NPL Division One East
Craig Ogilvie has hailed Yorkshire Amateur’s magnificent seven who are playing in the Northern Premier League for the first time and have helped the Leeds-based outfit make a dream start.
Newly-promoted Ammers have stood by the lads who have got them to the highest level in the club’s history, resisting the temptation to sign numerous new players who are well-acquainted with the NPL.
Garforth Town legend James Beaston, Steve Smith, ex-York City youth left-back Charlie Jebson-King, star striker Roy Fogarty, Ste Crawford, young winger Amir Berchill and Brandon Smalley have either never played NPL football or had very limited experience of it.
Crawford was playing West Yorkshire League football for Beeston St Anthony’s only two years ago.
None have struggled. Far from it. All seven have had influential roles in the wins over Worksop Town and Bridlington Town.
“We have been hearing little whispers within football circles of people saying ‘is everything ok at the Ammers because there’s no big signings coming in’,” joint manager Ogilvie told Non League Yorkshire.
“Me and (joint manager) Neil (Sibson) have always had faith in the lads we have got and they are repaying the faith we are showing in them.
“All these lads deserve the chance to be where they are at and play at this level.
“They deserve massive credit because it is alright putting faith in people, they’ve still got to deliver.
“Nobody has let us down so far.”
Highlighting many of the magnificent seven, Ogilvie said: “Amir is only 20-year-old and he played for the Ammers juniors and then got his break in adult football with (Toolstation NCEL Division One side) Nostell (in the last two years).
“He’s had a meteoric rise but we’re happy to put him in there to perform.
“James Beaston has been in the Northern Counties all his life after starting at Sherburn White Rose (in the West Yorkshire League).
“He’s stepped up with no problem.
“Charlie was on the books at York City and played in a couple of first team cup games.
“He’s taken to it like a duck to water.
“Stevie Crawford has been on the bench twice and come on and made a massive impact twice.
“He deserves to be where he is.
“Brandon Smalley has made impact after coming on and so has Amir.
“Brandon assisted Amir to score in the first game (at Worksop) and Amir assisted Crawford in the (Brid game).
“They’ve made a huge contribution.
“We have got a good blend with lads of who have good experience of this level and lads who are stepping up for the first time.
“It is a really good mix.”
A dream start is an understatement when describing the opening day triumph at fancied Worksop.
Fernando Moke, Fogarty and Berchill left their visitors shell-shocked.
Fogarty and Crawford then scored in the midweek win over Bridlington.
But despite the fantastic opening two, no-one is getting carried away.
“We went down to Worksop with a game-plan to try and get a result,” Ogilvie said.
“I don’t think anyone would have thought we’d have got a 3-0 away win.
“Even I didn’t.
“It is testament to the lads as they carried out what we wanted to do to the letter.
“It worked a treat.
“Tuesday against Brid was another tough game for different reasons.
“We came out off the back of a really tough Saturday fixture and Brid didn’t have a fixture (as they were the odd team out) so they were a bit fresher than us.
“They did put it on us and we rode our luck a little bit at times, I’m not going to deny that.
“But you take a 2-0 win and you move on.
“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves.
“Yeah we have won two games but our feet are planted firmly on the ground.
“It is only six points and there’s a lot more hard work to come.”
The Ammers have a break from NPL action this weekend as they host Hebburn Town in the FA Cup at Bracken Edge.
“It is nice we are down in Leeds for a change rather in the North East,” quipped Ogilvie.
“I don’t know how many times we have drawn a North East team in the FA Cup or Vase and it be an away game!”
If you have enjoyed reading Non League Yorkshire over the past few months, please consider making a donation to the not-for-profit organisation NLY Community Sport which provides sport for children and adults with disabilities and learning difficulties. CLICK HERE to visit the JustGiving page. There is a video at the bottom of the page showing our work.
NLY Community Sport, run by James Grayson and Connor Rollinson, has always had combatting social isolation at the top of our objectives when running our Disability Football teams.
Our work is playing an important role in reintroducing our players, who have disabilities and learning difficulties, back into society.
We have six teams, a mixture of Junior and Adult teams – Nostell MW DFC, Pontefract Pirates, Selby Disability Football Club and the South Yorkshire Superheroes (Barnsley) – across Yorkshire.
We have enjoyed great success over the past three years. Several of our players have represented Mencap GB in Geneva, including Billy Hobson from Selby and Greg Smith, whose story is quite inspiring.
You can learn more about the organisation HERE and on our Facebook page.
Watch the video below to see highlights from our three years as an organisation. The video was produced for our players at the end of March to remind them of good memories from the last three years.