VS BECKENHAM TOWN
ISTHMIAN LEAGUE | SOUTH EAST DIVISION TUESDAY 11TH MARCH 2025 | KICK OFF 7.30PM
EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN FC
The Vistavis Community Stadium College Lane | East Grinstead | RH19 3LS
Tel: 01342 325885
FROM THE CHAIR
Good evening everyone and welcome to the Vistavis Community Stadium for tonight’s Isthmian League South East Division match against Beckenham Town.
I would like to extend a warm welcome to the Beckenham officials, management, players and supporters as well as this evening’s referee Michael Ryan and his assistants Adan Siage and Jack Healy. I trust everyone enjoys their brief stay and our hospitality.
We travelled to Erith Town on Saturday. We had a goal disallowed for offside, hit the post but had to be content with a 0-0 draw in a dull affair, not helped by the pitch.
Tonight’s visitors are just outside the play-off places in 6th place and they are unbeaten in their last five matches, having won three and drawn two including a 9-0 thumping of Lancing with Louie Theophanous scoring six - and he was subbed after his sixth on 67 minutes!
The two teams drew 2-2 in the reverse fixture in December with Connor Tighe and Charlie Harris scoring for Wasps.
We are at home again on Saturday against Herne Bay. We travel to Merstham next Tuesday (ko 7.45pm) and away at Hythe Town on the following Saturday. Thank you all for coming along this evening and whatever the outcome of the match, I trust everyone enjoys their visit to East Court and I wish you all a safe journey home.
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:
ClubManagement:
Chair & Treasurer: Richard Tramontin
Secretary & Vice chair: Brian McCorquodale
Senior Football Officer: Steve Norris
Head of Recruitment: Matt Wheeler
Commercial Manager: Steve Norris
Club Welfare Officer: Brian McCorquodale
Disability Welfare Officer: Stuart Gibson
Safety & Facilities Officer: Barry Bryant
Bar Manager: Stuart Gibson
Press Officer: Bruce Talbot
ED&I Officer: Andy Dodson
FootballManagement
Manager: Drew Cooney
Assistant Manager and Team Coach: Ian Nicholls
Assistant Team Coach: Steve Sargent, Matt Wheeler
Physiotherapist:
Kit manager:
Disability Team Manager:
Youth Coordinator & Development:
Under-18 Managers:
Under-16 Amber Manager:
Under-16 Black Manager:
Under-14 Manager:
Under-12 Amber Manager:
Under 12 Black Manager:
Under 11 Manager:
Shannon McEvoy
Adam Robinson
Ant Bowler
Jay De Vito
Lewis McDonnell & Kevin Wright
Lewis McDonnell
Nigel Leach
Sean Clarabut
Ted Symes
Tom Butcher
Ben Payne
FROM THE Dugout
We welcome everyone for tonight’s fixture against play-off hopefuls Beckenham Town. Like ourselves they have found themselves with at least 3-4 games in hand on most teams in the league.
We come into tonight’s games off the back of a midweek win over Hythe last week and a goalless draw on Saturday to Erith Town.
Tonight we find ourselves with seven players missing either through injury or not being available, so the challenge is made slightly harder than it already is. We do welcome back Charlie Harris after his suspension ended and we should have two new signings in the squad for this game.
Saturday’s game in fairness to both teams wasn’t the most pleasing on the eye. You probably won’t find a worse pitch to try and play on between now and the end of the season. Both teams created a few chances to win. Connor Tighe thought he had put us ahead after lobbing the goalkeeper and then Cam Lawson missed a glorious chance from a couple of yards out.
The day didn’t get off to the best of starts with the playing kit not turning up till 2.20pm, meaning I had to ask our lads to start their warm-up in there travelling tracksuits. So for the players to stay as focused as they did and keep a clean sheet was something I was very pleased with. Tonight’s challenge will be right up there with one of the toughest for our back line. Louis Theophanous is in devastating form at the minute, scoring 11 goals in his last six games. He is the difference at this level. The likes of him and Ramsgate’s Joe Taylor are a level or two above this league and can drag their teams through games single-handedly with their goals. If we want to get anything from tonight’s game we have to keep him quiet. As ever was great to see the regular faces at Erith on Saturday and we look forward to seeing you all tonight and then again Saturday against Herne Bay.
BECKENHAM TOWN TheAwayEnd
ORIGINS OF THE CLUB
Beckenham Town Football Club is one of the older non-league clubs still in existence, being first affiliated to The Kent Football Association in 1887.
Records show the club played in the London League from 1923 to 1933 and 1951 to 1961 and the Aetolian League from 1961 to 1964 before moving to the Greater London League from 1964 to 1969.
In addition to its present day participation in the FA Cup and FA Vase, it also competed in the FA Amateur Cup from 1926 to 1967.
WALL OF FAME
Amongst the club’s past Presidents is ex-Prime Minister the Rt. Hon Harold Macmillan MP and amongst the club’s Vice Presidents is Sydney Wooderson, one of Britain’s greatest middle-distance runners.
Amongst Becks ex-players are goalkeeper Ray Potter, who played over 220 games for West Bromwich Albion, Frank “Dot” Morris, who played over 70 games for Crystal Palace, and Pat Saward who played for Aston Villa in the 50s and captained the Republic of Ireland and managed Brighton & Hove Albion. More recently ex-Charlton Athletic star Jason Euell wore Beckenham’s colours.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Honours include the London League Championship in 1927-28 and runners-up in 1930- 31. Unfortunately, the club folded in 1969 merging with Bromley FC. The club was subsequently re-formed and joined the London Spartan League in 1975 and enjoyed some early success being runners-up to Fisher Athletic in the Spartan League Senior Division in 1977-78.
Town also reached two Spartan League Cup Finals, losing to Welling United and Farnham Town. More recent successes have been two previous appearances in the Kent League Cup Final in 1984-85 and 1992-93 and runners-up to Maidstone United in the Kent League Premier Division in 2005-06. After three previous unsuccessful attempts in 1981/82, 2004/05 and 2007/08, Becks finally secured a victory in the Kent Senior Trophy after a 4-0 win over Ashford United.
FIXTURES & RESULTS
AUGUST
Sat 3 AugAGlebeFA Cup EP2-0192Folkes, Tighe
Sat 10 AugAMargateIsthmian South East0-0402
Sat 17 AugHRedhillFA Cup P1-3193Spinks
Fri 23 AugHAFC Croydon AthleticIsthmian South East2-1228Lawson, Weaire
Mon 26 AugASevenoaks TownIsthmian South East2-2107Harris, Daniel
Sat 31 AugHDeal TownIsthmian South East2-3124Daniel, Tighe SEPTEMBER
Tue 3 SepHMersthamVelocity Cup 20-1115
Sat 7 SepAHartley WintneyFA Trophy 1Q1-2163Harris
Tue 10 SepHBroadbridge HeathIsthmian South East1-293Folkes
Sat 14 SepAPhoenix SportsIsthmian South East2-186Daniel, Weaire
Sat 28 SepABurgess Hill TownIsthmian South East1-2415Humpherston OCTOBER
Tue 8 OctANewhavenSussex Cup 21-1Harris
East Grinstead Town win 7-6 on penalties
Sat 12 OctASteyning Town CommunityIsthmian South East3-2110Andrade Filipe, Tighe, Folkes
Tue 15 OctHAshford UnitedIsthmian South East1-3113Tighe
Sat 26 OctAThree BridgesIsthmian South East1-066Christmas NOVEMBER
Sat 2 NovHErith TownIsthmian South East0-4123
Tue 5 NovABroadbridge HeathIsthmian South East2-4107Daniel, Tighe
Sat 9 NovHPhoenix SportsIsthmian South East4-2101Harris, Humpherston, Christmas, Daniel
Tue 12 NovHLancingSussex Cup 30-277
Sat 16 NovAAshford UnitedIsthmian South East0-3434
Sat 30 NovHLancingIsthmian South East1-3119Jabbie DECEMBER
Tue 3 DecHRamsgateIsthmian South East2-1102Lovatt 2
Sat 14 DecAHerne BayIsthmian South East2-1374Thompson, Harris
Tue 17 DecABeckenham TownIsthmian South East2-2182Tighe, Harris
Thu 26 DecAEastbourne TownIsthmian South East1-1309Tighe
Sat 28 DecHMargateIsthmian South East0-2210
JANUARY
Sat 18 JanALittlehampton TownIsthmian South East1-0278Harris pen
Tue 21 JanASittingbourneIsthmian South East0-3189
Sat 25 JanALancingIsthmian South East6-2263Lovatt 3, Daniel 2, Tighe
FEBRUARY
Sat 15 FebHSteyning Town CommunityIsthmian South East0-1139
Tue 18 FebHSheppey UnitedIsthmian South East2-196Daniel, Humpherston
Sat 22 FebARamsgateIsthmian South East1-21208Tighe
MARCH
Sat 1 MarHThree BridgesIsthmian South East0-1220
Tue 4 MarHHythe TownIsthmian South East2-195Own goal, Lovatt
Sat 8 MarAErith TownIsthmian South East0-0107
Tue 11 MarHBeckenham TownIsthmian South East7.30pm
Sat 15 MarHHerne BayIsthmian South East3pm
Tue 18 MarAMersthamIsthmian South East7.45pm
Sat 22 MarAHythe TownIsthmian South East3pm
Tue 25 MarHSevenoaks TownIsthmian South East7.30pm
Sat 29 MarHLittlehampton TownIsthmian South East3pm APRIL
Wed 2 AprHBurgess Hill TownIsthmian South East7.30pm
Sat 5 AprASheppey UnitedIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 12 AprHSittingbourneIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 19 AprADeal TownIsthmian South East3pm
Mon 21 AprHEastbourne TownIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 26 AprAAFC Croydon AthleticIsthmian South East3pm
Mattie Pierson
Warren Colman
Tom Cadman
Michael Wilson
Matthew Weaire
Glenn Wilson (C)
Finlay Lovatt
Charlie Harris
Connor Tighe
Alex Andrade Filipe
Omar Folkes
Matthew Daniel
Kieran Humpherston
Will Hoare
Luke Harrison
Harrison Parker
Charlie Gibson
Brady Ayoola
Colours: NEXT MATCH
Herne Bay
Saturday 15th March 2025
TEAM LINE UP
7.30pm
Amber & Black
EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN HISTORY
Programmes from the Past by Lester Medcalf
I'm going to look at a couple of programmes for games played in the past on today's date and I'll start with East Grinstead v Dorking Wanderers on Tuesday 11 March 2014 in division one of the Sussex County League – then the County League's top division.
We were hoping to get into the league's top two places – East Preston were probably out of reach at the top - but our two previous games had seen a 2-0 defeat away to Lancing and then a 1-1 draw at home to Selsey. Both Chairman Richard Tramontin and manager Simon Funnell talk about their disappointment in those games as well their hope that things would be better today. They also recall that our reverse fixture away to Dorking in September had seen us beaten 2-0.
Richard also tells us in his notes that there will be no seating in our stand for a few weeks as the work to increase the stand's capacity (to 165 seats) will be taking place.
And we also have a full report of that recent 1-1 draw against Selsey – a match where both teams failed to produce their best and which for a long time looked like being a goalless draw. However, with some 20 minutes left Matt Geard put us in front but shortly afterwards Selsey were to draw level.
So did the game against Dorking see a continuation of the recent poor run, or did we put a stop to it? The programme's league table shows us in fourth place with Dorking four places below us. An even first half saw neither side able to get in front and then much the same at the start of the second half. But on the hour Sam Schaaf headed us into the lead and ten minutes later he scored a second. And just as the ref got ready to blow his final whistle Marc Pelling headed home from a corner for a 3-0 win – a score that probably flattered us.
ANOTHER
FOUR GOALS AGAINST CRAY
Three years later when we were in the Isthmian League we'll have a look at the programme for East Grinstead v Cray Wanderers on Saturday 11 March 2017.
There was a huge surprise topic in the programme which everybody spoke about. Out of the blue our team manager Matt Longhurst had resigned to become the deputy manager at Hastings United. And he had taken a couple of players with him. Fortunately, a couple of people who had worked under him immediately agreed to step in until we were able to appoint a new team manager. We had played one game since the above happening and not surprisingly we were much below par and had lost 6-0 away to Herne Bay. (However, a couple of weeks later Matt Longhurst was back as our manager with things not as he was expecting in Hastings.)
Richard Tramontin's club notes were able to tell us that in our away game against our visitors from Cray just before Christmas we had come back from being 2-0 down at half-time to win 4-2 with two goals to Marcus Elliott and one each for Malachi Robinson and Jake McIntyre. Rather strangely we had also won our next match by the same 4-2 score (over Christmas away to Three Bridges). The programme's league table shows us in 18th place (24 teams in the league) with Cray Wanderers in 11th place. We had a good first half with Dan Hogan successful with an early penalty and then later providing a pass for Marcus Elliott to score our second goal. Into the second half and after some 15 second-half minutes Travis Gregory scored our third. In the last few minutes Cray scored a couple of penalties though in between them Travis Gregory had scored our fourth goal. Which meant another 4-2 win over Cray and our third 4-2 win over the season. If you've had your memory jogged by this article then I’d be happy to hear from you at lestermedcalf@btinternet.com.
