VS ASHFORD UNITED
ISTHMIAN LEAGUE | SOUTH EAST DIVISION SATURDAY 18TH OCTOBER 2025 | KICK OFF 3PM
EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN FC
The Vistavis Community Stadium College Lane | East Grinstead | RH19 3LS
Tel: 01342 325885
BUZZ FROM THE NEST
Good afternoon and welcome to the players, management and committee members from today's visitors Ashford United.
Although the gap at the bottom is seven points we do have a game in hand but it's obviously imperative that we get on the winning track again soon. I thought we played well in spells last Saturday but conceding four is not going to allow you to pick up many points.
Drew has been adding some experience to the squad this week and it's a warm welcome to former Crawley captain Josh SImpson and Mark Nouble. Unfortunately, Rex Porter has been recalled by Bromley.
We are on the road for the next two games before hosting Deal here on the 28th. Good luck to us!
OWNERSHIP STATEMENT
In accordance with the Football Association's Rule 2.13 (publication of ownership) in relation to Step 1 to Step 6 Clubs within the National League System East Grinstead Town FC is an unincorporated association / members club and a Community Amateur Sports Club (reg no CASC 02270). Followuson:
STANDINGS LEAGUE
FIXTURES & RESULTS
12 Aug H Three Bridges
SEPTEMBER
20 Sep H VCD Athletic
OCTOBER
7 Oct H Haywards
18 Oct H Ashford United
Tue 21 Oct A Faversham
Sat 25 Oct A Sheppey United
South East
South East
Tue 28 Oct H Deal Town Isthmian South East
Sat Nov 1 H Hastings United Isthmian South East 3pm
Tue Nov 4 A Broadbridge Heath Isthmian South East 7.45pm
Sat Nov 8 A VCD Athletic Isthmian South East 3pm
Tue 11 Nov A Three Bridges Isthmian South East 7.45pm
Sat Nov 15 H Merstham Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat Nov 22 A Margate Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 29 Nov H AFC Whyteleafe Isthmian South East 3pm
DECEMBER
Sat 6 Dec A AFC Croydon Athletic Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 13 Dec H Herne Bay Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 20 Dec A Eastbourne Town Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 27 Dec H Jersey Bulls Isthmian South East 3pm JANUARY
Sat 3 Jan A Sevenoaks Town Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 10 Jan H Erith Town Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 17 Jan H Broadbridge Heath Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 24 Jan A Crowborough Athletic Isthmian South East 3pm FEBRUARY
Sat 7 Feb A Deal Town Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 14 Feb A Ashford United Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 21 Feb H Sheppey United Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 28 Feb A Hastings United Isthmian South East 3pm
MARCH
Sat 7 Mar H VCD Athletic Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 14 Mar A Herne Bay Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 21 Mar H AFC Croydon Athletic Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 28 Mar A Erith Town Isthmian South East 3pm
APRIL
Sat 4 Apr H Sittingbourne Isthmian South East 3pm
Mon 6 Apr A Jersey Bulls Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 11 Apr H Faversham Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 18 Apr A Merstham Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 25 Apr H Margate Isthmian South East 3pm
TEAM LINE UP
EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN F.C. ASHFORD UNITED
Neo Wooster n n
Alex Andrade Filipe n n
Dan Cadman n n
Tom Cadman n n
Matt Weaire n n
Jay Richardson n n
Ollie Deurell Benito n n
Luke Harrison n n
Matt Daniel n n
Omar Folkes n n
Ollie Rawlins n n
Mason Saunders n n
Zhechko Zhelyaskov n n
Dawyd Przybylo n n
Callum Corbin n n
Jed Borders n n
Glenn Wilson n n
Alfie Hilden n n
Damian Niemcyzcki (GK) n n
Josh Simpson n n
Marc Nouble n n
NEXT HOME MATCH
Deal Town
7.30pm Tuesday October 28, 2025
Taite Holtam (GK) n n
Scott Podger-King (GK) n n
Will Moses n n
Joey Taylor n n
Kane Penn n n
Barry Fuller n n
Roarie Deacon n n
Craig Stone n n
Jack Dixon n n
Michael West n n
Matt Bodkin n n
William Dupray n n
Sam Hasler n n
Harrison Hume n n
Liam Gillies n n
Gary Lockyer n n
MATCH OFFICIALS:
Referee: Deryll David
Assistant Ref: Harvey Ransome
Assistant Ref: Oliver Storey
EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN HISTORY
PROGRAMMES FROM THE PAST BY LESTER MEDCALF
I have a couple of programmes to share with you for past games in the middle of October. We’ll start with East Grinstead v Redhill on Tuesday 18 October 2011 in division 1 of the Sussex County League. Chairman Richard Tramontin looks back at the home game against Pagham on the previous Saturday. Pagham had so far won all 12 of their league matches and though we had played reasonably well - and thought we might have scored a goal or two - it was Pagham who went home with the 3 points with a 3-0 win. And today’s opponents from Redhill had also been tipped to be one of the top teams - so another difficult game expected.
Richard’s notes also tell us that this would be Tony Beckingham’s last match as team manager. A recent change of jobs had left Tony with less footballing time. He had written a column for the programme explaining in more detail why he was about to leave the club and how much he had enjoyed his time with the club. Fortunately Simon Funnell was taking over as our manager. The programme has a busy report of that Pagham match. And we also have a couple of match reports from previous matches against our Redhill visitors. We are reminded of a 3-2 win in a Sussex County League Cup match in 2007 which saw Dave Gellatly scoring a last minute winner, and then a 3-0 league win in 2010.
So what happened in the Tuesday evening game against Redhill ? Well the programme’s league table showed us in 10th place with Redhill 2 places above us, though we had played 4 more matches. We had also failed to score in our last 3 matches.
The game had a busy start with Redhill scoring in the first couple of minutes though we equalised 3 or 4 minutes later (thanks to a Redhill defender scoring on our behalf). And then another few minutes and Redhill had a penalty - but our keeper Shayne Goldsmith kept the spot kick out. But still time within the first 15 or so minutes for Redhill to take a 2-1 lead. They were later to add a third goal in the second half to clinch a 3-1 win.
CARSHALTON BEATEN
Next up we’ll have a look at the programme for East Grinstead v Carshalton on Tuesday 17 October 2017 in the Isthmian league.
Programme editor Bruce Talbot tells us that Carshalton are a well established Isthmian League team who will give us a stern test in our struggle “to lift ourselves off the bottom of the table.”
Richard Tramontin has a brief mention in his club notes of our most recent game away to Ashford which he thought was “a strong contender for the worst match I have seen in years”. The programme’s match report does at least tell us that we had got a point at Ashford in that poor 1-1 draw. Charlie Postance had given us an early 5 minute goal lead though it only took Ashford another 10 minutes to equalise. We had a bit of brightness to go with the match report with a whole page of action photos.
Matt Longhurst’s team manager notes concentrate on the number of injured players we would miss for the Carshalton match, while our visitors had 27 players listed in the programme. I’ve already told you that we were bottom of the 24 team table with just 1 win and 3 draws so far. Carshalton were in 9th place. Our visitors occupied much of the first half without scoring and somehow a few minutes before half-time we scored thanks to Charlie Postance’s header. The second half saw us under pressure again, though not as much as the first half, and with some 15 minutes left our Ollie Gill spotted the Carshalton keeper off his line. A lob over the keeper’s head was rewarded with our second goal. And we held on for a win.
THREE GOALS AGAINST THE CROWS
Glenn Wilson taps in our second goal last Saturday after a first-half cracker by Ollie Rawlins. Photos: Stuart Gibson.
TODAY'S VISITORS
Ashford Town’s home ground was at the back of the Victoria Hotel on Beaver Road. The club were founding members of the Kent Premier League in 1894–95, with a reserve side playing in Kent League 2
The club relocated to an enclosed ground with a timber-built stand at Godinton Road, where the 1899 KCFA Cup final was staged. Team colours at the time were black and white striped shirts.
The team appeared in the Kent Cup final for two successive years, 1902 and 1903, but were unsuccessful on both occasions — losing a replay 1–4 to Sittingbourne (after a lastminute penalty equaliser forced the replay) and then to Maidstone. In 1907, owing to a lack of support at their Godinton Road ground — which, being beyond the railway bridge, was a fair distance from the town — the club, suffering from heavy debts, was unable to fulfil its fixtures and ceased playing mid-season.
Shortly afterward, however, a new club was formed, playing as Ashford Railway Works. The club’s home ground was relocated back to Newtown on land believed to have been provided rent-free by the South Eastern & Chatham Railway.
Playing in the Eastern Section of the Kent League and wearing red and green quartered colours, the team enjoyed considerable success, winning the league in four successive seasons: 1912, 1913, 1914, and 1920 (the latter following the break caused by the war).
It was around this time that the club acquired its nickname, the ‘Nuts and Bolts,’ as many of its members were skilled engineers from the railway
The club became more commonly known as ‘Ashford’ upon the post-war resumption of the Kent League competition. However, once again, fate intervened, and in 1928 the club folded, leaving the town without a football team.
The decision to found Ashford Town was taken at a meeting in April 1930, chaired by Sir Charles Iggledon, the editor of the Kentish Express. Ashford Town was elected to the Kent League and played its first match on August 30th of the same year at the railway works ground, with Canterbury Waverley as the visitors. The result was a 4–2 victory
The following year, the club moved to Essella Park. The sale of this ground in the mid-1980s enabled the purchase and development of the present ground at The Homelands, named after the farm that originally occupied the site.
Despite being champions of the Kent League in the 1948-49 season, it was cup football that brought the greatest success. Town reached the first round proper of the FA Cup as a Kent League side in 1959, losing 1–0 to Crystal Palace in front of a ground record crowd of 6,525.
In the 1960s, Town reached the first round of the FA Cup on four occasions, falling to league opposition each time. Further honours arrived with victories in the Kent Senior Cup in 1959 and 1963.
In the 1972-73 season, Town reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy, losing to Scarborough by a penalty goal. The following year, they finished third in the league, with Alan Morton setting the club’s scoring record of 46 goals from 69 games — a record that still stands today.
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