Sunday League: Top-of-the-table showdown as Cock and Bottle face FC Panda

The top two collide in the Briggs Priestley Calder Valley Sunday League when Cock & Bottle travel to FC Panda.
Actions from Cock and Bottle v Birstall CC - Sunday League football, at Tinity Academy. Pictured is Jordan Coduri and George WoodcockActions from Cock and Bottle v Birstall CC - Sunday League football, at Tinity Academy. Pictured is Jordan Coduri and George Woodcock
Actions from Cock and Bottle v Birstall CC - Sunday League football, at Tinity Academy. Pictured is Jordan Coduri and George Woodcock

Champions Panda are unbeaten at home in the league. Terriq Pervez already has 18 goals in all competitions, while Sameer Ahmed and Awais Khan have eight apiece.The visitors do tend to find it more difficult on the road but have won all their games this season.

They were made to work hard for the win last time out in the cup against FC Hounds.Jordan Coduri opened the scoring midway through the first half with his 11th goal of the season after latching onto a defence splitting pass by Leon Hurles-Brook and firing into the net.

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Hurles-Brook added a second early in the second half with a curling left footed strike from the edge of the area finding the top corner. Hurles-Brook has scored in all of the six games he has played this season, taking his tally to 10.
Hounds put the hosts under pressure late on and were rewardded four minutes from time when a cross from the right was headed home.

Mirfield Town could close the gap to the rest of the pack with a home victory over Hollins Holme. Last year’s Heavy Woollen champions are yet to play a league fixture at home and this could be somewhat of a reason for their sluggish start.As for the away side, they’ve made a solid start to their league campaign, but they have had the luxury of playing six out of seven game at home. It’s these games away at lower opposition that they need to keep putting points on the board.

Things don’t get any easier for Birstall CC as they welcome Linthwaite to Howden Clough. The home side have still yet to get a point in the league, whereas Linthwaite will want to close the gap to the top, especially with the top two colliding. Tom White will be full of confidence for the visitors after bagging four goals in their cup win last time out.

Elsewhere, FC Hounds and Feathers will compete in the WRCFA Sunday Cup. As for Clifton Rangers and Deighton WMC, it’ll be a weekend off unless the fixture can be arranged to face each other down at Leeds Road.

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The majority of the Division One sides find themselves in League Cup action this weekend.League leaders Park FC will face fellow table toppers Spen FC from Division Two at Crawshaw Street. James Heeley’s side have yet to taste defeat with eight wins from eight in the bottom division, but this could be just the test they need to see how they will handle it in the league above, should they carry on and gain promotion. Not only do they have fire power in front of goal, but they are solid in defence with only nine goals conceded from eight games. Park FC will be hoping Sam Dunkley brings his shooting boots again, he bagged four goals in their rout over Woodhouse in the cup last Sunday.

It’s round three in the fight between Cock Of The North and Wellington Westgate, with a knockout a piece at the moment. The home side got the spoils in the league earlier in the season, beating the visitors 2-1 on the day. A brace from Kerrigan Mitchell doing the damage. However, Wellington gained revenge for that by running riot in the WRCFA Sunday Trophy, beating their opponents 9-2.

Elsewhere in the League Cup, Wire Works will face off against Ravenswharfe again. The hosts won the league game 2-1 last time. Woodhouse travel to Battyeford hoping for a cup run. Halifax Rangers will try to cause a major upset when they host perfect Lee Mount. Inter Batley will battle FC Panda Reserves. This means that both Snowdon and Thrum Hall will have the weekend off, unless a fixture between the two sides can be arranged.

With the top two sides in Division Two not in league action this weekend, attention switched to Clifton Rangers Reserves. They travel to Savile Park to face Triangle with the hope of getting three points and going joint top with the others.The visitors were lethal last time out and were quickly out of sight within the first 10 minutes. Goals from Conor Durkin, Brad Main and Jack Hewitt got them rolling, before a brace each from Martin Wagstaff and Adam Kenyon were then topped off with a long-range effort from Taj Singh.
Najmuddin Rezey seems to be Triangle’s only goalscorer at the moment, everyone else who has scored just has the one to their name. They’re not known for conceding many at home, but the worry will be that they only have two goals from their opening three home games, and they both came on the opening weekend.

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Barum Top will aim to close the gap to the promotion places as they host Old Post Office. A brace a piece from Louy Kenny and Antony O’Shea helped the home side to a comfortable win last Sunday. The visitors gave a strong showing in the cup last weekend against Premier Division opposition, and they’ll be hoping to take that into this weekend as they look to get their league campaign back on track after four games without a win. Daniel Murgatroyd added a couple of goals to his total last weekend.

The final fixture of the weekend sees Clifton Rangers Athletic host Sands Lane. The visitors have been quite strong on the road, with two wins three games. Their league positions could be seen as quite poor, but factor in all the games in hand and the fact they have a positive goal difference whilst sitting so low in the table, might suggest it’s not a true reflection. As for Clifton Rangers Athletic, self-implosion springs to mind. They’re always in games and in positions to pick up points, but perhaps it is mentally rather than physically where they struggle.
Second half performances will be a concern, along with the fact that they concede such a poor goals suggests frustrations and mental blocks could be their issue.

Results – Premier Division: Deighton WMC 3-0 Birstall CC. Division Two: Clifton Rangers Athletic 3-8 Barum Top, Clifton Rangers Reserves 8-2 Halifax Rangers, Old Pond 1-0 Battyeford. Eddie Hebblethwaite Cup: Cock & Bottle 2-1 FC Hounds, Cock Of The North 0-3 FC Panda, Feathers 4-2 Old Post Office, Hollins Holme 4-1 Triangle, Park FC 9-2 Woodhouse, Ryburn Valley 2-7 Linthwaite, Thrum Hall 2-4 Wire Works.

Fixtures – Premier Division: Birstall CC v Linthwaite, FC Panda v Cock & Bottle, Mirfield Town v Hollins Holme. Division Two: Barum Top v Old Post Office, Clifton Rangers Athletic v Sands Lane, Triangle v Clifton Rangers Reserves. League Cup: Battyeford v Woodhouse, Cock Of The North v Wellington Westgate, Halifax Rangers v Lee Mount, Inter Batley v FC Panda Reserves, Spen FC v Park FC, Wire Works v Ravenswharfe.