East Grinstead Town v Sheppey United 9 Sept

£2:00

vs SHEPPEY UNITED

Saturday 2 September 2023 - FA Trophy

preliminary round

Kick off 3pm

THE OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME OF EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN FC 2023/24

EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB

TheOHOBCommunityStadium| CollegeLane|EastGrinsteadRH193LS

Telephone : 01342 325885

Website : www.egtfc.co.uk

CLUB MANAGEMENT

Chair, Treasurer, Assistant Welfare Officer, 200 Club Officer Richard Tramontin

Vice Chair, Secretary, Club Welfare Officer

Committee Member, Safety Officer

Head of Youth Development

Committee Member, Youth Coordinator

Disability Welfare Officer, Bar Manager, Webmaster

Club Photographer

Media Manager & Programme Editor

Facilities Manager

Committee Members

Head of Recruitment

Brian McCorquodale

Barry Bryant

Jay De Vito

Andy Dodson

Stuart Gibson

Bruce Talbot

Andy Willis

Grant Hearn

Stuart Hedgecock

Matthew Wheeler

FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT

Manager

Assistant Manager and Team Coach

Assistant Coach

Goalkeeping Coach

Physiotherapist

Kit Manager

U23 Managers & Coaches

U18 Manager & Coach

3rd XI Manager

U15s Manager

U13 Manager

U11 Manager

U10 Manager

Disability Team Manager

WELCOME TO EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN

Good afternoon and welcome to our third different Kent opposition in the form of the so far unbeaten Ites. Today we begin another road to Wembley in the FA Trophy, a tournament where it's fair to say we haven't really distinguished ourselves down the years.

A good result today, or even on Tuesday when we host South Park in the Velocity Trophy, can hopefully kick-start what has been a frustrating season so far, results-wise. Last time out at Sevenoaks until the midway point of the second half it looked a nailed-on draw with little to choose between the teams, so what happened thereafter was a bit of a shock.

Anyway, the lads will be raring to go after 12 days off today - come on the Wasps!

Front cover: Omar Folkes holds off a Sevenoaks defender in our last game.

LEAGUE

DIVISION TABLE | 23-24

Drew Cooney

Ian Nichols

Steve Sargent

Darren Hadlum

Jamie Brownlie

Adam Robinson

Howard Wrate &

Steve Coveney

Giuliano (Julien) Arucci

Paul Withers

Lewis McDonnell

Andy Dodson

Ted Symes

Ben Payne

Ant Bowler

16Broadbridge Heath302147-32

17Horndean302136-32

20East

Up to and including August 29

MANAGER’S NOTES

We welcome everyone back for what could be the first of five home games before the end of the month. Only two of these are league games with the remainder being in cup competitions.

It’s been a tough start in the league but spirits remain very high in the camp. Although we have yet to get any points on the board in the league, I'm sure out luck in front of goal will certainly change!

The football we have played at times has been the best I’ve been involved with at the club both as a manager and a player. So we have just been reminding the lads and ourselves in the management team that what we are doing is positive and that we just need that change in fortunes in front of goal.

Today's opponents will prove another tough test for the lads, having scored 14 goals in their first five games, so we know they will be a threat going forward. We will set up as best we can to deal with this and look to be as much of a handful going the opposite way.

As ever our thanks to the fans for their support over the opening games. We would really like the town as a whole to get behind this team over the next four or five games all being at home. This will provide a huge boost to help us get as many positives results over this period.

Please encourage your friends to come down and support their local club and we look forward to seeing you all down here at the club.

Good luck to us!

Drew

Drew Cooney

Photo courtesy of Stuart Gibson

CHAIRMAN’S NOTES

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to East Court for today’s Isuzu FA Trophy First Round Qualifying tie against Sheppey United.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our supporters, the Ites’ players, management, officials and supporters as well as today’s referee Dennis Torres and his assistants Ben Warren and Fabien Le Houezec. I trust everyone enjoys their brief stay and our hospitality.

If today’s match finishes in a draw at the end of 90 minutes, it will go straight to penalties. The winners will be at home in a fortnight, on Saturday 23rd September, in the Second Round Qualifying against the winners of today’s tie between Sittingbourne and Ashford Town (Middx),

Ernie Batten’s Sheppey United are unbeaten so far this season, having progressed through two rounds in the FA Cup where they next host Burgess Hill Town next Saturday, and have won one and drawn two in the League where they sit in eighth spot. Last season was their first in the Isthmian League South East Division and they finished seventh.

It’s not been such a great start for us following a comprehensive win in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round the week before the League campaign started. Performances have been good, and enough chances have been created but the all-important goals have eluded us. Not making excuses, but injuries haven’t helped, and we have done ourselves no favours with two players having suspensions for being shown two yellows in matches.

We didn’t have a match last weekend. Drew and Ian have been working hard with the lads and they are all determined to kick-start the season knowing they will face stern competition this afternoon which will probably include ex-Wasp, Danny Leonard.

Today is the first of potentially five consecutive first team home matches. We are here again on Tuesday in the Velocity Cup against South Park (Reigate) – kick off 7.30pm. The following Saturday our visitors are near neighbours, Three Bridges, in the league. As previously mentioned, if we win today, we will be at home on Saturday 23rd September in the next round of the FA Trophy and then the following Saturday we host Ashford United in the league.

That brings me nicely to a repeat of my request for volunteers. We are always on the lookout for more volunteers on match days. Areas where we could really do with more support include bar, stewarding, turnstiles, media etc so if anyone wants to get involved, please speak to me or one of my colleagues.

Thank you all for coming along this afternoon and whatever the outcome of the match, I trust everyone enjoys their visit to East Court and I wish you all a safe journey home.

Enjoy the match

Richard Tramontin (Chairman)

Photo courtesy of Stuart Gibson

FIXTURES & RESULTS

AUGUST

05-Aug-PaghamAFACupe1194-0PiersonGreenM. WilsonWearieG. WilsonReardonMartinBailey-KingTighe 3WalshFolkesSummerfieldAubreyKenyon

12-Aug-2023Hythe TownAPISEdiv2710-4PiersonReardonGreenKenyonWearieG. WilsonTigheMartinWalshFolkesSummerfieldAlhassanAlbieFilipe

19-Aug-2023Hythe TownHPISEdiv1421-3PiersonReardonGreenM.WilsonWearieG.Wilson 1TigheMartinWalshAubreyFilipeKenyonAlhassanWilliams

26-Aug-2023Herne BayHPISEdiv1151-2PiersonReardonCadmanM.WilsonWearieG.WilsonTigheWalshAubrey 1AlhassanMartinFolkesKenyonGreen

28-Aug-2023Sevenoaks TownAPISEdiv1411-4PiersonSummerfieldFilipeM.WilsonReardonG.Wilson 1WalshMartinFolkesKenyonCadmanAlhassanAubrey

SEPTEMBER

09-Sep-Sheppey UnitedHFAT1q

12-Sep-2023South ParkHVC1

16-Sep-2023Three BridgesHPISEdiv

30-Sep-Ashford UnitedHPISEdiv

OCTOBER

07/10/23HorndeanAPISEdiv

10-Oct-2023Broadbridge HeathAPISEdiv

14-Oct-2023Chichester CityHPISEdiv

21-Oct-2023Cray Valley PMHPISEdiv

28-Oct-2023RamsgateAPISEdivBuchananSargent

NOVEMBER

4-NovSittingbourneHPISEdiv

11-NovLittlehampton TownAPISEdiv

18/11/23LancingHPISEdiv

25-NovRamsgateAPISEdiv

DECEMBER

02-Dec-2023MersthamHPISEdiv

09-Dec-Sheppey UnitedAPISEdiv

16/12/23Three BridgesAPISEdiv

26/12/23Sevenoaks TownHPISEdiv

30/12/23Hythe TownHPISEdiv

JANUARY

01/01/24Erith & BelvedereAPISEdiv

06/01/24Burgess Hill TownAPISEdiv

13/01/24Phoenix SportsHPISEdiv

20-Jan-2024Ashford UnitedAPISEdiv

27/01/24Broadbridge HeathHPISEdiv

FEBRUARY

03/02/24Chichester CityAPISEdiv

10/02/24HorndeanHPISEdiv

17/02/24Cray Valley PMAPISEdiv

24/02/24RamsgateHPISEdiv

MARCH

02/03/24SittingbourneAPISEdiv

09/03/24Littlehampton TownHPISEdiv

16/03/24Phoenix SportsAPISEdiv

23/03/24Burgess Hill TownHPISEdiv

30/03/24Herne BayAPISEdiv

APRIL

01/04/24Erith & BelvedereHPISEdiv

06/04/24LancingAPISEdiv

13/04/24Beckenham TownHPISEdiv

20-AprMersthamAPISEdiv

27/04/24Sheppey UnitedHPISEdiv

PROGRAMMES FROM THE PAST

Helped by the programmes produced for the matches we’re going to look at past games played on or close to today’s date. We start with East Grinstead v Hassocks on Tuesday 10 September 2013. This was a second-round match in the Sussex County League Cup and was in fact our fourth cup match of the season (alongside four division one league matches). Indeed, one of those four league matches had been away to our visitors Hassocks – a match which ended in a 2-2 draw with both of our goals coming from centre-half Marc Pelling. Chairman Richard Tramontin’s notes start by talking about that 2-2 draw. It is the only league match so far that Hassocks hadn’t won – and if the ref had blown his whistle a minute earlier, we would have taken 3 points rather than just one! (We on the other hand had won one, drawn two and lost one of our first four league matches).

The programme carries a very full report by Anthony Scott of the previous Saturday’s FA Vase match at home to AFC Uckfield from the County League division 2, a match we would expect to win. For a while it looked as if an early second half goal from our opponents would give them the win, but a couple of goals in the last 10 minutes put us through to the next round.

So how did the Hassocks match go? Sam Schaaf’s early header gave us an early lead before Hassocks equalised. But a second half penalty came our way and Matt Geard put it away to give us a 2-1 win.

Moving on a few years we’ll have a look at the programme for East Grinstead v Greenwich Borough on Saturday 9 September 2017 – we were now in the Isthmian League of course. A difficult start to the season had seen us pick up a single point in our first four league games and on the previous Saturday our FA Cup run came to an end with defeat away to Margate. Greenwich Borough, on the other hand, had picked up seven points from their first 4 games. (And despite picking up just one point we were not at the bottom of the table as a couple of teams had lost all 4 of their league

games.)

However, both manager Matt Longhurst and Chairman Richard Tramontin tell us that a midweek friendly against Tooting & Mitcham had gone well. We had won 3-1 and this offered us something for the future, as did some of the recent performances of the under 23 team. And Marcus Elliott continued to score goals!

So how did the game against Greenwich Borough go? First goal came after some 35 minutes with Greenwich taking the lead – a lead they doubled with 15 minutes left. But we struck back within the next couple of minutes through centre-half Jack Meeres. And with heavy rain pouring down and the ref getting close to blowing his full-time whistle the same Jack Meeres got his head on the end of a Marcus Elliott cross to equalise. 2-2 it finished.

If you have had your memories jogged by this piece, then I’d be happy to hear from you at lestermedcalf@btinternet.com.

John Sinclair on the cover a decade ago

news from the league

PERFORMANCE OF THE MONTH

We’re heading back to the opening day of the competitive season, an FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round tie at the Sportsfield in Littlehampton. The Golds were at home but, oh, Dere!

Erith & Belvedere, newly promoted to Pitching In Isthmian South East, travelled to Littlehampton Town to take on a side who had recently completed a very solid debut season at our level, and we expected a close match. What we got was anything but close, the visiting Deres firing home six goals without reply. Josh Ajayi got the first two, Finn O’Mara made it 3-0 at the break, and in the second half Chris Dickson added two more before TQ Addy rounded things off with the sixth.

Four teams from our division are

through to the second qualifying round of the FA Cup. Burgess Hill Town and Bognor Regis Town met in a Sussex derby and the Hillians were giant slayers, a goal right at the start and another right at the end removing the Rocks from the competition. Lewis Finney scored both of them.

Joe Taylor got his eighth goal of the season as Ramsgate won 5-0 at premier division Chatham Town. Horndean beat Bideford Town 3-0. Today's so far undefeated visitors Sheppey United beat Kennington 3-1 with ex-Wasp Danny Leonard among their scorers. Sevenoaks drew 0-0 with Whitehawk but lost the replay 2-1 on Tuesday.

A cracking finish by Ben Aubrey in our last home game

SHEPPEY UNITED

Sheppey United – the past 30 years

1992 – 2013: The Nomadic Years

Sheppey United sold the much-loved Botany Round ground to developers in 1992 to clear a massive overdraft, and this started a long and slow death for the club.

Initially this did not appear to present too many problems as Sheppey romped away with the Kent League title, whilst ground-sharing with Faversham Town, losing only two out of 40 games. Ultimately, however, as the club spent most of the 1990s trying in vain to find a new home on the island, years of playing away from Sheppey began to take its toll, as the club moved from Faversham to Canterbury and then to Sittingbourne. Attendances fell sharply as supporters increasingly became disenchanted with traveling off the island for ‘home’ games, and the club could no longer afford the rents involved.

In March 2001 the club resigned from the Kent League and their record was expunged. The senior team was disbanded until being reformed in 2003, when they joined Division Two East of the Kent County League. They finished second in their first season and were promoted to Division One East. The club was renamed AFC Sheppey in 2007 but was disbanded and reformed under their original name prior to the 2010–11 season.

2013 – 2016: The New Club

In June 2013 the club merged with Sheerness East FC to become Sheppey & Sheerness United FC competing in the Kent County League Premier Division with the club playing their home games a Holm Park formerly Canning Town Gasworks and then Sheerness Steel Sports Ground. The season saw the club win the Kent FA Intermediate Challenge Shield and finish runners up in the league and were promoted to the Kent Invicta League. In 2014 the club was renamed back to Sheppey United FC. Major investment has been injected into Holm Park including perimeter fencing, new dressing rooms, club house refurbishments, floodlights, stands, levelling the main pitch including installing drainage and sprinkler system. A second-place finish in the Kent Invicta

League was achieved at the end of the 2015/16 season gaining promotion to the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division. The Kent Invicta League merged into the Southern Counties East Football League that summer forming Division One.

2016 was a remarkable season for the club winning the Kent Senior Trophy, beating Ashford United on penalties at Maidstone United’s Gallagher Stadium in front of a crowd of 870, whilst Holm Park’s ground regeneration saw 715 fans flock to the stadium for a home match against Glebe.

2016 – Present: The Return of Kent League Football

A sixth-place finish in the SCEFL Premier Division was a great achievement in the clubs return to Step 5 of the Non-League pyramid.

visitors recent league forM

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congue dapibus ipsum molestie. Praesent ornare consectetur ante sed sollicitudin. Proin auctor nulla mi.

Ever thought of volunteering to help your local football club?

In efficitur elit in est pharetra condimentum. Morbi nec sapien eget tortor viverra congue at eu metus. Ut tincidunt urna vel libero lobortis, ut sodales mauris egestas. Aenean ligula quam, molestie quis blandit at, scelerisque ac mauris. Nulla id mauris sit amet nunc maximus elementum vitae at mauris. Praesent non ligula egestas, rhoncus justo nec, pharetra lectus. Morbi nec enim mollis eros auctor pulvinar commodo ut augue. Mauris non leo mollis, tempor ex eu, ornare magna.

There are many different volunteer roles in non-league football and Isthmian League football clubs need your help with them.

Aenean vel tellus at felis cursus sagittis. Quisque posuere tincidunt turpis, sit amet posuere sapien condimentum ac. Sed gravida,

The Trident Leagues and Pitching In’s online Volunteer Hub is the place where you can find opportunities and contact your local football club.

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Please visit Pitchinginvolunteers.co.uk to find out more

Photography by

A disappointing result last time out at Sevenoaks. 4-1 flattered the hosts who scored twice when we were down to ten men late on after Tommy Summerfield picked up a second yellow card. Here are a couple of Stuart Gibson's pictures from the match.

SQUAD STATS

TODAY’S Teams

EAST GRINSTEAD FCSHEPPEY UNITED

Matte Pierson (GK) cc

Tom Cadman cc

Cameron Reardon cc

Ryan Green cc

Glenn Wilson cc

Michael Wilson cc

Matt Weaire cc

Connor Tighe cc

Kiye Martin cc

Ben Aubrey cc

Max Walsh cc

Alex Andrade Filipe cc

Jack Kenyon cc

Thibault Abie cc

Lewis Unwin cc

Alessio Akabuoga cc

Chris Alhassan cc

Khavarn Williams cc

Ollie Cash (GK) cc

Manager: Drew Cooney

Colours: Amber & Black

Aiden Prall cc

Daniel Birch cc

Frankie Del Morgan cc

Olamilekan Majoyegbe cc

Richard Hamill cc

Danny Leonard cc

Connor Wilkins cc

Daniel Bradshaw cc

Eddie Allsopp cc

James Bessey-Saldanha cc

Maliq Morris cc

Jacob Lambert cc

Alexander Willis cc

Mamadou Diallo cc

Josh Wisson cc cc

Manager: Ernie Batten

Colours: Blue & Black

The Isthmian Football League strongly supports the Football Association’s statement that there should be a zerotolerance approach against all forms of discrimination.

Any inappropriate conduct toward others, including but not limited to that based on an individual’s sex, race, colour, weight, size, religion and belief, national origin, age, marital or domestic-partnership status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression, will not be tolerated and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

The Isthmian League and our Member Clubs are committed to promoting equity and equality by treating all people fairly and with respect, by recognising that inequalities may exist, by taking steps to address them and providing access and opportunities for all members of our communities.

Next HOMe GAMe

SOUTH PARK

Tuesday 12 September, 2023

Kick off 7.30pm Velocity Cup first round

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Dennis Torres

Assistant Referee: Fabien Le Houzec

Assistant Referee: Billy Warren

ROLL OF HONOURS

SUSSEX COUNTY LEAGUE: Division Two champions 2007–08 Baldwin Cup winners 1951–52 MID-SUSSEX LEAGUE: Champions 1901–02, 1936–37

Montgomery Cup winners 1911–12, 1912–13

SOUTHERN AMATEUR LEAGUE: Division Three champions 1931–32

SUSSEX RUR CUP: Winners 2003–04

www.matchday-programmes.co.uk

SHEPPEY UNITED