2022-11-08 Leighton Town v Harpenden Town Programme by leightontownfc

SSMFL PREMIER DIVISION 2022/23 SEASON

BELL CLOSE LAKE ST LEIGHTON BUZZARD LU7 !RX

TUESDAY 8th NOVEMBER 2022 KO 7:45pm

•

LEIGHTON TOWN v HARPENDEN TOWN Admission: Adults £8 - Concessions £5 - Under 11’s Free

HOME KIT SPONSORED BY BUTTLE’S & GEORGE LINES

MANY THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT IT IS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED

CLUB OFFICIALS & COMMITTEE PRESIDENT : MIKE HIDE CHAIRMAN : JOHN MCLOUGHLIN VICE CHAIRMAN & DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL SEAN DOWNEY TREASURER SHAUN CAVANAGH CLUB & FIXTURES SECRETARY : ROY PARKER

GENERAL COMMITTEE JOHN TURNER DAVID FRIEND IAN STEPHENS

LEIGHTONTOWNFOOTBALLCLUB BELLCLOSELAKEST LEIGHTONBUZZARDLU71RX TELE;01525373311

WELCOME TO BELL CLOSE

Good Evening to you all and welcome to tonights game against Harpenden Town. We welcome everyone associated with their Club and hope they enjoy tonights game We also extend our welcome to our 3 Match Officials ,Referee, Andy Hallyday and his assistants, Andy Barrett and Mark Mellor. We hope they also enjoy the game and our hospitality aftter the game. Harpenden are currently in 14th place in the League with 14 points and our games against them particularly at Harpenden are usually very difficult games and we wont be expecting anything different tonight. On Saturday the boys gave an entertaining display against Colney Heath and in the second half they played some great football to gain a convincing win. On a wet day it was great to see another large crowd of 379 at Bell Close. Once again thank you for your support. On Saturday as I am sure you are aware we are at Saffron Walden in the FA VASE. I dont know if we have ever played them in a competitive game so they are a bit of an unknown quantity to most of us , and they would probably say the same about us, lets hope for an entertaining game. On Tueday 15th November we are at home to Biggleswade United in the opening round of the Beds Senior Cup, lets hope we can make a good start in this year's competition. On Saturday 19th we are away at Harpenden and our Development side are at home to Bovingdon in the Division 2 cup. I hope you enjoy tonight's game and th e weather is not too wet or cold.

Tuesday 8th November – Kick Off 7.45pm PREMIER DIVISION Baldock Town v Risborough Rangers Leighton Town v Harpenden Town Stotfold v Colney Heath Tring Athletic v Shefford Town & Campton

Saturday 12th November – Kick Off 3.00pm THE ISUZU FA VASE Second Round Biggleswade United v London Lions Dunstable Town v Enfield Saffron Walden Town v Leighton Town St Panteleimon v Sheringham Tring Athletic v Burnham Ramblers

DIRECTORY

CLUB Ardley United Arlesey Town Aylesbury Vale Dynamos Baldock Town Biggleswade United Cockfosters Colney heath Crawley Green Dunstable Town Harpenden Town Hoddesdon Town Leighton Town Leverstock Green London Colney Potton United Risborough Rangers Shefford Town & Campton Stotfold St Panteleimon Tring Athletic

ADDRESS The Nolan Oils Ground Ardley Playing Field OX27 7PA New lamb Meadow Hitchin Rd SG15 6RS The Greenfleets Stadium Haywood Way HP19 9WZ New Lamb Meadow Hitchin Rd SG15 6RS Second Meadow Fairfield Rd Biggleswade SG18 0AA Chalk Lane Barnet EN4 9JG The Recreation Ground Colney Heath AL4 0NP The Stadium at the Brache Park St Luton LU1 3HH Creasey Park Drive Dunstable LU6 1BB Rothamstead Park Amenbury Lane AL5 2EF Park View Hoddesdon EN11 8PX Bell Close Lake St Leighton Buzzard LU7 1RX Pancake Lane Leverstock Green HP2 4NQ Cotlandswick Playing Field London Colney AL2 1DW The Hutchinson Hollow Biggleswade Rd SG19 2LX BEP Stadium Horsenden Lane HP27 9NE Shefford Sports Club Hitchin Rd SG17 5JD JSJ Stadium New Roker Park Arlesey Rd SG5 4HE Hertingfordbury Park, West St SG13 8EZ The Grass Roots Stadium Cow Lane Tring HP23 5NT

PHONE 07467 549294 07910 110720 07715 772500 07507 445099 07714 661827 07956 143291 07769 644003 07762 752213 07828 604170 07796 955197 01767 631297 07757 720833 07747 756591 07958 794109 07703 442565 07855 958236 07885 557274 07752 430493

07825 747775

The History of Leighton Town Football Club Leighton Town, who were known as Leighton United between 1922 and 1963, were formed in 1885. They were mainly involved in local leagues until the outbreak of the Great War and were winners of the Leighton and District League on several occasions. Leighton were one of the original members of the South Midland League in 1922 – which at the time was known as the Bedfordshire County. They were also members of the Spartan League between 1922/23 and 1951/52, but their only successes being the Spartan League Division 2 title in 1923/24 and 1927/28. They were Bedfordshire Senior Cup winners in 1926/27. League In 1952, they became a founder member of the Hellenic League, but after two disappointing seasons, moved to the South Midlands League. In 1965/66 season however, the Premier Championship sat in the Leighton Town Boardroom. The club then rejoined the Spartan League in 1967/68. Leighton proceeded to consolidate their League success by winning the Bedfordshire Senior Cup for three successive seasons in 1968, 1969 and 1970. Unfortunately, some of the successful players moved on to other clubs, and Leighton’s fortunes again declined. A move to the United Counties League proved disastrous and after just two seasons, the club rejoined the South Midlands League. During the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, Leighton were unable to capture the success of the ‘60’s. In 1990/1991 the First Team won the South Midlands League Challenge Trophy and the O’Brien’s Premier Division Cup, both for the first time in the club’s history. The 1991/2 season was one of the club’s best. The South Midlands Premier Division title, which had eluded the club for so long, was won, and with it a place in the Isthmian League. 1992/3 saw the Club’s success continue when they won the Bedfordshire Senior Cup for the first time since 1970. The Club missed out on promotion in their first Isthmian League season by just a single point but the Youth Team retained the County Cup. 1995/6 saw the First Team win promotion to Division 2 of the Isthmian League, whilst at the same time retaining the Buckingham Charity Cup. In the 1996/7 season, Leighton won the Isthmian League Associated Members Trophy for the first time. 1998/99 saw the return of the Associated Members Trophy and the Buckingham Charity Cup.

Season 2003/04 Leighton won the Ryman Isthmian Second Division title. They were also named Ryman Division Two Team of the Year, and Paul Burgess was awarded Manager of the Year. They also reached the Fifth round of the FA Vase, and the final of the Beds Senior Cup, before losing to Andover and Arlesey Town respectively. The 2004-05 season saw the club placed in The Southern League East Division and finished in a creditable tenth place. They also won the Buckinghamshire Charity Cup. The Reserves won the Bedfordshire Intermediate Cup and the U18’s won the SCYFL League Shield. The 05-06 Season saw the Club progress again, improving on the year before, as they finished 8th in The Southern League Western Division. After a poor start, League results improved and the side only suffered four defeats from the start of November until the end of March, a play-off place just eluding them. After three excellent victories interest in the FA.Trophy competition ended with a single goal defeat to eventual semi-finalists, Borehamwood. The Club also reached the Beds Senior Cup Final, but sadly they again finished as Runners Up. The Club were relocated to the Southern League Midland Division for 06-07 season but only one League win in the first six games and early exits in the two FA Competitions cost Paul Burgess his job in September. He was replaced by former Wycombe professional Keith Scott, results did improve but it was a disappointing season, although Town did win the Bucks Senior Charity Cup. The 07-08 started brightly with the first League defeat not coming until midOctober. Three wins in the FA Cup saw the Club reach the 4th Qualifying Round for the first time in it’s history. A 3-0 defeat to Conference South, Havant and Waterlooville finally ended the run. Keith Scott then left in December to join Windsor and Eton. In January 2008, Assistant Manager Sean Downey was appointed as First Team Manager and did a splendid job as the Club ended their League season in 9th place, winning the Bucks Charity Cup and reaching the final of the Beds Senior Cup once more. The 08/09 Season the First Team finished 8th in the Southern League, Midland Division, achieving their highest points total to date at that level. The 09/10 season saw Leighton once again finish in the top half of the table, when they finished in 9th place and they also lost the Bedfordshire Senior Cup Final to Southern League rivals, Arlesey Town after penalties. Season 2010/2011, saw Town finish in 7th place in the League, gaining 69 points,their best performance since joining the Southern Football League.

The 2011/2012 a poor season saw Leighton finish in their lowest position for several years. 2012/13 was also very disappointing for the First Team as they finished in 20th place. 2015/2016 After 3 disappointing seasons Leighton finished the season in the bottom two of the Southern League Central Division and were relegated to the Spartan South Midlands League where they had last played in the 1991/92 season. 2016/2017 This was a disappointing season with the club struggling for much of the time after yet another Managerial Change. Things did pick up towards the end of the season and we eventually finished in 16th place. 2017/18 The club retained Scott Reynolds as Manager and finished 4th in the League and reached the Quarter Finals of the FA VASE. Gates improved and it was our best season for about 8 years, 2018/2019 Manager, Scott Reynolds resigned in the close season and Danny Nicholls was appointed as Manager but left in October due to work commitments. The Club then appointed Joe Sweeney and Paul Copson, who had previously won the Premier division title with London Colney as the new Management Team. They steadied the ship and we finished in mid table. 2019/2020 Was a good season for the Club as we again reached the Quarter Final of the FA Vase and after a slow start in the League the team started to find some good form as we slowly climbed up the table. The team were also awarded the Team of the Month twice. 2020/2021 Town for the third time in 4 seasons reached the Quarter Final of the FA Vase but sadly lost out to 2 late penalties. An indifferent start in the League meant we could not quite gain the points needed to gain promotion in a Covid affected season. 2021/2022 We eventually finished 4th in the table after a mid season Management change and after the disappointment of losing our previous 4 Beds Senior Cup Finals we won the Trophy by beating Southern League Div 1 Champions, Bedford Town on penalties after the game had ended in a 2-2 draw.

CLUB

SPONSORS

MATCHDAY REPORT 5/11/22 Leighton Town 5- 0 Colney Heath Max Bradfield Leighton Town moved to third in the league this week, with a dominant showing against second from bottom Colney Heath. With five goals, a hattrick and a clean sheet, the 379 in attendance got more than their fill at a lively Bell Close. In what ended with a blowout score line, the first half was rather deceptive. Town took the lead through Leon Lobjoit – a man who is becoming near inevitable in front of goal this term. He rose highest on 17 minutes to beat a flailing goalkeeper. After this, Leighton were enjoying large spells on the ball. Yet, despite a couple of half chances, the hosts would go into the break just the one goal ahead. In the second half Lee Bircham’s side would continue in the same vein. On 54’, Lobjoit nearly grabbed his second goal as his header had the keeper scrambling. However, rather than a chance squandered, it would be the precursor of more to come. After a scrappy period, Lobjoit would convert on 68 minutes. The forward was in the right place at the right time to tap in a spilled cross by the keeper. Less than ten minutes later, he’d have his third. Town countered from a Colney Heath corner and Lobjoit slid it under the goalie in what was a perfect hattrick. Following his goal, Lobjoit was subbed in a late double change. On came Kieran Turner and James Towell and the latter would make an instant impact. Latching on to the bouncing ball in the area, he thundered home – picking out the top right corner in superb fashion. Town persevered until the final knockings. Archie McClelland was on hand on 89’ to make it five as he pounced on the keeper’s parry. With three goals, Leon Lobjoit secured the man of the match award. Now, focus shifts to Tuesday night when 14th place Harpenden Town pay a visit to Bell Close. LTFC: Comas; Connolly (C), Farrelly, Jackson, Pyman, Harvey, Spaul, Robins, Lobjoit, Summerfield. Subs: McClelland, Turner, Towell, Goodman, Fitzgerald.

MAN OF THE MATCH 5/11/22 LEON LOBJOIT V COLNEY HEATH

MANY THANKS TO THE MATCH SPONSORS ENERGIE FITNESS LEIGHTON BUZZARD

LEAGUE TABLE

ATTENDANCES

Leighton Town Partner/Sponsorship Packages 2022/23 Season Want to be a partner with an ambitious, progressive, local football club; one that also takes its social and community responsibilities seriously? Then look no further than Leighton Town FC. In recent years Leighton Town FC has built strong relationships with a large number of businesses and community organisations in the town. We are seeking to build further links and we offer a wide range of opportunities for interested parties to become partners in moving the club forward. If you want to join the Leighton Town family, then there are a variety of ways that you can do so. Partnership/Sponsorship packages Local companies and businesses can purchase one of our Gold, Silver, or Bronze Sponsorship Packages, all of which, represent excellent value for money. Click here for more details, including how to contact the club if interested. Match Ball Sponsors for First Team home games Be a match ball sponsor for only £35 and have your name/company displayed on the front of the on-line match day programme. Email sdowney0207@outlook.com to secure. First 20 received will be allocated a game in the coming season. There is something for everyone and every budget. All proceeds will serve to support the club both on and off the pitch to continue building a community football club we can all be proud of.

AWAY KIT SPONSORED BY DEAKIN WHITE

MANY THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT IT IS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED

PLAYER/STAFF SPONSORSHIP

FIRST TEAM NOVEMBER FIXTURES

TUESDAY 8/11 HOME V HARPENDEN TOWN KO 7:45pm

SATURDAY 12/11 FA VASE AWAY V SAFFRON WALDEN TOWN KO 3PM

TUESDAY 15/11 SENIOR CHALLENGE CUP HOME V BIGGLESWADE UNITED KO 7:45pm

SATURDAY 19/11 AWAY V HARPENDEN TOWN KO 3pm

TUESDAY 22/11 HOME V AYLESBURY VALE DYNAMOS KO 7:45pm

SATURDAY 26/11 HOME V TRING ATHLETIC KO 3pm

The new season tickets will provide access to all home league games for the First Team, the Development Team and the U18s. This means access to over 40 games which represents excellent value for money. The forms are available to download from our website www.leightontownfc.co.uk There are also copies of the forms at the club. Please return the completed form with your payment to David Friend or Andrew Parker. Both card and cash payments are welcome.

@LTFCHallHire

@ltfc_thevenue

@LTFCHallHIRE

THE INANE RAMBLINGS FROM UP NORFF ‘NOWT SO QUEER AS YORKSHIRE FOLK’ BY KAREN BROWNE The Views Expressed Are Solely My Own, Are Written Tongue In Cheek And Should Be Taken With A Pinch Of Salt TUESDAY 1st NOVEMBER / WEDNESDAY 2nd NOVEMBER MIDWEEK STATISTICS Midweek Stats: 16 games played of which 8 were home wins, 7 away wins and 1 draw. Midweek Stats: The 16 games produced a total of 81 goals, an average of 5.06 per game. Archie McClelland (Leighton Town Development) led the way with a five goal haul and Taylor Rhiney (Biggleswade United) bagged four while Bailey Stevenson (Cockfosters), Archie Sayer (Stotfold) and Rory Busby (Buckingham Athletic) all netted hat tricks. Midweek Highest Attendances: 107 Colney Heath v Potton United (Dudley Latham Cup), 103 Cockfosters v Tring Athletic and 89 Stotfold v Blackstones (Hinchingbrooke Cup). Season’s Highest Attendances to date (Premier Division Clubs): 603 Dunstable Town v Leighton Town, 410 Leighton Town v Hilltop (FA Vase) and 403 Leighton Town v Biggleswade United and Leighton Town v Leverstock Green. Season’s Highest Attendances to date (Division One Clubs): 273 Real Bedford FC v Rushden & Higham United, 187 Real Bedford FC v Rugby Borough and 179 Real Bedford FC v Moulton FC. Season’s Highest Attendances to date (Division Two Clubs): 148 Old Bradwell United v Milton Keynes College Football Academy, 114 Totternhoe v Sarratt and 103 Tring Corinthians AFC v Bovingdon. THE GLADWISH CHALLENGE TROPHY Second Round Division Two Pitstone & Ivinghoe pulled off a cup upset in the Gladwish Challenge Trophy Second Round at Premier Division Ardley United albeit in a penalty shoot-out following a 1-1 draw with the hosts levelling the tie from the spot in the closing minutes. Elsewhere Division One Holmer Green cruised into the next round with a 6-0 home success against Division Two side Tring Corinthians AFC. Full results and goalscorers are listed below. 1-1 [2-4 pens] Ardley United v Pitstone & Ivinghoe (McNish [pen]) / (O’Brien) Attendance: 30 6-0 Holmer Green v Tring Corinthians AFC (Chunga [2], Opponent Own Goal, Page, Esplund-Evans, Riley) Attendance: 34

PREMIER DIVISION Four days after Cockfosters narrowly defeated opponents Tring Athletic in the Gladwish Challenge Trophy the sides met again in the Premier Division and once again the hosts came out on top this time it was a 6-1 win while elsewhere Shefford Town & Campton defeated visiting Baldock Town by the same scoreline, the hosts climbing to third in the standings as a result of their win. Full results and goalscorers are listed below. 6-1 Cockfosters v Tring Athletic (Stevenson [3], Barrett [2], Michael) / (Carbery [pen]) Attendance: 103 6-1 Shefford Town & Campton v Baldock Town (Metcalfe [2], Brooks, Thake, Ansell-Carter, Snee) / (Ajong) Attendance: 87 DUDLEY LATHAM MEMORIAL (PREMIER DIVISION) CUP Quarter Finals (Sponsored by S & T Sales and Marketing) Potton United booked their place in the last four of the Dudley Latham Memorial (Premier Division) Cup with a 3-0 win at Colney Heath, the Bedfordshire side will find out their semi-final opponents shortly before Christmas. Full result and goalscorers are listed below. 0-3 Colney Heath v Potton United (Etheridge, Parkinson [pen], Baulk) Attendance: 107 BERKS & BUCKS SENIOR CUP First Round Step 6 Amersham Town shocked Step 4 Binfield in the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup with a 2-1 home win in midweek while elsewhere there was to be no joy for Aylesbury Vale Dynamos as they were beaten 2-6 at home by Beaconsfield Town. Full results and goalscorers are listed below. 2-1 Amersham Town v Binfield (Kerley, Sells) / (Tack) Attendance: Unknown 2-6 Aylesbury Vale Dynamos v Beaconsfield Town (Wood [2]) / (Minhas, Studley [og], Webb, McCoy, Anderson, Allsop) Attendance: 68 HINCHINGBROOKE CUP First Round The two outstanding first round ties in the Hinchingbrooke Cup saw the two SSML sides progress with big victories, Tuesday night saw Stotfold sweep past visiting opponents Blackstones 6-2 while twenty four hours later in torrid conditions (that led to a certain woman secretary complaining on social media) Biggleswade United won 5-0 at Parson Drove. Full results and goalscorers (where known) are listed below. 6-2 Stotfold v Blackstones (Sayer [3], Sears, Diviney, Hector) / (Unknown [pen], Unknown) Attendance: 89 0-5 Parson Drove v Biggleswade United (Rhiney [4], Jabbar) Attendance: Unknown

DIVISION ONE Northampton Sileby Rangers climbed to second place in Division One twelve points behind leaders Real Bedford FC following their 3-1 success at Letchworth Garden City Eagles while at the other end of the standings Burton Park Wanderers vacated bottom place and out of the relegation drop zone with a 2-0 success at Rushden & Higham United. The other midweek action saw Buckingham Athletic edge out high flying Moulton FC by the odd goal in five in Buckinghamshire. Full results and goalscorers are listed below. 3-2 Buckingham Athletic v Moulton FC (Busby [3] [2 pens]) / (Boateng, Evans) Attendance: 31 1-3 Letchworth Garden City Eagles v Northampton Sileby Rangers (Zekri) / (Taylor [2], Cirelli) Attendance: 21 0-2 Rushden & Higham United v Burton Park Wanderers (Allen [2]) Attendance: 38 DIVISION ONE CUP Second Round Northampton ON Chenecks progressed to the quarter-finals of the Division One Cup with a 4-0 win at Raunds Town, the visitors scoring all their goals in the first forty-five minutes. Full result and goalscorers are listed below. 0-4 Raunds Town v Northampton ON Chenecks (Ling, Irwin, Drinkwater, Parsons) Attendance: 50 HUNTINGDONSHIRE SENIOR CUP Quarter Final Eaton Socon shocked illustrious and higher ranked neighbours St Neots Town in the Huntingdonshire Senior Cup, the Step 6 hosts defeating their Step 4 visitors 3-1 to reach the semi-finals. Full result and goalscorers are listed below. 3-1 Eaton Socon v St Neots Town (Thorpe [2], Alderson) / (Charles) Attendance: Unknown BEDS SENIOR TROPHY First Round Langford were victims of a cup upset when they exited the Beds Senior Trophy at the first round stage when going down 0-2 at home against Beds County League side Crawley Green Reserves. In the other midweek tie Leighton Town Development took no chances of being victims as they fielded no less than twelve of the players who had been involved in their first team fixture four days earlier and it came as no surprise as they crushed their Beds County League side opponents Marston Shelton Rovers 11-0. Full results and goalscorers (where known) are listed below. 0-2 Langford v Crawley Green Reserves (O’Mahony, Onwusonye) Attendance: Unknown 11-0 Leighton Town Development v Marston Shelton Rovers (McClelland [5], Lobjoit [2], Cooper, Goodman, Robins, Unknown) Attendance: Unknown

SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE

DIVISION 2

LEAGUE TABLE DIVISION 2

SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS DIVISION 2 ATTENDANCES

SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS RESULTS DIVISION 2

THE VENUE AT LEIGHTON TOWN FC Leighton Town FC is the perfect venue for anything from a wedding reception to a charity event. With it’s own separate bar, room for 100 guests, it’s own separate entrance, and disabled facilities, ample free parking. Our venue is perfect for: * Wedding Receptions * 21st and above Birthday Parties * Christenings, religious celebrations * Charity Events * Corporate events * Funeral receptions Whatever event you have planned please feel free to contact us on 07887 964 117 to discuss your requirements. We will strive to make your event a special and memorable experience for you and your guests.

YOUTH WATCH | U18’s Thank you to our shirt sponsors for the new kits this season, as always keeping us looking clean and professional. @MeadOpenFarm, @nationallocums & Robert Tuckwell…your support makes a huge difference to our club, and it’s a pleasure to have you on board We would also like to thank @NexusInsight & @LucaTiaDesign for their continued support and sponsorship of Leighton Town! Without you and all of our sponsors we wouldn’t be able to keep doing what we are doing, so thank you once again

U18 LEAGUE TABLE

U18 FULL TABLE

CORINTHIAN RECENT RESULTS

FIXTURES

SQUAD FROM

Leighton Town

Harpenden Town

Red & White / Red / Red

Gold & Green/Green/Green

Xavi Comas Gary Connolly Kyle Connolly Max Farrelly Oran Jackson Luke Pyman Jack Harvey Ben Spaul Reece Robins Leon Lobjoit Will Summerfield Archie McClelland Kieran Turner James Towell Robbie Goodman Joe Fitzgerald

Alex Desmond Rhys Monahan Callum Nevill Geoge Robinson Daniel Palmer Daniel Westmore Ryan Plowright Joshua Rodriguez Josh Setchell Andrew Simmons Miles Habashi Lewis Croucher Lawrence Whiffen Ivan Machado Jake Anthony Kyle Rahho Jake Collins James Younger Billy Owen

Manager: Lee Bircham Assistant: Tony Joyce Physio: John Rutherford & Lorraine Smith

Manager : Micky Nathan Coach: Steve O’Reilly Coach : Rob Swann Physio : Wiktoria Novak Stephen Maitland

Match Officials Referee : Andrew Halladay Assistants : Andy Barrett : Mark Mellor