West Yorkshire League: Double over Whitkirk Wanderers sets Aberford Albion up for the rest of the season

Leeds FA Senior Challenge Cup action featuring West Yorkshire League side Hunslet Club and Beechwood Gate, the Wakefield League top dogs who eventually edged the tie 4-3.

Whitkirk sit second in Division One and have lost only two games all season but both of those defeats have come to Aberford who completed the double with Saturday’s 2-0 away win achieved through Joe Walton’s brace.

The victory put Albion eighth – still seven points off second having played two games more – but Hayton admits his thriving side are excited about the second half of the campaign.

“The win gives us a lot of confidence going forward, especially doing the double over such a strong team,” said Hayton.

“We have built our squad up over the last couple of months and I would say that we could have been promotion contenders ourselves if we had not had such a poor start to the season. We are always improving.

“We do still have a very slim chance of promotion, however our attention is in the District Cup now too. We’re in the semi-final in one of two cups we managed to win last season so we have to be thinking about that as well as the league.

“We’re also still in contention for the League Cup but I think that will be a much harder task to win that one so we just keep working hard in every game now and see what happens.

“The Whitkirk fixture has always been a traditionally hard-fought derby game so it’s always a big one to go and play in and both teams want to win.

“It’s something to be proud of doing the double over Whitkirk Wanderers; especially when they are a side that are looking very likely for promotion.”

Leaders Stanley United moved nine points clear of Whitkirk with a 4-0 victory at home to 11th-placed Old Centralians. Two braces from Adam Hayton and Ashley Munton stretched the gap but Whitkirk do have two games in hand.

In the division’s only other game, Sherburn White Rose moved sixth with a 3-2 win at third-bottom Leeds Modernians.

Modernians goals from Danny Forrest and Ben Turner were cancelled out by Sherburn strikes from Connor Booth, Aaron Hodgson and Jamie Middleton.

There were no league games played in the Premier but Altofts stole the show in Division Two as a 7-3 thumping of tenth-placed visitors Middleton Park put them third.

Altofts trailed 3-1 at the break but were eventually put in seventh-heaven, led by four goals from Jamie Lister.

Normanton Woodhouse Hill moved sixth with a 6-2 triumph at home to fifth-placed Kellingley Welfare for whom strikes from Nathan Adamson and Jordan Hutchinson were in vain.