Northumberland Schools Football Association

Secretary's Report 2025-26

Northumberland CSFA Honorary Secretary’s Report 2025-26

This second season under ‘new management’ has been a very busy one and a very long one too. A slimmed down version of the Executive Committee of the Northumberland Schools’ Football Association has continued to carry the torch with some very welcome new blood on board as well, and between us all we have covered the various county activities and demands over the season with a good amount of aplomb and a great deal of dedication to the cause.

County Competitions

Despite the increase in school and district entry fees to our competitions, the number of entrants and matches played in our County Cups and Leagues has continued to rise and we have introduced, notably under the instigation of Mr Ian Beck, 3 new Girls District Cups - named after Northumberland CSFA stalwarts Messrs. Gavin Storey, Chris Newman and Neil Pont and a new U11 Boys District Cup named after long-serving member Dennis Fulton. Sam Donovan has been very proactive in his roles as county cup organiser and webmaster, ensuring the smooth running of the various cup competitions and the regular updating of the results on the website. The Under 18 league has again been a great success in both divisions and thanks again to Andy Blight, who has also received his 25-year service award from ESFA. And many thanks again as last season to all those colleagues who make sure the competitions run on time and are willing to present trophies on the nights: Ian Beck, Nigel Shields, Neil Robinson, Jonathan Roys, Jaime Murphy, Sam Donovan, Steve Cauldwell, Adam Pilkington, Alex Burnett, Paul Dunn, Andy Blight. Paul Dunn has again run the Futsal competitions this season with increased entries and we have presented trophies to the winners of the 4 age-group competitions. Paul has also run the two county leagues at U14 and U15. All this help from teachers around the county is very much appreciated.

Sam has again been on hand at nearly all finals this year to help the various competition secretaries, the Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary with their presentation duties on finals nights. It was also great to see Peter Tracey, Neil Pont and Dennis Fulton present their trophies, as well as Gavin Storey. Attendances at finals were very good generally, but especially when there was a single final on a night and when the kick-offs were early evening. The use of the contactless card reader brought in a lot of extra funds. Three officials weren’t really necessary in 9-a-side finals. See below for the full list of winners of the various schools and district cups and leagues.

County Teams

County team managers Paul Corney, Keith Watson, Michael Moran, Michael Woods, Michael Cairns, Kevin Hodgson, Craig Brown, Kevin Drinkeld, Joss Harbottle, Steve Mooney and Peter Tracey have worked tirelessly to plan trials, fixtures and training sessions and have successfully organised a total of 39 county matches - down from 48 last season, though, as some teams didn’t progress in the Northern Counties or ESFA competitions.

County Teams — End of Season Summary

U14 BoysThe U14 Boys enjoyed an encouraging season, finishing with three wins, two draws and four defeats from nine fixtures across league, cup and ESFA competition. The campaign opened brightly with a confident 3–1 home victory over Cheshire in the league, and the team carried that form into the ESFA rounds, defeating Cheshire again at the Round 2 stage with a tighter 3–2 margin. Progression to ESFA Round 3 was a notable achievement, although the journey ended there with a 1–3 defeat away to Greater Manchester, a game played at the impressive Etihad Arena. In league action, two draws against Lancashire (2–2 away) and Cleveland (0–0 away) demonstrated defensive resilience, while a 1–2 win at South Yorkshire provided further encouragement. The side also reached the League Semi-Final, bowing out 2–5 to Durham in what was a hard-fought conclusion to their season. Defeats to Durham at home and Lancashire in the Cup were disappointing, but overall the squad showed strong development across the campaign and good competitive exposure at ESFA level.

U16 Boys

The U16 Boys were Northumberland’s standout performing county team this season, recording six wins from ten games with no draws and four defeats. Highlights were plentiful: a 5–1 ESFA win over Cleveland opened the campaign with authority, and the team produced a superb 4–3 away victory at Cleveland before going on to thrash North Yorkshire 5–1 at home. A narrow 1– 2 win away at Durham was a particularly creditable result, and a dominant 6–2 home defeat of Cleveland late in the season demonstrated the squad’s attacking threat. The team also posted a convincing 4–0 away win at North Yorkshire. The losses came against Lancashire away in the ESFA (1–3), South Yorkshire in the Cup (0–1), Durham at home in the league (2–3), and Lancashire in the League Final (1–2), where the visitors proved to be just too strong on the day. A great season overall.

U14 Girls

The U14 Girls showed real promise in the early part of the season, achieving some excellent results in ESFA competition before facing a more challenging second half of the campaign. The team opened with a polished 4–1 ESFA Cup win at home to Cheshire and backed that up with a commanding 4–0 victory over Greater Manchester at the ESFA Round 2 stage, reflecting genuine quality in the squad. A draw against Cleveland (1–1 at home) further underlined their ability to compete. Reaching ESFA Round 3 was a significant milestone for the group, though they were narrowly beaten 0–1 by Durham at that stage. League results proved harder to come by, with defeats to Merseyside (1–5 away), Cheshire (0–3 away), Durham (0–5 away) and Lancashire (1–3 at home), alongside a conceded cup tie against Lancashire.

U16 Girls

The U16 Girls faced a difficult season across their six fixtures, recording five defeats and one draw, though the manner of several performances reflected a squad gaining valuable experience at county level. The season opener resulted in a 1–5 home defeat to Cleveland, and losses followed against Lancashire in the ESFA Cup (0–1), Cleveland away (1–2), Durham away (0–2) and Durham at home in what proved a very tough encounter (2–8). A bright spot came in the Cup fixture against Cleveland, where the team drew 1–1 after ninety minutes and took the game to a penalty shootout before being eliminated, demonstrating considerable character. Competing at this level in relatively few fixtures means each game carries significant weight, and there are positives in terms of individual development to take forward. The Girls teams will again be travelling to the Gothia Cup in Sweden and we wish them well.

U18 Boys

The U18 Boys had a season defined by one outstanding achievement: reaching the ESFA Semi- Final, the deepest run of any Northumberland county team in the national competition this year. After an opening defeat to Cleveland Reds (0–1 at home), the squad responded impressively by defeating Cleveland 4–1 in the ESFA Round 2 tie, before drawing 0–0 away at Cleveland Reds to demonstrate their defensive solidity. The ESFA campaign culminated in a valiant 0–1 Semi-Final defeat away to Hertfordshire, a result which reflects the quality of both teams and the achievement of coming so close to a national final. In league competition the side found results harder to come by, losing home and away to Durham (1–3 and 0–2), and aconceded cup tie against Lancashire was an unfortunate blemish on the record. Nonetheless, the ESFA run is a tremendous credit to the players and staff involved, and represents a high point for Northumberland county football at this age group that should be celebrated.

Thanks must go again to Kevin Drinkeld for organising the Last Man Standing Fundraising programme this season which has provided valuable funding for the association and hopefully will be even better supported next season. We continue to have a very good relationship with Newcastle University and Nick Beall, their facilities manager, to enable us to find pitches for county, schools and district activities.

And finally thanks again to The Oracle Alan Johnston who along with Owen Aiston has continued to report from ESFA, although they themselves are sometimes in the dark about exactly what’s happening there..

Northumberland Schools’ FA Competition Results 2025-26