V
Biggleswade United Colours: Red / Navy
Tring Athletic
Colours: Yellow / Green
1
Reece Voller
1
Jack Hopwood
2
Ross Taylor
2
Tommy Twelves
17
Kane Farrell
3
Ben Johnson
3
Lee Bilcock ©
4
Chris Mason
4
Joe Gorman
5
James Butler
6
Ricky Christie
6
Mark Riddick
7
Gareth Hunt
7
David O’Connor
8
James Cooper
8
Dan Steadman
9
Abraham Eze
9
George Carberry
10
Jaiden Irish
10
Sam Joliffe
11
Matt Cooper
11
Luke Dunstan
12
Jay Taylor
12
Chris Vardy
14
Carlos Correia-Dias
14
Jack Read
15
Ethan Mosley
15
Elliott Goward
5
Andrew Iwediuno
16
Max Hercules
16
Alix Girdlestone
17
Jack Sunderland
GK
Carlos Vivas
18
Steve Notte-Macaire
19
Brodie Couzins
19
Stuart Stedman
20
20
Head Coach: Cristian Colas Becerra
Manager: Ian Richardson
Asst Coach: Stuart Bimson Conditioning Coach: Albert Martinez
Asst Manager : Colin Philips Coach: Gary Looker, Stuart Stedman
Physio: Ikera Williams
Physio: Hollie Conlon
Match Officials Referee: Mr S Conway Assistants: Mr K Moore and Mr D Jones
The legal name of the club is Biggleswade United 1959 Biggleswade United is a members club
Saturday 20th January 2018 Official Match Programme
The Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division Biggleswade United FC V Tring Athletic 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 As a long term - and even longer-suffering - supporter of Espanyol FC, if there is one thing I have learnt about this crazy, addictive game that we all love so much, is that the only thing we can ever expect is the unexpected. Football is just part of life - in my case, a very sizeable part - and life, as Forrest Gump's extremely erudite mother constantly informed him is indeed "like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get." And if I thought that was true with Espanyol then the real love of my life, namely Biggleswade United FC where I have the pleasure of working as Director of Football have taken the notion of the 'unexpected' to a new level. What a night! Where to begin? We had about 120 people actually in the ground but up to 17,000 tuned in at some time during the game to watch it on our Youtube channel, and what a game they saw. A previously unbeaten Welwyn Garden City who until Tuesday night had dropped just four points out of a possible 54 called into Second Meadow and a stuttering start from us indicated that this was a match that would go to form, particularly when our guests took a 4th minute lead. Thankfully our players begged to differ and two goals, both from set pieces and the second coming just moments before the half time whistle meant we had turned the match around and went in at the interval in ahead.
A third gave us a bit of breathing space, although a second goal from Welwyn in the 90th minute meant we had a nailbiting final few added on time minutes to endure - it wouldn't be Biggleswade United if it didn't involve at least a bit of suffering - before being able to celebrate what was undoubtedly our best win of the season. A truly brave win, a 'Musketeerial' friends helping friends type of display with special mention to man of the match, midfielder Ricky Christie who after a difficult start is now finally reaping the benefits of the dedication and commitment he has shown both in training and in matches. Head coach Cristian Colas was quick to point out afterwards that we now need to carry on where we left off, with the same self- belief, because if we work and train with that level of passion and application and play the game to our strengths then there is no one in the league who we cannot beat. Today, Tring Athletic, currently going great guns in the FA Vase where they have secured a place in the last 16, call into Second Meadow and while we wish them all the success in the world in that competition we will certainly be trying our level best to ensure they do not enjoy similar good fortune in their league campaign.
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. Tonight we welcome the players, supporters and officials of TRING ATHLETIC 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. Second Meadow is beginning to display the hallmarks of the quintessential footballing fortress as the previous four matches have seen United go unbeaten on home turf and produce some mightily impressive results. Leverstock Green saw their eight-match undefeated streak in the league vanquished in a thumping 5-2 reverse in Bedfordshire, lofty local rivals were pushed to the limit in a 1-1 draw, regular top-half finishers Wembley were comfortably dispatched of 2-0 and on Tuesday night United inflicted a first divisional defeat upon the formidable Welwyn Garden City in an enthralling encounter that finished 3-2 to the hosts. The success on their own stomping ground has contrasted the struggles on the road, which remains an issue in a need of addressing, but for now it’s another home fixture with Tring Athletic the next opponent. Tring Athletic And Athletic, who placed fifth last term, have gradually recovered from a desperate to the season that saw them languishing at the foot of the table for numerous matchdays despite performing quite well in the cup competitions- they have a fifth-round FA Vase tie at Melksham Town looming. They got their first league win at St Margaretsbury (3-1) in late September but continued to struggle for points thereafter until they won the reverse fixture 2-0 at the start of November. That result sparked a run of five wins from seven matches with a 3-1 loss at league leaders Berkhamsted and a 1-1 draw last time out against Hadley the only blotches on an otherwise perfect recent record. Remarkably, United and Tring have already battled three times this season with the former succumbing 3-0 on penalties following a 1-1 in a League Challenge Trophy clash at the Grass Roots Stadium. Cristian Colas’ men avenged that defeat by winning 2-0 for their first league victory of the new campaign before returning to east Hertfordshire yet again for a Dudley Latham Memorial Cup tie that ended in further shootout disappointment- Tring prevailing by four penalties to two after the match finished 2-2. Fortunately from a United perspective, this latest meeting between the side can’t be decided by spot-kicks and hopefully they can prolong this good sequence of results at home today. Up next… On Saturday we travel to Cockfosters Off 3pm. Our Under 23 will provide the entertainment with the visit of Winslow United. Kick Off 3pm. Let’s hope for an enjoyable and entertaining game this afternoon .
SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE NEWSLETTER – Saturday 13th January 2018 By Bill Scholes PREMIER DIVISION
Welwyn Garden City are the new leaders at the top of the table after they beat Colney Heath, 3-1. Danny Payne opened the scoring for the Citizens with Ben Spaul and Ash Kersey also on target. Spencer Clarke-Mardel pulled one back for Heath but it was too little too late. The previous leaders, Berkhamsted, after an unbeaten run of 21 games, lost for the first time this season going down 1-0 at St Margaretsbury. Matt Attard scored the games only goal as the Comrades title aspirations suffered a major setback. It’s very close at the foot of the table. Stotfold remain bottom though as they threw away a two goal lead as they lost 4-3 at London Colney with Lawrence Vaughan proving to be the hosts match winner. Crawley Green drop back into the bottom three after they lost 4-0 at Hoddesdon Town for whom Connor Scully scored a first half hattrick and Cockfosters are out of the bottom three as they beat Harpenden Town 2-1 at home. Kojo Gyimah was on target for the hosts on his first start for the club. This win, and that of St. Margaretsbury’s, mean that Holmer Green fall back into the bottom three……without playing. Biggleswade FC were the days big winners as they beat Oxhey Jets 7-1 with Lee Northfield grabbing a hat-trick. The other four contributions came from Taishan Griggin, Alex Marsh, Tom Cookman and Justin Leavers whilst Jets sole reply came from Jahobi Maher. Although in 5th spot, with games in hand, Biggleswade are closing in on 3rd place. Just up the road, near neighbours Biggleswade Utd could also celebrate after their 2-0 win over Wembley, thanks to goals from Nicholas Elliot and Joe Gorman. There was no hangover from their Vase celebrations as Leighton Town beat visitors London Tigers 4-2, whilst Tring Athletic and Hadley shared the points in a 1-1 draw at The Grass Roots Stadium. Edgware Town beat Leverstock Green 3-1 with Dan Pett and Ryan Carruthers among their scorers.
Biggleswade United 3 Welwyn Garden City 2 Report by Leon Waite United ended the division’s remaining unbeaten record, courtesy of a 3-2 win over now second-placed Welwyn Garden City on a momentous evening at Second Meadow that continued recent success on home turf. They were setback early on, however, with Citizens striker Jon Clements arriving at the near post to latch onto a drilled cross from the right-hand side and finish comfortably beyond Reece Voller. And Welwyn maintained a potency in the final third throughout the opening stages but found their defensive resistance undone in the first-half by two set-pieces. Lee Bilcock bundled the ball in after he met Gareth Hunt’s corner midway through the period and the diminutive midfielder was provider again with a delicately lofted freekick into the penalty area that Joe Gorman guided expertly into the top corner on the stroke of halftime. The visitors were tantalisingly close to restoring parity minutes after the interval as Dave Corran met a corner from the left but could only find the woodwork with his headed effort. Pictured: Our goal scoring trio L-R Joe Gorman, Lee Bilcock, Jaiden Irish
And the match had ostensibly escaped the league’s most formidable team when Jaiden Irish timed his run superbly to breach the Welwyn backline, latch onto a through pass and slot the ball neatly into the corner. The sense of optimism around the ground escalated to tangible levels as the prospect of overcoming such a formidable opponent came closer to being realised with every passing second. Adam Fisher has instilled a resilience in his team that has seen them recover from significant deficits in the past to claim a positive result so they never yielded and managed to pull a goal back late on with Clements securing his brace. United held out, though, and emerged with a massive victory that establishes a tremendous platform to launch a strong climax to a campaign that has stuttered at times.
FIRST TEAM FORTHCOMING FIXTURES Date
Opponents
Comp.
H/A
KO
Sat 20 Jan
TRING ATHLETIC
League
H
3pm
Sat 27 Jan
COCKFOSTERS
League
A
3pm
Tues 30 Jan
ST MARG’BURY
League
A
7.45pm
Sat 3 Feb
HOLMER GREEN
League
A
3pm
Sat 10 Feb
HADLEY
League
H
3pm
Sat 17 Feb
EDGWARE
League
A
3pm
Sat 24 Feb
LEVERSTOCK GRN
League
A
3pm
Sat 3 Mar
BERKHAMSTED
League
A
3pm
UNDER 23 FORTHCOMING FIXTURES Sat 27 Jan
WINSLOW UTD
League
H
3pm
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
Stay with us after the match to watch Premier League football. All BT SPORT 1 matches will be shown in the clubhouse after our match.