THERE was drama on the final day of the Barnsley Sunday League season.
Two teams gained promotion after penalty shoot-outs in play-off finals while who has gone down from the Premier League will be determined by an investigation into Cobcar allegedly fielding an ineligible player.
New Lodge won 9-8 on spot-kicks over Worsbrough Common in the Division One play-off final following a 2-2 draw.
Ryan Eastwood and an own goal were New Lodge’s goals in the game.
Dan Poskitt missed their first penalty but the rest were scored by Rich Alderson, Eastwood, Jon Padgett, Charlie Frear, Kristan Taylor, Daz Ward, Dale Whitaker, Troy Wood and James Gill.
Karl Thomas saved the match-deciding penalty.
West Bretton reached the top flight after they won 4-3 over Common Miners on penalties in the Championship play-off final following a 1-1 draw.
West Bretton also beat Thurlstone 4-1 in the Supplementary Trophy final at Houghton Main.
The final matches in the Premier Division relegation fight took place.
Cobcar beat The Cottage 5-0.
They are currently in the relegation zone with the result of their previous match ‘pending’ as the Sheffield and District FA decides whether an ineligible player was played.
If they are given the win, they will go out of the drop zone and overtake Wombwell Town who lost 8-2 against Ardsley Oaks.
Ardsley’s Cody Harper and Atley Jackson scored hat-tricks with James Parsons and Matthew Love also on target.
Barnsley Town won 5-1 at home to Worsbrough United.
Caulfield won 3-1 at home to relegated Williams Bar.
Jordan Good scored twice and Kieron Bradley once.
League co-ordinator Luke Naylor said: “It’s been another positive season in the Barnsley League.
“A big thank you goes to the team at Oakwell for hosting two of our finals this season.
“That alone helps us as a league by giving people a chance to play on the pitch they’ve probably dreamed of from a young age.
“We have had more than 1,000 registered players this season which is the most we have had since my involvement and probably goes back a decade since we had any number like it.
“We have had the introduction of play-offs for teams in lower divisions which have proven to be a success looking at the celebrations from the winning teams. It gives teams hope for a trophy and keeps the fighting all season long.
“We broke into a fourth division and we’ve finally had a county cup winner with Shaw Inn after having finalists for the last three seasons.
“We’ve come a long way since post-Covid with 17 teams.
“That number hit 34 last year and the current estimated figure for next season sits between 45 and 50 teams.
“If this is the case, we have the option for an extra trophy and another division.
“We’ll soon hit our ceiling.
“The pitch space available for teams and rising costs for private pitches is already becoming a local problem for us.
“But the good work we are doing is attracting teams from local leagues around us.”
