Dunstable Town v Shortwood United - Sun 25th Aug by Dunstable Town

THE OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME OF DUNSTABLE TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB 2019/2020

CREASEY NEWS

Kit Sponsor Club Sponsor Todays Match Sponsors Match Match Ball The Regiment

SHORTWOOD UNITED

Sunday 25th August 2019 Kick Off 15:00 The Emirates FA Cup

PROUD SPONSORS OF DUNSTABLE TOWN FC A family run travel agency that specialises in memorable travel experiences. We bring independent impartial knowledge that will not only help you understand the experience your holiday will give you, but all those extra tips too! 5b, Queensway , Dunstable, Bedfordshire LU5 4DW 01582 349 480 holidays@suitcasetravel.co.uk

Proud sponsors of Dunstable Town Football Club

01582 477500

01525 378899

www.groveburycars.co.uk

OUR CLUB HONOURS LIST

Southern League Central Division Winners 2013-2014 Southern League Championship Trophy Winners 2013-2014 Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Winners: 2002–03, 2012-2013 Bedfordshire Senior Cup Winners (12): 1895–96, 1956–57, 1959–60, 1979–80, 1982–83, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2008–09 Bedfordshire Premier Cup Winners (4): 1980–81, 1982–83, 1990–91, 2006–07, 2011-2012 Bedfordshire Intermediate Cup Winners: 1999–2000, 2008–09, 2018-19 Bedfordshire Floodlit Cup Winners: 2007–08 Eastern Junior Cup Winners: 2006–07 Colwyn Cup Winners: 2006–07, 2009–10

WHO’S WHO AT CREASEY PARK Playing Staff Gareth Jackson - First Team Manager Ryan Sturges - Assistant Manager Wayne Upton - Coach Rory McMullen - Goalkeeper Coach Tasos Psarras - Sports Therapist Justin Lucas-Hill - Club Medical Consultant Colin Lauder - Development Team Manager Valentino Qoku - Assistant Manager Samir Amadu - Coach

Non-Playing Staff

Neil Barker - Chairman Andrew Amu - Vice Chairman Andrew Madaras - Club Secretary Dudley Peacham - Treasurer Kristy Lewington - Club Welfare Officer and FA Charter Standard Coordinator Stephen Lewington - Press Officer, Social Media, and Youth Engagement Officer Chris White - Social Media Manager and Club Photographer Katrina Peacham - Committee Clerk and Turnstile Manager Nikki Lauder - Events and fundraising Patrick MacKay - Match-day Merchandising Coordinator Peter Burrows - Community Engagement Officer Vince Dunnell - Youth Section Chairman and Assistant Youth Welfare Officer Adrian Dunne - Youth Section Vice Chairman and Events/Fundraising Kristy Lewington - Youth Section Secretary and Club Welfare Officer Christian Baxter - Youth Treasurer and Assistant Youth Welfare Officer Brad Cawthorne - Match day Camera man Jacqui Dunnell - Match day Hospitality Bradley Fields - Match day Volunteer Jon Keenan - Match day Volunteer

FROM THE BOARDROOM A very warm welcome to Creasey Park this afternoon. It’s another FA Cup day and unusually due to AFC Dunstable playing their FA Cup game yesterday, we play this fixture on a Sunday. We welcome our visitors Shortwood United after their 2-1 victory against Clanfield in the previous round. Both teams will be keen to ‘keep the run going’ and I hope that the atmosphere in the ground will match our game against Chipping Sodbury on 10th August. In the last round Chris Stapleton’s goal after 14 seconds was (not surprisingly) the quickest in the FA Cup, and we enjoyed a good deal of publicity and views of the excellent strike. To be honest you’d be hard pressed to see three better goals than those served up by the Blues on that afternoon. ‘Paddy’s strike was as hard as I’ve seen a ball hit in a long time , and Luke Little’s strike after Chipping had just got themselves back in the game, was as timely as it was beautifully executed. There is no doubt that the prospect of an FA Cup run gets the juices flowing. Put simply we want to go as far as possible, we want to be seen as a ‘giant killer’, we want people to be talking about the club both locally and nationally. For clubs at our level the league is very important but the FA Cup affords different opportunities and experiences. I guess I’m of an age where this competition was the pinnacle for any player and supporter. It has a unique way of getting us dreaming of ‘what could be’. Sentimental, well possibly, but I love the romance of Cup! Long may it continue?

Off the field we continue to meet with local businesses, organisations, and individuals in order to determine how we can work together. Be in no doubt that we are determined to build a sustainable club. This takes hard work, resolve, creativity, and a huge dose of goodwill. Perhaps this is something you can help us with? Would your workplace or business want the opportunity to partner with us? Individually, could you sponsor a match, sponsor a player, join the ‘100’ Club scheme? There are many options and almost definitely ones we haven’t thought of. We don’t have all the answers, but we have the willingness to engage with anyone who shares our goals and aspirations for this club. Finally, and vitally, let’s really get behind Gareth, Ryan and the boys. They value your support and encouragement. The proverbial ‘12th’ Man’, coming off the bench, and seeing us over the line!

e m a g e h t y o j En Neil

A&R Exterior Cleaning Services 0800 0248098 07751716140 Proud sponsors of Dunstable Town F.C.

Buying or selling a house is a partnership, so choose Giggs & Bell to make the best team possible work for you EMAIL luton@giggsandbell.com PHONE 01582 958 070 WEBSITE giggsandbell.com C6 Basepoint Business & Innovation Centre 110 Butterfield, Great Marlings, Luton LU2 8DL

(Conditions Apply)

01582 891433

@CreaseyPark

/CreaseyPark

GAFFER’S NOTES Good afternoon and a very warm welcome to all of the management, players and supporters of Shortwood Utd FC. I hope you have a pleasant afternoon with us and a very safe journey home. It feels like quite a while ago since we played at home. In fact it was the previous round against Chipping Sodbury just over 2 weeks ago. I was particularly pleased with that result, which was a very hard fought match in some quite challenging conditions. The wind that day certainly made some aspects of the game rather difficult. However that did not stop the lads giving their all and scoring 3 fabulous goals and making a little bit of history. Chris Stapleton’s opener being the fastest goal scored that day after only 14 seconds was a great start. That along with Paddy and Luke’s goals would be 3 that would be very welcome if repeated today. Our opposition today have started the season very strongly. Winning their last 2 games and scoring 20 goals. We have no delusions that this will be anything other than a very tough afternoon. The squad is in a good place right now. Competition for spots is very strong and the mood in the camp is good, despite back to back losses. We are seeing a real will and determination to succeed on the pitch regardless of the setbacks along the way. I have always maintained that this is the attitude of eventual winners.

It has been pleasing to see the injured players start to train fully again, which can only now add to the competition and focus the mind further. Ryan and I hope to provide you with another entertaining performance with a positive result. Keep clapping, keep cheering and singing.

Blues u o y n o e Com Gareth

SHORTWOOD UNITED HISTORY Shortwood United Football Club was formed in 1900 and since then have played at 4 different grounds, Nailsworth Playing Field, Table Land, Wallow Green and finally at their current ground, Meadowbank. The club has been at Meadowbank since 1972, and includes an all-weather training area opened by the late Ted Croker. Gradual improvements over the years culminated in a major enhancement in 2009 to meet ground grading criteria for any future promotions. League football was commenced in the Stroud League where following continued success during the 1970s promotion was gained to the Northern Senior and then the Gloucestershire County League.Promotion to the Hellenic league was achieved in 1981 only to be relegated in their first season but finishing runners up the following year ensured promotion straight back. In 1983 they won the Hellenic Division One Cup and GFA Trophy and in the following year won the Hellenic League. It was a further six years until success was realised again when the treble of League winners, GFA Trophy and Stroud Charity Cup was completed. The 2007/08 season started a resurgence in Shortwood’s fortunes in finishing 5th in the league and winning the supplementary cup, defeating Ardley 4-2 in the final. The subsequent season pushed their success even further when following a good run in the FA Cup and semi-finalists in the League Cup, they pressed the eventual Champions

Hungerford to the final day of the season where they lost out on goal difference after amassing 99 pts and scoring 99 goals. Shortwood’s fine form continued into the next season when they again finished second in the league to Almondsbury, and runners up in the GFA Trophy again to Almondsbury, had good FA Cup and Vase runs and reached the final of the Floodlit cup. Having lost the away leg 3-0 to Reading Town they produced one of the most exciting comebacks and entertaining matches ever seen at Meadowbank where the score remained at 0-0 till the 67th minute when the deadlock was broken and Shortwood ran out 5-0 winners (AET). Shortwood’s league campaign in 2011 was a disappointment by their own high standards, but more silverware was added in the shape of the GFA Trophy after a 1-0 win over Tuffley Rovers in the final. 2011-12 season, however, was pivotal in the Club’s history! Not only did they reach the quarter final of the FA Vase, they also reached the final of the Hellenic League Floodlit Cup and the GFA Trophy Final.Most important was their league position where they finished 2nd by 1 point behind Oxford City Nomads. With Nomad’s not applying for promotion, and with Shortwood filling all the relevant criteria, they were promoted to the Southern League for the first time in their history! The 2012-13 season was again a successful

SHORTWOOD UNITED HISTORY one. Following a disappointing early exit from the FA cup the club had a good run in the FA Trophy including a magnificent away victory at premier league side Weymouth on the way. In their first season in the Southern League they finished a creditable eighth position. The 2013-14 season saw Shortwood progress further in the FA Cup than ever before! Early wins over Egham and Aylesbury put them up against Conference South outfit Dorchester and a 1-0 away win, and a further 1-0 win at Didcot put them into uncharted waters of the fourth qualifying round where they drew Conference side Aldershot at Meadowbank. A late, but deserved, equaliser gave them a replay and a heroic 2-1 win sparked wild celebrations. A home draw pitted Shortwood against League 1 side Port Vale in front of a record crowd of 1,247 plus a live television audience courtesy of BT Sport. The league season was also highly successful with a sixth placed finish, one point outside the play-off positions. 2014-15 failed to reach the heights of the previous season with many players moving on to higher things but for most of the season a play-off place looked possible until a decline in form towards the end of the season resulted in an 11th place finish. 2015 -16 continued Shortwood’s continued stability in the Southern League as they finished the season 7th in the table with 78 points and the end of the season saw the end of an era as joint Manager John

Evans retired after 20 seasons involvement with Shortwood – and the club moved forward with Alex Sykes now in sole charge. 2016-17 Was a strange season with the Wood exiting the FA Cup and the FA Trophy at the first hurdle and showing inconsistent league form but despite that they managed to finish a more than respectable 9th. In 2017-18 The club had an excellent run in the FA Trophy and produced some excellent results in the league interspersed with some heavy defeats but this was only to be expected with a very young side – but throughout the year they strived to play football the Shortwood way. After Christmas Shortwood faced a difficult dilemma. The ever increasing demands of the FA around ground gradings and the loss of their major sponsor left the club with no choice but to resign from the Southern League and they applied to the FA to be placed in the Toolstation Western League and they were successful in that application. Des Meredith did not feel that he could carry on with a complete rebuild of the side and departed and the club moved on with Jason Scrivens and Joey Tustain taking the helm. They did a tremendous job getting a squad together in next to no time in almost impossible circumstances. Shortwood finished bottom of the Toolstation Premier in 2018-19 and they were relegated and moved to the Hellenic Div 1 West, but the future is more optimistic than for a very long time.

TAKE FIVE SHORTWOOD UNITED LAST FIVE SEASONS SEASON

LEAGUE

POS

2014-15

SOUTH-1SW

11/22

2015-16

SOUTH-1SW

7/22

2016-17

SOUTH-1SW

9/22

2017-18

SOUTH-1W

124

17/22

2018-19

WEST-P

132

20/20

LAST FIVE RESULTS Sat 17 August