Biggleswade FC Season 2018-19 Match Ball Sponsor: David Albone
Biggleswade FC v Hadley Tuesday 2nd April 2019 3pm Kick Off Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division
Who’s Who? Chairman – Jeremy Reynolds Vice Chairman – Phil Gullefer Secretary – Lee Rusbridge Treasurer – Fay Northfield Management Team: 1st Team Managers: Dave Northfield and Mark Inskip Head Coach: James Petty Goalkeeping Coach: Conor Darrington Fitness Coach: Dave Bass Reserves Manager: Phil Smailes Vice-President: Nick Smith
Committee Members: Ruth Reynolds Cherry Lee Mick Jarvis Terry Howard Hannah Reynolds Sarah King Sophie Northfield Sharon Inskip Associate Members: Jordan Inskip Jackie Warren Away Kit & Sweatshirt Sponsor:
Home Kit & Main Sponsor:
Club Tracksuit Sponsor:
Club Training Kit Sponsor: Reserve Team Kit Sponsor:
Biggleswade Football Club Member of the Spartan South Midlands Football League Web: www.biggleswadefc.co.uk Email: BiggleswadeFC@outlook.com
CHAIRMAN’S NOTES | Welcome to Langford Road Biggleswade FC v Hadley Good evening and welcome to our SSMFL Premier Division Cup match against Hadley FC. The big games are coming thick and fast, with this the first of 4 successive home games in a row as we look to end our season in top form and stay competitive in what has now seemingly become a four way battle at the top of the table. Hadley are having an excellent season and are in second place, right in contention. Our decisive away win at theirs in December saw one of our very best performances of the season – in probably the worst matchday weather we have had! – but tonight is sure to be a very close and competitive game which we hope will be another credit to the league and great entertainment under the Langford Road lights. We would like to extend a warm welcome to the players, management, supporters and committee of Hadley FC who have made the journey this evening. Guy and his committee colleagues made us feel very welcome at their ground so we are very pleased to reciprocate tonight – we hope you enjoy your time with us and have a safe journey home afterwards. Welcome also to our match officials - please respect their role and the FA' s Respect and League’s Mind Your Language Campaigns, so that the match is enjoyable for all. Many thanks to our main sponsor Raymond Smith, for his renewed support this season and also for tonight’s match sponsor, David Albone. Saturday’s narrow 1-0 win away against North Greenford United was a nervy affair – not that we didn’t play well or thoroughly deserve the victory, but because we couldn’t convert our dominant play into goals, with a difficult pitch not helping our playing style. The goal was probably the scrappiest one we have ever scored – but also the most welcome and got us back on track in the league. It was due reward for the lads, who kept going and pressing forward and it also delighted our large band of travelling supporters – I would like to thank everyone who is giving such magnificent backing to our team this season, home and away. The Reserves continued their magnificent unbeaten run – now 13 games – on Saturday with another fine home victory and as well as being in second place in the table also now have the Centenary Cup Final to look forward to. Please check our website for details of when this will be played, as well as the North Beds Charity Cup Final. The Premier Division Cup Final, against Baldock, will be on Wednesday 24th April, at the ground of Langford FC. Three cup finals in a week for our young club – what an achievement and so exciting for us all. We are at home again on Saturday against London Colney and then at home to Tring a week tonight in another huge match. The Reserves have 6 away games to finish their season, starting at Flitwick on Saturday, kick off 2.30pm. Please join us for these if you can. Thanks for coming today and enjoy the game. Thank you for coming today and enjoy the game. Jeremy Reynolds | Chairman | Biggleswade FC
CLUB HISTORY | Hadley Football Club Hadley Football Club were founded in the 1882/83 season. A notable achievement during the early years was a 1-0 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur, although Tottenham then was not of the calibre that it is now. The 1880's and 1890's were glamour times for Hadley when the club used to attract crowds of several hundred to Hadley common. With regret however, the progressive Barnet FC etc. drew players away from Hadley. This was at about the turn of the century. Club activities became low key around 1912 with Barnet FC becoming more prominent. Between these years and 1922 the club was up and down like a yo yo. Club fortunes again changed close to World War II and thereafter, with the emergence from the Hadley ranks of the famous Lester Finch who went on to play for Barnet FC and become a full amateur international. A highlight during the 2013-14 season was drawing Watford FC in the 1st Round of the Herts Senior Cup. We lost 2-0 with goals from Luke O’Nien and Bernard Mensah securing the win for Gianfranco Zola’s Championship side. The appointment of Micky Hazard, Franco Sidoli, Lewis Dommett and Hector Varela. As a player, Micky was a member of the Tottenham team that won the 1982 FA Cup and UEFA Cup in 1984. He also went on to play for Chelsea, Portsmouth, Swindon Town and then Tottenham for a second spell. Since the end of his playing career, Hazard was Youth Academy Coach at Crystal Palace and has more recently been involved on the management team of Sevenoaks Town and Hoddesdon Town. Micky was joined by the return of Franco Sidoli, Lewis Dommett and Hector Varela who were all well-known to the club as, along with Alexis Nicolas, they formed our 1st team management team during a successful 2012-13 season in which we reached the final of the Premier Division Cup and built up a good reputation within the league for playing attractive football. The first season in charge for our new management team (2014-15) was very successful as we ended in 9th position in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division - our highest ever finish. We surpassed this in the 2015-16 season with another excellent season as our 1st team ended in 6th position in the league and we also won the Herts Charity Shield for the first time following a 3-1 victory over Tring Athletic in the final at the County Headquarters, Letchworth.
The 2016-17 season saw the return of our 1st team to Brickfield Lane in Arkley, Barnet, following over £400,000 worth of facilities improvements and eight years of ground sharing with Potters Bar Town. A highlight of our first season back in Barnet was an outstanding FA Cup run, eventually being knocked out in a Third qualifying round replay against Eastbourne Borough who went on to beat Aldershot Town in the next round. The 2017-18 season saw a change of first team management with Anthony Clark being appointed in October 2017. As a player, Anthony appeared for Southend United before playing at a high standard of non-league football with teams including Hendon and Wealdstone. A very strong end to the season saw us finish in sixth place, our joint highest ever finish, and we look forward to the 2018-19 season.
MATCH REPORT | North Greenford United 0-1 Biggleswade FC One of the scrappiest goals you will see this season proved enough to see off a dogged North Greenford United at Berkeley Fields on a gloriously sunny afternoon in West London on Saturday. Such was the untidyness and desperate scramble that eventually saw the ball almost in slow motion roll into the right hand corner of the net as bodies joustled around it, there was still uncertainty as to who should even be credited with it. The only thing that could be said with any conclusiveness was that it was a priceless one. One of the home side's officials said after the final whistle that "you won't win all your remaining games playing like that" and to a certain extent he was right, but wins like this one are what successful league campaigns are about. There have certainly been games this season where FC have played far better and not got the victory, but at this stage of the season results are what count. Managers Northfield and Inskip kept faith with the starting XI that saw off Tring in the Semi -Final of the Premier Division Cup on Tuesday evening for this latest assignment. Despite narrowly losing their last two outings on the road, North Greenford came into this game on the back of three successive home clean sheets, so they were going to be a tough nut to crack. The match had a real end of season feel to it early on as both sides tried to cope with the higher than usual temperature and with it a hard and bobbly sloping pitch from one flank to the other. FC struggled to get their passing game going, but they still looked the more likely going forward. The home side headed a far post free-kick harmlessly over the top, whilst the visitors best chance of the opening 20 minutes was a decent drive from skipper Tom Coles, which the youthful-looking United keeper Bikramjit Khaira did well to get down and parry to safety. The best chance of a largely slow-burning first period came at the midway point when FC broke superbly from a North Greenford set-piece. Some nice work in their own half by Lee Northfield and then Alex Marsh saw Tom Cookman breakaway down the left hand side. FC had a 2v1 overload with Northfield continuing his run. Cookman was unable to find him with the pass, but his second attempt found Marsh with a clear sight of goal just inside the box, but his first time shot was again well-saved by Khaira. North Greenford had a few moments of promise, but their main threat was from setpieces and anything launched into the box was generally well dealt with by Tompkins whose handling was immaculate when under pressure. Just before the interval there was one further chance. Tom Coles burst from midfield with a decent interception and after dragging the ball back on to his right foot, he drove low and just wide of the left hand post. It took FC a good fifteen minutes to get going again in the second half. Nothing appeared to be coming off and they were lacking that little spark that could unlock this stubborn home defence. It was very nearly worse on 58 minutes when United had some rare joy down their right hand side, but fortunately Nathan George was well-positioned to fire the cross behind for a corner. Two minutes later Hunt and Alex Marsh linked well for the former to fizz a ball across the
face of goal. Tom Coles ended up in the net and despite his protest for a push, the referee wasn't interested. Lee Northfield hit another shot just wide of the target moments later and you could just sense that little bit of momentum and belief starting to build once more. The decisive moment of the game arrived on 64 minutes. A lovely combination down the right involving talismanic duo Pat McCafferty and Tom Cookman saw the latter fire the ball low across the face. Khaira got down well to make the save, but in the melee Ryan Inskip bundled the loose ball goalwards. It seemed to take an age as the travelling support in green almost willed it towards the goal-line. Alex Marsh claimed to have got the final touch as it trickled agonisingly into the right hand corner. It wasn't a goal for the footballing purists, we still don't know who actually got it as both claimed it after the game, but who cares - it was a goal and that's all that mattered!
As we found out at Leighton just a few weeks ago, you are never as vulnerable to conceding a goal as when you've just scored and Tompkins did superbly on two occasions straight after to snuff out two decent opportunities for the hosts to level. In truth though, the goal gave the visitors a real lift and now the fluency in the play despite the tricky surface had all of a sudden returned. FC shaved the same paintwork on the outside of the left post in quick succession when Tom Coles drove through midfield before unleashing a fine effort with the outside of his boot and then Northfield with a similarly wellstruck effort saw his strike encounter the same outcome. After their initial couple of chances following the goal, the home side never really troubled the FC rearguard, but whilst the score remained at 1-0 there was never that real air of calm and assurance that a second would ultimately have brought. The chances certainly kept flowing though as a spectacular long range effort from Marsh was turned behind from Khaira and Tom Coles headed an Inskip corner on to the top of the crossbar. Lee Northfield had two brilliant chances to wrap the game up in the dying moments. The first he hit straight at the keeper with Inskip well-positioned to his right and then he diverted a square ball from the right agonisingly wide of the left post with the goal at his mercy. It was excruciating for the decent numbers that once again followed FC on one of their longest away trips of the season and this was certainly not helped by the 8 minutes of stoppage time that was bizarrely found from somewhere. There was certainly an outpouring of relief as the final whistle eventually drew this nailbiter to a close.
Colney Heath for the second Saturday in succession had their say in the title race after seeing off leaders Tring Athletic by a solitary goal to nil and Hadley's narrow 2-1 win over Crawley Green sees them join Athletic at the top on 73 points. Biggleswade United will certainly not feel out of it either despite being five points back in third with five to play. For FC in fourth, they are six points back from the leaders, but with three games in hand and still have both of the top two to play. Who will hold it together in the closing weeks of this extraordinary campaign really is anyone's guess! This Premier Division season hasn't been short of its drama and the best could well be yet to come...
Spartan South Midlands Football League
Saturday 9th February 2019 BIGGLESWADE FC v HADLEY Tonight’s Officials: Referee: Adam Steele, Assistants: Jorden Gibson & Kevin Moore
TEAMS TO BE SELECTED FROM Ross Tompkins Adam Hunt Lawrie Marsh Pat McCafferty Nick Henebery Benat Pena Alex Marsh Tom Coles © Tom Cookman Lee Northfield Ryan Inskip Justin Leavers Michael Simpson Nathan George Sam Kelly Abraham Eze Conor Inskip Matt Richardson Adam Drakulic Michael Carroll Dave Northfield Mark Inskip James Petty India Bunnage Conor Darrington
Green Green Green
Luke Ward Tom Milton Edward Clarke Stephen O’Hara Paul Wright © Sam Lyon Luke Alfano Bradley Marriott Emmanuel Hammond Yemi Buraimoh Ibrahim Camara Nnamdi Harold-Egole Cameron Ferguson Aaron Scott Alfie Bartram Nathan Linton Rob Laney Peter Rosemin
Manager Manager / Asst. M Coach Physio Goalkeeper Coach COLOURS SHIRTS SHORTS SOCKS
Anthony Clark Junior Mati Paul Badman Paul Badman
Red/Black Black Black
Today’s Match Sponsor
David Albone Future Fixtures Date
Opposition
C
V
Sat 6th April
London Colney
L
Home
Tue 9th April
Tring Athletic
L
Home
Sat 13th April
Wembley
L
Home
Tue 16th April
London Tigers
L
Away
Thu 18th April
Harpenden Town
L
Away
Sat 20th April
Stotfold
L
Away
Phil’s Question Time Answers can be found next week on our website; www.biggleswadefc.co.uk 1. Which two English Football League club contain two Y’s in their name? 2. What London club did the main character in the 2008 film “Cass” follow passionately?
3. The Ex-England captain Jimmy Armfield only played for which English Football Club? 4. Which country hosted the 1970 World Cup final tournament? 5. Which Republic of Ireland International was Aston Villa’s most-capped player, winning 64 caps while he was with club?
Below is a table of the Spartan South Midlands Premier league teams we will be travelling to this season. Based on our departure point of Langford Road, we will travel 1,046 miles in total (return) compared to last season’s 1,305. The miles section below is ground to ground. Our average return journey will be 55 miles compared to last season’s 65 miles. Team
Postcode
Miles
Match Day Sponsor
Arlesey Town
SG15 6RS
8
John Evans
Baldock Town
SG15 6RS
8
John Worsley – All Clean
Biggleswade Utd
SG18 0AA
2
H B C Logistics
Cockfosters
EN4 9JG
37
Shelly Swales Fine Foods
Colney Heath
AL4 0NP
29
Tony Wren – Innovation on Site
Crawley Green
LU2 9AG
18
Tom Jarvis
Edgware Town
NW9 7NE
42
Tony Wren – Innovation on Site
Hadley
EN5 3LD
36
David Albone
Harpenden Town
AL5 2EF
27
Terry – Fairview Carpentry
Leighton Town
LU7 1RX
26
Gullefer – London Walks
Leverstock Green
HP2 4NQ
37
Mick Jarvis
London Colney
AL2 1DW
30
Brian Darnell
London Tigers
HA6 1HR
47
Tony Wren – Innovation on Site
North Greenford Utd
UB6 0NX
44
Rob Butcher
Oxhey Jets
WD19 6FW
43
Kevin Webb
Potton United
SG19 2LX
5
Joseph Sneap
Stotfold
SG5 4AN
7
Richard Charles
Tring Athletic
HP23 5NT
34
Nick & Michelle – The Cock
Wembley
HA0 3HG
43
Nick & Michelle – The Cock
A Big thank you to all of this season’s match sponsors: The Cock, Broom Shelley Swales Fine Foods Phil Gullefer - London Walks Fay’s Dog Grooming Mick Jarvis Tom Jarvis R.D Kitchener Richard Charles Ray Smith Paul Stevens (Stevens Roofing) Inskip & Davie Estate Agents Innovation On-Site (Tony Wren) Joseph Sneap All Clean (John Worsley) John Evans HBC Logistics David Albone HL Ground and Garden Maintenance Rob Butcher Kevin Webb Terence J Winter Bedfordshire Pro Bathroom & Tiling R D Kitchener Jim Woodward It Costs £60.00 to Sponsor a Match Please contact Mick Jarvis on 07770 628 595 for more details.
CLUB HISTORY | BIGGLESWADE FC Biggleswade Football Club was formed in May 2016 from the very successful Biggleswade Town Under 18s side that competed in the Thurlow Nunn Youth League. 2016/17 - In our very first season in senior football, Biggleswade FC’s squad of young, talented players won the SSMFL Division One title. We finished with 99 points, six clear of Harpenden Town in second place and were duly promoted to the Premier Division - totally vindicating the decision to start off at Step 6 football. The new club made a huge impact both on and off the pitch and succeeded in doing things the right way. The players, under the astute management of Dave Northfield and Mark Inskip, deserved a huge amount of credit, not only for playing football as it should be played, but also for working and bonding so well together – a real team in every respect. Some of the performances were breath-taking and the 8-1 destruction of high-flying Langford at Christmas and the 4-2 away win at previously unbeaten Baldock Town were both particular highlights. As well as the successes in the league, the Club also had a thrilling FA Vase run, which saw us win two rounds, one against Takeley who were top of the Essex Senior League and the other away to Canning Town. The toughest possible draw came in the Second Round Proper where FC were handed an away draw at Peterborough Sports, who went on to win the United Counties League Premier Division by 15 points. However in going down 5-3 to Peterborough Sports, FC made a huge impression on their high-flying opponents and they were glowing in their praise of the football the youngsters had played. 2017/18 - The club made a solid start to life in the SSMFL Premier Division, at Christmas we were lying in 7th place with games in hand on some of the sides above us as well as progressing to the Semi-Finals of both the League Challenge Trophy and the Bedfordshire Senior Cup. However, the highlight of the campaign was our run to the 4th Round (last 32) of The Buildbase FA Vase. Following impressive wins against Northampton Sileby Rangers, Basildon United and Crawley Green, FC stunned much-fancied the eventual SSMFL Premier Division Champions Welwyn Garden City with a last-gasp extra-time penalty clinching a 2-1 win before unfortunately losing a tight affair away to the Hellenic League’s Thatcham Town, 2-1 in the 4th round. Thatcham Town went on to win both their league and also win The FA Vase itself at Wembley Stadium beating Stockton Town one nil in the final. We finished a very creditable 5th Place in our first season in the SSMFL Premier Division, lost on penalties to Southern Premier side Biggleswade Town after a thrilling one all draw in the Bedfordshire Senior Cup Semi-final and expectations have risen for the forthcoming season.
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