OFFICIAL MATCH PROGRAMME SATURDAY 13TH OCTOBER 2018 THE BUILDBASE FA VASE FIRST ROUND PROPER
BIGGLESWADE UNITED V HOLBEACH UNITED
Welcome Welcome to Second Meadow Good afternoon and welcome to Second Meadow for today’s First Round Proper of the Buildbase FA Vase tie. We extend a warm welcome to the players, officials and supporters from WEMBLEY FOOTBALL CLUB who make their first ever visit to Second Meadow. We also welcome our three match officials and hope that you all enjoy your short stay with us. Should today’s tie finish all square after 90 minutes AND extra time there will be a replay on WEDNESDAY 17TH OCTOBER at Holbeach United FC. Kick Off 7.45pm Match Preview Holbeach United compete in the Premier Division of the Future Lions United Counties League and are currently sitting in fourth place and come to United on the back of a four match unbeaten run. This is our visitor’s first match in the Vase competition having reached the 2nd Round Proper last season but exited after a 0-5 defeat to Wallsall Wood FC. The two sides have no history in terms of playing each other and so toady’s game will make for an intriguing affair, pitching two Step 5 sides against each other and each representing two Leagues (SML / UCL) who, most would have it, play contrasting styles. There has always been a local rivalry over which is the better League and although today’s game will not present the answer, it should still present a very exciting cup tie. The winners of the tie will see their bank balance increase by £825 and will go into the hat for the draw which will be made at Wembley on Monday dinner time. Up Next Should today’s game not go to a replay our next game will see us make the short trip to STOTFOLD for a local derby on Saturday 20th October. Kick Off 3pm. Our Under 23 side do not have a fixture today but they will be at home next Saturday with HOLMER GREEN DEVELOPMENT the visitors in the Development Division Challenge Cup. Kick Off 3pm
Balague on Biggleswade United GUILLEM BALAGUE Biggleswade United Director of Football, Guillem Balague, provides this weekly column.
Until I became seriously involved with Biggleswade United, I never really understood just what was required to ensure the efficient running of a football club at whatever level they compete at.
then hopefully they'll get the idea.
There are the fixtures to coordinate, training schedules to prepare, publicity to get in place, grass to cut, kit to wash, It is for that reason that as part of turnstiles to man, programmes to my work with the University produce, forms to fill, changing Campus of Football Business rooms to clean, reports to file, (UCFB) I have invited our food to prepare, complaints to chairman, Gareth Davies and listen to, on-going issues to Secretary, Tracey James to talk to resolve, and we still haven't the students about just what is kicked a ball yet. needed so our club - any club can function on a weekly basis. Then on the playing side is the organisation of the type of game A two hour seminar is only ever we want to play and the going to be long enough to responsibility of hiring the right scratch the surface but if we can personnel that can help us get the message across that it implement the style and isn't just about playing 90 approach we are looking for. And minutes plus added on time on everything has to be done on a any given Saturday and much shoestring budget with any more about day in, day out, number of us going out on a perspiration rather than regular basis with our begging occasional flashes of inspiration, bowl in the search for much needed funds. (Continued overleaf)
Balague on Biggleswade United GUILLEM BALAGUE Continued We are not inventing the wheel here but merely trying - along with many others - to create a club that the whole Community can feel they are a part of.
Victory against Wembley puts us into the quarter finals of the Premier Division Cup and hopefully gets us back on track after our 2-1 defeat at Hadley last weekend.
It's all about challenges and how we deal with them., and the biggest single challenge is getting enough volunteers involved in every aspect of the club, to help us meet the commitments we face on a weekly basis.
Work commitments meant I have been spending quite a lot of time in Spain recently and what better opportunity to catch up with everyone than an FA Vase day.
Holbeach United are our guests today And in this technological times we are as we aim to make it through into the constantly looking for people to help next round of this wonderful us on the social network, keep us in competition, the importance of which the public eye, keep the pot boiling. I never fully appreciated until quite recently. I now know just how much And like a child it is constantly impetus and feelgood factor a good evolving, growing by the day. We now, run in this competition can generate once again, have a ladies first team around a community. and while it is still in its infancy and currently a learning curve for all of us, the same rules and general Let's see if we can get one step closer expectations apply as they would to to Wembley. any of our sides be they young or old, boys or girls, mens or ladies, in every aspect of its running be it with training, weekly preparation for future matches or whatever is needed to function.
Join us this October for our half-term football camp! The football camp will take place from Monday 22nd to Thursday 25th October, 9AM3:30PM. The camp is for boys and girls aged 5-12! Sessions will take place at Second Meadow, Fairfield Road, SG18 0AA. Book before the 30th September at a reduced Early Bird booking price! Early bird prices are £60 for all four days or £15 for a single day. *Early bird offer applies to payments received on or before 30th September 2018. Prices after this date are £20 per day / £75 per Full Camp / £25 Cash on the Day. To book, please email Fran Constancio to receive the Registration form & Payment information: fran.constancio@biggleswadeunited.com
Current League Standings
Results and Fixtures
Next Up at Second Meadow
EASTERN JUNIOR ALLIANCE MIDWEEK CUP THURSDAY 18TH OCTOBER 2018 KICK OFF 7.45pm
BIGGLESWADE UNITED UNDER 16s V BILLERICAY TOWN UNDER 16s
SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE DEVELOPMENT DIVISION CUP SATURDAY 2OTH OCTOBER 2018 KICK OFF 3pm
BIGGLESWADE UNITED UNDER 23s V HOLMER GREEN DEVELOPMENT
Biggleswade United Under 23
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.
Holbeach United – The History Holbeach United, nicknamed "the TIGERS", were formed in 1929 and played in the Kings Lynn and Peterborough leagues. They joined the United Counties League (UCL ) after world war II and enjoyed a good spell in the early fifties, finishing third in 1952 and 1955 and runners-up in 1954. In 1955 under the management of ex-Crystal Palace player Len Richley, Holbeach United joined the Eastern Counties League where they stayed for seven years, competing against the likes of the Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United "A" sides. Success came with victory in the Lincolnshire Senior Cup "B" in 1958. In 1962 Holbeach United joined the Midland Counties League but failed to gain re-election after finishing next to bottom and the following season they returned to the United Counties League. After missing out on the championship by a single point in their first season back the tigers carried off the Knockout Cup in 1965 beating Desborough 7-1 in the final. Long serving manager Mr Freddie Watkins guided Holbeach United to the runners up medals in 1969. The seventies passed with their only success being runners-up in 1974. The arrival of Mr Lloyd Hudson as player manager turned their fortunes around and the 1982-1983 campaign saw the tigers reach the FA Cup first round where they lost 4-0 to Wrexham. They went on to win the Lincolnshire Senior Cup in 1984, 1985 and 1987, whilst Alan Day led the side to the last 16 of the FA Vase in 1988-1989. The UCL title was won for the first time in 1990, along with the Knockout Cup and benevolent cup - this was the first domestic treble in the league's history. The next major success came under the management of Mr Dominic Genovese when the club won the Senior Cup in the 1994/1995 season.
Holbeach United – The History (Cont.) In 2002 the tigers finished league runners up and in 2003 they were crowned Premier League champions adding the Lincolnshire Cup with a 31 final defeat of FA Vase winners Brigg.
The 2003/04 season saw a change in management with Shaun Keeble, who started his senior career at Holbeach, take over after two seasons as assistant. Assisted by, ex Peterborough and Holbeach player, Milton Graham they managed to finish a creditable 7th in their first season and the two local derby matches against Spalding United drew in then record UCL crowds of 701 & 760. The following season, 2004/05, saw Holbeach gain 3rd place and also all the hard work on the pitch was matched by the excellent work by the clubs committee in gaining a 90% grant from the FA to develop a new 140 seater stand and associated fencing and dugouts to replace the condemned 70 year old stand. Holbeach have played at Carters Park since their establishment. The site was bequeathed to the town in the mid-1920s by a man named Carter. A stand was built in the late 1930s and a covered area to its left was also built and later became known as the "pig pen". The ground was originally shared with the local cricket club, meaning that it only had three permanent sides. However, after the cricket club folded, the fourth side was fenced off. The ground's record attendance of 4,094 was set on 28 September 1955 for an FA Cup first qualifying round replay against local rivals Wisbech Town. In the 2015–16 season the club received national attention when their goalkeeper, Ricky Drury, scored a last-minute equaliser against Worcester City in the FA Cup to send the tie to a replay. In 2016-17 season, Seb Hayes joined half way through the season after Tom Roberts left the club. 2017-18 season, “THE TIGERS” won the Lincolnshire senior A cup, at Lincoln United’s, Ashby Avenue Ground against Grimsby Borough on Penalties, 4.1 after the game finished 1.1.
Biggleswade United FA Vase History
2001-02 1Q FORD SPORTS DAVENTRY A 2-3 (First FA Vase match in Club’s History) 2002-03 2Q LONDON COLNEY H 1-2 2003-04 2Q CORNARD UNITED A 3-1 1 DEREHAM TOWN H 2-3 2004-05 2Q BURNHAM RAMBLERS H 2-2 2Qr BURNHAM RAMBLERS A 1-2 2005-06 1Q WALSHAM-LE-WILLOWS H 1-2 2006-07 2Q LEVERSTOCK GREEN H 2-3 2007-08 1Q ROTHWELL CORINTHIANS H 3-1 2Q CLAPTON H 2-1 1 LEVERSTOCK GREEN A 1-0 2 NEWMARKET TOWN A 0-1 2008-09 2Q SAFFRON WALDEN TOWN A 1-0 1 DESBOROUGH TOWN H 3-0 2 STANWAY ROVERS H 0-3 (Heaviest defeat) 2009-10 2Q CODICOTE H 7-0 (Highest victory) 1 KINGSBURY LONDON TIGERS H 2-1 2 KIRKLEY & PAKEFIELD A 0-2 2010-11 2Q BARKING H 0-3 2011-12 2Q CODICOTE A 3-0 1 SOUTHEND MANOR A 1-2 2012-13 1Q KING'S LANGLEY A 3-1 2Q COLNEY HEATH H 1-3 2013-14 1Q HADLEY A 1-3 2014-15 1Q WOOTTON BLUE CROSS A 7-1 2Q NORTHAMPTON SPENCER H 2-2 2015-16 2Q LEVERSTOCK GREEN H 2-1 1 COGENHOE UNITED A 2-0 2 SAFFRON WALDEN TOWN H 1-3 2016-17 1Q WHITTON UNITED A 4-0 (Best Vase run) 2Q WOODBRIDGE TOWN H 3-0 1 BALDOCK TOWN H 2-1 2 SUN SPORTS H 1-1 2r SUN SPORTS A 1-1 (Only penalty shoot out) Sun Sports won 5-4 on penalties 2017-18 1Q DOWNHAM TOWN A 2-0 2Q THRAPSTON TOWN H 2-0 1 YAXLEY H 0-1 2018-19 1Q WORMLEY ROVERS A 2-1 2Q LONDON LIONS A 3-0
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