2022/23 - Issue Eight - Boldmere St Michaels

WithChairmanBarryCavilla

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the Premier Plus Stadium for today’s game against Boldmere St Michaels.

This will be another first as the Saints have never played against our opponents to date. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all the players and officials of Boldmere St Michaels and hope they have a pleasant afternoon with us.

Our visitors today have been in impressive form this season and are currently sitting 4th in the NPL Midland Division and will be very tough opponents for the Saints this afternoon, however I’m certain with a fully fit squad available, Pete and the team will also be very competitive and a match for any team coming to the Premier Plus Stadium.

The Saints put in a fine performance against a strong Harborough Town side last Saturday as many off our fantastic travelling support witnessed first hand and will be hoping for more of the same today. Pete and the team will be looking to build on that fine, high tempo performance and look to secure some very much needed points to lift us away and upwards in this very competitive NPL division .

Off the field the club has been steadily building a network of business partners and are looking to build on this over coming season with your support. So if there are any other individuals or businesses looking to come and see what St Neots Town FC Community Club has to offer, please do not hesitate to contact us and see what we can offer our local community both match days and events at the club. Finally, we are looking for more volunteers to help, both match days and through the week, so if this is of interest to you to join a friendly team and help support the club and its work in the community, please do not hesitate to contact Myself or any other club officials to discuss what we do and how your support can help us be the best .

Your Town, Your Team.

Barry Barry

WithChairmanBarryCavilla

S t r i k e r T R E Y C H A R L E S p u t s u s 1 -

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S t r i k e r T R E Y C H A R L E S p u t s u s

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4 HEMELHEMPSTEAD 1

‘Can’t we play you every week’ sang the jubilant St Neots Supporters as they celebrated their side’s first win in five league and cup games at the expense of high flying Hemel Hempstead. Gary King and his new management team could hardly have faced a more challengingstarttotheirreignforHemelhadknockedinnineteengoalsintheirlasttwo matches and had been beaten just once in twelve league outings this season conceding onlysevengoalspriortothismatch. Analmostimperceptibleshufflewithjusttwoteam changes and no new signings King obviously felt able to work with the squad he had inheritedbuttherewasjustonesignificantchangeinStNeots’tacticalapproachforthey started with and persisted throughout with a 4-4-2 formation. Hemel are not a bad side withjustthisonedefeatbuttheywereunabletorespondsignificantlytoaStNeotsside determinedtoputbehindthemastringofdisappointingresultsandshowwhattheyare really capable of.Their response to losing their first half single goal advantage was to wrestle back the lead just 35 seconds after conceding and that spoke volumes for the tenacious spirit of a group of players who knew they had underperformed in recent outings.

There was little to suggest a convincing result to the match in the first 45 minutes.Both sides took some time to settle and find any real rhythm or continuity and Hemel made the first two real openings but former Saint Ben Mackey headed a Daniel Talbot cross into the chest of Niall Conroy and the keeper then got down well to push a Dave Pearce shotforacorner.StNeotswereguiltyofsquanderingtheirbestopeningswithpoorfinal passes after bright approach play but they were sharing possession and Jay Davies saw hisshotfumbledbyvisitinggoalkeeperLaurieWalker. Thenafter33minutesaninspired long diagonal cross field pass by Jay Davies found Ed Adjei who took one touch before firingalowshotpastthesurprisedWalker.ItwasnolessthanStNeotsdeservedandtwo minutes later Matt Nolan at the far post could have added a second from an Alasan Ann cross but off balance he skied the ball wide. St Neots now looked more confident as Lewis Hilliard shot over from a narrow angle and skipper Gavin Hoyte saw his header fromaDaviescornerdeflectedforanothercorner.HoweverHemelfinishedthehalfwell with Moussa DIarra seeing his effort deflected and the unmarked Ben Mackey sending a headerthewrongsideofapostinaddedtime.

Having suffered a knock Mackey was to play no further part replaced by another former Saint Ollie Thorne. Hemel made a really positive start after half time and after 52 minutes another substitute Charlie Mpi took full advantage of Niall Conroy being slow off his line to lob the keeper to level the scores. Parity lasted just 35 seconds for play moved straight to the other end where Lewis Hilliard restored St Neots’ lead despite Walker getting a hand to his angled close range shot. Six minutes later St Neots took controlwiththeirthirdgoalasadeepcrossfromtherightbyHilliardfoundtheexcellent JakeWoolleyatthefarpostandhenettedfromanarrowangle.SixminuteslaterWalker denied Woolley with a reaction save to a close range effort and now Hemel were being restricted to breakaway efforts. The speedy Mpi shot into the side netting and Connelly clipped the top of the crossbar with a surprise effort from 35 yards but the visitors did try to raise their efforts as time ticked away and they were caught short in defence two minutesfromtimewhenJayDavieswontheballinsidehisownhalfandsprintedclearto keep his cool and fire past the advancing Walker to complete a much needed but very well deserved victory. Still in the relegation zone St Neots must now retain this confidence boost and put together some consistent results starting midweek with the visitofnearneighboursBiggleswadeTown.

A special welcome for the players, officials, and supporters of Boldmere St Michaels whom we are facing for the first time ever. This is a special season for the ‘Mikes’ because they were promoted to this level at the start of the current season, and they have made the best start by far of the quartet of new sides in the Northern Premier League Midlands Division.When these notes were penned, they were fifth in the table after an impressive run of seven wins and a draw from their first eleven league outings. Their only three league defeats (all away from home) had come at Stamford, Shepshed and fellow promoted side Gresley Rovers whilst their best victory to date had come at bottomofthetableYaxleywheretheywon5-1. However,onTuesday11thOctoberthey hosted and defeated long time divisional leaders Halesowen Town by a goal to nil which showsjusthowwelltheyhavesettledintolifeatthislevel. IntheFACupBoldmerepickedupsomewelcomeprizemoneywinningtheirwaythrough thetwoopeningrounds bothbyagoaltonil. TheyfirstdefeatedWalsallWoodathome and then travelled to Sporting Khalsa to beat their near neighbours. However, their third engagement in this famous old competition was a step too far as they were defeated 6 0 by higher ranked Tamworth who were top of the Southern League Premier Divisionatthetimeandwhoscoredthreetimesineachhalf.

BoldmereareoneoftenteamsintheNPLMidlandsDivisionwehavenotfacedinleague competition before this season although we have played four of those ten either in FA Cup,VaseorTrophyinthepastdozenseasons.

Goldsmiths is an established, trusted, successful jewellery shop in the Cambridgeshire town of St Neots. At Goldstraws Goldsmiths we’ve been designing and caring for jewellery for over 30 years. We sell all styles of jewellery; new

If you have a particular item in mind, we will always endeavour to source it. Two experienced goldsmiths work on the premises, offering quality craftsmanship with every newly created piece and repair. We take pride in our work and our customers tell us time and time again that wouldn’t go anywhere else. Why not come in and say hello we” be happy to help.

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NORTHERNPREMIERLEAGUEMIDLANDDIVISION

StNeotsTown 1 DerehamTown 3

A combination of injury and carelessness contributed towards a fourth home defeat this seasonforStNeots. Afterinjury,CharlieLewiswasbackatcentrehalffortheSaints,but his premature return saw him replaced at half time by utility player Alex Solomon who then limped off himself to be replaced by Jayden Lott. Just twelve minutes after his introductionLottattemptedtocarrytheballoutofdefencebutwasrobbedandwithhis defensivecolleagueswrong-footedthevisitorsbroketosnatchathirdandclinchinggoal to leave their hosts confused and defeated. St Neots had led for 55 minutes and were lookinglikelytoendtheirbarrenspellbutafterconcedingtwogoalsinasmanyminutes they found themselves on the back foot and needing a swift response. However, their Norfolk visitors making their first league appearance in town returned home with all three points and their first ever away win in the Northern Premier League. Once again team changes were a feature for the home side with Joe Tarpey joining the everlengtheninginjurylistandTreyCharlesandLottonthebenchwithLewis,GeorgeHoddle andAndreHasanallyrecalledtothestartingline-up.

It began well for the home side with Saleem Akanbi seeing his early shot mishandled by thevisitingkeeperbeforeDeclanNchefiredoverthebar. However, they were rewarded after21minuteswhenAkanbi’spacetookhimclear,andhisearlycrosswasturnedinat the far post by Robbie Mason to put St Neots ahead.The St Neots striker then had two morechancestoextendthelead,butheshotacrossthefaceofgoalfromanarrowangle and then shot wide after more impressive work by Akanbi. Theo Sankey-Mensah was a constant threat to the visiting defence as he attacked down the right flank and when he was brought down on the edge of the area, Andre Hasanally sent the resultant free kick the wrong side of a post. The visitors produced very little threat to the home goal in the first half although Jamie Greygoose did have to save bravely at the feet of Mo Hassan who was booked for his untimely challenge on the goalkeeper. The half ended with St Neotshavinglessrewardthantheydeservedforapositive45minutes’effort.

The second half began dramatically with St Neots defender Toib Adeyemi booked when he fouled James Cooper just inside the area and a penalty was awarded. Goalkeeper JamieGreygoosedivedtohisrighttosavethespotkickfromMoHassan,andthisshould have given St Neots the boost they needed. However, they seemed held up by their forceddefensivechangesandalthoughAkanbiwentclosetoextendingtheirlead–foiled by a great save by Ross Bilham – it was the visiting side that seemed to be growing in confidence. ThentwogoalsinasmanyminutesfromthevisitorsreallysetStNeotsback ontheirheels.

HarboroughTown 1 StNeotsTown 1

InthreeoftheirlastfourmatchesStNeotshaveledbyagoaltonilatthebreakyethave onlygoneontowinoneofthem. TheyreturnedfromHarboroughwithapointthatwas welcome but if they had capitalised on their chances, it could have been all three. They were much the better side on the first half but had to withstand a lot of second half pressure as the home side hit back with a vengeance. Once again with the injury jinx forcing team changes, St Neots had skipper Callum Anderson and striker Robbie Mason missing from their starting line-up but Manny Osei, Andre Hasanally and Patrick Campbell returned to the side with Theo Sackey-Mensah on the bench. There was also a welcome return as substitute, for temporary Cambridge United loanee Mamadou Jobe coming back from injury that had curtailed his loan to a higher graded club. His second half introduction for the injured Alex Solomon saw St Neots defence assume a confidencethathadbeenmissingforawhile.

St Neots adopted a positive approach to the game and apart from a seventh minute volleybyDanForbesconfidentlyhandledbyJamieGreygoose,StNeotslookedthebetter side. Andre Hasanally had two shots from outside the area well saved by home keeper Elliott Taylor and the visitors’ front two Trey Charles and Manny Osei kept the home defence on their toes. St Neots took the lead on 21 minutes when Charles won the ball wide on the right to bring Osei into the attack and his cross was spilled by Taylor and Trey Charles took full advantage darting between defenders to put his side in front. Restricted to attacking on the break the home sides’ best first half chance came in time added at the end of the first half when a Gary Mulligan corner found the head of Dan Forbes,buthiseffortsailedwelloverthebar.

The second period saw more scoring chances at both ends.With Jobe on for the limping AlexSolomonStNeotslookedmoreassuredindefenceandfollowingasetpieceafter55 minutes defender Toib Adeyemi went clear, but his narrow angled shot rebounded off the goalkeeper’s legs to be cleared. Harborough had reshaped their side after the break and they looked more threatening in attack with Nat Ansu firing wide after a defensive slip and from a Rhys Hoenes corner, substitute Rhys Kelly sent an unchallenged header over the crossbar. Saleem Akanbi set up Charles with a penetrating through ball, but Taylor saved with his feet and at the other end Jamie Greygoose did well to save a Dom WysockiheaderfromaHoenesfreekick.

OpponentSpotlight BOLDMERESt MICHAELS

The club was established in 1883 as a youth football team attached to the local church and soon progressed from playing friendlies against other church sides to playing competitive league football. As the boys outgrew youth football, they organised an openage team, which played in various local leagues. In the 1947/48 season they reached the semi-finals of the FA Amateur Cup, losing 2-0 to Barnet in front of 27,000 at Highbury. In 1949, the club joined the Birmingham & District League.

During the 1950s the club's fortunes declined somewhat, as they resolved to remain staunchly amateur at a time when their rivals were becoming semi-professional. In 1963 the club moved leagues to the Worcestershire Combination, later re-named the Midland Football Combination, where they were to remain for thirty years.

The most successful period was during the 1980s and ‘90s, when they claimed the championship on three occasions (1985/86 under John Morris) and 1988/89 and 1989/90 plus two league cup triumphs in 1989/90 (the double) and 1990/91 (under Alan Parsons).

This level of success saw the Mikes become founder members of the Midland Alliance in 1994, where they played until 2013/14, generally finishing in the top half of the table.

The club has won the Walsall Senior Cup on five occasions 1986/87 (under John Morris), 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08 (under Mick Bayley) and 2018/19 (under Stuart Grosvenor).

In the final season of the Midland Football Alliance, 2013/14 the club achieved its best position of runners-up (under Stuart Grosvenor). The Mikes were the only club to play in all twenty seasons in the Midland Alliance, reaching the league cup final twice in that time losing on both occasions to Market Drayton Town and Stratford Town.

In 2014/15 they became founding members of Midland Football League Premier Division, scoring the first goal in the new competition in a 9-1 opening day win at Rocester.

The most exciting chapter in the club’s history took place in 2016 with a total stadium refurbishment and the installation of the latest artificial turf pitches, including two new floodlit courts for training and small-sided matches. Vice-Chairman Ralph Simmons was the driving force in this major change. The project was funded primarily by private investment with the intention of securing the clubs future by investing in junior teams from age seven upwards.

The Junior section was awarded the FA Charter Standard and made its first movement into Saturday Development football with two teams in the Midland Junior Premier League for 2017/18. The club has also been awarded Wildcats status as an FA affiliated centre for girls’ football.

OpponentSpotlight BOLDMERESt MICHAELS

2017-18 also saw the launch of two new senior teams. Our brand new Academy in partnership with BMet (SuttonCollege) saw our BTEC students entered in the National League Under 19 Youth Alliance, with the club also introducing an Under 21 team to bridge the gap to first team football, playing in the MFL Under 21 Division.

The Junior section now has eight teams competing in the Midland Junior Premier League and an Under 18 side play in the Midland Floodlit Youth League. In all the club has over fifty teams playing on Saturdays or Sundays. The Women’s team at the club won the National League Division 1 (Midlands) last season and will be playing in the National League Northern Premier Division in 2022/23.

The floodlights installed in 1990 have recently been upgraded due to the generosity of the Sutton Coldfield Town Council and a new dressing room block incorporating Hospitality and Boardroom facilities was brought into full use during the 2021/22 season. The clubhouse was refurbished in 2019 with further in hand now the new dressing room block in use.

Managerial changes at the club are few current President Alan Parsons, a John Morris signing in 1987 held the hot seat for 16 years following Morris’ departure to Halesowen Town; Rob Mallaband, the current Chairman has had two spells split by Mick Bayley’s three-year reign whilst Stuart Grosvenor’s tenancy lasted six seasons. In early September 2019 the club Board decided a change of football manager was required and following great interest were delighted to appoint former player Neil Kitching along with his assistants Nick Amos and Ian Cooper to the hot seat.

Taking over with the club in the lower reaches of the table the management improved matters as the season progressed and were in a healthy position before COVID struck the country. Their efforts were finally rewarded in the 2021/22 season when a second placed finish saw them win a promotion/relegation play-off game at Chalfont St Peter 4-0. Now placed in The Northern Premier League Midlands Division for season 2022/23 the management team will be looking to continue their successful reign.

Lewis Archer Lewis joined Mikes in November 2021 after a spell at Highgate United. He was previously with Hednesford Town, Rushall Olympic and Romulus. He is a forward. Shama Bako Shama has joined Mikes for 2022-23 season. He is an attacking player playing mostly out wide. His previous club was Bromsgrove Sporting.

James Bowen James is a left back who joined Mikes for season 2021-22 and was previously with Halesowen Town. He can comfortably change to centre back if required.

Andre Brown Andre, who is a forward, joined Mikes in August 2022 on a dual registration with Bromsgrove Sporting. Among his previous clubs are Kidderminster Harriers and Hednesford Town

Kyle Byrne Kyle is a regular face in Mikes first team after graduating from the U21 squad. He plays out wide and has an eye for a goal or two. He can help out at right back if required.

Aris Christophorou

Aris is a recent signing having played for SuttonColdfield Town in recent times. He will be part of the defensive set up.

Sam Cooksey

Although only seventeen, Sam who as a goalkeeper, impressed in the U21 last season to the extent that he has been passed up to the senior squad to gain further experience .

Harry Craven Harry is a product of Mikes Youth and is now in his seventh season with the first team. He has been a representative at County level. He plays at centre back where he has developed into a stalwart of the defence. He has been awarded the captain’s armband on several occasions. He had exceeded 200 games for Mikes before his 24th birthday

Joe Daley Joe is an uncompromising midfielder who joined Mikes last season after time at Wolverhampton Casuals and after making his mark in Mikes first team is now a regular on the team sheet.

Ben George Ben made the move to Mikes from local rivals

SuttonColdfield Town for the 2021 22 season. He is a right back who likes to get up the field and will support the midfield when the opportunities arise.

Adam Whitehouse

Adam is an experienced goalkeeper who started out with Brocton but has mostly been associated with Stafford Rangers. He signed for Mikes in November 2021. He was briefly with Mikes in the 2019 20 campaign.

Pedro Lima

Signed in October 2019 from Albion Foundation Pedro, Pedro hails from Lisbon and is comfortable anywhere in the back line. Pedro has matured in stature and playing ability during his time at Mikes and is a very committed player.

Alex McSkeane Alex arrived in our U21 squad in 2020 from Walsall FC and immediately established himself scoring eleven goals in seven games. He moved up to the first team squad for season 2021-22 where he continued to score goals and just missed out on the Golden Boot in the MFL last season.

Daniel O’Sullivan

Signed in October 2019 from Barwell, Danny is a midfielder who will supplement the attack. He has made some impressive appearances for Mikes and scored a few tasty goals.

Stephen Palmer

Stephen rejoined Mikes after a long spell at SuttonColdfield Town where he was a favourite with the crowd. He had originally played for Mikes and rejoined to play a midfield role. He is without doubt the senior player in the squad and is setting a good example for the younger players.

Ryan Shaw Ryan is a midfielder who has previously been playing for Sutton Coldfield Town and Chasetown after spending two seasons at Mikes before the onset of the Covid virus. He has also worked with Mikes Academy.

Liam Spink

Joined Mikes towards the end of 2021 on a dual registration with Bromsgrove Sporting. He is now solely registered with Mikes and is an established midfielder in the squad.

Harry Sweeney Harry joined Mikes from Chelmsley Town in 2019 and has been a regular left back in the first team. He is gradually developing into a wing back and that’s probably where his future lies.

Robert Thompson Brown Robbie is a much travelled and experienced forward who joined Mikes in December 2020 after recovering from an injury that has kept him out of the game for a while. Previously with Leamington, Hednesford, Stafford Rangers and Stratford Town.

Oliver West Oliver West signed for Mikes in July 2022 having previously played for Lye Town. He is a midfielder.

Keiren Westwood Keiren signed for Mikes in October 2021 after a spell at Redditch United. This is his third spell at Mikes, and he previously played for the manager at Stafford Rangers. He is a left back but equally adept at getting up the line.

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