Tring Athletic vs Leighton Town official match programme

Official Programme

Tring Athletic v Leighton Town Saturday 18th September 2021 3pm Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Match Sponsor— Tony Stedman & David Snelman

About Matilda’s Planet Some years ago Matilda, Social Entrepreneur David Evans MBE‘s five year old daughter, told him he should take more responsibility for the environment. Her words prompted him to establish Matilda’s Planet.

At Matilda’s Planet we are committed to finding solutions to our energy problems. The company’s values are to be socially responsible, sustainable – and to provide practical solutions to the real problem of keeping your house warm.

We have a solution that’s both practical and socially responsible. We all know that changing the way we consume energy is something we have to do – but actually doing anything about it is a challenge. Matilda’s Planet came from a little girl’s belief that it’s the job of the ‘grown-ups’ to make sure that the legacy we leave for our children is one both we, and they, can be proud of.

Grassroots Talk

Good afternoon & welcome to the Grass Roots Stadium for the visit of Leighton Town. We welcome their players, officials and supporters and wish them a safe journey home afterwards.

Ahead of today’s game we will be asking for a minute’s silence to remember two long standing supporters Brian Rutherford and Derek Connell who have recently passed away. Derek’s funeral is to be held at Bierton Cremetorium on Monday at 1pm with all welcome to attend. The family request donations to Macmillan Cancer Support rather than flowers.

Leighton sit top of the table after picking up three points in midweek making a comeback from two down to win at Leverstock Green. Our start to the season continues to be full of ups and downs, recently picking up a good point against then league leaders Harpenden before a win in the FA Vase at Long Buckby but a disappointing defeat against Harefield in midweek. Looking ahead we host Dunstable Town on Tuesday evening before heading back into FA Vase action with a trip to FC Deportivo Galicia next weekend.

Spaces are available on the coach at a cost of £10 so please let us know if you would like to reserve a seat.

Today’s match sponsors are Tony Stedman and David Snelman and we would like to thank them for their support. We have availability on future games (see page 14) including those against Leverstock Green and Aylesbury Vale Dynamos, so please speak to Graham Bright if you are interested.

Our reserves travel to Standon & Puckeridge in the League this afternoon before playing the reverse fixture next Saturday here in Tring.

We will be hosting some social evenings at the club in the coming months starting with a Sunday Roast on 3rd October and a Sports Quiz on 16th. Into November we see a TAFC President’s Dinner on 19th and are finalising arrangements for a Pool & Darts night as well as the club Christmas Party.

If you are able to volunteer for the club on a regular basis or even just occasionally please speak to a committee member. We are always grateful for extra support.

Today’s programme

This is the second season of producing online only programmes and we hope to keep improving this offering as time goes on.

This is a work in progress so please let us know what you think. If you click on any of the logos or adverts it should direct you straight to our sponsors websites. This also means we can bring you features such as match highlights at the click of a button.

Today’s programme includes •

Pages 6 & 7—Match reports from our recent games against Harefield and Long Buckby.

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Page 13—Episode 1 of From The Dugout

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Page 19— Today’s match squads

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Pages 27 & 28 —On this Day, we look back to 2012 and a 1-3 defeat against Berkhamsted Town in the league.

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Pages 31 & 32—new pages for our U16s & U18s

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As always keep an eye on our website for all the latest information, fixtures and results.

Match Report Tuesday 14th September 2021 Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Harefield United 4-0 Tring Athletic OVERRUN BY THE HARES This was a poor performance. Let’s be honest, we were smashed – smashed by a highly capable Harefield side, with a potent attacking threat which will pose problems for all clubs in this division.

We started brightly and, in fact, in the first twenty minutes Ollie Butler had three shots on target, one of which would have resulted in a goal had it been a metre either side of the goalie rather than straight at him.

But this action was deceptive as Harefield were already looking dangerous. Goals came at regular intervals, direct from a corner in the 22nd minute, a shot in off the post after 30 when we had spurned the opportunity to clear our lines, 70 minutes again from a corner and then finally a 25 yarder in the 88th minute which simply flew into the net, with David Saunders flapping in thin air.

We played some nice football at times and did create some chances, the closest we came to scoring was a shot from Cameron Brookes which clipped the crossbar.

But Harefield were always dominating, always in control.

Rather than look back on last night’s match, I’d prefer to turn the focus on our next two matches which give the lads the opportunity to show their ‘bouncebackability’, their resilience. A really tough derby match against Leighton will test their resolve as well as their quality. It’s up to everyone, players, management, supporters to pull together and to produce a performance to be proud of.

The following Tuesday, versus a struggling Dunstable Town, is, on paper, a winnable game.

Team: David Saunders, Ben Johnson, Adam Sawyer, George Carberry, James Ferguson, Evans Lamboh, Tommy Twelves, Ollie Butler, Chris Blunden, Emmanuel Gbejuade, Cameron Brookes Playing subs: Kieran Turner, Frankie Hercules, Chris Vardy.

Match Report—FA Vase vs Long Buckby THE HARD WAY It’s the title of a brilliant Jack Reacher novel but also a good description of how we are going about this season. Conceding in the first and the last minutes, flukey goals, oh what I would give for a stress-free 2-0 victory!

This match was another not good for the nerves. We should have wrapped it up long before our opponents equalised deep in to the game. And then penalties and step forward our hero, David Saunders. David made two fines penalty saves and our four shooters were unnervingly accurate and so we progress into the next round. We started brightly but were rocked back when Long Buckby scored after 10 minutes. David punched away a cross but it fell nicely to the opposition captain who floated the ball into the net. David made the first of several good saves when pushing away a deflected shot in the 15th minutes. A mazy dribble by Cameron Brookes led to the equaliser after 33 minutes which was nudged into the net by Manny Gbejuade – it was well deserved as we had already spurned a few good chances of our own.

We started the second half poorly and Long Buckby were in the ascendency but a Tommy Twelves special after 60 looked to have won it for us. It was a cracking, curling 25 yarder, finishing off a delightful team move. We then went hunting for the third, killer goal, gaining a one man advantage when the opposition centre forward was sin binned for dissent. George Carberry smacked one against the post, Cameron fired over, chances went begging. A sense of dread came over the writer as we showed signs of tiredness and also a lack of footballing nous in the dying minutes – ‘keep the ball for goodness sake!’ True enough the equaliser came after 88 minutes. David had made a flying parry and pushed the ball away but we didn’t clear and a shot came in from the edge of the box which flew in to the net. We still had a chance to settle the match in 90, when Chris Blunden hit the post but equally David had to make a final save to keep us in the match.

And so to penalties which went our way from the first of those which David saved.

He made another save and then Frankie Hercules finished it all off with our fourth successful spot kick. Well done lads, a hard fought victory achieved through a fighting spirit and a strong team ethic. We need to improve our approach play in the final third and the quality of our dead ball kicks – but then every club in the land is probably feeling the same.

Team: David Saunders, Ben Johnson, James Ferguson, Scott Bonner, Adam Sawyer, George Carberry, Evans Lamboh, Tommy Twelves, Emmanuel Gbejuade, Chris Blunden, Cameron Brooks Playing subs: Tom Shaw, Frankie Hercules,

Highlights & Social Media Highlights — TAFC 1-2 Holmer Green Click on the image below to view

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The League

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Leighton Town Harpenden Town Risborough Rangers Hadley Leverstock Green New Salamis Holmer Green Milton Keynes Irish London Colney Arlesey Town Ardley United Aylesbury Vale Dynamos Broadfields United Harefield United Oxhey Jets Flackwell Heath Baldock Town Tring Athletic Crawley Green Dunstable Town

8 8 6 6 7 6 7 6 7 5 5 7 3 6 5 5 5 4 6 6

5 5 5 5 4 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0

2 2 1 1 0 1 1 3 0 2 1 1 0 2 2 1 0 2 2 0

Table as at Friday 17th September 2021

1 1 0 0 3 2 3 1 4 1 2 4 1 3 2 3 4 2 4 6

10 7 17 7 7 11 -6 4 -8 3 1 -7 -2 -3 -10 -1 -6 -5 -6 -13

17 17 16 16 12 10 10 9 9 8 7 7 6 5 5 4 3 2 2 0

Officials Life President Life Vice Presidents

Mick Eldridge BEM David Evans MBE, Barry Johnson, Jean & Les Robins, Ralph Griffiths, Harry Bowden, Pete Stillwell, Alan Foskett, Pete Oakley, Keith Hamilton

Chairman Vice Chairman Hon. Secretary Hon. Treasurer Commercial Manager Match Secretary - South Midlands & Herts Snr Registration Secretary Club Welfare Officer First Team Manager First Team Coach First Team Technical Advisor Reserve Team Management EJA Under 18' Management EJA Under 16's Management Sports Physio Football Co-Ordinator Press Officer Website Social Media Programme Editor Groundsman Facilities Manager Membership Secretary Kit Laundering Kit Manager Catering Bar Manager

Bob Winter Tony Stedman & Mark Weston David Blair Tony Stedman Graham Bright Tony Stedman Trevor Langley Kirstie McNeil Ryan Sturges Lee Groves, Kieran Turner Ian Richardson Michael Churchill, Ian Butler Michael Churchill, Iain Lorimar David Lawless Vacant Vacant Vacant Keith Eldridge / Colin Sturges Keith Eldridge Keith Eldridge Darrell Bodimeade Bob Winter / Tony Steadman Graham Bright Vacant Vacant Vacant Tash Young

Committee Members Bob Winter (Chairman) Tony Stedman, Ian Butler, Neil Foskett, Graham Bright, David Blair, Mark Weston, Keith Eldridge, Andy Ayres.

From The Dugout We are delighted to bring a new weekly vlog hosted by Damon Wood. From The Dugout aims to bring you interviews and news from our management teams, players and others around the club. Click on the image below to watch episode 1 which features a discussion with first team manager Ryan Sturges talking about the start to the season.

Please comment, like and subscribe to our YouTube Channel so that you can tune in to future episodes

Match Sponsorship Why not support the Club by sponsoring a Match.

It only costs £50 and includes free entry for two, access to the boardroom for half-time refreshments and an acknowledgement in the match programme all season.

Contact Graham Bright on 07722 240963 or via email to tringathleticfc@hotmail.com

Saturday 7th August—Keynsham Town Tuesday 31st August—Holmer Green Saturday 4th September—Harpenden Town Saturday 18th October—Leighton Town Tuesday 21st October—Dunstable Town Saturday 9th October—London Colney Saturday 16th October—Flackwell Heath Tuesday 19th October—Broadfields United Saturday 6th November—Baldock Town Saturday 27th November—Milton Keynes Irish Tuesday 30th November—Arlesey Town Saturday 11th December—Oxhey Jets Tuesday 14th December—Hitchin Town Tuesday 28th December—Leverstock Green Saturday 8th January—Aylesbury Vale Dynamos Saturday 15th January—Harefield United Saturday 5th February—Hadley Saturday 12th March—New Salamis Saturday 2nd April—Ardley United Tuesday 19th April—Risborough Rangers Saturday 30th April—Crawley Green

The Cook Partnership Heygates Ralph Griffiths Tony Stedman & Dave Snelman Dick Lovelace Brian Lovell Available Available Available Available Available Available Mick Eldridge & Ray Brimson Available Available Available Available Available Available Available Available

Fixture List Tue 3 Aug Sat 7 Aug Sat 21 Aug Tue 31 Aug Sat 4 Sep Sat 11 Sep Tue 14 Sep Sat 18 Sep Tue 21 Sep Sat 25 Sep Sat 2 Oct Sat 9 Oct Tue 12 Oct Sat 16 Oct Tue 19 Oct Sat 23 Oct Sat 30 Oct Sat 6 Nov Sat 13 Nov Sat 20 Nov Sat 27 Nov Tue 30 Nov Sat 4 Dec Sat 11 Dec Sat 18 Dec Tue 28 Dec Mon 3 Jan Sat 8 Jan Sat 15 Jan Sat 29 Jan Sat 5 Feb Sat 12 Feb Sat 5 Mar Sat 12 Mar Sat 19 Mar Sat 26 Mar Sat 2 Apr Sat 9 Apr Sat 16 Apr Tue 19 Apr Sat 23 Apr Sat 30 Apr

D 1-1 W 3-0 L 2-0 L 1-2 D1-1 W2-2 L4-0 3pm 7.45pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 7.45pm 3pm 7.45pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 7.45pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 7.45pm 3pm 3pm

Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Emirates FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round Away Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division 2-4 pens FA Vase 1st Qualifying Round Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away FA Vase 2nd Qualifying Round Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Away Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Home Spartan South Midlands Premier Division

Oxhey Jets Keynsham Town Bishops Cleeve Holmer Green Harpenden Town Long Buckby Harefield United Leighton Town Dunstable Town FC Deportivo Galicia Crawley Green London Colney Hadley Flackwell Heath Broadfields United Aylesbury Vale Dynamos Milton Keynes Irish Baldock Town Ardley United New Salamis Milton Keynes Irish Dunstable Town Dunstable Town Oxhey Jets Baldock Town Leverstock Green Risborough Rangers Aylesbury Vale Dynamos Harefield United Holmer Green Hadley Flackwell Heath Leighton Town New Salamis Harpenden Town London Colney Ardley United Arlesey Town Leverstock Green Risborough Rangers Broadfields United Crawley Green

Today’s- Squads

Tring Athletic FC

David Saunders Jonny Pitts Ben Johnson James Ferguson Harrison Cornick Oliver Butler Scott Bonner Joe Chott George Carbery Frankie Hercules Tom Shaw Tommy Twelves Kieran Turner Chris Vardy Chris Blunden Temi Bankole Cameron Brooks Fraser Bryden Luke Cestrone Emmanuel Gbejuade Evans Lamboh

Leighton Town CONNOR COULSON TOM BRYANT ROSS TAYLOR DAVE MURPHY TOM SILFORD ETHAN FLANAGAN ARCHIE MCLELLAND ALFIE OSBORNE JORDON FREDERICK CAPT. ROSS ADAMS JOE FITZGERALD BRIAN FOULGER OLLIE COX ASHTON CAMPBELL DANNY WEBB JAMES TOWELL SONNY NEWBURY-BARR ORAN SWALES DAVE PARKINSON OLIVER LESLIE LUKE DUNSTAN

Manager - Ryan Sturges

Manager:

Joe Sweeney

Asst Manager- Lee Groves

Asst Mgr:

Paul Copson

GK Coach - Gary Looker

Coach:

Matt Harding

Physio:

Rutherford John Lorraine Smith

Next Up

Dunstable Town Tuesday 21st September Kick off 7.45pm

FREE FREE £7.00 FREE £4.00

Our opponents The History of Leighton Town Football Club Leighton Town, who were known as Leighton United between 1922 and 1963, were formed in 1885. They were mainly involved in local leagues until the outbreak of the Great War and were winners of the Leighton and District League on several occasions.

Leighton were one of the original members of the South Midland League in 1922 – which at the time was known as the Bedfordshire County League. They were also members of the Spartan League between 1922/23 and 1951/52, but their only successes being the Spartan League Division 2 title in 1923/24 and 1927/28. They were Bedfordshire Senior Cup winners in 1926/27.

In 1952, they became a founder member of the Hellenic League, but after two disappointing seasons, moved to the South Midlands League. In 1965/66 season however, the Premier Championship sat in the Leighton Town Boardroom. The club then rejoined the Spartan League in 1967/68.

Leighton proceeded to consolidate their League success by winning the Bedfordshire Senior Cup for three successive seasons in 1968, 1969 and 1970. Unfortunately, some of the successful players moved on to other clubs, and Leighton’s fortunes again declined.

A move to the United Counties League proved disastrous and after just two seasons, the club rejoined the South Midlands League. During the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, Leighton were unable to capture the success of the ‘60’s.

In 1990/1991 the First Team won the South Midlands League Challenge Trophy and the O’Brien’s Premier Division Cup, both for the first time in the club’s history.

The 1991/2 season was one of the club’s best. The South Midlands Premier Division title, which had eluded the club for so long, was won, and with it a place in the Isthmian League.

1992/3 saw the Club’s success continue when they won the Bedfordshire Senior Cup for the first time since 1970.

The Club missed out on promotion in their first Isthmian League season by just a single point but the Youth Team retained the County Cup. 1995/6 saw the First Team win promotion to Division 2 of the Isthmian League, whilst at the same time retaining the Buckingham Charity Cup. In the 1996/7 season, Leighton won the Isthmian League Associated Members Trophy for the first time. 1998/99 saw the return of the Associated Members Trophy and the Buckingham Charity Cup. Season 2003/04 Leighton won the Ryman Isthmian Second Division title. They were also named Ryman Division Two Team of the Year, and Paul Burgess was awarded Manager of the Year. They also reached the Fifth round of the FA Vase, and the final of the Beds Senior Cup, before losing to Andover and Arlesey Town respectively.

The 2004-05 season saw the club placed in The Southern League East Division and finished in a creditable tenth place. They also won the Buckinghamshire Charity Cup. The Reserves won the Bedfordshire Intermediate Cup and the U18’s won the SCYFL League Shield.

Leighton Town The 05-06 Season saw the Club progress again, improving on the year before, as they finished 8th in The Southern League Western Division. After a poor start, League results improved and the side only suffered four defeats from the start of November until the end of March, a play-off place just eluding them.

After three excellent victories interest in the FA.Trophy competition ended with a single goal defeat to eventual semi-finalists, Borehamwood. The Club also reached the Beds Senior Cup Final, but sadly they again finished as Runners Up. The Club were relocated to the Southern League Midland Division for 06-07 season but only one League win in the first six games and early exits in the two FA Competitions cost Paul Burgess his job in September. He was replaced by former Wycombe professional Keith Scott, results did improve but it was a disappointing season, although Town did win the Bucks Senior Charity Cup. The 07-08 started brightly with the first League defeat not coming until mid-October.

Three wins in the FA Cup saw the Club reach the 4th Qualifying Round for the first time in it’s history. A 3-0 defeat to Conference South, Havant and Waterlooville finally ended the run. Keith Scott then left in December to join Windsor and Eton. In January 2008, Assistant Manager Sean Downey was appointed as First Team Manager and did a splendid job as the Club ended their League season in 9th place, winning the Bucks Charity Cup and reaching the final of the Beds Senior Cup once more.

The 08/09 Season the First Team finished 8th in the Southern League, Midland Division, achieving their highest points total to date at that level.

The 09/10 season saw Leighton once again finish in the top half of the table, when they finished in 9th place and they also lost the Bedfordshire Senior Cup Final to Southern League rivals, Arlesey Town after penalties.

Season 2010/2011, saw Town finish in 7th place in the League, gaining 69 points,their best performance since joining the Southern Football League.

2015/2016 After 3 disappointing seasons Leighton finished the season in the bottom two of the Southern League Central Division and were relegated to the Spartan South Midlands League where they had last played in the 1991/92 season. 2017/18 The club retained Scott Reynolds as Manager and finished 4th in the League and reached the Quarter Finals of the FA VASE. Gates improved and it was our best season for about 8 years, 2018/2019 Manager, Scott Reynolds resigned in the close season and Danny Nicholls was appointed as Manager but left in October due to work commitments. The Club then appointed Joe Sweeney and Paul Copson, who had previously won the Premier division title with London Colney as their new Management Team. They steadied the ship and we finished in mid table.

2019/2020 Was a good season for the Club as we again reached the Quarter Final of the FA Vase and after a slow start in the League the team started to find some good form as we slowly climbed up the table. The team were also awarded the Team of the Month twice.

2020/2021 Town for the third time in 4 seasons reached the Quarter Final of the FA Vase but sadly lost out to 2 late penalties. An indifferent start in the League meant we could not quite gain the points needed to gain promotion in a Covid affected season.

2021/2022 Leighton are hoping to be challenging at the top end of the table but we are well aware that this is a difficult Division and several other strong teams will be competing to finish in the top 2 places.

Today’s Officials Referee

Solomon Brown

Assistant Referee Assistant Referee

Antony Cox Simon Cudner

The TAFC 1

Club

Support Tring Athletic, Join our 100 Club. This is one of the most popular fund raising activities in the UK, probably the easiest to enter, and the size of the weekly/monthly prize will depend upon the number of people participating.

The more people the larger the prize. 50% of all takings go in cash prizes.

At the current time we have a weekly CASH prize of £20 and a Monthly 1st prize of £100 and 2nd prize of £50. It costs just £1 per week.

Ask a committee member for details.

August winners The monthly 100 draw was once again undertaken remotely by the Simmons family. The lucky winners were: 3rd July: Ellie Humphreys £20; 10th July: Ralph Griffiths £20; 17th July: John Perry £20; 24th July: Dan To £20 31st July: Sam Allum £100 and Brian Bruton £30.

Once again winnings will be paid directly to the winners bank accounts.

THE INANE RAMBLINGS FROM UP NORFF “NOWT SO QUEER AS YORKSHIRE FOLK’ BY KAREN BROWNE Saturday 11th September / Sunday 12th September THE BUILDBASE FA VASE First Round Qualifying Twenty four SSML sides were involved in the First Qualifying round of the Buildbase FA Vase at the weekend and for half of them the ‘Wembley Dream’ remains alive. Two of our clubs were victims of cup shocks as they lost to sides one step below them in the pyramid, both losing in the lottery of penalty shoot-outs to Combined Counties Division One sides. Arlesey Town were beaten by FC Deportivo Galicia after a high scoring 4-4 draw while Dunstable Town exited at the hands of British Airways after a 2-2 draw. Also departing at the first hurdle on penalties were Premier Division Crawley Green (10-11 in the shoot-out against Egham Town) and Leverstock Green who lost out to fellow SSML side London Colney. Long Crendon produced a cup upset when defeating step 5 hosts Camberley Town (Combined Counties Premier Division) 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw while Tring Athletic saw off the threat of hosts Long Buckby 4-2 on penalties following a 2-2 draw. Also booking their passage to the next round were Premier Division clubs Ardley United, winning 5-0 against visiting Division One side Burton Park Wanderers, likewise Aylesbury Vale Dynamos overcame Division One visitors London Tigers 3-1.

Broadfields United saw off Holyport by a solitary goal win while Harefield United won 3-2 at Cogenhoe United and Holmer Green defeated visiting Spelthorne Sports 2-0. Risborough Rangers avenged a previous FA Vase defeat when beating former SSML side Edgware Town 3-2 at home and New Salamis won 4-1 at Hackney Wick. In all SSML ties Winslow United edged out hosts Amersham Town by the odd goal in five while Buckingham Athletic beat their visitors Rushden & Higham United 4-2. For the rest of the SSML sides involved in First Round Qualifying action it was a case of maybe next year with Oxhey Jets going down 1-5 at ex SSML side Edgware Town, Stotfold exited 1-5 at home against White Ensign while it was a similar result as Irchester United lost to former SSML side Hillingdon Borough and Bedford were thumped 1-6 at step 5 Burnham..

PREMIER DIVISION It was top v second at Bell Close as Leighton Town welcomed Harpenden Town and watched by the SSML’s biggest crowd of the season to date, 418, it was the visitors who went home happy thanks to two late goals and as a result regained top spot. Hadley move up to fourth after they won 3-1 at home against Baldock Town, a result that leaves the North Hertfordshire side remaining second from bottom. The day’s other Premier Division fixture saw Flackwell Heath earning their first point of the campaign following a 1-1 draw at Milton Keynes Irish, the hosts requiring a stoppage time equalizer

The Views Expressed Are Solely My Own, Are Written Tongue In Cheek And Should Be Taken With A Pinch Of Salt A weekly column courtesy of the SSML Fixture Secretary

DIVISION TWO Saturday saw major changes in Division Two at both ends of the table, at the top we saw the only club with a 100% record lose while at the bottom the only club without a point recorded their first win. Leaders New Bradwell St Peter welcomed fifth place Totternhoe looking to make six out of six but the visitors had not read the script and a Josh Spavins strike ended the host’s perfect start to the season. At the other end bottom side Codicote entertained mid table Risborough Rangers Development and a Max Evans goal brought about welcomed celebrations as the ‘Cod’ ended their barren run. Second placed Old Bradwell United took full advantage of their near neighbours defeat to leap frog them to the top of the standings with a Josh DouglasSmith hat-trick seeing off the challenge of visiting Tring Corinthians AFC. The foals were once again in evidence at Pitstone & Ivinghoe where they led 5-1 at the interval before surviving a scare as visitors Berkhamsted Raiders hit back and even missed a penalty before finally going down 4-6, P&I fans have seen their side net 25 times out of the 44 goals the club has been involved in this campaign. Elsewhere there were comfortable wins for both Sarratt and Milton Keynes College Football Academy, the former beating visiting Berkhamsted Comrades 4-0 while the Academy students overcame their guests Eynesbury United 4-1. The day’s other action saw Bovingdon winning 4-1 at The 61FC (Luton).

AND FINALLY Tweet of the day came from Louise Parry of BBC Three Counties with this gem - @Ollie_Bayliss went from hero to villain in 30 seconds after telling me he’d removed a large spider from the sink them admitting he’d set it free in the BBC Three Counties office where I’m working. “It wanted to be indoors” he insisted. You’re making coffee mate!

One club still has a 100% league record while two clubs still seek their first points of the new campaign. The weekend brought about 122 goals from the 29 games (an average of 4.21 per game) with Josh Douglas-Smith (Old Bradwell United) netting the weekend’s only hat-trick.

11/12 September Stats: 29 games played of which 14 were home wins, 8 were away wins and 7 draws.

100% league record to date: Stotfold.

0% league record to date: Baldock Town and Dunstable Town.

Weekend Highest Attendance: 418 Leighton Town v Harpenden Town, 165 Stotfold v White Ensign (FA Vase) and 107 Hadley v Baldock Town.

Season’s Highest Attendances to date (Premier Division Clubs): 418 Leighton Town v Harpenden Town, 350 Harefield United v Hastings United (FA Cup) and 337 Leighton Town v Risborough Rangers.

Season’s Highest Attendances to date (Division One Clubs): 317 Stotfold v Letchworth Garden City Eagles, 176 Stotfold v Buckingham Athletic and 175 Ampthill Town v Langford.

Season’s Highest Attendances to date (Division Two Clubs): 130 Totternhoe v Old Bradwell United, 112 Bovingdon v Sarratt and 109 Eynesbury United v Pitstone & Ivinghoe.

On This Day—18th September 2012 The gods are certainly not smiling on us at the moment after we conceded an own goal and 2 from set pieces which condemned us to our 3rd straight defeat. At the end we were a well beaten side but we produced spells of good football and had our opportunities but we failed to take them and in the end paid the price.

The killer moment came mid way through the second half when we only a goal behind and still in the game. We gave away an unfortunate free kick which our guests scored from and after that it was always going to be an uphill struggle. Berko added a 3rd from a harsh penalty and that was game over although we salvaged a modicum of pride with a quality goal from Graham Hall.

As you would expect from a local derby the pace from the start was frenetic but fortunately there was an absence of overly rough play which can sometimes blight these sort of matches. There was an interesting contrast in the style of play with the visitors getting the ball to their forwards as quickly as possible whilst we tried to build through midfield. The early chances fell to our opponents with Lewis Pritchard putting an opportunity wide then Mike Underwood easily saved a header from their leading scorer Lawrence Bunker. Soon afterwards Berko's Connor Calcutt shot wide of the post.

We were playing some nice stuff without creating too much but in the 22nd minute Connor Waite's terrific pass split open the Berko defence to find the unmarked Vinnie Iannone who decided to hit a first shot that went wide. Connor Calcutt flashed a cross just past the far post and Jack Thomson started and finished a fine move with a powerful shot that flew just over the bar. It was fast flowing football and Connor Calcutt was unlucky to see his shot hit the post whilst at the other end good play by Tony Fields set up Vinnie Iannone who drew a great save from keeper Carl Tasker. In the 32nd minute we got caught out of position which allowed Connor Calcutt to speed down the right and his far post cross was put into his own net by Rob Duncan. It was unfortunate for Rob but it was a poor piece of defending by us. Score 0-1.

We tried to strike back with Connor Waite having a shot blocked and Tony Fields headed a cross at the keeper. With a few minutes remaining until the half time whistle we were lucky to escape a 2nd goal when Dan Griggs hit the bar. A minute into added time it was our turn to hit the woodwork when a fine move carved open the Berko defence and Paul Jeffrey crashed a shot against the inside of the far post.

An entertaining first half ended with Berko holding a slender 1-0 which was just about deserved as they created more chances. But we were not playing that badly and this stage were still very much in the game.

TAFC 1-3 Berkhamsted Town Connor Waite received a knock in the first half and was replaced at half time by Reon Thomas. We started the half as if we meant business pushing the visitors back on defence. We had a great opportunity to level matters up in the 51st minute when Rob Duncan went on a terrific run and from the bye line intelligently picked out Graham Hall. You would have put your money on seeing the net bulge but instead the ball whistled past the post.

In the 61st minute the visitors brought on Josh Chamberlain and he was to play a crucial part in the rest of the game. Three minutes later we conceded a free kick in a dangerous place when an unkindly bounce caught Matt Jarvis on the arm. Chamberlain stepped up and found the corner of the net with a well executed free kick. Score 0-2.

We were now very much up against it although to be fair to the players they never gave up trying.

Matt Jarvis whipped over a superb cross that demanded a finish and Chris Salmon was unable to get much purchase with his header from a corner. But with 14 minutes to go disaster struck when Chamberlain crumbled to the floor in the area and the referee awarded a penalty. It was extremely soft and the player went down rather too easily but that didn't bother Chamberlain who claimed his 2nd goal from the spot. Score 0-3.

We started to get ragged and we could have leaked further goals but that would have been unkind.

Instead with 7 minutes to go Graham Hall scored the best goal of the game with a superb strike but there was little to celebrate as it was rather a small consolation. There were no more goals and Berko were able to claim the bragging rights with a 3-1 win.

TA: 1 Mike Underwood 2 Rob Duncan (Sam Addae 68) 3 Matt Jarvis 4 Chris Salmon 5 Andy Hughes 6 Connor Waite (Reon Thomas HT) 7 Tony Fields 8 Jack Thomson 9 Vinnie Iannone (Stewart King 65)10 Graham Hall (Capt) 11 Paul Jeffrey. Subs not used: Sam Joliffe, Connor Smith.

TAFC Reserves An excellent win for the reserves against Harpenden Town to get their first victory of the season.

The first half hour was a fairly even affair with few clear cut chances but Tring took the lead just before the break . Max Machen put a teasing cross in from the right and Ollie Ruttle nodded in clinically at the near post. (bottom left) Ten minutes into the second period Tring doubled the lead. After a good passing move involving many of last seasons u16s, a low cross from the left just evaded Ruttle but Max Machen was on hand to finish confidently on his senior debut (bottom right) Harpenden continued to threaten and look dangerous going forward but this left some holes in their defensive lines which we looked to exploit. Tring made the game seemingly safe midway through the second half. A deep free kick from the right was headed back across the six yard box

by Max Dechamps finding an unmarked Ollie Ruttle to finish from close range. 3-0.

With around 15 minutes to play Harpenden hit us on the counter attack and pulled a goal back. 31. With just over 5 minutes left, the visitors were rightly awarded a penalty for handball. George Saunders in the Athletic goal stood his ground as the ball drifted over the bar and into the rugby ground. A let off for the lads which could have set up a nervy final period.

There followed chances for both teams, Charlie Hendry-Smith shot wide and Saunders saved well at the other end but no further goals were added. The final whistle blew and three points were well and truly earned. With a few players missing for various reasons today, the squad stepped up giving Michael Churchill some nice selection headaches ahead of the cup match at Buntingford next Saturday. Highlights of the game can be found by clicking on the left picture below.

Sponsored by NP Electrics Herts Senior County League - Division One POS

P

W

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GD

PTS

1 Hertford Heath First

6

6

0

0

18

18

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

5 3 5 5 2 4 4 5 6 2 3 3 4 0 5

3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0

1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 0 2 2 0 2 2 3 4 1 2 2 3 0 5

5 7 5 1 10 5 -1 -4 -5 0 -1 -3 -12 0 -25

10 9 7 7 6 6 6 6 4 3 3 3 3 0 0

Next up

Hinton First Oracle Components First Hertford United FC First Evergreen First Standon & Puckeridge FC Buntingford Town First Harpenden Town Reserves Bovingdon Reserves Tring Athletic Reserves Oxhey First Hatfield United First Knebworth First Aldenham FC First Wheathampstead Wanderers First Old Parmiterians First

Sat 18th September Standon & Puckeridge (A)

League

Sat 25th September Standon & Puckeridge (H)

League

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U18s Eastern Junior Alliance League - U18s Blue POS

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1 London Lions U18 EJA

1

1

0

0

3

3

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1 1 2 0 0 0 1

1 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 1 1 0 0 0 0

0 0 1 0 0 0 1

2 0 -3 0 0 0 -2

3 1 1 0 0 0 0

St Albans City FC Academy U18 Tring Athletic U18 EJA Baldock Town U18 EJA BSC FC Youth U18 EJA Leighton Town Youth U18 London Colney Youth U18 EJA Ware FC Academy U18 EJA

Results

5th September

Baldock Town 4-4 TAFC

Next up

Sun 19th September Ware Academy (H) @ 10.30am League Sun 26th September London Lions (A) @ 12pm

League

W/e 1st October

Hashtag Utd (H) KO TBC

Cup

Sun 3rd October

Cockfosters (H) KO TBC

Cup

U16s Eastern Junior Alliance League - U16 Green POS

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PTS

1 Cockfosters (Youth) U16

1

1

0

0

2

3

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1

10 4 1 0 -1 -4 -10 -2

3 3 3 0 0 0 0 0

Next up

Enfield Borough U16 Leopards Hemel Hempstead Town U16 Blacks Ryan (Youth) U16 Red EJA Tring Athletic U16 EJA Berkhamsted FC Youth U16 EJA Edgware Town U16 Hadley Youth U16 EJA London Colney Youth U16 EJA

Sun 19th September

London Colney (A)

@ 12.30pm League

Sun 26th September

Hadley Youth (A) KO TBC

League

Sun 3rd October

Brantham Athletic (A) @11am

Cup

Tue 5th October

Ware Academy (H) KO TBC

Cup

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