V
Biggleswade United Colours: Red / Navy
Berkhamsted
Colours: Yellow / Blue
1
Robbie Ponting
1
Carl Tasker
2
James Cooper
2
Alex Campana
3
Matt Cooper
3
Dan Weeks
4
Jordan Wright
4
Steve Hawes
5
Joe Gorman
5
Jon Munday
6
Nick Elliot Š
6
Jack Stevens
7
Gareth Hunt
7
Adam Mead
8
Kane Farrell
8
Sean Coughlin
9
Abraham Eze
9
Josh Chamberlain
10
Richard Christie
10
Ashley Morrisey
11
Jaiden Irish
11
Stuart Deaton
12
Lee Bilcock
12
Max Farrelly
14
Dami Nickels-Benson
14
Ben Bateman
15
Ross Taylor
15
Ashton Campbell
16
Dave Iwediuno
16
Frankie Jowle
GK
Reece Voller
17
18
Zak Guerfi
18
19
Jay Taylor
19
20
20
Head Coach: Cristian Colas Becerra
Manager: Steve Bateman
Asst Coach: Stuart Bimson Conditioning Coach: Albert Martinez
Asst Manager : Mick Vipond
Physio: Ikera Williams
Physio: Ross Blyth
Match Officials Referee: Mr L Jessup Assistants: Mr P Wilkinson and Mr J Bloom
The legal name of the club is Biggleswade United 1959 Biggleswade United is a members club
Saturday 18th November 2017 Official Match Programme The Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division Biggleswade United FC V Berkhamsted FC Visit us:www.BiggleswadeUnited.com Follow us:@Biggleswadeutd Support Us: Here
BIGGLESWADE UNITED – OUR HISTORY (1) Biggleswade United Football Club was re-formed on the 16th July 1959. However, local history records indicate that there was a Biggleswade United side playing at Second Meadow as early as 1929. Our first season (1959/60) saw us competing in Division Three of the North Herts. League (NHL). After 10 successful years in the NHL the club made the step up to South Midlands League (SML) football. But towards the end of a 15year association with the SML the club began to struggle and after three years of finishing in the bottom three of Division One we sought fresh fields. The club joined the Herts. Senior but the club continued to find the going tough. In 1986 we elected to return to local League football, joining the Bedford and District Football League and began to build again. The appointment of Brian Swords as first team manager in 87/88 proved to be the turning point in the club's fortunes. During the next ten years the club achieved a tremendous amount of success on and off the football pitch. Our record of League and Cup honours speak for themselves but aligned to this a great deal of work went on behind the scenes to match the on-field success. The club now boasts one of the best clubhouse and ground facilities in the Mid-Bedfordshire area. The success of the club has also attracted many new players as well as commanding a great deal of loyalty from those players who helped the club progress from Division Three of the Bedford and District League to County Senior Club status in just 15 years. The 1995/96 season was the most successful in the club's history - winning five major honours; the Beds Intermediate County Cup, Bedford and District League Championship, League Cup Championship and as the League's representatives the club won the Beds. FA Centenary Cup. Having won every major Bedford League honour the club felt it was time to move on and made the decision to make the step up once again and returned to Division One of the SML. In an exceptionally successful first season we celebrated a Division One "double" by winning the Championship and the Division One Cup. We also retained the Beds. FA Intermediate County Cup, only the second club in the competition's history to achieve this feat. To crown our success the club were awarded the SML Special Achievement Trophy in July 1997. In the season 1997/98 we finally achieved Senior status. This was achieved not only through the endeavours of the players on the field but ultimately as a result of an extremely hard working committee. With the help of the Biggleswade Town Council a new stand was erected and perimeter fencing installed. And two seasons later the club erected floodlights and on the evening of 26th October 1999 we played our first-ever floodlit game at Second Meadow, Ryman League side Leighton Town were the visitors in the Bedfordshire Premier Cup.
Welcome to Second Meadow…. Good afternoon and welcome to Second Meadow for this Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division fixture. Today we welcome the players, supporters and officials of BERKHAMSTED FC. We also welcome our three match officials and hope that you all enjoy your short stay with us. Today’s Match Preview – By Leon Waite Berkhamsted have been formidable this campaign and are arguably favourites for the title having finished eighth last term. The Comrades remain in the FA Vase also after beating Enfield Borough at the weekend and- in a repeat of last year’s Herts Charity Cup finalovercame Tring Athletic in the Herts Charity Shield in the preceding game. And when assessing their league form, there is minimal room for improvement. Steve Bateman’s men have won eleven of their fourteen fixtures and their 1-1 draw at Crawley Green last time out in the league halted a run of eight consecutive victories. Among those wins was a 6-2 rout of Hoddesdon Town and an impressive 3-2 success at promotion rivals Biggleswade FC where they recovered from two goals down. They have obviously made tremendous strides over the summer but United can still take heart from the fact they won both meetings between the two clubs last season 2-0. It’s an intriguing encounter and the challenge of ending their visitors’ unbeaten opening is one the United players must relish if they are to achieve a positive outcome today. On Tuesday night we travel to Hoddesdon Town in the League and next Saturday we play host to Harpenden Town. Our Under 23s are at Hillingdon Borough today.
Let’s hope for an enjoyable and entertaining game this afternoon. . Tracey James, (Secretary and Programme Editor)
BALAGUE ON BIGGLESWADE UNITED Our Director of Football, Guillem Balague, writes this weekly column for the Biggleswade Chronicle.
It was wonderful to get back to winnng ways with an excellent and very convincing 3-0 win over London Tigers last weekend. What was most pleasing about our performance was how we - probably for only the second time this season - maintained our pressure for the whole of the match. Up to now we have normally started well, taken control, and then, inexplicably, allowed our opponents back into the game by taking an unauthorised nap in the second half. Saturday's match suggest that thankfully we seem to have addressed that problem and hopefully have now successfully negotiated that particularly tricky corner. It was also fabulous, if somewhat surreal, to actually watch the game not at the stadium but on our new YouTube station while sitting with my family on the Costa Brava. Hopefully our next step will be to broadcast live to millions of people on the YouTube and Facebook site of our sponsors Top Eleven as well as on the Biggleswade United facility. To this end we will be looking to try to get the backing of local companies that want to be known globally as well as locally and who can use this medium to advertise their wares during the course of the games. With all due respect to London Tigers, today's match against the unbeaten league leaders, Berkhamsted, certainly on paper looks like it should be a much sterner test. I would love it if we could be the first team to beat them this season in the league not least because it will send our confidence sky high while also sending out a message to the rest of the league that we are well and truly back in business. Then on Tuesday night we travel to Hoddesdon Town for another league game.
Sadly, work commitments mean that I have to be in Madrid for the Atletico v Real Madrid derby although on the plus side, once again, I will be able to watch the game on our new YouTube site. I can't wait.
BIGGLESWADE UNITED – OUR HISTORY (continued) The next eleven years saw the first team led by Steve "Snowy" Wright and under his management the club continued to enjoy a very high level of League and Cup success ultimately achieving promotion to the Molten Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division and with it the opportunity to compete in the FA Cup. And under Snowy the club made three Beds FA Senior Challenge Cup final appearances, winning two of the three with victories over Stotfold (4-1) and Leighton Town (1-0) but missed out in 2006/07 going down 2-0 to Dunstable Town. Snowy's other cup successes came in the form of the Hunts Premier Cup, North Beds Charity Cup, Hinchingbrooke Cup, the SML Division One Cup and the SML Special Achievement Award once again. The end of the 2006 2007 saw Snowy step down as manager with his assistant, Nick Burton taking over the first team reins. January 5th 2009 saw the club embark on further ambitious ground improvements. With financial backing from Biggleswade Town Council, Mid Beds District Council and the Football Foundation we installed a 260-seater stand, fully enclosed the ground with a double turnstile entrance and players' secure walkway which raised the ground to Grade E status. After several years of stability in terms of first team managers the next six years saw a regular turnover of first team and reserve team managers with Nick Burton, Dave Elkin and Phil Childs all taking over the first team reins for a time. At the start of the 2013 2014 season we appointed Mick Reardon and Mark Royal as first team managers both of whom had enjoyed success as coaches at the higher levels of football. Their disciplined approach was quickly adhered to and responded to by the players and under their stewardship we achieved the highest Premier Division position in nine years and first silverware in seven years winning the North Beds Charity Cup for the first time in the club’s history. In November 2014 the club took a further positive step to realise our ambitions with the appointment of Sky Sports Presenter and renowned author, Guillem Balague as Biggleswade United’s Director of Football. Following Mick and Mark’s decision to step down at the end 2014 2015, Guillem was quick to act and recruited a new Head Coach in Cristian Colas Beccera who at the age of just 23 gained his UEFA Level 3 Pro License and went on to become assistant coach at CD Masnou and later C.E. Europa both of who play in the Spanish 3rd division the equivalent of the English League Division Two. He then moved to Finland where he worked for Finnish third division side PK.K-U as head coach and with the club’s academy. This season Cristian will be assisted by Stuart Bimson and Conditioning Coach Albert Martinez. The club has certainly come a long way in relatively few years but we could not have done it without the help of a very supportive Town and District Council who clearly understand the benefits of having a community based club in Biggleswade. Our success is also very much down to a very hard working committee who throughout the year continue to volunteer their time and commitment to the club, to help it continue to thrive and be a source of enjoyment for our supporters and the Biggleswade community.
MIND YOUR LANGUAGE DELETE THAT EXPLETIVE!
Kick Off 3pm
Our club is fully supportive of the League’s “Mind Your Language” initiative, to eradicate offensive behaviour within our ground. It is our wish for everybody to feel comfortable here and to encourage everyone, especially younger people, to enjoy their time with us. This won’t happen if they are listening to constant foul and offensive language.
Biggleswade United 3 London Tigers 0 Report by Leon Waite United returned to winning ways as they dispatched of London Tigers 30 at Second Meadow. Previously, five matches had passed yielding three defeats, two points and an FA Vase exit so Saturday’s convincing victory was exactly what Cristian Colas and his team needed. It wasn’t as comfortable as the scoreline suggests initially, however, with the Tigers showing why they have picked up positive results against some of the division’s toughest opponents. And having squandered halftime leads in three consecutive games due to a gradual drop in intensity, a slightly more reserved opening from United would perhaps bode well. That notion, of course, would not appease the expectant home crowd as Gareth Hunt’s free-kick that went narrowly over the bar represented the best chance of an even first ten minutes. The hosts quickly assumed control of the contest with Matty Cooper’s delivery forcing the goalkeeper to make an important intervention before Abraham Eze tested the man between the sticks from close range.
It became rather scrappy as the interval loomed, although United could have easily been in front had one of Jordan Wright, Kane Farrell or Eze taken their enterprising chances; the crowd were left perplexed as to how the two sides went in level at the break. The latter didn’t take long to hit the front in the second period, though, as from the left he picked out the top right corner superbly for his third in as many games since returning from injury. United had exploded out of the blocks and began to push for the goals that would clinch an important win. That outcome proved hard to achieve because of the dogged defending of the away side and it wasn’t until the seventy-fifth minute that the points were sealed, courtesy of a searing Nick Elliot drive from the edge of the penalty area. And Eze bagged his brace a minute from time, tapping in from close range after Elliot had given him the simplest task with the assist. A welcome win for all around Second Meadow that should hopefully reignite the campaign.
FIRST TEAM FORTHCOMING FIXTURES Date
Comp.
H/A
KO
BERKHAMSTED
League
H
3pm
Tues 21 Nov
HODDESDON TOWN
League
A
7.45p
Sat 25 Nov
HARPENDEN TOWN
League
H
3pm
Sat 2 Dec
WELWYN GC
League
H
3pm
Beds Cup
A
7.45
HADLEY
League
A
3pm
Tues 12 Dec
ST MARGARETSBURY
League
A
7.45
Sat 16 Dec
LEVERSTOCK GREEN
League
H
3pm
Sat 23 Dec
BIGGLESWADE
League
H
1.30
Sat 30 Dec
LEIGHTON TOWN
League
A
3pm
Sat 18 Nov
Tues 5 Dec Sat 9 Dec
Opponents
BEDFORD TOWN
UNDER 23 FORTHCOMING FIXTURES Sat 18 Nov
HILLINGDON BORO
League
A
3pm
Sat 25 Nov
WINSLOW UNITED
League
A
3pm
Sat 2 Dec
HODDESDON TOWN
League
A
3pm
Sat 9 Dec
HERTFORD TOWN
League
H
3pm
Sat 16 Dec
AFC DUNSTABLE
League
A
3pm
SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION NEWSLETTER
PREMIER DIVISION
With the top three all competing in the FA Vase, the key action this weekend centred on the clubs at the wrong end of the Premier Division table where St Margaretsbury remain in the bottom three after losing 4-2 at home to fast improving Leverstock Green. Saints led at the break but Green produced a superb second half performance and were rewarded with goals from substitutes Jonathan Lacey and Reynoldo Carbon and a brace from Matt Bateman. Stotfoldremain fourth from bottom despite a late equaliser as they drew 2-2 at home to Colney Heath and Holmer Green are still struggling after they lost 4-0 at home to Hoddesdon Town for whom Kyle Johnson scored twice. Elsewhere, London Colney beat Cockfosters 1-0, Omololu Onabolu scored a hat trick as Edgware Town won 3-1 at Hadley and Biggleswade United beat London Tigers 3-0, with Nick Elliott (PICTURED) among the scorers.
Stay with us after our matches on Saturdays to watch Premier League football. All BT SPORT 1 matches will be shown in the clubhouse after our match.