ESocon25

Rushden & Higham United “The Lankies”

vs. Eaton Socon Spartan South Midlands Division One Tuesday 1st April 2025, 7.45pm

Welcome to Hayden Road Welcome to Hayden Road for tonight's game against Eaton Socon.

Rushden & Higham United FC Hayden Road Rushden Northamptonshire Our last home game which was on Saturday saw The Lankies NN10 0HX defeat a depleted Long Buckby side by two goals to one to secure another vital three points in our bid to keep the relegation zone at arms length. (Report elsewhere in this issue).

Today’s visitors are sitting pretty in the play-offs and although we must surely be considered the underdogs we know that we are more than capable of competing against the league’s bigger hitters as exampled in our recent performances against both Desborough Town and Ampthill.

Simon Swingler

Admission:

£6 Adults £3 Concessions £0 Under 12s

Chairman: Manager: Secretary: Bar: Gate: Programme: Committee: Committee: Committee: Twitter: Instagram: Email:

Aidy Mann Danny Jackson Scott Freeman Gina Wrighton Helen Whitehead Simon Swingler Phil Summers Jamie Loveday Ben Harrison @RandHUFC rushdenandhigham.fc rhufcsec@yahoo.co.uk

Many thanks to the following people for permission to use their photos: Shaun Frankham Phil Passingham Finbarr Carroll Niki Crook

Eaton Socon History

Eaton Socon Football Club is an association football club based in the areas of Eaton Socon and Eaton Ford, St Neots, England. They are currently members of the Spartan South Midlands League Division One and play at River Road, Eaton Ford, St Neots.

History Eaton Socon were formed in 1867. In 2005, the club joined the Cambridgeshire County League Premier Division, after winning the Senior Division A. In 2022, the club was admitted into the Spartan South Midlands League Division One. Ground The club currently play at River Road, Eaton Ford, St Neots.

2024/25 Player’s Stats

Troy Johnston Lankies manager Danny Jackson has dipped into the “transfer market” again to secure the services of the vastly experienced Troy Johnston from Raunds Town.

Over the years Troy has represented a wealth of local clubs including Kettering Town, Corby Town, AFC Rushden & Diamonds, Wellingborough Town, Cogenhoe and Northampton Sileby Rangers.

Troy started out in the youth academy system at MK Dons before moving onto Northampton Town.

Troy broke into the first team at Steel Park during the 2010/11 season while still a teenager before moving on to neighbours Kettering for the 2012/13 season where he made twenty-seven appearances and finding the back of the net on one occasion in a 1-0 victory against Bedworth.

During this period Johnston also made single appearance for AFC Rushden & Diamonds.

TROY IN ACTION AGAINST LONG BUCKBY

The 2014/15 season saw Troy in the colours of Northampton Sileby Rangers, he then moved to Desborough Town

before returning to Fernie Fields and then onto The Dog & Duck for the 2018/19 season.

Most recently Troy has appeared for Cogenhoe last season and Raunds Town this season where he made ten appearances for The Shopmates finding the back of the net on one occasion.

Fixtures

League Table

Guest Article Sometimes, a face doesn’t fit at a football club. It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with the face, or anything wrong with the club. The two have simply crossed paths and tried, but it hasn’t worked out. In 1973, Brian Clough had just lost in the semi-final of the European Cup with a Derby side he had taken from obscurity in the Second Division to League Champions.

And as a result of his outburst on the Michael Parkinson show, he lost his job in the East Midlands.

Unable to go long without work or without football, he waited for the offers to roll in.

They didn’t and a few days later he accepted the most unlikely of assignments; Brighton. As his character in The Damned United opined: ‘look where we are! We’re almost in France!’.

BRIAN CLOUGH AND BRIAN MOORE ON THE SET OF THE BIG MATCH

Mike Bamber had taken over as chairman of Brighton and Hove Albion at the end of 1972, and like Clough was restless when not working. He owned property, a nightclub, a farm, and of course the club and presumably saw something of a kindred spirit in Clough; both born in the difficulty of the Great Depression, both fighting their way to the top, both still somewhat outcasts. And he had seen what had been achieved at Derby, and wanted some of that on the south coast. When the great and the good of the English game felt too alienated by Clough’s outbursts

Guest Article Bamber must have known he was being used as a stepping stone. Clough would later write in his biography that nobody went to Brighton for the football. But he was an ambitious chairman, and for as long as he could have the golden boy, he’d take him. But Clough’s reign did not get off to the most auspicious of starts. He only won one of his first ten games in charge in the Third Division, including an 8-2 thrashing.

The belated addition of Peter Taylor, Clough’s partner in crime, did little to change that form. But Bamber was determined, and with Taylor spotting talent and Clough wanting it, he signed the cheques. A lot of cheques. A reported £250,000 went out of the club within the year of Clough’s tenure. By the turn of the year, they were beginning to show results.

PETER TAYLOR & BRIAN CLOUGH

In the final game of 1973, Brighton huffed and puffed their way to a 1-0 win over Plymouth Argyle. It wasn’t much, but it was only Clough’s second victory on the south coast and it was something to build on. In the new year, they went on a run of one defeat in 12 as they lifted themselves to the comfort of mid-table. With the management pair eyeing a top half finish, they travelled to Shrewsbury as the form team in the division. But it was a false dawn. They lost, and patchy form saw them slide down the table once more. A revival in April ended any relegation fears, but the club finished 19th, despite their high profile manager and high level of investment.

Guest Article It’s an unremarkable story. That summer, Leeds manager Don Revie took the England job, and Clough moved on to the best job in the country, where he failed abysmally. It was a job he had to take, but at the top table of English football, back in the European Cup. But it was with a heavy heart. He would say that Bamber was the best chairman he ever worked with, treating him like a king and matching his ambition. But it was the former that was perhaps a problem.

Bamber indulged Clough so completely that he never settled on the south coast. He lived in an expensive hotel room, and spent most of his time driving back up the M1 to his family. That’s when he wasn’t given time off to go watch boxing or go on tv or anything else he wanted. One of the great what-if’s is whether Clough and Taylor could have achieved they Nottingham Forest success on the south coast, but really, Clough was never committed to the club. Not where he wanted to be, both in terms of league position or geographical position. All the money in the world couldn’t change that.

But he did lay some of the groundwork that Bamber was looking for. Taylor stayed behind for a couple of years before joining his friend in Nottingham, slowly building a side filled with quality. When he left, Bamber turned to unproven Fulham and Tottenham player Alan Mullery. He delivered the success that the fans craved, first one promotion, and then another, as Brighton reached the First Division, the year that Clough finally sated his own desire, winning the European Cup with Forest.

Enjoy the game.

Martyn Green The Untold Game Find more at TheUntoldGame.co.uk or on social media @TheUntoldGame

The Lankies 2-1 Long Buckby The Lankies entered into Saturday’s clash with Long Buckby with a certain degree of optimism following a very presentable display against Royston Town Development only two days earlier.

Into the side came experienced midfielder Troy Johnston replacing Johnny Carey and Ralph Oluwole - Shiwoku made his first Lankies start replacing Mason Jackson at left back.

The first half was largely a non event with both sides struggling to come to terms with the hard ground and blustery conditions.

Ralph Oluwole - Shiwoku looked assured on the left hand of defence and was the pick of The Lankies during the first period putting in a performance far in advance of his years.

Jack Edison Grabbed His First Goal

Troy Johnston who had limped off injured on Tuesday at Welwyn was putting in a trojan like shift in the centre of the park despite

still nursing a niggling groin injury.

The only real moment of quality in the opening forty-fives minutes game from Jack Culwick who rifled a delicious drive past the groping hand of Kai Hanley in the Long Buckby goal.

After the break both sides were under no illusion as to the importance of the next goal and thankfully it was plundered by the home side, Jory Mann fed the ball outside to substitute Jack Bloodworth, Jack curled in a beautiful far post cross with his wand of a left foot. For once the immaculate Long Buckby centre half pairing were not on hand to cut out the danger and in stole Jack Edison to nod the ball home for this first goal for the club.

The Lankies 2-1 Long Buckby With a mere fifteen minutes to go and two goals to the good that should have been game over however the celebrations from Jack Edison’s goal had only just died down when Long Buckby were awarded a penalty after visiting forward was bundled over in the area.

The penalty was duly dispatched despite the best efforts of Micky Ibbeson to set up a tense final quarter of an hour.

However The Lankies managed to ride out the remaining time in relative comfort with Dennis Palmer and Tomas Olivieira impressing as the homeside endeavoured to monopolise possession and run down the clock.

Jack Bloodworth - Wand Of A Left Foot

The seconds on the referee’s wristwatch ticked down agonisingly slowly from a Lankies perspective however the final whistle eventually sounded and another three points were secured in our bid to keep the dropzone at arms length.

THE LANKIES: Micky Ibbeson, Dennis Palmer, Ralph Oluwole - Shiwoku, Mitchell Sharpe, Austin Bishop, Troy Johnston (Jack Bloodworth), Jory Mann, Jack Culwick (1), James Lewis (Kian King), Mohammed Khan (Jack Edison (1)), Danny Wells (Tomas Olivieria) MAN OF THE MATCH: Ralph Oluwole - Shiwoku - put in a very assured and confident display on his first start for the club.

Proud Sponsors of Austin Bishop

MASON JACKSON Season Apps: 39 Season Goals: 1 Lankies Apps: 80 Lankies Goals: 2

Proud Sponsors of Ben Peaks

MILES EATON Season Apps: 19 Season Goals: 4 Lankies Apps: 19 Lankies Goals: 4

Proud Sponsors of Jack Bloodworth

MAX WYNNE Season Apps: 18 Season Goals: 1 Lankies Apps: 18 Lankies Goals: 1

The History of The Lankies HIGHAM TOWN The earliest recorded mention of Higham Town Football Club occurred in 1876 when the club was formed following a meeting held at the Griffin Public House in Higham Ferrers.

The club initially competed in the Northamptonshire League during the latter part of the nineteenth century.

The Lankies’ golden age was undoubtedly in the 1920s, when they were reformed following the conclusion of the First World War. By this time competing in the Wellingborough & District League, they won the NFA Junior Cup also gaining admittance to the Northants League which they won in their maiden season along with the Northants Senior Cup. The league title was retained a year later as well as Northamptonshire’s premier trophy, The Maunsell Cup. The same season (1921/22) the Lankies enjoyed a long run in the FA Cup culminating with a tie against Football League Chesterfield. More than matching our professional opponents we secured a 4-4 draw at Saltergate before succumbing by a single goal to nil in the replay. The Lankies were also the highest scorers in the FA Cup that season.

THE HIGHAM TOWN SIDE FROM 1922 WHO TOOK CHESTERFIELD TO A REPLAY IN THE FA CUP

The History of The Lankies In the 1923-24 and 1926-27 seasons the club were league runners up and in 1931 and 1933 they were also Northants Senior Cup runners cup. In 1936 the Maunsell Cup was once again secured with The Lankies defeating Northampton Town in the final.

On resumption of the football calendar following the end of the Second World War The Lankies competed in the Rushden & District League where they remained before joining the United Counties League. During the period between 1950-1997 The Lankies finished runners up in the league on no less than seven different occasions.

In 1997 The Lankies finally secured the United Counties League Division One title which was the club’s first league title in seventy five years.

RUSHDEN RANGERS Rushden Rangers were formed as a youth football side in 1978 by Steve Cavender who was inspired by watching local lads playing a jumpers for goalposts game in Melloway Park, Rushden. Steve would hold the position of Rushden Rangers’ secretary until 1990.

In the club’s heyday it boasted numerous youth sides and two senior sides going on to secure the NFA Lower Junior Cup and the Northants Combination League title.

In 1994 Neil Gant offered the Hayden Road facility to Rushden Rangers which now lay vacant following Rushden Town’s merger with Irthlingborough Diamonds and subsequent move to Nene Park.

The History of The Lankies MERGER In 2007 the decision was made to merge Higham Town and Rushden Rangers, with the new club playing at Hayden Road in order to preserve their United Counties League status. With assistance from the Stadia Improvement fund the Hayden Road facility was brought up to the required standard.

THE MODERN ERA Since the merger Rushden & Higham United has plied their trade at Step Six, initially in the United Counties League and more recently the Spartan South Midlands Division following a lateral move in 2021.

The club’s most famous day since the merger in 2007 came in 2013 when the NFA Junior Cup was secured with victory over Cogenhoe at Northampton Town’s Sixfields Stadium.

Rushden & Higham Utd

Eaton Socon

Mickey IBBESON Mason JACKSON Kian KING Jack BLOODWORTH Mitchell SHARPE Johnny CAREY Austin BISHOP Dennis PALMER James LEWIS Ralph OLUWOLE - SHIWOKU Ben PEAKS Jory MANN Jaydn BAVERSTOCK Sven SARTAIN Redha ZEKRI Danny WELLS Mohammed KHAN Jack CULWICK Tomas OLIVEIRA Troy JOHNSTON Jack EDISON

Mark ANSELL - CARTER Hayden ARMINGER Jakob BUCKLE James BURNSIDE James DUCKET Robert DUCKET Sammy FISHER - DIAZ Shay GRIFFITHS Ben HICKLING Joseph KEECH Jake WILLIAMS Stanley AYRE Gabriel RYAN Ryan VALE

MATCHOfficials: OFFICIALS: Match Andy Woolmer Luke

Burford

Ian Brown Mark Wardell

Stephen Hoare Russell

Tunney