OFFICIAL MATCH PROGRAMME TUESDAY 23RD OCTOBER 2018 THE BEDFORDSHIRE SENIOR CHALLENGE CUP FIRST ROUND
BIGGLESWADE UNITED V BIGGLESWADE FC
Welcome Welcome to Second Meadow Good evening and welcome to Second Meadow for tonight’s First Round tie of the Bedfordshire FA Senior Challenge Cup. We extend a warm welcome to the players, officials and supporters from BIGGLESWADE FOOTBALL CLUB. We also welcome our three match officials and hope that you all enjoy your short stay with us.
Match Preview by LEON WAITE United are in Beds Senior Cup action tonight and this particular tie has the added excitement of it being a local derby as Biggleswade’s second and third highest ranked clubs renew their contemporary rivalry. FC have made incredible strides in their brief history as a senior club and remain unbeaten against their neighbours but United boss Jimmy Martin will be pleased with his team’s recent responses to adversity as they head into this clash. Successive defeats to Leverstock Green and Hadley halted some of the momentum accumulated in a seven match unbeaten streak previously and despite returning to winning ways in a 3-0 Premier Division Cup triumph over Wembley, Holbeach United prevailed 3-2 in the FA Vase at Second Meadow. Martin’s men were desperately unlucky as they succumbed to that loss during extra-time but recovered to earn three points at Stotfold on Saturday as they prepared for one derby with a win in another. Biggleswade FC FC have been irrepressible at time this season and having placed 5th last term after coming up as champions, they are firmly on the path to promotion this campaign as they sit top of the pile- two points ahead of Tring Athletic. They opened the year with four consecutive victories in all competitions- including a 4-1 success against United at Langford Road- before suffering their only league defeat so far in a 3-1 reverse against newly-promoted Potton United. The only other two occasions that Biggleswade have failed to record a win came when Soham Town Rangers vanquished them 5-3 in the FA Cup and most recently when Edgware Town managed to muster a 2-2 draw against them in the league just over a week ago. The aforementioned 4-1 win in favour of the hosts in the third edition of ‘El Wadeico’ maintained their stranglehold on this fixture with last season’s two meetings finishing 1-1 at Second Meadow around Christmas time followed by a 2-1 FC win at Langford Road at the end of April. Perhaps the league’s most formidable opponent at the moment and United have experienced their quality already this campaign so will need to reach a good level to succeed tonight.
Up Next On Saturday we start with a hattrick of home games with Edgware Town first up in a League fixture, followed by the visit of Hadley on the Tuesday evening in the League Challenge Trophy. This is followed by the visit of North Greenford United FC on 3rd November.
The Players..
Balague on Biggleswade United GUILLEM BALAGUE Biggleswade United Director of Football, Guillem Balague, provides this weekly column.
While watching England pull off a massive shock in defeating Spain in Seville this week it occurred to me that the word 'bravery' is a much used - and abused - term when analysing performance in games.
against an opponent; it is about taking chances, wanting the ball, being prepared to fail; it's about accepting the fact that you might end up with egg rather that blood on your face.
That's what really impressed me For people who like their football about England's performance, of the 'blood and thunder', 'take certainly for the first half, and had no prisoners' variety, the they carried on in a similarly word implies blood soaked brave mode for much of the bandages dripping onto bright second half and attacked, white shirts as their side battle effectively as a way defending, against the odds in a bid to grind I'm sure they would have got over out a favourable result. the line far more convincingly than they eventually did. But as meritorious and worthy of a mention in dispatches as such performances are, real 'bravery' in a footballing sense is much more than mere brute force and battling against the odds but also about having the courage to use your intelligence to prevail (Continued overleaf)
Balague on Biggleswade United GUILLEM BALAGUE Continued And it reminded me unfortunately - of our reversal against Holbeach United in the FA Vase where we somehow contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
space with runs then we are at our best.
But when we decide - as we did for about an hour - to play it long, forget about the second ball, From Fran Constancio's Academy effectively panic, play into our right up to the first team our opponents' hands, then it philosophy from day one is to be becomes patently clear that we 'brave'. It is a mindset we try to are still very much a work in instill in all of our coaches so they progress. in turn can teach it to their players. We know that at all levels of the club we do not have the We need to be brave even if it best nor the strongest players but means we end up making we do want to try to help them to mistakes and we need to realise become the most intelligent. that very often the old maxim that 'fortune favours the brave' is as appropriate in football as in What our game against Holbeach any other part of life. showed was that we are a team that when it plays the ball to feet, distributes it quickly and intelligently and then creates the
The Gladwish Merit Awards Biggleswade United are pleased to announce that our club has entered The Gladwish Merit Awards for the 15th consecutive season. The latest competition standings can be sent free by email. If interested please email:
VERG1944@GMAIL.COM And request to be on the distribution list. TEAM NAME MANAGER/S Horsham Y.M.C.A. Basildon Town Chatteris Town Corinthian FC Roffey FC Bridlington Town Beaconsfield Town March Town United Biggleswade United Broadbridge Heath Cannock United Crowborough Athletic King’s Lynn Town AFC Mansfield
Peter Buckland Gareth Cleverley Alex Kauffman Michael Golding Graham Powell & Kevin Dunster Brett Agnew Gary Meakin Brett Whaley Jimmy Martin Steve Painter Mark Taylor Sean Muggeridge Simon Clark Rudy frank
GAMES LEAGUE AGGREGATE PLAYED POINTS POINTS PER GAME 11 5 9 11 10
27 12 21 23 20
2.45 2.40 2.33 2.09 2.00
10 11 11 8 12 10 12 11 11
19 19 19 13 18 14 16 13 12
1.90 1.72 1.72 1.62 1.50 1.40 1.33 1.18 1.09
RECOGNISED USUAL RELEGATION LEVEL = Holwell Sports Punjab United New Marske Salts FC Loxwood FC Crockenhill FC Eastbourne United AFC
John Webster Chipie Sian Shaun Morley Vinny Gott Dave Coccorachio Jay Edumijek Ryan Cooper
11 12 12 12 11 11 11
0.95 10 10 7 7 4 4 1
0.90 0.83 0.58 0.58 0.36 0.36 0.08
Current League Standings
Results and Fixtures
Next Up at Second Meadow
SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE SATURDAY 27TH OCTOBER 2018 KICK OFF 3pm
BIGGLESWADE UNITED V EDGWARE TOWN SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE LEAGUE CHALLENGE TROPHY TUESDAY 30TH OCTOBER 2018 KICK OFF 7.45pm
BIGGLESWADE UNITED V
HADLEY
Biggleswade United Under 23
BIGGLESWADE UNITED UNDER 23 NEXT FIXTURE
BEDFORDSHIRE FA INTERMEDIATE COUNTY CUP SATURDAY 27TH OCTOBER 2018 SHEFFORD TOWN AND CAMPTON FC RESERVES V BIGGLESWADE UNITED UNDER 23 KICK OFF 2.30pm
Our Forthcoming Fixtures
Our History 1959 - 1999 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 15-year 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 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.
Our History 2000- 2018 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. Cristian was assisted by former professional player, Stuart Bimson, and under their guidance the team finished in eighth spot in the Premier Division in 2017 2018 - the highest position in the club’s history. Having built a strong reputation for their outstanding coaching ability and playing philosophy Cristian and Stuart moved up to Step 3 level club, Staines Town, for the start of the 2018 2019 season. Guillem was again in search for a high quality coach and Jimmy Martin came highly recommended by his predecessor, Colas, who worked with Jimmy at Stevenage FC Academy. Jimmy was appointed Manager in May 2018 and will be assisted by a former United playing legend and well respected character in SML football, Dean Bull. Also on the coaching staff is Spanish coach Emilio Gutierrez. 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 understands 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 - not just the football season 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.
Premier Division Round Up – Saturday 20th October 2018 Courtesy of Karen Browne, SSML Fixtures Officer
Tring Athletic made it twelve league games without defeat with a 2-0 home success over Edgware Town, a result that keeps Athletic hot on the heels of leaders Biggleswade FC. The Bedfordshire side are now nine games unbeaten in the league following a 5-1 win at Crawley Green. Third placed Arlesey Town left it late to take maximum points from their home game with North Greenford United FC, leading goalscorer Lorrell Smith netting the only goal of the game in the 94th minute. Potton United made it four league wins on the bounce to maintain fourth spot with a 4-1 success at Cockfosters. At the bottom life remains a struggle for both Wembley
and Stotfold, both suffering home defeats, Wembley were beaten 2-3 by visiting London Colney having led by a solitary goal at the break. Stotfold’s defeat by local rivals Biggleswade United was watched by the day’s biggest crowd of 102. Harpenden Town remain third from bottom as visiting Oxhey Jets inflicted the hosts fourth successive league defeat curtesy of a solitary first half goal from Sean Giordmaina, Elsewhere there were wins for Hadley and London Tigers against Baldock Town and Leverstock Green respectively while Colney Heath scored twice in the last fifteen minutes to draw 2-2 with visiting Leighton Town.
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