The BADGER 2023/24 Issue 04 vs Lutterworth Town

Page 1

THE OFFICIAL MATCH DAY PROGRAMME vs LUTTERWORTHTOWN UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH SATURDAY 19th AUGUST 2023 I 3pm KICK OFF ISSUE 04 BADGER SEASON 23 24

Bugbrooke St Michaels FC

The Badgers, founded 1929

CLUB COMMITTEE

PRESIDENT - WILLY MARRIOTT

CHAIRMAN - KEVIN GARDNER

VICE-CHAIRMAN - NIGEL THOMAS

CLUB SECRETARY - GRAHAM CONNEW

YOUTH SECRETARY & TREASURER- NICK INWOOD

FIXTURES SECRETARY - DAVE MELLOR

GROUNDSMAN - DANNY POWELL

WELFARE OFFICER – HELEN GILLIGAN

COMMITTEE – RICHARD GIBBON, STUART WYKES, RICHARD FAULKNER

MANAGEMENT / COACHING TEAM

FIRST TEAM – DALE WALTON

RESERVE TEAM - ROB JONES

‘B’ TEAM - ANDY DEMIDOW

LADIES TEAM - STUART WHITE

UNDER 18s BLACK (NSYL) - LOUIE GALBRAITH

UNDER 18s WHITE (NSYL) - DARREN SMITH

UNDER 18s (NDYAL) - DEANO GOMES

UNDER 16s - MARK LINNELL

UNDER 15s - SIMON WHEELER

UNDER 14s - RYAN NASH

UNDER 13s - CHRIS ASHTON

UNDER 12s BLACK - DANIEL BLAND / BEN SMITH

UNDER 12s WHITE - TONY HILL

UNDER 11s BLUE - IAN MARRIOTT

UNDER 11s WHITE - MIKE BRINKLEY

UNDER 11s GIRLS - STEPH NASH

UNDER 10s GIRLS - KERRY HOUGHTON

UNDER 9s - ANDREW JACKMAN

UNDER 8s - NEIL BYRNE

WELCOMETOTHESETT

From the Chairman …

As Chairman of Bugbrooke St Michael’s Football Club I would like to offer you a warm welcome to The Sett and hope that you have an enjoyable visit.

Here at Bugbrooke St Michaels we are working hard to develop a club with a strong inclusive ethos, offering opportunities for players of all ages and abilities.

We are extremely proud of our youth development programme, supporting players from seven all the way up to eighteen. Many of our young players go on to have success with one of adult teams, with some players going on to even bigger and better things!

There is a great wealth of local support for the club, everyone that helps does so on a voluntary basis and through everyone’s hard work and dedication we have been able to achieve and maintain FA Accredited status.

Whilst some clubs choose to reinvest their revenue into players wages, here at Bugbrooke we hold a different set of values. All of our profits go into upgrading our equipment and facilities, building a solid future-proof foundation that will be here for future generations to enjoy.

Whilst this can sometimes hold us back from gaining huge success on the pitch, we feel our excellent facilities, youth development programme and ethos on community set us apart from other clubs.

Success and progression starts from the beginnings.

Thank you for your support today, we hope that you enjoy the game, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Bugbrooke St Michaels Football Club would like to place on record our thanks to our team of volunteers, our advertisers and sponsors.

Kev
Exceptional Leadership Development Telephone: 0121 651 1200 Email: info@fuellearning.com THE FIBRE GROUP Fibre Optic Installation & Testing Specialists Fibre Surveyors UG/OH Installation Fault Finding Maintaining Network Communications Tel: 0800 865 4266 Email: info@thefibregroup.co.uk

BSMFC MANAGERS NOTES

We’d like to extend a warm welcome to the players, officials and supporters of Lutterworth Town who are the visitors to the Sett for today’s United Counties Premier Division South fixture.

Like ourselves today’s visitors haven’t had the start to the season that they would have hoped for, certainly from a results and points perspective. However, their points tally, and subsequent league position is possibly miss-leading, with their four league fixtures to date all resulting in narrow 2-1 reversals.

This suggests that a positive result isn’t too far away, lets hope they must wait another week, we certainly won’t be underestimating the task that we face today.

Following a tough run ourselves we go into today’s game full of confidence following our first win and points of the season courtesy of a fantastic

The lads were really up for the game. It was a local derby, under the lights against a Cogenhoe side containing no less than five ex-Badgers and, just to add some more spice, we had a few ex-Cooks on the teamsheet!

We started the game on the front foot and never looked back. We raced into a deserved 3-goal lead at the interval, added a fourth shortly after the re-start and then it was a case of managing the game, something that we did superbly.

One negative from the game was the loss of Eddie Panter who departed early on with a hamstring injury, hopefully it is nothing too serious and we will see Eddie back sooner rather than later.

As it was, it presented an opportunity to young Dylan Surace who stepped off the bench to turn in a good performance, even grabbing himself a goal. Archie May and Johnny Carey also got minutes for the first time this season, with both players joining the action as second-half substitutes.

We are excited to see how these young players develop over the course of the season, they know they will get opportunities at this Club, if you’re good enough then you’re old enough!

Tuesday’s game came on the back of a Home defeat against another fancied side in Aylestone Park. It’s not a game that we will dwell on as unfortunately, it was a one of those where we beat ourselves as opposed to the opposition beating us. It was a professional performance from Aylestone however we conceded avoidable goals at crucial times, 5-2 the final scoreline.

Before we sign off, we must wish the Reserves the best of luck (again!) as they kick off their season today with a Knock-Out Cup fixture at Wellingborough Whitworths, lets hope its Bugbrooke with their name in the hat at full time

Thank you for your support, enjoy the game and we look forward to seeing you again at the Dog & Duck when we take on Wellingborough Town next Saturday.

Dale & Daniel

“The lads were really up for the game. It was a local derby, under the lights against a Cogenhoe side containing no less than five exBadgers.”
performance at Cogenhoe on Tuesday.

BSMFC OUR HISTORY

Formed in 1929, Bugbrooke St. Michael’s Football Club took over from Bugbrooke United who folded in 1928 after being in existence since 1910.

The club, which is named after the local St. Michael’s and All Angels Church, initially took its place in the Northants Central Village League and had immediate success, winning the league title from 1931 to 1937.

The club closed for the Second World War before reforming in 1947 and were once again successful winning the CVL title from 1947 to 1950 and were Northants Lower Junior Cup runners-up in 1949, a feat repeated in 1954.

We finally won the N.F.A. Lower Junior Cup in 1956 and followed this in 1957 by winning the prestigious Daventry Charity Cup.

The club had its most successful years from 1966 to 1972 when we won the Northants Central Combination Premier title and again from 1976 to 1979 with 1977 also seeing us win the N.F.A. Lower Junior Cup again.

The club continued to succeed in the Northants Combination until 1987 when the we took the decision to join the United Counties League.

At this time, we decided to run two teams in the U.C.L. and two teams in the C.N.C. We also began our youth section and have continued this ever since. Today we run 4 adult sides, including a recently formed Ladies team as well as 15 youth teams.

The club has had continued to enjoy success across all age groups over those 30 years, the most notable being N.F.A. Junior Cup winners in 1992, N.F.A Lower Junior Cup in 1993 and U.C.L. Division One winners in 2001.

The reputation for producing successful youth teams has increased over those years and 4 of our youth players (under 16) have been signed by professional league clubs.

The achievements of the club on the field have always been supported by a hardworking committee whose chief officers are recorded on a roll in the clubhouse foyer. They along with supporters of the club have built up the excellent changing rooms and clubhouse since 1980.

We hope that you enjoy the facilities that they have provided over those years, and we look forward to seeing you again in the future

‘LOVE FOOTBALL. PROTECT THE GAME.’

A message from Bugbrooke St Michaels Football Club about antisocial and criminal behaviour

As we commence the new season we want to make you aware of new measures being taken across all of football, and the NLS, to ensure everyone can have a safe and enjoyable experience.

We are supporting strong action from the FA, and across the NLS to tackle antisocial and criminal behaviours that put all of us at risk.

Please remember the following activities are illegal, dangerous, have serious consequences and have no place in our game:

Carrying or using smoke bombs or pyros

Invading the pitch or entering the pitch without permission

Throwing objects onto the pitch

Drug use within the football ground

Discriminatory behaviour

For everyone’s safety, we will report anyone carrying out these offences to the police, which can result in a criminal record.

Anyone who enters the pitch without permission and those carrying or using smoke bombs or pyros will now receive an automatic club ban. These measures could also now apply to the parents or guardians of children involved in these activities.

This reflects the seriousness of the risks to fans and staff – pyros can burn at 2000 degrees Celsius and cause life changing injuries, while entering the pitch endangers players, managers and match officials. It also impacts the hard working volunteers, who ensure that our special part of the game continues to run.

We know those who commit these illegal acts do not represent the majority of supporters. Please work with us to call out the risks.

#LoveFootball #ProtectTheGame

TODAYS VISITORS

LUTTERWORTH TOWN

Lutterworth Town joined Division Two of the Leicestershire Senior League in 1955. In 1966–1967 they finished second and subsequently promoted to Division One.

The club won the Premier Division in 1990–1991, after which they moved from their Dunley Way ground to Coventry Road.

The club were relegated again at the end of the 1994–1995 season. Despite only finishing eleventh in 1996–1997 they were promoted to the Premier Division. They returned to Division One after finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 1999–2000.

The club returned to Dunley Way, their original home for the 2012/2013 season and continued with bottom half to mid-table finishes until the 2015/2016 where they were promoted to the Premier Division once again.

2016/2017 season became the clubs most successful season in their 62-year history after winning the Leicestershire Senior League unbeaten resulting in promotion to step 6 of the national league system for the first time ever.

2018/2019 season the club achieved promotion to the United Counties Premier division, the highest level the club has ever been, by winning the division one league in a closely contested final few weeks.

In the FA Competitions, the club has appeared in the FA Cup for the first time during the 2018-2019 season progressing to the preliminary round

The club has appeared 6 times in the FA Vase with the highest round progressed being the First Round in the 2017/2018 season.

Full name:

Nickname(s):

Founded:

Ground:

Capacity:

Manager:

League:

2022–23:

Lutterworth Town

The Swifts 1955 Dunley Way, Lutterworth Unknown

Will Andrew

United Counties Premier Division South

16th of 18, United Counties Premier Division South

Current Position

Last Time Out:

Form:

18th (P4, W0, D0, L4 Pts 0)

Lost 1-2 vs Racing Club Warwick L L L L L

COOKS DEVOURED BY HUNGRY BADGERS

The young Cooks team fell to their first defeat of the season as local rivals dictate the game at Compton Park.

Tuesday 15th August 2023

UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE – PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH

COGENHOE UNITED (0) 0 BUGBROOKE ST MICHAELS (3) 4

Badgers: Walton 13, Surace 32, Green 34, Shehi 46

Attendance: 102

Scott Carlin made just one change from Saturday and that was a late one as Lewis Green had been caught in traffic on the way back from working in Lincoln, so he had to settle for a place on the bench with Alex Parkes moving into the right-back berth. Bailey Weatherly returned to the starting line-up as he continues to recover from the injury that has kept him out recently and he lined-up against his former club, as did Ben Dimond, Leon Dalton, Jamie Hall and sub Charlie Pearson

Badgers boss Dale Walton made three changes with starts for Saturday’s subs Kev Shehi, Aiden Webster and Tom Binder. There was no place for former Cooks starlet Shad Reza who took on a spectator's role, but we did see Joe Malkin, Dan Porter and Matt Bazeley all return to the place they once called home.

The Badgers were first to show, but Dylan Wilson sent over a decent cross from the left looking for Hall without success, then Malkin sent Ed Panter through on the right, but he opted to shoot early from an angle and didn’t cause Adam North any real issues in saving his effort. Calvin Green has built himself a great reputation as a free-kick specialist over the years and he was handed his opportunity 25-yards out in a central position and he didn’t disappoint, forcing North to tip his well struck effort over the bar. The ensuing corner was also a good one, but the Badgers man could only steer his near post header into the side-netting. The visitors were dealt a blow on 12 minutes when striker Ed Panter was forced off with a thigh injury, meaning an early chance for Dylan Surace, a summer signing who scored 23 goals in 23 games for AFC Rushden & Diamonds U23 in the Northants Combination last season.

The sub didn’t appear to hurt them too much as Bugbrooke took the lead seconds later when North did well to get his fingertips to push a corner away from the centre, but it fell to skipper Tom Walton who took a touch before firing home at the near post with Stan Channell on the line getting a touch, but unable to keep it out of the net. Dalton was booked for a foul on Green after 17 minutes, while Channell did well down the right with a smart turn followed up with a burst of pace to get to the edge of the box before hitting a low shot across Luke Reeve, but the keeper got down well and got his hand to the ball at full stretch. The Badgers were looking quicker and hungrier than the Cooks meaning most of the action was in the Cooks half, but they did have some defending to do as the Cooks had a brief spell of the attacking play. Walton defended well as Wilson played the ball over the top for Channell, Leon won a corner from an aerial dual in the box from a long Weatherly throw and then Dimond headed just over when Hall sent over a good cross from the right, but the Badgers still had the one-goal advantage. Hall found Wilson on the left and he sent over a cross that was won in the air by a defender, but the ball dropped for Leon 20-yards out and although his shot was wide of the target, he was caught late earning the Cooks a free-kick. With no Cal Farmer on the field, Hall took over the honours, but his free-kick was straight at Reeve who caught after it bounced.

A great effort on the volley by Shehi from wide on the left wasn’t far off target while Green’s low strike was an easy one for North to take. The Cooks keeper was picking the ball out of his net again though on 32 minutes when Surace received the ball totally unmarked inside the box to the right and had plenty of time to balance himself before placing a low shot just inside the far post. Two minutes later things got even worse for the Cooks as Webster had acres of space on the right and sent over a cross that Surace met with a header that smacked against the crossbar. The ball then fell for Green on the edge of the box and hit an absolute rocket into the top corner with a fantastic finish to make the score 0-3 with just 34 minutes played.

BSMFC MATCH REPORT

A Weatherly throw was cut out but fell for Bell-Toxtle inside the box, but his first-time shot was heading wide when it hit Hall in front of him, then Tom Smyth was cautioned for the visitors after charging North down as he kicked the ball down field. Hall headed over from a Parkes corner, while Porter did the same down the other end moments late. Channell clipped a ball over the top for Hall who went down under the challenge of Walton with referee Paul Mihalache awarding the Cooks a freekick and booking the Badgers skipper, but with the freekick coming to nothing, the two teams went in for what would be very different half-time team talks.

Half-time: Cooks 0 Badgers 3

No changes at the break for either team, or for the game as the Badgers went four-up within a minute of the restart. Some great work from Porter set up Shehi on the left and he had time and space to step inside and pick his spot past North at the near post. North quickly made a good save to deny a powerful Surace shot from the right, while the Cooks went close to pulling one back when Mallard got a touch to a Parkes free-kick, but the ball rolled the wrong side of the upright. Green played in Shehi with a great pass, but he didn’t utilise the space he had and pulled his shot wide of the mark before the first change of the game saw Biff replace Bell-Toxtle with Green. Webster caused the Cooks a few headaches down the left as he sent a dangerous ball across the box, then a minute later forced a good near post save out of North. A double change just before the hour saw Hall and Channell replaced by the returning Tommy Curry and Jack Connor and the next time the ball went out of play, Bugbrooke brought on Maurice Alhassan for the injured Porter up top.

Curry was straight into the action with a ball up to Connor who sent it low across the box with, then Biff made his final two changes with Charlie Pearson and Damian Osoimoejiokhian coming on for Weatherly and Mobbs respectively. A floodlight flicker had the Cooks wondering whether a power failure would save them, but not even the electricity board were going to help us get out of the mess we found ourselves in tonight. Shehi made way for Bazeley with the sub soon to be playing a good ball to find Alhassan inside the box on the left and he forced a good save out of North with his powerful shot. Leon played the ball up to Curry who checked back on the edge of the box before laying it into the path of Connor’s run, but it was fractionally behind it’s intended target this time. Leon then beat his man before firing over from 25-yards out before another change saw Binder make way for Archie May. Connor hooked over a Pearson free-kick from close range, but it didn’t matter as he had been flagged offside, while Connor picked up his second yellow card of the season for a foul.

Great play down the left by Curry saw him whip in a dangerous cross that took a deflection off a defender and just elude Leon at the far post, whilst the tenth sub of the night saw Johnny Carey come on for Calvin Green with 76 minutes on the clock. Green, the kind of experienced player we perhaps lack right now, ran the show from midfield and would surely be any neutral watching’s man-of-the-match this evening. Another good cross from Curry almost found Connor in the centre, while Bazeley turned nicely on the edge of the box down the other end, but fired his shot the wrong side of the post. Alhassan fired over the top from outside the box, then Curry’s pace again caused the home defence a few problems before he was pushed to the ground by Malkin. Pearson took this free-kick from wide on the left, but it was far too deep for anybody to convert. Good battling by Leon allowed Pearson to look for Curry’s run, but Reeve was very quickly out of his box to sweep things up. A nice touch by Parkes set up a chance for Pearson just inside the box, but his first touch didn’t bring the ball under control and his hurried shot was blocked.

Full-time: Cooks 0 Badgers 3

Cooks; 1. Adam North 2. Alex Parkes 3. Kieron Mobbs (sub 17. Damian Osoimoejiokhian 61) 4. Nathan BellToxtle (sub 16. Lewis Green 54) 5. Ben Dimond 6. Harley Mallard © 7. Stan Channell (sub 14. Tommy Curry 58) 8. Dalton Leon 9. Jamie Hall (sub 12. Jack Connor 58) 10. Bailey Weatherly (sub 15. Charlie Pearson 61) 11. Dylan Wilson

Badgers; 1. Luke Reeve 2. Joe Malkin 3. Kev Shehi (sub 12. Matt Bazeley 64) 4. Joel Powell 5. Tom Smith 6. Tom Walton 7, Aiden Webster 8. Calvin Green (sub 18. Johnny Carey 74) 9. Ed Panter (sub 17. Dylan Surace 11) Dan Porter (sub 14. Maurice Alhassan 59) 11. Tom Binder (sub 15. Archie May 71).

Referee: Paul Mihalache

Assistants: Ben Bright & Luke Pilley

BSMFC A GERMAN VISITOR

We had a surprise visitor at the Sett earlier this week as Karl and his Mum took a detour during their holiday in the UK to pay us a visit.

Karl lives in Vohl and made friends with several of our youth players during our recent German exchange tour.

Many thanks to the Nash’s and our Under 14s who stepped in to look after our German friends who we look forward to hosting at the Sett next year.

BSMFC 2023/24 RESULTS & APPEARANCES

DATE OPPOSITION VENUE RESULT SCORE STARTINGLINE-UP 29.07.22 StNeotsTown Away Lost 0-3 REEVE CALVER SHEHI SMYTH POWELL WALTON 01.08.22 RacingClubWarwick Home Lost 0-3 REEVE SPENCER BAZELEY SMYTH POWELL WALTON 05.08.22 HinckleyLRFC-FACup Home Lost 2-3 REEVE MALKIN BAZELEY SMYTH POWELL WALTON 12.08.23 AylestonePark Home Lost 2-5 REEVE MALKIN BAZELEY SMYTH POWELL 1 WALTON 15.08.23 CogenhoeUnited Away Won 4-0 REEVE MALKIN SHEHI 1 SMYTH POWELL WALTON 1 19.08.23 LutterworthTown Home 29.08.23 WellingboroughTown Away 02.09.23 DesboroughTown Home 09.09.23 LeicesterNirvana Away 16.09.23 Yaxley Away 23.09.23 RaundsTown–FAVase Away 26.09.23 NewportPagnellTown Home 30.09.23 G.N.GOadbyTown Home 14.10.23 GodmanchesterRovers Away 24.10.23 DaventryTown Home 28.10.23 MarchTownUnited Away 31.10.23 CoventryUnited Home 04.11.23 EynesburyRovers Home 11.11.23 Yaxley Home 15.11.23 RugbyBorough Away 18.11.23 AylestonePark Away 25.11.23 Histon Home 02.12.23 NewportPagnellTown Away 09.12.23 RCWarwick Away 16.12.23 CogenhoeUnited Home 23.12.23 EynesburyRovers Away 26.12.23 EasingtonSports Home 30.12.23 CoventryUnited Away 06.01.24 LutterworthTown Away 13.01.24 LeicesterNirvana Home 20.01.24 DaventryTown Away 27.01.24 RugbyBorough Home 10.02.24 MarchTownUnited Home 17.02.24 G.N.GOadbyTown Away 02.03.24 Histon Away 16.03.24 DesboroughTown Away 23.03.24 StNeotsTown Home 01.04.24 EasingtonSports Away 06.04.24 GodmanchesterRovers Home 13.04.24 WellingboroughTown Home

SUBS

A.WEBSTER ALHASSAN PANTER PORTER MALKIN SPENCER REZA BINDER HALLMARK J.WEBSTER

A.WEBSTER ALHASSAN PANTER PORTER REZA SHEHI CALVER BINDER MALKIN J.WEBSTER

A.WEBSTER ALHASSAN PANTER 1 PORTER REZA 1 GREEN SURACE BINDER

GREEN ALHASSAN 1 PANTER PORTER REZA SHEHI SURACE BINDER A.WEBSTER J.WEBSTER

A.WEBSTER GREEN 1 PANTER PORTER BINDER ALHASSAN SURACE 1 BAZELEY CAREY MAY

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BSMFC LEAGUE TABLE

NEXT UP 19/08 vs Lutterworth Town (Home) 29/08 vs Wellingborough Town (Away) 02/09 vs Desborough Town (Home)
DIVISION
as at 18/08/23
PREMIER
SOUTH
FORM GUIDE L L L L W
POS P W D L GD PTS 1 St Neots Town 4 4 0 0 10 12 2 March Town United 4 4 0 0 7 12 3 Racing Club Warwick 4 3 1 0 8 10 4 Aylestone Park 4 3 0 1 7 9 5 Newport Pagnell Town 4 3 0 1 4 9 6 Yaxley FC 4 3 0 1 4 9 7 Wellingborough Town 4 3 0 1 3 9 8 Cogenhoe United 4 2 1 1 0 7 9 Daventry Town 4 2 0 2 5 6 10 Rugby Borough 4 2 0 2 3 6 11 Godmanchester Rovers 4 2 0 2 3 6 12 G.N.G Oadby Town 4 2 0 2 -8 6 13 Leicester Nirvana 4 1 1 2 -4 4 14 Coventry United 4 1 1 2 -5 4 15 Bugbrooke St.Michaels 4 1 0 3 -4 3 16 Easington Sports 4 0 2 2 -3 2 17 Desborough Town 4 0 2 2 -5 2 18 Lutterworth Town 4 0 0 4 -4 0 19 Histon FC 4 0 0 4 -7 0 20 Eynesbury Rovers 4 0 0 4 -14 0

Aylestone Park Vs Coventry United

Bugbrooke St.Michaels Vs Lutterworth Town

Cogenhoe United Vs Histon FC

Daventry Town Vs Desborough Town

G.N.G Oadby Town Vs Racing Club Warwick

Leicester Nirvana Vs Yaxley FC

March Town United Vs St Neots Town

Newport Pagnell Town Vs Eynesbury Rovers

Walsall Wood Vs Rugby Borough

Wellingborough Town Vs Felixstowe & Walton United

Bourne Town Reserves Vs Kempston Rovers Reserves

Desborough Town Reserves Vs Buckingham Development

Godmanchester Rovers Reserves Vs Wellingborough Town Reserves

Raunds Town Reserves Vs Northampton ON Chenecks Reserves

Harborough Town Reserves Vs Irchester United Reserves

Huntingdon Town U23s Vs Rothwell Corinthians Reserves

Wellingborough Whitworth Reserves Vs Bugbrooke St.Michaels Reserves

07568 087449

BSMFC TODAYS FIXTURES Tel:
Email: RichFaulknerElectrical@outlook.com
DIVISION SOUTH
PREMIER
FA CUP PRELIMINARY ROUND Easington Sports Vs Reading CIty
DIVISION
RESERVE
RESERVE DIVISION KO CUP

BSMFC LEAGUE TABLE

RESERVE DIVISION

NEXT UP 19/08
26/08
Godmanchester
02/09
Huntingdon
U23s
vs Wellingborough Whitworths (Away) - Cup
vs
Rovers (Home)
vs
Town
(Away)
as at 18/08/23
FORM GUIDE N/A
POS P W D L GD PTS 1 Buckingham Development 1 1 0 0 8 3 2 Wellingborough Whitworth Reserves 1 1 0 0 4 3 3 Northampton ON Chenecks Reserves 1 1 0 0 2 3 4 Godmanchester Rovers Reserves 1 1 0 0 2 3 5 Wellingborough Town Reserves 1 1 0 0 1 3 6 Kempston Rovers Reserves 1 1 0 0 1 3 7 Bourne Town Reserves 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Bugbrooke St.Michaels Reserves 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 Irchester United Reserves 1 0 0 1 -1 0 10 Desborough Town Reserves 1 0 0 1 -1 0 11 Harborough Town Reserves 1 0 0 1 -2 0 12 Rothwell Corinthians Reserves 1 0 0 1 -2 0 13 Raunds Town Reserves 1 0 0 1 -4 0 14 Huntingdon Town U23s 1 0 0 1 -8 0
MATCH BALL
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Better than Cruyff”

Johan Cruyff is a legend. Everybody knows that. He is revered in his home country and across the globe for both his ability on the pitch, and his genius off it. The Dutchman is undoubtedly one of the greatest of all time, with a tiny handful of players that can claim to have played the game better. But Cruyff himself only ever conceded that one man was better than him, one man that most have never heard of. Willy Dullens.

Dullens was born in the final months of the Second World War, in the Dutch village of Broeksittard, surviving a conflict-induced famine in his early months. Rarely without a ball at his feet, Dullens trained for six hours each day, and spent every night reading Voetballen Doe Je Zo, ‘This is How you Play Football’. He was quickly a master with the ball at his feet. Returning from the pit one day, his father asked young Willy how many keepie uppies he had managed that day. The answer - 3500was astonishing. When he reached 6000, he stopped. Nobody, he believed, would ever beat that.

He played for his local amateur side, using his brother’s birth certificate to trick authorities when he was just 14. He shone against fully grown adults. It didn’t take long for the professionals to take notice, and he was snapped up by local second tier side Sittardia, along with his two brothers.

Dullens could not have been more different to Cruyff. While the mercurial Total Footballer represented rebellious youth in the capital, the Sittardia midfielder embodied the working class and strict Christian values of Broeksittard. He never smoked; he never drank. After playing poorly in one game, he realised he had gone to bed too late and set himself a bedtime. He was quiet, and let his feet do the talking.

18 goals in his debut season saw Sittardia promoted. Although he couldn’t keep the minnows in the top-flight, his talent was noticed. He started to get called up to the national youth teams, where he first encountered Cruyff. They would eventually become friends, but Dullens couldn’t believe how much the Ajax man smoked.

To treat his body that way was inconceivable. He noted how talented Cruyff was though, but never felt inferior to him. He would later recall that they never lost a match they played together.

Despite relegation, a series of wonder goals ensured that he was not forgotten. Whilst playing in the second tier, he got his first Oranje senior call up, and mesmerized an experienced Belgian defence at De Kuip. The day after his debut, Dullens was the second coming, around whom Dutch football should be built. Two weeks later, he did the same to Scotland.

Despite playing in the second tier, Dullens was named Dutch player of the year. Ahead of Cruyff. This would be his greatest accolade, and his undoing. Feyenoord spent the summer trying to sign the young man that could have them challenging Ajax once again, but he lined up for Sittardia once more.

In a friendly before the season opener, with his side 4-1 up, his teammates relaxed. But not Dullens. He demanded nothing less than perfection, and there was a crowd to entertain. Dribble after mazy dribble frustrated the Vitesse defence, until finally one challenge came in too late, and snapped his knee. The referee didn’t even stop the game, and it was barely reported. Nobody understood the seriousness of the incident, except Dullens himself.

The Sittardia doctor told him to go home and rest, despite his insistence that he should go to the hospital. He sat on the sidelines for four weeks, as his side started poorly. When he came back, he was in pain. Ice didn’t help, and his manager had no sympathy, needing him for a relegation battle. He even received two more caps for the Netherlands, but it wasn’t the same player.

Travelling to the best knee doctor in Europe didn’t help, and after an eight-hour surgery the worst was confirmed. Dullens retired in 1969, at the age of 22, but not before one final swansong.

Cruyff and his former teammates arranged a friendly, as a way of supporting him. In front of 55,000 fans, the great Dutch hope limped out onto the pitch at the Amsterdam Arena.

He knew, deep down, that this would be his last time in a stadium for a long time. The pain of not playing the game was too much. He is one of footballs great what ifs.

Enjoy the game!

Martyn Green

The Untold Game

Find us at TheUntoldGame.co.uk or on social media

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✓ ACCOUNTANCY ✓ ACCOUNTS SOFTWARE SUPPORT ✓ AUDIT AND ASSURANCE ✓ BOOK-KEEPING & VAT RETURNS ✓ BUSINESS FORMATIONS & VALUATIONS ✓ PAYROLL BUREAU ✓ PERSONAL AND CORPORATE TAXATION Northampton 30 Cranford House Harborough Road, Kingsthorpe Northampton NN2 7AZ Telephone: (01604) 714600 Fax: (01604) 791318 Rushden Unit 2 135-137 Wellingborough Road Rushden Northants NN10 9TE Telephone: (01933) 356633 Fax: (01933) 318306 Wellingborough 45 Oxford Street Wellingborough Northants NN8 4JH Telephone: (01933) 224107 Fax: (01933) 279010

TODAY’S LINE UPS

BUGBROOKE ST MICHAELS

Manager:

Dale Walton

Colours: White / Black / Black

FROM:

Luke Reeve

Callum Calver

Matt Bazeley

Brandon Hallmark

Tom Simmons

Tom Smyth

Tom Walton

Joel Powell

Tom Binder

Johnny Carey

Trent Oakes

Kieran Spencer

Aidan Webster

Jake Webster

Eddie Panter

Maurice Alhassan

Kevin Shehi

Dan Porter

Calvin Green

Joe Malkin

Dylan Surace

Shad Reza

Freddie King

Archie May-Corcoran

LUTTERWORTH TOWN

Manager:

Will Andrew

Colours: Navy Blue / Blue / Blue

FROM:

Benjamin Adomako

Lewis Allton

Michael Budu

Wade Ball

Jack Bonell

Elliot Butler

Warren Butlin

Bradley Coleman

Kyle Crawford

Nuno Monteiro

D'lanie James

Tom Marrs

Callum Morris

Karabo Motshweni

Mustafa Nas

Stewart Ndlovu

Junior Ngwenya

Divine Emmanuel Okyere

Dylan Parish

Hanibal Sallami

James Sanderson

Jordan Small

Kyran Taylor

Lee Tyers

Mark Warren

Harvey Westwood

Brandon Williams

Hne Wilson

Luke Wilson

MATCH OFFICIALS

Andy Halladay - Clinton Ormshaw - Kenneth Wells
Bugbrooke St Michaels FC The Badgers, founded 1929 Birds Close, Gayton Road, Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire NN7 3PH Tel: 01604 830707 Website: bugbrookesmfc.co.uk BUGBROOKE ST MICHAELS FC proudly sponsored by

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