ROYSTON TOWN vs LEISTON - MATCHDAY PROGRAMME - TUESDAY 16th AUGUST 2022

PITCHING IN SOUTHERN FOOTBALL LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION CENTRAL

ROYSTON TOWN FC vs LEISTON FC Tuesday 16th August 2022 Kick Off: 7.45pm

Royston Town FC would like to welcome this evening's opponents Leiston FC for their visit to Garden Walk for this Pitching In Southern League Premier Central fixture.

We wish their Players, Officials and Supporters an enjoyable evening and hope that the match will be a keenly contested and entertaining game.

We also welcome today’s Match Officials and hope they too have an enjoyable game.

TODAY'S MATCH SPONSOR:

Royston Town Football Club President Chairman Secretary

Founded 1875 Alan Barlow Steve Jackson Terry McKinnell 9 Valley Rise, Royston, Herts SG8 9EY 07772 086709

Treasurer Welfare Officer Fixture Secretary Executive Board

Webmaster Programme Editors Official Photographer

email: secretary@roystontownfc.co.uk Jeff Gill Angela Baulk Steve Endacott (07971 512402) Trevor Burrows, Andy Toovey, Eric Joyce, David Baulk, Angela Baulk, Chris Coote, Duncan Easley, Giles Parnwell, Neil MacLeod, Matt Clowery Steve Endacott Angela Baulk, Neil MacLeod Kevin Richards

Football Management Team First Team Manager First Team Asst Manager U23 Manager U18 Team Managers Women's Team Manager Vets Team Manager

Steve Castle Chris Watters Dan Evans Dan Evans/Matt Campany Lewis Endacott Lee Wilkinson

Ground

Garden Walk, Royston, Herts SG8 7HP Telephone (01763) 241204

Colours

First XI U23 U18 Women's Vets

White/Black/White White/Black/White White/Black/Black White/Black/White White/Black/Black

Members of: The Hertfordshire Football Association Southern League Premier Division The Herts Senior County League Thurlow Nunn Youth League Eastern Region Women’s Football League The Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Ladies League Royston Town Football Club is Limited by Guarantee under the trading name of Royston Town FC Limited (Company Reg No. 14261163)

CLUB HONOURS WINNERS Herts County League (Div I) 1969-70, 1972-73 Herts County League (Premier Div) 1976-1977 South Midlands League (Div I) 1977-1978 South Midlands Reserve League (Div II) 1978-1979 South Midlands Reserve League (Div I) 1979-1980 North Herts (Div IV) League Cup, 1978-79, 1979-1980 Herts Charity Shield, 1981-82, 1989-90, 1996-1997 Herts Intermediate Cup, 1988-1989 Chiltern Youth League (Div I) 1989-1990 South Combinations Reserve Floodlight Cup, 1992-1993 Chiltern Youth League Cup, 1992-1993 South Midlands Challenge Trophy, 1995-1996 Eastern Region Women’s League (Div II) 1998-1999 Eastern Counties Youth League Cup, 2001-2002 South Midlands Reserve Challenge Cup 2004-2005 KB Tyres Division III Champions 2006-2007 South Midlands League (Div I) 2008-2009 South Midlands League Cup (Div I) 2008-2009 South Midlands Floodlit Cup 1994-1995 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2011-2012 South Midlands Reserve League (Div II East) 2008-2009 South Midlands Reserve Challenge Cup 2008-2009 KB Tyres Division I League Cup 2009-2010 South Midlands Reserve Floodlit Cup 2009-2010 BIS Cambs League Division 2A 2010/2011 BIS Cambs League Divisional Champions 2010/2011 Veterans Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup 2010/2011 South Midlands Premier League 2011/2012 South Midlands Premier League Cup 2011/2012 Suburban League North Division 2012/2013, 2013/2014 Joint Winners of the Hinchingbrooke Cup 2013 Eastern Region Women’s League Plate 2013/2014, 2014/15 Suburban Premier League 2015-16 Eastern Region Women’s League Division 1 West 2015/16 Southern League Div 1 Central 2016/17 Southern League Challenge Cup 2021/22 RUNNERS UP South Midlands Challenge Cup, 1978-1979 Herts Charity Shield, 1978-79, 1998-99, 2004-05, 2008-2009 South Midlands League (Premier Div) 1979-1980 North Herts (Div IV) 1979-1980 North Herts (Div III) 1981-1982 North Herts (Div II) 1982-1983 South Midlands Res Section Trophy, 1982-1983 Chiltern Youth League Cup, 1986-87, 1988-1989 Herts Intermediate Cup, 1989-1990 Herts County Youth Cup, 1992-1993 North Herts (Div I), 1993-1994 South Midlands Floodlit Cup, 1995-1996 Herts F.A. Women’s Cup, 1998-99, 2001-2002 2013/14 Eastern Region Women’s League (Div I) 1999-2000, 2013/2014 2014/15 Eastern Junior Plate, 2001-2002 KB Tyres Division I 2008-2009, 2009-2010 South Midlands Reserve Challenge Trophy 2009-2010 South Midlands Reserves Floodlit Cup 2010/2011 Hertfordshire Women’s County Cup 2013/2014 Eastern Region Women’s League, League Cup 2014/15 Southern League Division 1 Central 2014/15 2015/16

Hi there!

Long time no speak but nothing of real interest to report on, bar a good pre-season to prepare us for the season ahead. I choose not to comment too early on friendlies and their outcomes, although they were generally positive.

There are several new faces to mention: Jay Rolfe and George Ironton – both joined from Welwyn. They know a few of the boys so have integrated quickly into the set-up.

Jarid Robson from Cambridge City – again he has quickly settled in and we hope the goals come as freely as they did for him at City.

Max Bustamante – an exciting young Chilean youth international who impressed in pre-season. We were pleased to get this one over the line.

Nathan Tshikuna – a midfielder that we’ve had on our radar for a few months. His quality has already been shown and we’re pleased to report that we beat a few other sides to his signature.

And last, but not least for our new lads is one that signed after Saturday’s game – Joel Nakatani-Brown. Joel played in a couple of pre-season games and has been around the squad all summer. He’s been unlucky with a persistent injury and missed the opener but hopefully, he won’t be out for long.

There are a couple of other ‘irons in the fire’ but until they sign we’ll keep them known as “Trialist ” Welcome to Garden Walk guys and we hope there are some exciting times ahead for all!

On the injury front, unfortunately, Ed Asafu-Adjaye has picked up a knee injury from what looked like a really innocuous challenge. We think he may be out for around 8 weeks but it’s hard to judge accurately. Bar that the players look very fit and raring to go!

Looking back to the opening game, a 3-1 home win is a great way to kick off the new campaign but as with many matches, the score doesn’t tell the true story. We started very brightly and if not for an amazing save from Jarid we could have been 1-0 up after 5 mins. In fairness to the boys, they kept the tempo high and got us 2 goals and we were looking comfortable. Jarid with the first and Matty with the second. It was then time to put the tie to bed and we had a few half chances! The scoreline stayed at 2-0 until a little indecision in the back/ middle line allowed an unopposed cross to come into our box and bam, 2-1.

Suddenly our opposition had their tails up and were more into the game. The score remained 2-1 at halftime and going into the second half. I felt that we started the second period pretty flat and I changed things to freshen up our lineup. It sort of worked but we did let them have far too much time and space to play. Although they created little, in fairness nor did we. Shame but the result was the target and how ever we were going to do it we were determined to hold on. Then came an excellent strike from Nathan to put some distance between the two teams and yes a home win on the opening day of the season for the second season in a row.

Not really a game not for the purists but 3 points all the same!

Cheers!

Steve C

WHO'S GOT WHO? Tonight's other fixtures TUESDAY 16th AUGUST 2022 AFC Rushden & Diamonds v Hitchin Town Basford United v Nuneaton Borough Bromsgrove Sporting v Alvechurch Hednesford Town v Stourbridge Mickleover v Coalville Town Needham Market v St Ives Town Tamworth v Rushall Olympic

SO WHEN DID IT ALL BEGIN? The history of Royston Town FC After some intensive research, the evidence is that the club came into existence in 1875 making Royston the third oldest Club in Hertfordshire after Hitchin and Bishop Stortford.

The Club’s very first honour came in 1911/12 when they won the Creake Charity Shield beating Wisbech 1-0 in extra time.

The Club’s first major honour in more recent times came in the guise of promotion to the Herts County Premier League in 1969/70 and they went on to be champions in 1972/73 and 1976/77. In 1978 we rejoined the South Midlands League and won the Division One title at the first time of asking. Success continued with a final appearance in the Herts Charity Shield for the first time in 1979 and runners up spot in the South Midlands League Premier Division in 1980. The Herts Charity Shield was won in 1981/82 and two years later the Club joined the Isthmian League Division Two North where we remained for 10 seasons before returning to the South Midlands League in 1994.

After a period in the doldrums that culminated in relegation from the South Midlands League Premier Division at the end of 2006/07, Paul Attfield was appointed manager with ex-Spurs favourite Tony Galvin returning to Garden Walk 1st Team Coach in November 2007.

Paul immediately set about building a new 1st Team squad and a run of 17 games undefeated saw the Club move from the bottom of the table to finish in 5th place in the League.

The foundations had been laid for the 2008/09 season and the first team took the South Midlands Division One League title with one of the best sets of stats for any Step 6 Club in the country W33, D4, L3, GF138, GA30, GD+108, PTS 103.

The 2011/2012 season will be seen as a watershed in our history with winning the South Midlands Premier Division title and promotion to Step 4 in the shape of the Evo-Stik Southern League Division One Central.

In our first season back at Step 4 after an absence of 19 years, it was hard to know what to expect and how we would perform. Most of our supporters felt a mid-table position would be an acceptable target for the season, but we quickly found ourselves exceeding all expectations as our performances propelled us towards the top of the table. Four straight wins in the first four games set the tone and a run of nine wins with just one defeat between October and December saw us maintain a play-off position. In the very last game of the season a playoff was still a possibility and having gone 2-1 up away at AFC Hayes with just a few minutes of the game left it looked a near certainty. But it was not to be as Hayes scored an 87-minute equaliser and our play-off place was lost.

In our second season at this level, our steady progress to claim a place in the playoff zone was given a severe jolt when Paul Attfield announced his resignation as first team manager due to ill health at the beginning of November. The search for his replacement began almost immediately and we were inundated with applications from some very well know and successful managers. After an exhaustive selection process, the Board appointed Steve Castle at the end of November and on Boxing Day Steve officially took over securing a 0 – 0 draw against the League’s form team and eventual champions Dunstable Town.

Our 2014/15 season opener was at home against one of the promotion favourites Rugby Town but an impressive team display ensured their threat was stifled and we ran out winners 2 -1. That victory really did set things buzzing but we were quickly brought back down to earth when on the following Tuesday night Bedworth United were the visitors winning the game 3 – 1.

As we all know consistency in performances provides the key to long term success and although the early stages of the season produced good results against the likes of Daventry Town and Beaconsfield these were punctuated by dismal performances against the likes of Aylesbury and Egham Town. From mid-November to mid-December We really lost our way with six defeats in seven games but our rollercoaster ride saw an incredible run of form over the Christmas period and into the New Year with five straight wins which helped us maintain a position in the playoff places.

On a miserable Tuesday evening in February, we travelled to lowly AFC Hayes and after an abject performance, we lost the game 2 – 0. This prompted our Chairman to tell Steve Castle that he had given up on this team making the play–offs and said that we should start preparing instead for next season. That message was conveyed to players and we witnessed a most remarkable transformation in our results with a 14 game unbeaten run during which we scored 29 goals and conceded just seven resulting in us achieving the runners up spot to league champions Kettering Town and securing our place in the playoff semi-final where we met local rivals Barton Rovers.

After an incident-packed 90 minutes and extra time the game ended in a goalless draw but it was not to be our night and we lost the shoot out 4-5 and had to suffer the agony of all the emotions which go with being defeated in this way.

We started the 2015/16 season strongly and between the end of December and the end of March we produced a rich vein of form with only one defeat in 14 games and this ensured we were sitting on top of the league with just 7 games to go and with the expectation that we could win promotion outright ran high throughout the whole club. However, three games in succession proved our downfall when we could only draw 0 – 0 with Bedford and lost to Egham away 3- 1 and Godalming at home 1- 0 and once again we ended up in the play offs against AFC Rushden but we failed to turn up and went out tamely to our opponents 2 - 1.

Having finished runners up for two years in succession Steve Castle was determined to make it third time lucky and began to recruit some experienced new blood in the shape of John Frendo and Adam Murray whilst at the same time giving youngsters Gus Scott Morris and Josh Castiglione extended runs in the first team.

However, the season didn’t start well and after four games we’d only mustered five points whilst promotion rivals Farnborough just couldn’t stop winning. Although results did improve, defeat in the FA Cup to Heybridge Swifts 4 – 1 and a thrashing by Barton Rovers at home 6 – 3 at the end of September didn’t do a great of good for our confidence.

Things took a dramatic turn thereafter with 12 successive league wins which ended with defeat 2-1 at Kidlington in early January 2017, interspersed by a magnificent run in the FA Trophy including a victory against Step 2 outfit Hampton and Richmond Borough before in the replay against Dulwich Hamlet we eventually went down 1 -0.

With cup football out of the way, the team put together an incredible run of 16 league games undefeated including a 5 – 0 thrashing of closest rivals Farnborough which saw us maintain the top spot until the end of the season by a margin of 12 points and the highest number of goals scored, 120, across all three Evostik Leagues.

Promotion to the Southern Premier League means that the Club was playing at the highest level in its 142-year history!

Season 2017/18 saw The Crows exceed all expectations in our first season at Step 3. Throughout the season we managed to maintain our hopes of a play-off place until they were finally put to bed with two successive defeats against the eventual play-off winners Slough Town and we had to be satisfied with a seventh-place finish. The signing of Adam Marriott, a proven goal scorer who had played for Lincoln City, Stevenage and Cambridge United was without a doubt a real coup and he was to play a key role in the progress made by the Club by becoming our leading marksman with 31 goals. A good run in the FA Trophy with wins against Enfield Town and Leatherhead came to an end against Eastbourne Borough when having managed to draw at their place we lost the replay on penalties. We managed to get to the final of the Herts Senior Cup where we played Borehamwood from Step 2 and in spite of a brave performance we never really had the power to compete and lost 2 – 1.

Given where we had started from we definitely exceeded our own and many other peoples’ expectations and this has provided us with the building blocks to face this season in the newly constituted Southern Premier Central League.

Season 2018/19 saw us finishing in a respectable 9th position in what proved to be a very strong Premier Division Central. During February/March we recorded six wins out of seven league games to give us a faint hope of a playoff spot, but three straight defeats in April put paid to our chances.

We suffered another early at AFC Sudbury in the FA Cup and in the FA Trophy we progressed through two rounds before being beaten in a replay at Needham Market.

Season 2019/20 will go down in the Club’s history as one of the most successful and exciting but ultimately one which ended in bitter disappointment.

Steve Castle was quick to ensure we had players who were proven goal scorers and the arrival of Matt Bateman, Brandon Adams and Claudio Ofosu did not disappoint. Perhaps the only sadness that our young and highly talented left wing-back Joe Newton had created so much interest from EFL Clubs that in the end, it was inevitable he would have to leave us and Joe was signed by Coventry City.

No Crows fans will ever forget the team's brilliant performances in both the FA Cup and FA Trophy and although our FA Cup run ended with defeat to the very talented Maldon and Tiptree in front of what was then a record crowd for Garden Walk of 1152. The interest generated in the Crows both locally and beyond was immense and set the scene for what was to come in the FA Trophy. It all started with very comfortable wins against Brightlingsea Regent and Haywards Heath and then were drawn away at Step 2 table-topping Wealdstone which for many was one of the games of the season as Royston shot into a 2- 0 lead before Wealdstone hit back to pull the tie level 2-2. In spite of being under constant pressure, the Crows mounted a great counterattack down the left and the cross was despatched by Brandon Adams to give the Crow’s victory 3-2. What followed was truly historic with home wins against Step 2 teams Boreham Wood 2-0, Chester 3-0 and away at National League Ebbsfleet 2-0, to set up a quarter-final tie away at Concord Rangers. In the run-up to the game, the rain had been falling heavily but our opponents declared the pitch playable and the invasion of six coach loads of Royston supporters and a convoy of cars and mini-buses descended on Canvey Island. As we started arriving for the kick-off the match referee declared the pitch unplayable and with a sense of extreme disappointment and also a lot of anger we all returned home. The following Tuesday the game went ahead but it was not to be and we were defeated 2-1. There is no doubt the Clubs achievements in the FA Trophy marked a watershed in our history which will be remembered for a very long time.

Running alongside the cup success it was easy to forget that we had got ourselves in contention to win the League with a run of only two defeats in 20 league fixtures. With 3 games in hand and only 2 points behind Peterborough Sports and Tamworth and playing some of our best football, we looked nailed on to win the League. Then out of the blue, the Covid crisis hit all levels of football and with what many felt was indecent haste the League decided to null and void the whole season.

All our achievements were suddenly for nothing and the taste of bitter disappointment amongst all supporters of the Crows was very hard to swallow.

Season 2020/21: As the pandemic took hold it seemed like the chances of seeing a new season start were remote but by summer 2020 there had been a massive improvement and by July the lockdown ended albeit with a host of restrictions in place.

By the time we had assembled a squad, we were without key players such as Matt Bateman who moved to Hemel Hempstead and Claudio Ofosu who joined Hartlepool and with a lot of the momentum and energy generated by the now-defunct season now dissipated we were finding it hard to get going again. In the League, we seemed to slip into the habit of conceding goals when in a winning position and a string of draws meant we languished in the lower half of the division.

The FA cup again promised to provide excitement with wins against Newmarket, Wroxham and AFC Stamford before losing to our old rivals Bishops Stortford. We won our first two ties in the FA Trophy against Hythe Town and Tamworth before going out 3-2 away at Brackley by which time the League season was yet again declared null and void as the second wave of Covid took its stranglehold.

A comprehensive history of the Club can be found in The History of Royston Town FC 1875 2012 first published in 2013. The book was written by the Club’s President, Alan Barlow following more than five years of painstaking research and can be purchased via the Club.

WHO'S WHO OF THE CROWS Dimi Kyriatzis (Goalkeeper) A recent addition to the Crows squad having joined us from Bedfont Sports. Dimi's previous clubs include Brentford and Inter Leipzig.

Ed Asafu-Adjaye (Defender) Versatile defender who re-joined the Crows in 2019 after spending a season at Hayes & Yeading. Started his playing career at Luton Town and broke into the 1st team during the 2008/9 season. In total he made 64 appearances for The Hatters before moving to Forest Green Rovers and then to Hemel Hempstead Town.

Adam Murray (Defender) Adam joined us at the beginning of 2017/18, having spent the previous two seasons at Cambridge City where he made 60 appearances. He quickly settled into the squad and has proved to be a formidable addition for the Crows.

Ronnie Henry (Defender) Signed for the Crows at the beginning of this season after spending a season at Billericay Town. Ronnie was a product of the Spurs youth system, before going on to play 502 games for Stevenage (the club’s all-time record appearances) in two spells either side of two seasons at Luton Town.

Dan Newton (Defender) Joined the Crows early into season 2020/21, Centre-Back Dan's previous clubs were Biggleswade FC and Northwood. He is a calm and confident defender and cousin of former Crow Joe Newton.

Carl Mensah (Defender) 25 year-old towering central defender who joined the Crows from Welwyn Garden City at the end of November. His previous clubs include Bedford Town, Harpenden Town, Kempston Rovers, Tring Athletic, Cockfosters and Colney Heath.

James Brighton (Defender) Experienced full-back who joined us in November 2019 from Kettering Town, where he had spent a successful four seasons. James has previously played for Hemel Hempstead Town, Cambridge City & Cambridge United.

Jay Rolfe (Defender) Versatile defender who can play in a number of positions. Joined the Crows this Summer from Welwyn Garden City. Previous clubs include Cockfosters, Colney Heath and Hatfield Town Spyros Mentis (Midfield) Versatile, hard-working and tough-tackling midfielder or defender, Spyros re-joined The Crows in 2018/19 after a season away at Hayes & Yeading, he previously played just under 100 games for us from 2013 during his first spell at Garden Walk.

Dan Green (Midfield) Joined us in December 2018 from Chesham United, Dan is an experienced midfielder whose other previous clubs include St Albans City and Dunstable Town.

George Ironton (Midfield) 26 year old midfielder who joined the Crows this summer from Welwyn Garden City FC where he spent 4 years. Has impressed in preseason and is relishing the opportunity of playing at Step 3. Previous clubs include Tring Athletic, Cockfosters, Barton Rovers, Arlesey Town, Hitchin Town, Ware Isa Rotimi (Midfield) Young midfielder who signed for the Crows at the beginning of season 2019/20, Isa previously spent two seasons at Colney Heath.

Nathan Tshikuna (Midfield) Featured a number of times for the Crows in pre-season and has impressed enough to join Steve Castle’s squad for the coming season. Nathan’sprevious clubs include Bedford Town, Kempston Rovers, Barton Rovers and AFC Rushden & Diamonds. Nathan scored an impressive 11 goals in 44 appearances for Rushden & Diamonds last season.

Matt Bateman (Forward) Re-joined us last season from Hemel Hempstead, where he spent a season after moving from the Crows. Matt signed for the Crows at the start of season 2019/20 and scored an impressive 24 goals in 41 games during that season to earn his move to Hemel. Previous to that Matt played a big part in Berkhamsted’s push for promotion in 2018/19 where he netted 43 times in 54 appearances for The Comrades.

Max Bustamante-Macaire (Forward) The 18-year-old striker impressed in pre-season and has signed for the Crows. Max is a former Chilean youth player and has represented his national side at Under 15, Under 17 and Under 18 levels. His previous clubs include Barnet FC and Stevenage FC. Whilst at Stevenage, Max had loan spells at Kings Langley, Biggleswade Town and Bedford Town.

Joel Nakatani-Brown (Defender) The 18-year-old striker impressed in pre-season and has signed for the Crows. Max is a former Chilean youth player and has represented his national side at Under 15, Under 17 and Under 18 levels. His previous clubs include Barnet FC and Stevenage FC. Whilst at Stevenage, Max had loan spells at Kings Langley, Biggleswade Town and Bedford Town.

TODAY'S OPPONENTS Leiston FC Club History Leiston Town Football Club was first affiliated with the Suffolk County FA in 1880 and at the time was closely associated with the Richard Garrett Engineering Works in Leiston. The club’s early years were spent in the North Suffolk League or Ipswich and District League. Leiston Town were ‘Full Members’ of the Football Association from the early 1950’s until 1982 following their relegation from the Senior Division (the only other Suffolk teams to be Full Members at this time were Ipswich Town and Lowestoft Town) and soon after this period the club dropped the Town part to become just Leiston FC. During this period Leiston were accepted and played in the FA Cup, FA Amateur Cup and later the FA Vase. The clubs Youth team were the first club in Suffolk to enter the FA Youth Challenge Cup reaching the First Round and a trip to Highbury to face Arsenal in 1954 where they took an early lead before losing 8-1 to the Gunners. In May the club regained its Full Member status of the FA, one of only four Suffolk clubs to hold this.

Season 2008/2009 will be long remembered in the history of Leiston as we became only one of three sides to ever reach the First Round proper of the FA Cup after starting the competition at the Extra Preliminary Round stage. Memorable wins at higher ranked Carshalton Athletic and Conference Premier Lewes in a run that lasted nine games and ended in a replay defeat at Conference North Fleetwood Town in front of 2000 fans after a record crowd of 1250 had watched the First Round goal less draw at Victory Road.

After ten seasons in the Eastern Counties League the club gained promotion to the Ryman League as champions of the Ridgeons League. The inaugural Ryman League season provided unexpected success and at the first attempt secured the Division One North title with some fantastic performances including a 26 game unbeaten run. In 2017-18 the club achieved its highest ever league position, 5th in the Ryman premier division under Glen Driver. They have continued to compete in step 3 football, albeit in a different league for the past two seasons.

A very youthful Reserve side has played some great football over the past couple of seasons and has seen several young players push into first team squads. Another recent addition is our third senior squad; our “A” team. Set up to help u18 players transition into senior football, this side gained promotion in the first season of the SIL into division 3 where they will play in the 2020-21 season. The club continues to engage youth development and the U18's had a fine season especially in the cup competitions and continues to progress while the introduction and links with Junior sides in the community will see the club evolve further for the future.

Over the years, Leiston have been blessed with many able and willing Chairmen, Secretaries and committee members and the club has prides itself on its family attitudes. The club has also been very fortunate over the years to have players of note in their ranks and includes many links with professional clubs including Ian Gillespie, Ted Phillips, Jackie Warne, Stuart Boardley, Byron Lawrence, and Jason Dozzell to name but a few. This has been added to by the appointment of Darren Eadie as joint manager with Chris Wigger. The 2022-23 season is looked forward to in much anticipation under their joint stewardship.

The club continues to improve its facilities in line with FA grading requirements and now has some of the best Non League facilities in Suffolk and the club is forever looking to improve. Recently the club gained FA Charter standard and regained full FA Membership, one of only 4 in Suffolk. The efforts of Chairman Andy Crisp and Vice Chairman Peter Mayhew have been the main driving factors behind the changes and the meteoric rise of the club to step three of the national pyramid.

WHO ARE YA? Leiston FC Player Pen Pics Darren Eadie Joint-Manager.

Made his name with Norwich City, making 204 1st team appearances between 1993-99, before a big money move to Leicester City. Unfortunately injury curtailed his playing career. He made 10 appearances for England U21. Joined Leiston in March 2020 and had to wait nearly six months for his first game due to the Covid pandemic.

Chris Wigger Joint-Manager.

A former Norwich City youth team product Chris then went on to play for Wroxham. Took his first step on the management ladder with Cromer, before guiding Sheringham to two promotions in three seasons. Was appointed along with Darren Eadie as joint-manager in March 2020.

Sam Donkin Goalkeeper.

Sam joined Leiston in November 2019 from fellow Southern Premier Central Biggleswade Town having also played for Corby Town. Sam is a goalkeeper coach with Norwich City Academy having previously worked at West Ham and Stevenage.

Seb Dunbar Defender.

Seb began his career with Ipswich Town. In the summer of 2011, he joined National League North side Bishop`s Stortford. After a season at Woodside Park, Dunbar joined Leiston but after one campaign at Victory Road, he signed for then-Isthmian Premier outfit Bury Town. He re-joined the Blues in 2017 and was selected in the Isthmian Premier Division Team of the Year in 2018-19. In the summer of 2019 he joined Stowmarket Town but after two seasons has returned for a third spell at Victory Road Jake Hutchings Defender.

Originally with Leyton and Torquay United, Jake also had a spell in the Scottish Premiership with Hearts before returning south with Grays Athletic. He first signed for Leiston in October 2016 and was part of the squad that finished just outside the play-offs that season. He left that summer to join Isthmian Premier outfit Merstham and then signed for Vanarama National League South side Braintree Town in June 2019. In November 2019, Jake was appointed as player-manager, despite his young age, but quit after a month and re-joined Leiston. He moved to Isthmian Premier side Kingstonian in 2020, but has returned for a third spell in the summer of 2021.

Adam Bailey-Dennis Defender.

ABD joined Leiston in October 2020 from AFC Sudbury. He is vastly experienced having previously spent a number of seasons in the National League with Bromley, Chelmsford City, Concord Rangers, Hemel Hempstead and Braintree Town.

Ollie Saunders Defender.

Ollie joined Leiston in November 2019 on a permanent basis having previously having a spell with the club on loan from Braintree Town. Was previously at Grimsby Town and Norwich City.

Joe Marsden Midfielder.

Joe has returned for a second spell having been signed from local rivals Needham Market. He made the move in the opposite direction in the summer of 2018 and made almost 100 appearances for the Marketmen, scoring 26 goals. Joe initially rose through the ranks of youth and reserves at Lowestoft Town before moving to Wroxham in the Isthmian Division One North before re-joining the Trawlerboys in the summer of 2014 where he played National League football.

Jamie Eaton-Collins Midfielder. J EC is a former Norwich City youngster who saw his progress halted by injury having been awarded a professional contract. He joined Leiston in the summer of 2020 having previously played for AFC Sudbury and Whitton United.

George Quantrell Midfielder.

George signed for the club during the close season from Stowmarket Town where he had excelled. He has previously played for Dereham Town and the management team were delighted to fight off other interested clubs to get his signature.

Finlay Barnes-Midfielder.

Finlay joined Norwich City as a youngster and spent 10 years at the club before moving to Norwich United for half a season. The midfielder netted 16 goals whilst assisting 26 goals in the Thurlow Nunn Premier League. He joined Leiston in the summer of 2020 and was instrumental in the club’s run to the 4th Qualifying Round of last season’s FA Cup. Ollie Godbold Midfielder.

Ollie made his first team debut at the age of 16 last season against Coalville Town. A very exciting prospect he signed a two year contract during the summer Adam Mills Striker.

Adam came through Needham Market`s academy and returned in 2017 after short spells at Maldon & Tiptree and AFC Sudbury. A fast, wide player who is unstoppable in full flight, he is dangerous both in the air and on the ground. He signed for National League South side Braintree Town in August 2019 and then re-joined Leiston`s league rivals Needham Market for a third spell in November 2019 before making the move to Victory Road in the summer.

Will Davies - Striker. Will joined Leiston in the summer of 2018, having played for Coplestonians in the SIL. During the first three months of the season he scored 19 goals in 19 appearances for the reserves in Eastern Counties Division One, before becoming a regular member of the first team squad. Was the top scorer in the FA Cup last season for the whole competition, a fantastic feat

PLAYER SPONSORSHIP

Matt Bateman Max Bustamante Spyros Mentis Royston Town DFM Mick & Enid Youth FC Matt Clowery Toovey

Nathan Tshikuna David Gray Spyros Mentis

Dan Newton Carl Mensah Cambridge Wine Alison & Trevor Royston Deards

Jarid Robson Rachel Clowery

Steve Castle Kelshall Plastics

PLAYER SPONSORSHIP

Dimi Kyriatzis Cooper McKinnell

George Ironton Robin Coles

Ed James Brighton Asafu-Adjaye Kelshall AVAILABLE Plastics

Ronnie Henry David Gray

Jay Rolfe

Isa Rotimi

Adam Murray

Phil Thompson

AVAILABLE

Jeff Gill

PLAYER SPONSORSHIP

Joel Nakatani-Brown AVAILABLE

Dan Green

Lewis Williams

Chris Watters

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE Spyros Mentis

Joel Joel Joel Joel Nakatani-Brown Nakatani-Brown Nakatani-Brown Nakatani-Brown AVAILABLE AVAILABLE AVAILABLE AVAILABLE

SQUADS Tuesday 16th August 2022 Kick Off: 7.45PM TODAY'S MATCH SPONSOR:

TODAYS OFFICIALS REFEREE: Peter Wilson ASSISTANTS: Lukas Wood, Patrick Yates

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Dimi Kyriatzis (GK) Ed Asafu-Adjaye Joel Nakatani-Brown Carl Mensah Adam Murray (c) Ronnie Henry Nathan Tshikuna Jay Rolfe Max Bustamante-Macaire Matt Bateman George Ironton Lewis Williams Oliver Williams (GK) James Brighton Louis Tigwell Isa Rotimi Kian Harness Dan Green Spyros Mentis Dan Newton Taylor Newman Joel Nakatani-Brown

Steve Castle / Chris Watters Scott Taylor / Arron Benstead

Sam Donkin (GK) Joe Marsden Wyatt Hill Seb Dunbar Jake Hutchings Adam Bailey-Dennis Rossi Jarvis Ryan Jarvis Zac Dronfield Finlay Barnes Ollie Saunders Adam Mills Sonny Wright (GK) Will Davies Jamie Eaton-Collins George Quantrell Iuri Fernandes Nyan Mesuria Kai Fletcher

MANAGERS SPORTS THERAPISTS

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Darren Eadie / Chris Wigger Nigel Ling / Lee Norfolk