of its closest supporters to avoid the club going into liquidation (at worst) or selling the Ingfield ground (at best). James Rogers and Phil Smith swapped roles due to Smith’s work commitments with Rogers taking on the role as Chairman, a role he had previously held at Ossett Town. 2020 also saw the club declare Dimple Wells as surplus to requirements and made arrangements to surrender the lease making Ingfield the single home of the united club.

GROUND IMPROVEMENTS With the off-field rollercoaster settling down the Board progressed numerous ground improvements at Ingfield with the replacement of the pitch side barrier and installation of LED floodlights being completed in 2021 before attention turned to improving the changing room facilities which took shape in the summer of 2023 thanks to further grants from the Football Foundation. The extension includes an additional match official room, two offices and a medical room as well as a larger, modern changing room that will become fully operational by the summer of 2024.

The Boardroom has also been strengthened in the summer of 2023 with Dawn Rogers and Kate Hennighan taking their place alongside the eight members already in place.

CLUB HISTORY UP TO NOW... On the pitch, the first year (2018/19) was a remarkable success with attendances significantly increased from what either club had experienced previously, coupled with success on the pitch reaching the play-off semi-final and winning the County Cup, under the guidance of manager Andy Welsh. Following the departure of Andy Welsh a couple of months in to the 2019/20 season Wayne Benn, assisted by Chick Hayward, oversaw two covid hit seasons. Hopes were high after a positive pre-season in 2021/22 with Benn reshaping the squad. The season started well with Ossett United in the top half of the table but a run of only one win in three months saw a change in the dugout at Christmas with Jas Collvier and Mark Ward taking a joint managerial role. The season ended well with the pair unbeaten at Ingfield with seven wins and two draws but away from home inconsistent performances and results saw a ninth placed finish in only the clubs second completed season. Colliver and Ward strengthened the squad throughout pre-season, and despite on paper the squad looking as strong as it ever had, results did not match expectations. Mark Ward resigned in September with Colliver taking sole charge before leaving the club by mutual consent the following month. Grant Black became the clubs fourth permanent manager in October 2022, winning his first game in charge, 2-0 at the eventual play-off champions Long Eaton United and only tasting defeat twice in his first 16 games. Results tailed off as the season ended with the club finishing in 15th place but the management team had a clear plan in place for the type of player they wanted to bring in ahead of the 2023/24 season with their and the clubs ambition being a much higher finish than recently experienced.

2023/2024 DATE

OPPONENT

COMP. RES. SCORERS

04/07/23 07/07/23 11/07/23 14/07/23 18/07/23 22/07/23 25/07/23 29/07/23

(A) HORBURY TOWN (A) ARMTHORPE TOWN (A) WORKSOP TOWN (A) TADCASTER ALBION (A) HEMSWORTH M.W (A) GOOLE (A) GARFORTH TOWN (H) WIDNES FC

FRIENDLY FRIENDLY FRIENDLY FRIENDLY

3-1 3-2 0-1 1-0 S.KELLY TROPHY 2-0 FRIENDLY 1-4 FRIENDLY 0-3 FRIENDLY 1-0

IBRAHIM, ONWUBIKO, TRIALIST D ONWUBIKO, KELLY, REANEY

05/08/23 12/08/23 15/08/23 19/08/23 22/08/23 26/08/23 28/08/23

(H) 1874 NORTHWICH (A) SHEFFIELD FC (H) DUNSTON FC (H) WYTHENSHAWE (A) ASHINGTON (H) STOCKTON TOWN (A) PONTEFRACT COLLIERIES

FA CUP NPL EAST NPL EAST FA CUP NPL EAST NPL EAST NPL EAST

2-0 1-3 2-4 2-0 1-0 0-1 0-4

PETERSON (2) OWN GOAL IBRAHIM, AMPONSAH BURKE, REANEY SWALES

02/09/23 (H) MARSKE UNITED 09/09/23 (A) NORTH FERRIBY 16/09/23 (A) NEWTON AYCLIFFE 30/09/23 (H) GRIMSBY BOROUGH

FA CUP FA TROPHY NPL EAST NPL EAST

0-3 1-2 3-1 0-2

03/10/23 (H) GRANTHAM TOWN 07/10/23 (A) CONSETT 10/10/23 (H) HORBURY TOWN 14/10/23 (H) CARLTON TOWN 28/10/23 (A) STOCKSBRIDGE P.S

NPL EAST NPL EAST COUNTY CUP NPL EAST NPL EAST

0-0 2-1 2-0 0-2 1-0

04/11/23 11/11/23 20/10/23 25/11/23 28/11/23

NPL EAST NPL EAST NPL EAST NPL EAST COUNTY CUP

09/12/23 (H) WINTERTON RANGERS 16/12/23 (A) DUNSTON FC 22/12/23 (H) SHEFFIELD FC 30/12/23 (H) PONTEFRACT COLLIERIES

NPL EAST NPL EAST NPL EAST NPL EAST

06/01/24 (A) STOCKTON TOWN 10/01/24 (A) CLEETHORPES TOWN 13/01/24 (H) ASHINGTON 20/01/24 (H) STOCKSBRIDGE P.S 27/01/24 (A) BRIGHOUSE TOWN

NPL EAST NPL EAST NPL EAST NPL EAST NPL EAST

(A) NORTH FERRIBY (H) HEBBURN TOWN (H) BRIGHOUSE TOWN (H) BRIDLINGTON TOWN (A) BARNOLDSWICK TOWN

MOM

ATT 450

JOHN ROBSON, ONWUBIKO WOODCOCK MILLER

MILLER EDWARDS (2), AMPONSAH

212 PETERSON WOODCOCK BURKE GREEN COATES

392 321 271 327 553 323 432

MILLER GREEN PLATER MCLOUGHLIN

321 472 158 357

PLATER IBRAHIM, LIPKA REANEY, LIPKA

REANEY

PETERSON

ROBSON

168 377 744 346 202

1-3 4-4 1-1 1-1 4-0

PETERSON LIPKA, GREGORY (2), FERREIRA AMPONSAH MILLER PLATER (3), PETERSON

OMBANG OMBANG MILAMBO PLATER

521 283 255 335 111

4-2 0-2 1-4

SWALES (2), PLATER, PETERSON

PETERSON LIPKA PLATER

218 204 326

PETERSON

2023/2024 DATE

OPPONENT

COMP. RES. SCORERS

03/02/24 06/02/24 10/02/24 17/02/24 24/02/23

(H) NEWTON AYCLIFFE (A) GUISLEY (A) BELPER TOWN (A) GRIMSBY BOROUGH (H) CONSETT

NPL EAST COUNTY CUP NPL EAST NPL EAST NPL EAST

02/03/24 16/03/24 23/03/24 30/03/24

(A) CARLTON TOWN (A) WINTERTON RANGERS (H) BELPER TOWN (A) GRANTHAM TOWN

NPL EAST NPL EAST NPL EAST NPL EAST

01/04/24 (H) LIVERSEDGE 06/04/24 (A) HEBBURN TOWN 13/04/24 (H) NORTH FERRIBY 20/04/24 (A) BRIDLINGTON TOWN 27/04/24 (H) CLEETHORPES TOWN

NPL EAST NPL EAST NPL EAST NPL EAST NPL EAST

MOM

ATT

Man In The Middle Name: Arran Williams Refereeing Journey: I’ve been refereeing for 12 years having played for several years in the Yorkshire Old Boys league. Currently work for PGMOL as their first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager having worked at The FA and Kick It Out. Officiating has taken me to some amazing places over the years but nothing is better than when we run referee courses and we help them on the journey to becoming a referee. Additionally, working with Bobby Madley and Lewis Dawson to support the development of officials from grassroots to NCEL level through the West Riding FA Referee Development Group which we started 2 seasons ago is another highlight of the journey so far.

TALE OF THE TAPE SEASON STATS

CLUB STATISTICIAN – GEOFFERY PYKE

Man of the Match Awards

Leading Goalscorers

Player

League

Cup

Total

Player

League

Cup

Total

Rhys Plater

Alex Peterson

Harry Coates

Rhys Plater

Joe Green

Darryl Ombang

Desmond Amponsah

Alex Peterson

Kelan Swales

Jeremie Milambo

Janni Lipka

Diego Edwards

PITCHING-IN NPL EAST MATCH GRID

FOOTBALL WEB PAGES

Joe GREEN Darryl OMBANG Fabian BAILEY Jimmy BURKE Harry COATES Jacob McLOUGHLIN Shane KILLOCK Jeremie MILAMBO Corey GREGORY Rhys PLATER Joel SPENCE Rafa FERREIRA Derry ROBSON Janni LIPKA Tom CLAISSE TJ IBRAHIM Desmond AMPONSAH Kelan SWALES Sam KELLY Alex PETERSON

SHIRTS: SKY BLUE SHORTS: NAVY SOCKS: NAVY GK: ALL PINK

Lloyd ALLINSON Aleksandar PETROVIC Jack GREENHOUGH Harry SPRATT Elliot OWEN Jack STEERS Josh BURNS Danny BURNS Ben TURNER Brett SMITH Oli METCALFE Jack VANN Callum NICELL Connor SMYTHE Jack BOYLE Joe LUMSDEN Mikey DUNN Rob GULIFOYLE Adam HAW Bailey THOMPSON Louie CHORLTON Frankie SINFIELD SHIRTS: YELLOW SHORTS: BLACK SOCKS: YELLOW GK: SILVER

MATCH OFFICIALS AR1 LUKE HOOD

REFEREE ARRAN WILLIAMS

AR2

PAUL MILOSEVIC