ROYSTON TOWN vs ST IVES TOWN - MATCHDAY PROGRAMME - MONDAY 10th APRIL 2023

PITCHING IN SOUTHERN FOOTBALL LEAGUE - PREMIER DIVISION CENTRAL

ROYSTON TOWN FC vs ST IVES TOWN FC Monday 10th April 2023 Kick Off: 3pm

Royston Town FC would like to welcome this afternoon's opponents St Ives Town FC for their visit to Garden Walk for this Pitching In Southern Football League Premier Division Central fixture.

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

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

TODAY'S MATCH IS KINDLY SPONSORED BY

BASSINGBOURN YOUTH FC U16's

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

It is with the greatest sadness that we will be paying our respects with a minutes silence at today's match, to Royston Town Youth Coach U9 Girls Russell Jones who passed away Tuesday 28th March.

Russell had no hesitation in saying yes when his daughter decided that she wanted to play matches and the club were on the hunt for a new coach and there Royston Town Youth youngest Girls team, the U9 Girls were formed. Russell made sure that match days were always fun, with half time oranges and someone always brought a sweet treat to finish.

Russell not only coached the U9s but would also put himself forward to help out whenever and where ever he could. He regularly volunteered to referee for the U14 Girls, sometimes this was straight after his own Girls team match had finished.

Most recently, he had put himself forward to assist with the Club's Inclusive programme, where numbers had grown and they were in need of extra coaches.

Everyone at Royston Town Youth FC and Royston Town FC hold his wife Crystle, daughters Raya and Skye, Russell's family and those who knew and loved him in our thoughts at this time.

WHO'S GOT WHO? Today's other fixtures MONDAY 10th APRIL 2023 AFC Rushden & Diamonds v Bedford Town Barwell v Coalville Town Basford United v Ilkeston Town Bromsgrove Sporting v Stourbridge Hednesford Town v Rushall Olympic Kings Langley v Hitchin Town Mickleover v Nuneaton Borough Needham Market Ilkeston Town vv Leiston Needham Market Redditch United v Alvechurch Tamworth v Stratford Town

SCORES ON THE DOORS! LEAGUE TABLE PITCHING IN SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER CENTRAL DIVISION

https://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/southern-football-league-premier-central-division

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.

Joel Nakatani-Brown (Defender) Joel is a 22 year old left-sided defender who has impressed during pre-season and joins the Crows for their 2022/23 Southern League Premier Central campaign. Joel’s previous clubs include Westfield, FC Romania, Cockfosters and Walthamstow.

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.

Alfie Williams (Midfield) Joined the Crows on loan from Stevenage until the end of this season. Alfie joined the Stevenage academy after being released by Tottenham Hotspur and signed a professional contract with Stevenage in April 2021. Made his professional debut for Stevenage in a 1–0 victory at Scunthorpe United in May 2021, coming on as an 83rdminute substitute in the match. Alfie has spent time on loan at Kings Langley, Hemel Hempstead Town and Hayes & Yeading United.

Mackye Townsend-West (Defender) Joined the Crows on loan from Stevenage until the end of this season. Mackye signed his first prof contract with Stevenage in October 2020. He made his professional debut in the Stevenage’s 3–2 EFL Trophy defeat against MK Dons in October 2020. Has previously been on loan at St Albans City.

Fernando Bell Toxtle (Midfield) Fernando started his career at Cambridge United and spent time on loan at St Neots Town. Following his release from Cambridge United, he joined AFC Rushden & Diamonds in the summer of 2017. In November 2017 he moved to Basford United in order to pursue his university studies in Nottingham. He then rejoined AFC Rushden & Diamonds and was a key member of their squad last season 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.

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.

Cole DaSilva (Defender) Recent acquisition, signed from Hemel Hempstead Town. 23-year-old defender joined the Tudors from Oxford City. Capped by Wales at under-15 level, for England at under-16s and then Wales again at under-17, 19, 20, and under-21 level. Bega at Luton Town’s academy before moving to Chelsea, making 2 appearances in the EFL Trophy in 2017.

He joined Brentford’s B team in 2018 and in 2020 spent time with Leicester City under23s. Signed for Croatian First League club HNK Sibenik in 2021, before joining the Oxford City at the end of the 2021/22 season.

Ky Marsh-Brown (Midfield) Joined the Crows in January from Peterborough Sports. Ky joined the Turbines from St Neots in February 2022 and helped them secure promotion to the National League North.

Previous clubs include Hemel Hempstead Town, Biggleswade Town and Whitehawk. A product of the Brentford Academy, Ky made his England C debut in 2018 Shomari Barnwell (Forward) Recent signing from Southern League Premier South side Hanwell Town. Sham is a towering 6′ 6″, 28-year-old striker who has previously played for Bowers & Pitsea, Dagenham & Redbridge, Bishops Stortford, Solihull Moors, Barking, Brentwood, Grays Athletic and Maldon & Tiptree.

Kian Harness (Forward) Exciting young striker who made his 1st team debut this season after impressing in PreSeason. Kian is a local lad who has come through the ranks of Royston Town Youth and our Under 18s.

TODAY'S OPPONENTS ST IVES TOWN FC Club History

TODAY'S OPPONENTS ST IVES TOWN FC Club History contd

TODAY'S OPPONENTS ST IVES TOWN FC Club History contd

TODAY'S OPPONENTS ST IVES TOWN FC Club History contd

MANAGERS have this saying which is often spilled during the second half of the season that baffles and amuses us journalists in equal measure.

Some say it more regularly than others, some more genuinely than others, but the fact of the matter is – and whisper it quietly - that we actually don’t believe a word they say.

Asked how they assess their team’s current form or overall league position, it’s quite commonplace to receive a response along the lines of: “I don’t look even at the league table until around Easter”.

So, I ask myself a) does a manager really not compare his team’s fortunes to that of their rivals until three quarters of the season have passed; and, if so, at what point do they finally cast their eye over the standings?

Are we scoring enough goals? Are we conceding too many? Are our rivals outperforming us? One glance at a league table can answer all.

Nine times out of ten, a winning manager will not need to scroll down on their digital subscription to The NLP on a Sunday morning or rush out to the local newsagents, they know themselves whether their team have been good enough to compete in the higher reaches of the division.

One only hopes, however, that Notts County boss Luke Williams is not one of those managers who vow not to regularly check his side’s progress.

Losing just two their 41 matches this season, scoring 103 goals along the way, Williams and his Magpies would be celebrating an emotional return to the Football League any other season, but in the most exciting two-horse title race in the National League for years, they don’t even find themselves on top of the pile.

That honour is bestowed on Wrexham, who lead by three points with a game in hand going into the Easter weekend. Monday’s game between the two at the Racecourse Ground promises to be an absolute classic, dare I suggest, the biggest game in Non-League history?

The fact that neither Williams or Parkinson aren’t the first managers to be celebrating a promotion or title-winning campaign up and down the country shows just how many top performances we have enjoyed so far this term.

By our reckoning, Worksop Town were the first English champions of 2022-23 after sauntering to the Northern Premier League East division having lost just once all season.

They were followed on top of the winners’ rostrum by North Ferriby, who continued their rise back to the top tiers by clinching the Northern Counties East Premier division, similarly Macclesfield FC, who made it back-to-back promotions from Step 5 to Step 3 by cruising to the Northern Premier League West title.

And then there’s Berkhamsted, who are also celebrating title success after a storming campaign in Southern League Division Once Central.

One thing’s for sure, the Easter bunny will be delivering more title success this weekend with the likes of Ebbsfleet United and South Shields among a number of clubs chasing confirmation this Bank Holiday.

One thing’s for sure, you can be certain that Fleet boss Dennis Kutrieb and Mariners chief Kevin Phillips will have lived through every permutation and will know exactly what their teams have to do to ensure success.

WHO ARE YA? ST IVES TOWN FC Player Pen Pics Ricky Marheineke - Manager Ricky is entering his 9th season as manager of St Ives Town. During his first season he took the club to a 9th place finish in Southern League Division One Central beating the previous year’s points tally, and in his second season secured a memorable promotion, guiding The Ives to a play-off extra time win over AFC Rushden & Diamonds. In his first season at step 3 he continued to take the Club forward finishing a creditable 15th in the Premier Division also enjoying a run to the League Challenge Cup Final which unfortunately ended in defeat. A tough season in 2017/18 was followed in 2018/19 by the Clubs most successful season ever.

He is now looking to continue taking the Club forward with a top half finish the minimum aim.

Adam Fisher - Joint Assistant Manager/Coach After a spell as a coach at Barton Rovers, Fisher made the switch to become Manager at Welwyn Garden City. A seven-and-a-half-year spell in charge of the Citizens proved to be successful as he guided the club to step 4 football for the first time in their history. His time at Welwyn came to an end when he felt the club didn’t share the same ambitions to move it forward so he switched to a role at Hertford Town before moving to Baldock Town. After leaving Baldock, he pent time scouting for various clubs but is relishing the opportunity at Ives.

Jim Freeman - Joint Assistant Manager/Coach Jim was part of the coaching staff at Kettering Town and Bugbrooke St Michael with Mitchell Austin and came to Westwood Road with his former colleague in summer 2020. A former Nottingham Forest YTS player Jim moved to non league with Bridgnorth and Solihull Borough before a two year stint in the Gambian Premier Division.

Paul Swannell - Goalkeeping Coach Paul is an important part of the coaching staff looking after the goalkeepers throughout the Club. He has worked with Ricky at both Huntingdon & St Ives and was proud to boast the joint top best clean sheet record during the successful promotion campaign. His keeper also went very close to equaling that record during 2018/19 season conceding only 43 goals in 42 games a record only bettered by the top three.

Jardaine Patel-Joseph - Physiotherapist Experienced sports therapist Jardaine joined the Ives from local rivals Eynesbury Rovers in summer 2021. He graduated from the University of Bedford in 2019 with a BSc (Hons) in Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation having gained experience whilst getting his degree as physiotherapist with Southern League Division One Central Kempston Rovers. With Ricky intending to operate with a relatively small squad this season Jardaine will be a vital member of the team.

James Goff - Goalkeeper Ex Northampton Town goalkeeper James is a familiar face to Ives supporters having spent a large part of 2017/18 season as first choice keeper at Westwood Road during a successful loan period from the Cobblers. He had initially signed at Sixfields as a thirteen year old and risen through the academy before signing his first professional contract in the summer of 2017. He followed his spell with the Ives with a similar loan deal at Banbury United in 2018/19 and since his release from the Cobblers has spent spells at Wisbech Town, Spalding United and most recently Lincoln United.

James Dadge - Goalkeeper James is a hugely promising 18 year old Northampton Town academy goalkeeper who has joined the Ives on a work experience loan until the end of the season. Impressed in keeping a clean sheet on his debut and provides real competition for the number one spot.

ST IVES TOWN FC Player Pen Pics contd.

Eddie Brearey - Goalkeeper Highly rated third year scholar Eddie rejoined the Ives on a work experience loan just before the transfer deadline from League One Oxford United. Eddie will be familiar to Ives fans as the keeper that produced a string of impressive performances at quattro tech Westwood Road during a similar loan spell last season. The youngster has already been named on the bench for Oxford United first team for League One fixtures and has enjoyed loan spells at North Leigh, Thame United and Evesham United earlier this season.

Ashton Fox - Defender Powerful centre back Ashton is a Peterborough United youngster who has joined the Ives on loan for the rest of the season. A Dereham lad he started his career with his home town club and whilst with them he was picked to play for England schoolboys captaining the side to a victory over Northern Ireland in the Centenary Shield. Soon after that he moved to the Posh where he signed his first professional contract Jordan Williams - Defender Jordan is a 24 year old commanding centre back who joins the Ives for the 2022/23 season from Stratford Town. Jordan started his career at Cambridge United before crossing the river Cam to enjoy two spells at Cambridge City. He then switched to Stratford for his first spell with the Bards. A move to Stourbridge followed before moving back to Stratford. Jordan was part of the Stratford team that played against league one side, Shrewsbury Town in a televised FA Cup first round tie last season.

Johnny Herd - Defender Johnny, 32, is a left back who joins the Ives from Peterborough Sports. Started his career at Southend United before being released in 2011. After a brief spell with Ebbsfleet United he then went onto make nearly 150 appearances for Bishop’s Stortford over a 5-year period. A move to St Neots followed before he made the move to Peterborough Sports.

Julien Saka - Defender Julien, 21, is a left back who joins the Ives from Soham Town Rangers. Born in France, he joined Soham in January 2022 from Ashford United. His former clubs include Chessington & Hook, Tooting & Mitcham and Colliers Wood.

Patrick Casey - Defender 21 year old defender Patrick has joined the Ives on a dual registration from Northern Premier Division One Midlands side Harborough Town. He started his career at Northampton own Academy and since leaving the Cobblers has also appeared for AFC Rushden & Diamonds, Bugbrooke St Michaels and Cogenhoe United.

Lewis Lembikisa - Defender 21 year old Lewis spent last season playing in the Wearside League for Chester Le Street United but having moved down to London he came to Ives as a pre-season trialist and impressed sufficiently with his stout defending and pacy runs down the right to earn himself a chance at step 3 with the Ives.

Ben Toseland - Defender Utility player Ben was Ives player of the year last season but left in the summer to try his luck with National League North side Kettering Town where he has made twelve first team appearances this season. But having suffered a period on the sidelines with the Poppies he has rejoined Ives on an initial one month loan to bolster manager Ricky Marheineke’s defensive options.

ST IVES TOWN FC Player Pen Pics contd.

Charlie Johnson - Defender Centre back Charlie is no stranger to Westwood Road after playing for the Ives during the aborted 2019/20 season. He started out at Cambridge United featuring in their Under 18 team and has played for Yaxley and St Neots Town since his first spell with the Ives. At St Neots he made over 30 appearances last season. He re-joins the Ives this season after being a regular with Bury Town in the Isthmian League North Division.

Edmund Hottor - Midfield Ed is a 29 year-old Ghanaian midfielder who made three senior appearances for Italian side Triestina before joining AC Milan in January 2010. Whilst never making a senior appearance for the Italian giants in 6 years at the club he had loan spells with lower level Italian sides Lanciano, Nocerina and Venezia. In January 2016 he signed for Inter Milan and whilst, not making a senior appearance for his parent club he had loan spells with Portuguese sides Athletico CP and AD Fafe before playing 2017/18 season for Maltese club Sliema Wanderers. Had a brief spell with Kettering Town in 2018/19 before joining Banbury United in November 2018 and moving to Ives a year later. He has quickly made himself a favourite with the Ives fans for his never say die attitude.

Michael Richens - Midfield 27 year old midfielder Michael started his career in the youth system at Peterborough United. During this period he spent time on loan at Histon, Nuneaton, Whitehawk and Bishop’s Stortford before making two appearances in the football league for the Stevenage both during another loan spell in September 2014. He returned to the Boro as a permanent signing early the following year but soon moved on to Farnborough, Hemel Hempstead Town and Biggleswade Town before arriving at Kettering Town in 2017 where he became club captain and lead them to promotion into National League North making 84 appearances and scoring 8 goals along the way. He also spent a brief spell in 2019/20 on loan at Ives' League rivals Nuneaton Borough. A natural leader he adds strength and stability in the middle of the park for the Ives.

Myles Cowling - Midfield Combative midfielder Myles has joined the Ives on a season long loan from League One Cambridge United where he signed his first professional contract in July this year. Having spent last season with step four St Neots Town the move to Ives is seen as a step up and another rung on the ladder towards first team football for the Us Luke Harris - Midfield 19 year old Luke has joined the Ives on loan from League One Peterborough United for the rest of the season. He has progressed through the Posh Academy and is now regularly playing at U23 level, catching the eye with a number of impressive performances.

Tyrone Baker - Winger Wide midfield player Tyrone joined the Ives in November 2021 from Isthmian North Division strugglers Basildon United where he was virtually an ever present over the previous two seasons. Enfield born Tyrone has spent most of his playing career with Isthmian League sides having previously appeared for Bowers & Pitsea and Heybridge Swifts before joining Basildon Enoch Andoh - Winger Enoch is a 29-year-old winger who joined from Stratford Town. Born in Ghana, Enoch played in the Ghanaian Premier League before moving to FC Porto, where he featured in the under 19 team. A move to Cyprus followed where he played for AEL Limassol. In 2014, he moved to the UK and signed for Port Vale and broke into the first team.

However, an injury forced his time with The Valiants to come to an end, and he dropped into non-league and has played for the likes of Nuneaton Borough, Hednesford Town and Biggleswade Town before signing for the Ives prior to the 2022/23 season.

ST IVES TOWN FC Player Pen Pics contd.

Ravi Shamsi - Winger Ravi is a 24-year-old winger who played most recently for AFC Rushden & Diamonds.

Born in Iran, he started his career playing for Fulham and Oxford United youth teams. He has also played National League football for Maidenhead United but is best known in the Southern League Premier Division Central after playing for Stratford Town, Banbury United, and Nuneaton Borough.

Keiran Higgs - Winger Ex Norwich City academy winger Kieran has joined the Ives in November 2022 on an initial one month loan from Isthmian League Division One North leaders Lowestoft Town.

Kieran earnt himself a one year contract with the Canaries at the end of his time in the academy and during that time he spent a short period on loan with Solihull Moors in the National League. The 23 year old joined the Trawlerboys on his release from Carrow Road and has returned to them after a spell in Spain with CD Almunecar City.

Greg Kaziboni - Winger Greg is a 29-year-old midfielder, who joins the Ives after playing for Nuneaton Borough last year. He started his career at Northampton Town making his football league debut against Gillingham in January 2011. After being released by the Cobblers, he joined Corby Town and then had two spells with National North league side, Brackley Town. He has enjoyed further spells at the likes of Banbury United, Tamworth, AFC Rushden & Diamonds and Stratford Town before signing for the Ives this summer.

Nabil Shariff - Striker Prolific striker Nabil began his career as a scholar at the now defunct Rushden & Diamonds during their conference days. Since his departure when the club disbanded in summer 2011 he has moved around a number of clubs at National League and Southern League level scoring goals wherever he has gone. Most recently he has rattled in 42 goals in 73 appearances over two seasons for AFC Rushden & Diamonds prior to that he had registered 14 goals in half a season at St Neots Town and can also list Alfreton Town, Kettering Town, Oxford City, Banbury United, Tamworth and Stratford Town amongst his former clubs.

Ethan Johnston - Striker 20 year old Ethan successfully worked his way through the Northampton Town academy to earn himself a professional contract at Sixfields. A prolific goal scorer at youth level he went on to make one first team appearance during his time with the Cobblers in a Carabao cup tie at Bristol City in September 2020. He also spent spells on loan at Redditch United and Kettering Town. Released at the end of 2020/21 season he went on to join the Puritans where he made sixteen appearances and scored five goals last season before joining the Ives in November 2021.

Jonny Edwards - Striker Aged 25, Jonathan is a striker who started his career at Peterborough United, and was in the same Posh squad as former Ives player, Conor Washington. After several loan spells in non-league, he joined Hull City after a successful trial with their under 21 squad. A move to Accrington Stanley followed before returning to non-league playing for FC Halifax, Maidstone United, Royston Town and most recently, FC Romania.

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Dimi Kyriatzis (GK) Ed Asafu-Adjaye Joel Nakatani-Brown Will Hall Adam Murray (c) Ronnie Henry Kian Harness George Hoddle Matt Bateman Ky Marsh-Brown James Brighton Fernando Bell Toxtle Isa Rotimi Cole DaSilva Matt Crowther Shomari Barnwell Harry Forde Spyros Mentis Charlie Castle

Steve Castle / Chris Watters Scott Taylor / James Smith

Eddie Brearey (GK) 1 Paddy Casey 2 Johnny Herd 3 Michael Richens (c) 4 Jordan Williams 5 Ashton Fox 6 Kieran Higgs 7 Luke Harris 8 Jonny Edwards 9 Nabil Shariff 10 Ben Toseland 11 Ed Hottor 12 James Dadge (GK) 13 Charlie Johnson 14 Lewis Lembikisa 15 Myles Cowling 16 Enoch Andoh 17 Tyrone Baker 18 Greg Kaziboni 19 Ravi Shamsi 20 Ethan Johnston 21 Julien Saka 22 James Goff (GK) 23 MANAGERS SPORTS THERAPISTS

Ricky Marheineke / Adam Fisher Jardaine Patel-Joseph