Harrow Stones Stars FC, the local football team for people with learning disabilities, has reached the final of the STEP Cup (www.stepfootball.co.uk), after winning all of its games on Sunday. Putting aside the disappointment of narrowly missing out on the title, the Stones Stars' first team topped the group stage with two wins.

Strikers Kenji O'Connor and Robin Blake both scored in a 2-0 victory over Haringey Hawks while Kevin Sweeney scored with a crisp left footed drive in 1-0 win over league champions STEP A. Kevin was playing in that game on loan from the Stones Stars' second team, which also came first in its group. Kevin - the team's former goalkeeper - scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Wallington Warriors and the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with STEP B. In the semi-finals, Harrow B lost a close game to STEP A 2-1 after Kevin, yet again, had given the team the lead. The first team beat Wallington 2-1 in their semi-final thanks to two well-taken goals from Kenji. The final between the Stones Stars and STEP A will take place on May 13 in Camden, when all of the players who have taken part over the season will receive their season awards.

Stones Stars A squad: Carl Richards, Michael Reeves, Scott Powling, Matty Snell, Robin Blake, Kenji O'Connor and Kevin Sweeney.

Stones Stars B squad: Charles Newman, Pritesh Vara, Riaz Rahim, Chris Davis, Rakesh Mehta, Divyesh Jani and Kevin Sweeney.

PRESS RELEASE 12/03/2007:

Stones Stars just miss out on title

Harrow Stones Stars FC put in a superb performance on Sunday in the Special Training Education Programme (STEP) Fun League (www.stepfootball.co.uk) but narrowly missed out on the title by one point.

Unbeaten all season, the Stones Stars' first team needed to beat reigning champions STEP A and looked to be on course when they took a late lead with a fine goal from striker Kenji O'Connor. But STEP A broke away in the last seconds and scored an equaliser with the very last kick of the game.

In the next game, Stone Stars A and B went head to head with the first team winning 2-0 with two more goals from Kenji O'Connor. Stones Stars B ended their season in third place with a great 3-1 win over STEP B. Kevin Sweeney scored the first two goals and Susan Crandley the last.


"Despite the obvious disappointment, this season has been a great success for the Stones Stars," said manager Simon Heaney. "We have grown in numbers and the dedication and enthusiasm of the players all year long has been amazing."

The Stones Stars sides will get their chance to win some silverware next month when the STEP cup competition begins.

PRESS RELEASE: 12/02/2007

Stones Stars head-to-head ends in draw

Harrow Stones Stars FC's first and second teams played out an entertaining 0-0 draw on Sunday in their first encounter in the STEP Football Fun League.

In a close game, Kenji O'Connor for the Stones Stars' A team came closest to ending the deadlock with a volley that crashed back off the crossbar.

The A side's skipper, Michael Reeves, was awarded man-of-the-match for marshalling the defence.

The result consolidated the A team's position at the top of the league and kept the B team in third place.

The two sides will play the return fixture next month, while the A team will also face second-place STEP A, who have a game in hand. If Harrow A win both games they will clinch the title.

Stones Stars A: Carl Richards, Michael Reeves, Scott Powling, Matty Snell, Chris Quilty and Kenji O'Connor. Robin Blake.
Stones Stars B: Kevin Sweeney, Matty Snell, Bhavesh Joshi, Riaz Rahim, Maxim Horhula, Susan Crandley and Robin Blake.
Harrow's two teams later combined to play a friendly match against a mix of players from the league, narrowly losing 1-0.

Harrow Stones Stars is a club for people with learning disabilities put together by local charity Harrow Mencap. Club partners include Wealdstone FC, the Football Foundation and the Middlesex FA. The team trains every Thursday at the Harrow Leisure Centre between 6pm and 8pm. Sessions cost £3.

If anyone wants to join Harrow Stones Stars please visit http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/harrowstonesstars or contact Simon Heaney directly on 07969571149.

PRESS RELEASE: 15/01/2007

Stones Stars stay on course for title

Harrow Stones Stars F.C. moved closer to winning the STEP Fun League on Sunday despite conceding their first goal of the championship in a 1-1 draw against STEP B.

Chris Quilty had given the first team the lead with a placed shot.

The team will now go head-to-head against STEP A next month needing to avoid defeat to clinch the title.

The Stones Stars' B team moved into third place with a 1-1 draw versus Haringey and a 1-0 victory over Wallington. Kenji O'Connor got both goals for the Stones Stars.

Stones Stars A: Carl Richards, Michael Reeves, Scott Powling, Maxim Horhula, Chris Quilty and Robin Blake.

Stones Stars B: Kevin Sweeney, Matty Snell, Pritesh Vara, Riaz Rahim, Kenji O'Connor, Susan Crandley and Chris Davis.

Striker Kenji O'Connor

Harrow Stones Stars is a club for people with learning disabilities put together by local charity Harrow Mencap. Club partners include Wealdstone FC, the Football Foundation and the Middlesex FA.

The team trains every Thursday at the Harrow Leisure Centre between 6pm and 8pm. Sessions cost £3.

PRESS RELEASE: 04/12/2006

Stones Stars keep up winning ways

Harrow Stones Stars FC's first team won both their matches on Sunday to stay top of the STEP Fun League.

Stones Stars A beat Haringey 1-0 with a crisp drive from Chris Quilty. In their second game against Wallington, skipper Michael Reeves scored from a tight angle before Chris Quilty secured a 2-0 win.

The Stones Stars' B drew 1-1 with Wallington after taking the lead through Rakesh Mehta. They didn't do so well against last season's champions STEP A, losing 5-1. Robin Blake scored the consolation goal, making himself top-scorer for the season so far with four goals.

Michael Reeves

The Stones Stars A team was: Carl Richards, Michael Reeves, Scott Powling, Maxim Horhula, Kenji O'Connor, Chris Quilty and Chris Davis.

The Stones Stars B team was: Kevin Sweeney, Matty Snell, Pritesh Vara, Riaz Rahim, Robin Blake, Divyesh Jani and Rakesh Mehta.

Harrow Stones Stars is a club for people with learning disabilities put together by local charity Harrow Mencap. Club partners include Wealdstone FC, the Football Foundation and the Middlesex FA.

The team trains every Thursday at the Harrow Leisure Centre between 6pm and 8pm. Sessions cost £3.

If anyone wants to join Harrow Stones Stars please visit http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/harrowstonesstarsfc

or contact Simon Heaney directly on 07969571149.

PRESS RELEASE: 06/11/2006

Stones Stars go top

  Harrow Stones Stars FC first team moved to the top of STEP Fun League on Sunday with two wins, while the second team moved into third place with a win and a draw.

  Stones Stars A beat last season's champions STEP A 1-0 with a skillful volley from Scott Powling.

  In the first team's next match versus STEP B, Kenji O'Connor, last seasons top-scorer got off the mark for this year when he scored the first goal. Scott sealed the 2-0 win later on.

  The Stone Stars' second team drew 2-2 with STEP B in their first match. Chris Davis and a Robin Blake penalty helped the team twice come from behind.

Robin Blake

  In their second game, Stones Stars B beat Haringey Hawks 2-1 with Robin scoring both goals. Afterwards, he was named player of the day for scoring three goals.

  The Stones Stars A team was: Kevin Sweeney, Matty Snell, Michael Reeves, Scott Powling, Maxim Horhula, Kenji O'Connor and Rakesh Mehta.

  The Stones Stars B team was: Carl Richards, Pritesh Vara, Riaz Rahim, Bhavesh Joshi, Chris Davis and Robin Blake.

PRESS RELEASE: 09/10/2006

Chris keeps Stones Stars on winning trail

Harrow Mencap's football team, Harrow Stones Stars FC, Sunday beat Haringey 2-0 in the STEP five-a-side Fun League.

Chris Quilty, making his first start for the team, scored the crucial second goal after an own-goal had given the Stones Stars the lead.

Chris was awarded a player-of-the-match certificate for his outstanding performance. Unfortunately, the Stones Stars "B" team lost by the same 2-0 scoreline to a strong STEP "A" side. "The fact that we now have two sides shows that we are growing as a club. We were even missing a few key players too," said coach Simon Heaney. "Although, the games are always friendly in nature, the players are keen to put their hard work from training into practice in competitive games."

The Stones Stars "A" team was: Kevin Sweeney, Pritesh Vara, Michael Reeves, Susan Crandley, Kenji O'Connor and Chris Quilty. The Stones Stars "B" team was: Divyesh Jani, Rakesh Metha, Riaz Rahim, Maxim Horhula, Chris Davis and Robin Blake.

The team now has its own website at: http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/harrowstonesstarsfc . "The site is full of news, match reports and player profiles," said Heaney. "Having the site means our players can follow the team whenever and wherever and show their friends their exploits on the pitch. By partnering with the likes of the Middlesex FA and Wealdstone FC, who have provided us with our new kit, we now have a professional team that the players can all feel proud of."

The team trains every Thursday at the Harrow Leisure Centre between 6pm and 8pm. Sessions cost £3. If anyone wants to join Harrow Stones Stars please visit the website or contact Simon Heaney directly on 07969571149.

PRESS RELEASE: 11/09/2006

Maxim gives Harrow Stones Stars winning start to season

Team photo (L-R) Michael Reeves, Maxim Horhula, Scott Powling, Matt Snell (hidden), Kenji O'Connor,
Susan Crandley, Pritesh Vara, Riaz Rahim.

Harrow Mencap's football team, Harrow Stones Stars FC, Sunday made a winning start to the Special Training Experience Programme (STEP) five-a-side Fun League.

The Stones Stars beat Sutton 2-0 at the Talacre Sports Centre in Camden. Maxim Horhula scored two well taken goals. Kenji O'Connor, Susan Crandley and Scott Powling also came close to scoring with fierce shots. At the back, goalkeeper Matt Snell made some telling saves and was well covered by captain Michael Reeves and substitutes Riaz Rahim and Pritesh Vara. Maxim was awarded a man of the match certificate for his performance.

The team were playing for the first time in their new kit provided by project partners Wealdstone FC.

"The STEP League is a fun and well organised competition that gives our players the perfect platform to show off what they have learned in training," said coach Simon Heaney "For this season I want to enter at least two sides so any players interested in joining us should give me a call."

The mixed adult's team train every Thursday at the Harrow Leisure Centre between 6pm and 8pm. Sessions cost £2.

If anyone wants to join Harrow Stones Stars please contact Simon Heaney on 07969571149.

ANY QUESTIONS? Contact Simon Heaney, 020 8970 2609 (daytime) or via Email: london@shippers.com

PRESS RELEASE: 23/06/2006

Stones Stars win the World Cup!

Harrow Stones Stars FC won a mini-World Cup tournament to mark Mencap's learning disability week June 18-25.

a late winner from Bhavesh Joshi. Divyesh Jani had equalised for France.
In the final, England overcame Brazil again, this time winning 4-2 thanks to two goals each from strikers Robin Blake and Kenji O'Connor. Michael Reeves won the golden boot for his three goals in the earlier rounds.

"This is our first ever trophy and the players were singing all the way home," said Coach Simon Heaney. "The tournament was great fun and the challenge is now to maintain the level of competitive football on offer to people with learning disabilities."
Harrow Stones Stars were playing in the blue and white quarters of Wealdstone FC as part of a partnership started at the end of last season. Other project partners include the Football Foundation and the Middlesex FA.
Harrow Stones Stars train every Thursday evening's between 6pm and 8pm in the Harrow Leisure Centre.
If anyone wants to join the team please contact Simon Heaney on 07969571149.

ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRESS RELEASE? Contact Simon Heaney, 020 8970 2609 (daytime) or via Email: london@shippers.com .

PRESS RELEASE: 05/05/2006

Harrow Stones Stars FC starting women's team

Harrow Stones Stars F.C., the football club for people with learning disabilities in Harrow, are starting training sessions for women and girls aged 12 or upwards. The club's partners include Harrow Mencap, the Football Foundation, the Middlesex Football Association and Wealdstone Football Club. The women's/girls sessions are every Thursday evening from 6 pm to 7 pm at the Teachers Centre, Tudor Road, Wealdstone. "Whether you have been playing for years, or just starting off, all are welcome!" said Michael Molokwu, the Middlesex FA's community sports coach, part funded by Harrow Mencap. For more details on the sessions, please contact Michael on 020 8515 1927 or email: michael.molokwu@middlesexfa.com

PHOTO: Harrow Stones Stars player Susan Crandley.

PRESS RELEASE: 11/04/2006

Learning disability awareness day a success

A recent learning disability awareness day hosted by Wealdstone Football Club in their match against Fisher Athletic raised £114 for local charity Harrow Mencap.

Wealdstone hosted the day to mark a new partnership with Harrow Mencap's football club Harrow Stones Stars FC that will see the team wear the famous blue and white quarters.

DIVYESH JARNI AND SCOTT POWLING RECEIVE CERTIFICATES FROM
GORDON BARTLETT.

Before the game, Stones manager Gordon Bartlett presented Scott Powling and Divyesh Jarni with certificates for winning Harrow Mencap's competition to design the team's new badge and name.

The fans all gathered behind the goal to encourage our players to score which made for an exiting atmosphere," said Simon Heaney, manager of Harrow Stones Stars.

"To play in front of a large crowd will give our team enormous confidence for the future. It goes to show what a great community club Wealdstone is. Wearing the blue and white shirts gives us an identity and pride that we will take into competitions," added Simon.

Harrow Stones Stars train every Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Harrow Leisure Centre. The club is also about to start a women's-only team and a monthly activity session for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

If anyone wants to join Harrow Stones Stars please contact Simon Heaney on 07969571149.

HARROW STONES STARS PLAYERS: KEVIN SWEENEY, MICHAEL REEVES, MATTHEW SNELL, KENJI O'CONNOR, CHARLES NEWMAN AND SCOTT POWLING.