V
Biggleswade United Colours: Red / Navy
Hoddesdon Town
Colours: All Blue
1
Robbie Ponting
1
Damien Farrow
2
Brodie Couzins
2
Liam Andrews
3
Jaiden Irish
3
Sam Ready
4
James Smith
4
Matt Adams
5
James Cooper
5
Kardan Campbell
6
Alix Girdlestone
6
Alex Warman
17
Kane Farrell ©
7
Connor Bolton
8
Matt Cooper
8
Connor Scully
9
Abraham Eze
9
Cyrus Babaie
10
Lu Ndovi
10
Emmanuel Melford-Rowe
11
Joshua Muschett
11
Joss Lillis
12
Ashley Grinham
12
Davey Evans
14
Gerard Martinez
14
Ciaran Doherty
15
Carlos Correia –Dias
15
Jake Bowden
16
Richard Christie
16
Jack Riddle
17
Aidan Critchley
18
18 19
The legal name of the club is Biggleswade United 1959 Biggleswade United is a members club
Saturday 14th April 2018 Official Match Programme
20 Head Coach: Cristian Colas Becerra
Manager:Simon Riddle
Asst Coach: Stuart Bimson Conditioning Coach: Albert Martinez
Asst Manager : Richard James Coach:
Physio: Ikera Williams
Physio:
Referee: Mr D David
Match Officials Assistants: Mr V Neale and Mr A Searle
The Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division Biggleswade United FC V Hoddesdon Town FC Visit us:www.BiggleswadeUnited.com Follow us:@Biggleswadeutd Support Us: Here
Biggleswade United Director of Football, Guillem Balague, writes the following weekly column for the Biggleswade Chronicle and our website. First things first and congratulations to Welwyn Garden City for winning the league title following their 2-1 home win over Wembley last weekend which put them on an unassailable 92 points. In a league where style is, on occasions, sacrificed for substance WGC have triumphed by playing the game the way it should be played and are worthy champions. I salute them. And talking about the way the game is played I am also thrilled to hear that our Under 13 boys side who play in Division One of the Chiltern Youth League were recently presented with a special 'Get Things Right Award' from the league becoming only the third club to receive the honour. The League's Management Committee make the award after reviewing team's Respect and Sportsmanship Marks, their disciplinary record together with their record on all aspects of administration. The awards which are part of additional sponsorship from the league's main backers, M and S Water Services are relatively new and in addition to the honour come with a new Mitre matchball with the League and sponsors name. Congratulations to all involved not least to team secretary, the indefatigable Karen Burgess for all the time and effort she and others like her put into making sure the unsung, unglamorous, but absolutely essential minutiae required to run a football club are carried out. Our Academy here at Biggleswade United is currently gearing up for the 2018/19 season with opportunities available for players to join across a range of age groups. Since its inception it has grown from nothing to an organisation with around 150 children children that can learn and benefit from the skill and expertise of a whole team of dedicated coaches. There are currently places available for players across our U7, U12, U13 and U14 teams. Our U16s and U18s who will play in the Eastern Junior Alliance League are also looking to add to their squads and there are also opportunities available in our Ladies teams at U16 and U18 level. Our U7 team are holding an open training session for new players to join on the 16th April. Anyone interested in joining should contact: fran.constancio@biggleswadeunited.com And meanwhile it's back to business today and the visit of Hoddesdon Town for our penultimate home game of the season.
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.
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 HODDESDON TOWN FC. We also welcome our three match officials and hope that you all enjoy your short stay with us. Today’s match preview courtesy of Leon Waite. United entertain Hoddesdon Town todayin the penultimate fixture of the season at Second Meadow. The previous eighteen home outings have yielded thirty-two points- nearly seventy percent of the club’s league totaland the nineteen goals conceded in that period represents the joint second best in the division. So overall, it’s fair to conclude that the year on Fairfield Road has been reasonably fruitful with the 3-2 triumph over previously unbeaten and subsequent league champions Welwyn Garden City a particular highlight. Harpenden Town were the last team to emerge victorious from East Bedfordshire last November as Cristian Colas’ men launched an impressive undefeated streak that remains impenetrable. And following consecutive draws with Oxhey Jets and Leighton Town respectively, United staged a second-half comeback to beat St Margaretsbury 3-1 on home turf last time out. Hoddesdon Town Hoddesdon are perhaps performing marginally below expectations as they sit eleventh-a place below their opponents on Saturday- eight points shy of the seventh position they achieved last campaign. Thursday night’s 2-1 success against Tring Athletic was the Lilywhites’ third win in five games at home as they addressed a sequence prior to that of 4 defeats in six in all competitions at Lowfield. And it was pivotal they rectified their home form as they have struggled on the road with their current run reading seven straight league losses- including a remarkable 8-0 reverse at Berkhamsted- since a 4-2 win at Cockfosters at the start of December. But they have edged United out in recent meetings between the clubs, claiming 1-0 and 3-0 wins respectively in the previous two matches at Lowfield. However, the last contest at Second Meadow finished 4-2 in favour of the hosts. Up next… With no midweek fixture our next match sees us travel to Oxhey Jets on Saturday Kick Off 3pm. If you can’t make the trip, we hope that you will come down and give your support to our Under 23 side who entertain St Margaretsbury. Let’s hope for an enjoyable and entertaining game this afternoon.
Tracey James, (Secretary and Programme Editor)
SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE NEWSLETTER SATURDAY 7TH APRIL 2018 PREMIER DIVISION Congratulations to Welwyn Garden City who both clinched promotion and secured the Premier Division title after a dramatic 2-1 at home to Wembley. George Ironton and Tyler Hatherley, with an injury time penalty, scored the allimportant goals for the Citizens. The reason for City’s celebrations is that Berkhamsted, who are still very much in contention for the second promotion spot, could only draw 0-0 at Colney Heath. Leighton Town keep up the pressure in third after they saw off the challenge of Leverstock Green, beating them 6-2 at home. At the foot of the table, bottom side Stotfold were not in action but London Tigers remain deep in relegation trouble despite an excellent 1-1 draw at Cockfosters, as do Oxhey Jets who lost 3-1 at Hadley. Sam Lyon was among the goals for Hadley. Elsewhere Biggleswade United won 3-1 at home against St Margaretsbury, thanks to a brace from Abraham Eze and one from Joshua Muschett, whilst Hoddesdon Town lost 3-1 at home to Harpenden Town. Tring Athletic recorded an excellent 1-0 win at London Colney, thanks to Sam Jolliffe’s goal, and despite their 3-0 midweek loss to Holmer Green, are beginning to move away from the drop zone. The same can be said for Holmer, who gained a valuable point in their 1-1 draw away at Biggleswade FC – Matty Wooster scoring the all important goal.
Biggleswade United St Margaretsbury
3 1
United staged a terrific second-half comeback to overcome St Margaretsbury 3-1 at Second Meadow on Saturdayearning their first win in six games across all competitions in the process. A brace for Abraham Eze and Joshua Muschett’s first goal for the club were the result of a productive second period but it was the hosts’ tepid display in the first half that rendered them in need of some inspiration.
the right and when he played the ball expertly across the face of goal, Lee Roberts had the simplest task of finishing from five yards out. United could have recovered the deficit before the break after Muschett’s wrestling with the defender allowed Lusungo Ndovi to stride onto the loose ball and fired wide of the near post. However, the home side seldom allowed the intensity of their play to dip after the break precluding St Margaretsbury from establishing a more comfortable lead and Eze almost drew them level when he narrowly missed the bottom right corner.
And they conceded the first chance of the afternoon when Mark Summers turned He achieved the required accuracy shortly neatly in the penalty area before forcing Ryan Haggerty into a strong save down to afterwards, though, exhibiting supreme composure as he controlled Farrell’s his left. delivery into the box on his chest and poked the ball past Seymour. Latching onto James Cooper’s raking cross-field pass, Eze had an even more Maintaining their dominance, United presentable opening as he was denied from close range by Adam Seymour in the completed the turnaround ten minutes later as Muschett found the roof of the Bury goal. net superbly after well-constructed attack down the right. The perpetually moving Eze managed to engineer a dangerous cross from the left which was headed swiftly by the defender And having led at halftime, the visitors saw their grip on the contest well and back into the gloves of his keeper as the ball swirled towards the centre of the box truly lost when Eze collected the ball from a throw-in on the left before surging in a moment of defensive brilliance or infield and bending his shot into the top extreme fortune. corner to rapturous celebrations in the Kane Farrell’s free-kick threatened to pick stands. out a red shirt as it eventually drifted wide An unfortunate injury to Tarik Aciyan of the target and minutes later the opening goal arrived at the opposite end. curtailed United’s momentum for the remainder of the game but the job was already complete as Cristian Colas’ men Martin Russell’s failed interception allowed Summers to burst in behind down returned to winning ways.
FIRST TEAM FORTHCOMING FIXTURES Date
Opponents
Comp.
H/ A
KO
Sat 14 Apr
HODDESDON TOWN
League
H
3pm
Sat 21 Apr
OXHEY JETS
League
A
3pm
Sat 28 Apr
COCKFOSTERS
League
H
3pm
Mon 30 Apr
BIGGLESWADE FC
League
A
7.45
HOLMER GREEN
League
A
3pm
Sat 5 May
UNDER 23 FORTHCOMING FIXTURES Sat 7 Apr
HOLMER GREEN
League
A
3pm
Sat 14 Apr
BUCKINGHAM ATH
League
A
3pm
Sat 21 Apr
ST MARGARETSBURY
League
H
3pm
HERTFORD TOWN
League
A
7.45
TBC
MIND YOUR LANGUAGE DELETE THAT EXPLETIVE!
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.
KICK OFF 3pm