BARNEY DONLON began his Upperthong first-team career with a bang.
Making his debut for the club’s top side he scored in the first half as the Holme Valley side went onto a 3-0 win over Coach and Horses in Division III.
Both sides were promoted from Divison IV last season, finishing on level points in second and third positions in May, but on the opening day of the new season it was Holme Valley side Upperthong who stole the glory.
And it was Donlon who set the ball rolling as he cut in from the right and fired home from an acute angle.
The visitors to Crosland Moor continued to look solid at the back with Jon Battye and Mick Booth in dominant form.
Upperthong began the second half as they started the first and went 2-0 up when man-of-the-match Scott Marshall lashed in a terrific 20-yarder which virtually killed off the visitors.
Simon Wilkinson became another debutant for Thong as he came on as a substitute, and with five minutes remaining Upperthong wrapped up the points with a James Pilkington penalty.
The Thong reserves side gained a 3-1win over Honley A, with Jake Hartley grabbing a brace and Rupert McLelland the other.
l Hepworth United made hay while the sun shone as they beat Netherton 4-0 at Far Lane in a Division II clash.
But the comfortable victory looked far from being the case as both sides started scappily as they struggled to string a couple of passes together.
Both coaches tried to impress upon their teams to play the easy ball and the home side were the first to take note, with James Earnshaw heading over from a free kick.
Hepworth began to break at pace and trouble the visitors’ defence as they sought an opening.
Riley-Dibb and Ward linked well down the left flank as Hepworth stepped up the pressure, and it eventually paid off when James Basnett latched onto a loose ball after 41 minutes and shot home.
Netherton did not have time to respond before the break and it was the home side who extended their lead when Earnshaw chased a long ball deep into the Netherton half. the Netherton keeper came out to clear but the ball fell at the feet of Basnett 20 yards out and he chipped the ball into the net.
Only moments later Earnshaw reacted first to another long ball and outpaced the Netherton defence to round the keeper and shoot home.
Anthony Berry was next to take advantage of persistence when he took the ball off a defender but was wrestled to the ground for a resulting penalty, which Gary Webster crashed home.
This was a good all-round team performance after a somewhat shaky start.
l Fenay Bridge and Brook Motors shared the spoils in a Division IV 4-4 draw at Almondbury.
The game flowed from end-to-end with Bridge taking an early lead but being pulled back and then going behind three times before grabbing a late equaliser through veteran striker Terry Pollard. Other scorers for Bridge were Adrian Cole, Rob Wheatley and Martin Wilkinson.
