Hengrove Athletic v Bradford Town

“THE GROVE”

Official matchday programme of Hengrove Athletic F.C

Toolstation Western League’s

“Best Programme - Division One” 2022/23

Welcome to the AVB Stadium!

Toolstation Western League Division 1

Hengrove Athletic v Bradford Town

Saturday 13th April 2024 3.00pm

Hengrove Athletic Football Club

Founded 1948 - celebrating our 75th anniversary this season

Main club sponsor for season 2023-24 - AVB Commercial Vehicle Repairs

Club Officials Club Honours

Chairman

Treasurer

Secretary/Media

Groundsman

First Team Manager

Coach

Coach

Coach

Physiotherapist

Kit Manager

Reserve Manager

Asst. Manager

U18’s Managers

Club Committee

Alan Burton

Sean Day

Jamie Hillman

Giorgio Mancini

Pete Stenner

Mike Greatbanks Alf Bosley Cup winners

Mike Greatbanks 1958/59, 1963/64

Martin McConachie Somerset Junior Cup winners

Jamie Hirons 1964/65

Jamie Hillman Somerset League Cup winners

Jack Richardson 1979/80

Ian Jones Somerset Senior Cup winners

Mike Stone 1979/80

Matt Taylor Promoted to Som. County Prem.

Pete Stenner 1995/96

Somerset Senior Cup runners-up

Sean Day 2003/04, 2004/05

Nilton Crane Som. County Premier winners

Rich Griffiths 2005/06

Damian Chilcott

Western League Div 1 runners-up

Jon Berry 2012/13, 2016/17

Nilton Crane Les Phillips Cup winners

Mike Greatbanks 2015/16

Ian Jones

Bristol u18 Comb Div 1 winners

Martin McConachie 2021/22

Mike Stone

Bristol u18 Comb. Plate winners

Alex Sully 2021/22

SECRETARY WANTED

This position is voluntary and is vacant due to the current secretary standing down at the end of this season in April after seven years in the role.

The role involves dealing with the main administration of the football side of the club meaning that the successful applicant should be a good communicator at all levels, conscientious and able to work to deadlines

(Duties include, but are not restricted to...)

Dealing with opposition clubs & match officials regarding forthcoming fixtures

Completing post match administration in a timely manner

Corresponding with league officials on league matters

Dealing with the County FA (Somerset) on disciplinary matters

Attending various league meetings across the season (maybe 5-6 per year)

Attending club committee meetings on a monthly basis

Using Full Time & Club Portal, the FA's IT system to register players & acknowledge fines

In the first instance, please apply to Mike Greatbanks, chairman, by emailing him at michael.greatbanks@btconnect.com

This season’s “Man of the Match” sponsor.....

Today’s Fixtures

Toolstation Western League Premier Division

Barnstaple Town v Nailsea & Tickenham

Bridgwater United v Saltash United

Clevedon Town v Ilfracombe Town

Millbrook v Brixham

Oldland Abbotonians v Falmouth Town

Torpoint Athletic v Shepton Mallet

Wellington v Helston Athletic

Welton Rovers v Buckland Athletic

Toolstation Western League Division One

AEK Boco v Radstock Town

Bishop Sutton v Wells City

Cadbury Heath v Cribbs Reserves

Cheddar v Brislington

Gillingham Town v Hallen

Hengrove Athletic v Bradford Town

Keynsham Town v Middlezoy Rovers

Shirehampton v Odd Down

Warminster Town v Longwell Green Sports

Wincanton Town v Bristol Telephones

Top Scorers Season 2023/24

Toolstation Western League Premier Division

Jared Lewington (Buckland Athletic) - 34

Jack Thorne (Bridgwater United) - 27

Ryan Richards (Torpoint Athletic) - 25

Oscar Massey (Falmouth Town) - 24

Rikki Shepherd (Helston Athletic) - 22

Rubin Wilson (Falmouth Town) - 21

Phil Ormrod (Street) - 20

Jack Taylor (Bridgwater United) - 19

Sam Beresford (Clevedon Town) - 19

Toolstation Western League Division One

Ethan Feltham (Portishead Town) - 50

Matt Garner (Wincanton Town) - 33

Harry Warwick (Wells City) - 29

Louis Snailham (Shirehampton) - 26

Liam Winter (Middlezoy Rovers) - 25

Liam Clayton (Cribbs Reserves) - 23

Joe Beardwell (Bitton) - 22

Jacob Reader (Radstock Town) - 19

Jack Witcombe (Bradford Town) - 19

Scott Bamford (Shirehampton) - 18

Matt Brown (Longwell Green Sports) - 18

Milo Murgatroyd (Odd Down) - 18

PLAYER SPONSORS 2023/24 SEASON

Jack Cousins

Lewis Bond-Kendall

Regan Sollars

Rohan Hartrey

Dylan Powell

Louie Davies

PLAYER SPONSORS 2023/24 SEASON

Aidan Jones

Ben Britton

Jacob Wylde

Jacob Grinnell

Oscar Sullivan

If you would like to sponsor a first team player, please email secretary@hengroveathletic.com with your logo and which player you’d like to sponsor.

The cost is £50 for the season and your name will appear alongside the player’s name in the online matchday programme.

With the under-18’s ...

WESTERN COUNTIES FLOODLIGHT YOUTH LEAGUE NORTH DIVISION

Thu

Tue

Tue

With the Reserves ...

BRISTOL & SUBURBAN LEAGUE SENIOR DIVISION

With the Reserves ...

BRISTOL & SUBURBAN LEAGUE

SENIOR DIVISION

* - AFC Mangotsfield withdrew November 2023.

TODAY’S

Hengrove Athletic FC

Green shirts, Green shorts & White socks

Jordan ANSTEY

Ben BRITTON

Ashton BURTON

Regan BURTON

Louie FARROW

Ethan HARDY

James HORROCKS

Harvey IMPEY

Jack JONES

Marcus KELLY

Connor KINGDON

Giorgio MANCINI

Pervez NEDAIE

Sonny PARKER

Dylan POWELL

Pete SHEPPARD

Bradley SKIDMORE

Drew THOMAS

Manager - Jamie HILLMAN

Coach - Jack RICHARDSON

Coach - Ian JONES

Coach - Mike STONE

Physio - Matt TAYLOR

SQUADS

Bradford Town

Blue & White shirts, Blue shorts & Blue socks

Owen BARTLEY

Corey GARDNER

Scott HATCHER

Dan JORDAN

Sammy JORDAN

Joel KIRBY

Tom MACK

Harry NEIL

Jack NEIL

Jack NEWMAN

Owen PEARCE

Jordan PINDER

Matt RICHARDS

Josh RODDY

Fabian STANISLAS

Will STEAD

Sam THOMSON

Ben WICKENS

Jack WITCOMBE

Manager - Chris CARR

Assistant Manager - Rob SIMMONDS

Physio - Will BUNDY

Assistants

Callum TAYLOR-BARRY

Lewis COOK

The Early Years (1992 - 1996)

Bradford Town F.C. was founded in 1992 by Les and Pat Stevens, joining Division Two of the Wiltshire League. Home matches were played at St Laurence School in Bradford on Avon where the pitch was roped off before each game, dugouts were carried to the pitch and the half time tea was made in the boot of a car.

Following a short spell at Trowbridge Town’s old Frome Road ground the club came home to Bradford in 1996 moving into Trowbridge Road. The ground was established in 1912 as the home of rubber works team Spencer Moulton FC and latterly Avon Bradford FC, before Town became custodians.

Western League Success (2005 - 2014)

Bradford achieved promotion to the Western League in the 2005-06 season under the leadership of Mark Hodkinson after finishing runners up in the Wiltshire League Premier Division. Former players Paul Shanley and his assistant Mark Edwards took over at the helm in 2008-09 season which saw a 3rd place league finish and floodlights installed at the ground.

The following season saw the installation of a 100-seat main stand, a 4th place league finish and a 2nd Round appearance in the FA Vase. Town then posted successive 6th, 5th and 4th place league finishes before embarking on a year to remember in 2013-14 when they won the Division One title by 13 points.

League consolidation and FA Vase campaigns (2015 - 2018)

The team’s first season in the Premier Division concluded with a respectable 8th place finish but it was their exploits in the FA Vase which proved to be the highlight of the campaign. A gate of 621 at Trowbridge Road witnessed a 3-1 victory over Melksham Town in the 4th Round, their sixth scalp of the campaign, before bowing out in the next round. Another 8th place finish was recorded the following year whilst after three victories in the FA Cup, they were edged out 3-2 by Chippenham Town in the 2nd Qualifying Round.

After eight years in charge, the 2016-17 season began with Paul Shanley stepping down, replaced by ex- Forest Green stalwart Danny Greaves, assisted by former fans favourite Aaron Wilson. After 25 tireless years as Chairman Les Stevens handed over the reins to Mark Hodkinson with Jon Phillips as deputy, both of whom had long standing connections with the club.

An impressive 5th place finish, was bettered in 2017-18 by 4th place in a thrilling campaign which also saw the club reach the FA Vase 5th Round again. The long trip to Redcar however proved a bridge too far as Town went down 2-0 to eventual Northern League champions Marske United on a weekend that will live long in the memory of the 100-plus travelling supporters.

New management and a League Cup triumph (2018 - 22)

After two excellent seasons Danny Greaves left Bradford for Frome Town. Following Rob Mallet’s short reign in the hot-seat in October 2018, former Larkhall Athletic boss Wayne Thorne was appointed manager who guided Town to a solid 7th place finish. 2019-20 saw a third FA Vase 5th Round appearance but were again eliminated in front of nearly 500 at Trowbridge Road. The season also saw Mark Hodkinson step down as Chairman with deputy Jon Phillips taking over at the helm. The team were lying in 3rd place in March with the best points per game ratio before the Coronavirus struck. The management pair subsequently decided to move on with former team captain Lee Davidson appointed as manger and Jamie Lyons as his assistant.

The 2020-21 league campaign was cut short again due to Covid-19 but saw Town claim their first trophy since 2014 when Bradford defeated a much fancied Bridgwater Town side 1-0 at Street FC. Town would be transferred across to play the 2021-22 season in the Hellenic League Premier Division for the first time, posting a 6th place finish.

Club Restructuring (2022 - 2023)

After years of service to the club Jon Phillips and Mark Hodkinson stepped down from duties in 2022 leading to the establishment of 10-strong new committee and former Town player Steve Rose appointed as Chairman. After an exodus of management and squad members, former player Jamie Jordan became team manager in November 2022 assisted by Chris Carr and Robbie Simmonds.

Their valiant efforts to rebuild the side in mid-season unfortunately weren’t enough to avoid relegation in 2022-23 from the Hellenic League. With many people rallying round behind the scenes however, the club is now on a sound footing and looking forward to the new season back in the Western League Division One.

HENGROVE ATHLETIC STATS

THANK YOU TO OUR BOARD SPONSORS

If you would like to join our board sponsors, please call Martin McConachie on 07432 614494 or email secretary@hengroveathletic.com for further details.

The cost is £250 for the first year (including a one-off manufacture cost of £100) then £100 per year thereafter. This includes adverts on our website and in the programme.

AVPI

Apollo Cleaning Solutions

Proud producers of “The Grove” - Winner of “Best Div 1 programmeToolstation Western League 2022/2023”

Freelance Writing

Website Management Football Administration

Social Media Management Programme Production

New book out in 2025 - “Team Of My Life”

tel: 07432 614494

email: martin@hamdonmedia.co.uk

twitter: @HamdonMart

web: www.hamdonmedia.co.uk

* - season declared null & void ** - season curtailed *** - current Bold type - promoted Italic type - relegated

Supporting the club...

There are several more ways of getting your company name out there that we can help you with. Perimeter banners, perimeter boards, programme advertising, website advertising.. they are all available within the club.

Perimeter Boards are one option that many companies have chosen recently. Match action pictures often appear online either on websites or social media so your company board could be seen regularly as well as those who attend the match.

Perimeter boards cost £250 for the first year (including a one-off manufacturing charge of £100) then cost £100 a year thereafter.

Perimeter Banners are a similar option but made from a hard wearing fabric. The same size as a board (2.4m x 915mm or 8’ x 3’), they cost £200 (including a one off manufacturing charge of £75) then cost £100 a year thereafter.

Programme Advertising has also proven popular in recent seasons. After having “gone online” in recent seasons, the club have decided to go back to printing a copy for its supporters, a popular move with many non-league fans too.

Advertising costs just £100 for a full page (A5) or £50 for a half page; this is for a full season of matchday programmes so this season, at least 21 programmes. You can change the actual composition of the programme each week to keep it topical and/or time sensitive!

Website Advertising is the cheapest form of advertising and is just £25. For this, your link/logo will sit on a carousel on the front page and when visitors click the link, it will take them to your website. Our club website is one of the most popular ones in the league with more than 2,000 unique visits each week during the season.

If you are interested in any of these deals, please email the club secretary, Martin McConachie, on secretary@hengroveathletic.com or ring 07432 614494.

Hengrove Athletic Club History

Hengrove Athletic F.C was formed in 1948 from players demobbed from National Service. As a footnote, there is also wartime history to the club colours of green and white. With rationing and many shortages, football shirts were virtually unobtainable, so all of the members of Hengrove Athletic F.C donated an ordinary white shirt and a mother of one of the players kindly dyed them green in the bath at her Knowle home. The colour green had no symbolic meaning. It was the only colour available at the time! The founding fathers of Hengrove Athletic F.C then agreed to retain these colours for the new club.

A successful application was made to join the Bristol and Suburban League and they were placed in Division 3 for the start of 1948/49 season. A Reserve XI was established in 1950 and in the same year Hengrove Hall was rented for club meetings and social gatherings. The club continued to expand and the ‘A’ XI started in 1953, followed by the 30-plus XI in 1959. These four football teams made Hengrove Athletic F.C the largest club in the Bristol and Suburban League at the time – after just eleven years. A ‘B’ XI replaced the 30 plus in 1962. The long search for a ground came to fruition on Sunday 7 June 1964 when Norton Lane was officially opened and Hengrove Athletic F.C took up residence.

The first XI was accepted by the Somerset Senior League for the 1974/75 season, where they remained until 2005/06 when they were runaway, unbeaten, Premier Division Champions and joined the Western League for the start of the 2006/07 season. Our Floodlights and Stand were installed at the ground in 2007/08 to achieve the necessary ground grading of the Western League. The EWW Stand was installed at the ground in 2012/13 to achieve the necessary ground grading of entry into the FA Cup and future possible promotions.

The first XI finished runners-up in Western League Division One in 2012/13, achieving a promotion to the Premier Division. They also lifted the Les Phillips League Cup (Western League) in 2015/16 before winning promotion to the Premier Division again the following season. In 2017/18 under new manager John Durbin, the club finished ninth in the Premier Division, their highest ever position and were also the highest placed Bristol side in the division. However, this was followed by relegation back to Division One in 2018/19.

Jamie Hillman returned for a third spell as manager in the summer of 2019 but the next two seasons failed to play to a finish due to the COVID pandemic. Last season, 2021/22, did get completed and for the fourth year running, the Grove ended in mid table. This year sees the club celebrate its 75th anniversary.

A guide to away games this season in Toolstation Western League Division 1 (mileages shown via www.theaa.com)

Fixtures & Results 2023/24

Fixtures & Results 2023/24