Established 1879 Established 1879
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Front cover - Image copyright protected by David Richardson, used under license.Today we extend a warm welcome to the Players, Officials and Supporters of Desborough Town and we hope you enjoy our hospitality here this evening in what's our first game under the lights of the new season.
Our FA Cup adventure ended after a gallant effort from the lads, eventually going out of the competition at Fakenham Town, losing 2-1 after one hundred and twenty minutes of extra time in Tuesday night's Extra Preliminary Round Replay.
Saturday saw us return to United Counties League Premier Division South action as we travelled up to previously unbeaten Leicester Nirvana and returned home with all three points courtesy of an absolute stunning goal scored by seventeen year old Israel Ajana
Tonight's opponents were held to a goalless draw at home by Cogenhoe United. They have only scored two league goals so them as historically, they have been a bit o can be found in John Walker's Match Preview
Don't forget we have a rearranged fixture March Town in what should be an absolute on goal difference in second spot and our ne Bank Holiday when we entertain Newport Pa
Please get behind all the boys from the first w important as we aim to make our home a for PUMP
We are delighted to have ADP Fire and Security as our Media Sponsors for the 2023/24 Season
"I’d like to welcome everyone associated to Desborough Town
F.C. to The Premier Plus Stadium. They picked up a good draw on Saturday and I am sure after an excellent 9th place finish last season they will have their eyes on the play offs like most sides this season".
We have started the season with a 100% record in the league but we are by no means getting carried away with the start, things can change in football very quickly and I still believe we have bundles to improve on if we want to be anywhere near the mix come April.
Saturday’s fixture away to Leicester Nirvana was tough especially off the back of the long trip to Fakenham Town on the Tuesday. I felt we controlled the game without having the killer instinct in us and it took a special goal from young Israel Ajana to win it.
The squad is starting to bond and the camaraderie is really coming together. It was by no means easy putting a brand new squad together but I hope it’s starting to show on and off the pitch that win, lose or draw the players will give everything for the club which was the key principle in recruiting players.
Tonight will be my first taste of The Premier Plus Stadium under the lights for an evening game and I already can tell it will be special place especially with the fans behind us being that twelfth man.
It’s brilliant the academy sides have started back for preseason and I want to continue to bring the academy and first team as close together as I can. I hope to be around and see the academy sides play over the season as we will hopefully see more academy players involved in first team action after Alex Bent was involved in the FA Cup fixture last week.
Our aims don’t change, we want to take one game at a time and continue to improve game on game, so let’s hope for a positive evening and your support is greatly appreciated.
UnitedCountiesLeague
PremierDivisionSouth
Tuesday15thAug
AlyestoneParkvLeicesterNirvana
CogenhoeUnitedvBugbrookeStMichaels
DaventryTownvGNGOadbyTown
MarchTownUnitedvEynesburyRovers
NewportPagnellTownvEasingtonSports
RacingClubWarwickvLutterworthTown
WellingboroughTownvHiston
YaxleyvGodmanchesterRovers
Wednesday16thAug
RugbyBoroughvCoventryUnited
Saturday 19th Aug
Alyestone Park v Coventry United
Bugbrooke St Michaels v Lutterworth Town
Cogenhoe United v Histon
Daventry Town v Desborough Town
GNG Oadby Town v Racing Club Warwick
Leicester Nirvana v Yaxley
Newport Pagnell Town v Eynesbury Rovers
Cameron Mawer
George Thorne
Gary Dean
Craig Lambert
Mick Hunt
James Goff
Kyle Lincoln
Tommy Reynolds
Dammy Nickels
Joshua Brown
Magloire Muyembe
Sam Johnson
Dean Dummett
Demi Romero Debola
Tom Rowley
Harvey Williams
Israel Ajana
Jack Barnett
Lorrell Smith
James Hatch
Nathan George
Dom Lawless
John Walker (President)
Andrew Dodd
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St Neots Town 2 Bedworth United 1
Taylor Parr was the St Neots matchwinner when he scored from a Luke Knight corner eight minutes into the second half of a balanced contest. It was only his fifth goal for St Neots on his ninety-third appearance, but it had an unusual air of deja-vu because on 29th October 2016 he scored the winning goal in a 3-2 FA Trophy victory at Bedworth. The welcome three points was no less than St Neots deserved because they dominated possession at times and created more chances than their visitors. However, Manager Matt Clements will probably view his side as work in progress because apart from not converting chances their defense lost a number of aerial battles – an area in which they excelled last season. Nevertheless, it was an improved performance from the opening day, but they had teenage goalkeeper Finlay Iron to thank for some excellent timely saves. Next it is a first ever league meeting with Rushall Olympic at the Premier Plus Stadium on Saturday. The match began at breakneck pace with Lewis Irwin getting behind the visiting defense to see a narrow-angled shot comfortably saved but Bedworth produced an early assault on the St Neots goal in which Finlay Iron produced two close range instinctive saves from close range shots with his defense in disarray after just four minutes. St Neots then took the lead after just eight minutes when Claudio Ofosu picked up the ball wide on the left and cut in beating his marker to unleash a low right foot shot into the far corner of the goal – his first ever league goal for St Neots.At the other end Iron had to be alert to turn a rising Luke Rowe free kick over his cross bar and as play continued end-to-end a long throw by Johnny Herd was headed goalward by Taylor Parr but Thomas Sharpe cleared off the line with his keeper stranded. Another searching run by Ofosu set up Irwin, but his volley was just too high. St Neots seemed to be arriving at half time with a deserved advantage but with two minutes to go, Dan Olaniran appeared to be shepherding Ryan Baldwin away from goal when the Bedworth player went to ground under a slight looking challenge and the Referee awarded a penalty kick converted by visiting skipper Alexander Troke so the sides went to the interval on terms.
Saturday 14th August 2018
StNeotsalmostregainedtheleadjustthreeminutesaftertherestartwhenOfosu sentDionSembie-Ferrisclearofthevisitingdefense,butgoalkeeperDanielCrane narrowedhisangleanddivedfulllengthtosave.Sharpethenclearedofftheline fromalongJohnnyHerdthrowthathadbeateneveryoneinapackedarea,butSt Neotsearlysecondhalfpressurepaidoffafter53minuteswhenacurlingKnight cornerwasblastedhomebyTaylorParr.IrwinthenheadedwidefromaHerdcorner butBedworthredoubledtheireffortstocreatechancesoftheirown.Trokegot behindtheStNeotsdefensebutheadedaRowecrossoverthebarandthenDaniel Dubidatwastedhissidesbestsecondhalfopeningbyshootingwideafterclever playbyBaldwin.AStNeotschancethenwentbeggingasSembie-Ferrisshotwide afterunselfishplaybyIrwin.Bothsidesintroducedlatesubstitutesinabidto increasethepaceandDevanteStanleylookedlivelyforStNeotsusinghispaceto carveoutanopeningbutshootingjustbeyondthefarpost.Bedworth’sfinalchance ofashareofthepointscameinaddedtimewhenalongcrossfoundtheheadof BarryFitzharrisbutheputhiseffortwideandthepointsweregainedbyStNeotsto opentheir2018/19account.
StNeots:Iron,Miles,Herd,Knight,Olaniran,Parr,Ofosu,Peters,Irwin,SembieFerris,Williams
Subs:Stanley(forSembie-Ferris76mins),O’Malley(forWilliams86mins),Wood, KeebleandMatswumguma.
Cards:Irwin(Y–56mins).
Goals:Ofosu(8mins),Parr(53mins)
Bedworth:Crane,Whitmore,Rowe,Fitzharris,Gordon,Sharpe,Baldwin,Parrott, Dubidat,Troke,Jeys
Subs:Christie(forJeys),Blackmore(forFitzharris),Brehon,BrightonandRowley.
Cards:Troke(Y–7mins),Albrighton(Y–50mins–unusedsub!!)
Goals:Troke–pen(43mins)
Referee:AndyHumphries(Daventry)
Attendance:192
JohnWalker
StNeotsTownFCisnotjustaboutfootballweareacommunityfocusedbusiness.Wehavesomuchmoregoingonwhich ultimately and significantly increases our footfall and our website site and social media reach.This in turn means that whenyouadvertisewiththeSaintsyougetsomuchmoreforyourmoney.
DESBOROUGH TOWN
Year founded: 1896 Chairman: Ernie Parsons
Club Website: www.pitchero.com/desboroughtownfc
GOOD AFTERNOON AND A WARM WELCOME TO THE PREMIER PLUS STADIUM TO OUR OLD FRIENDS FROM DESBOROUGH FOR THEIR FIRST VISIT SINCE THE 2010/11 SEASON
Desborough are the first of our former regular UCL opponents that we shall face this season. You will see from the record below that we have some serious ‘making up’ to do to level the record against our Northamptonshire visitors, who have had a consistent spell in the league just lately. Last season they finished ninth in the league table just two places above the previous season and excluding the two COVID interrupted seasons they have registered a top ten finish in each of the last five seasons. However, in their long and proud history they have not won a league title since 1966/67 or progressed beyond Step Five. Prior to the last war they lifted the league title on seven occasions, but their last major local cup honour was in 1951/52 when they lifted the Northamptonshire Senior Cup.In 1979/80 they reached the fifth round of the FA Vase – their best run in a national competition. In the League cup last season, they were beaten by Lutterworth Town in the Preliminary Round. In the FA Cup this season they drew at home with Potton United in the Extra Preliminary Round before losing the replay 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 score in 90 minutes. The first match at Desborough had finished in a 2-2 draw.
Previous meetings of our teams:
We played Desborough in each of the sixteen seasons between 1995/96 and 2010/11 during our spell in the UCL after our return to senior level. In addition, we faced then twice in the league KO Cup in the 2000/01 and 2006/07 seasons – both away from home and losing both!
In the league our record was:
Played 32 Won 10 Drawn 3
Lost 19 Goals for 66 Goals against 49
We lost nine of our first ten league matches in the UCL to Desborough and it took eight seasons before we achieved a league double over them.
Enjoy the match.
John Walker
On Wednesday St Neots celebrated a very unique record of being unbeaten in the league home and away for twelve months. They marked the occasion twenty four hours early by ramming ten goals past the unfortunate Desborough who hold the current distinction of being bottom of the table. It was another quality display by the league leaders with twin strikers Stefan Moore and Shane Tolley each claiming a personal hat trick as their side scored five goals in each half. Desborough were blown away by the force and determination of the St Neots performance and although they had a couple of enforced team changes with Will Fordham suspended and Junior Kanuda nursing a slight hamstring pull there was little evidence of any change to the overall performance. Teenager Jordan Gent came into defence for his first senior appearance of the season and looked as if he had been there all the time and Lewis Hilliard slotted into Junior’s midfield holding role and pushed the strikers very hard for the man of the match tag.
St Neots were in control from the first whistle with the visitors opting for damage limitation from the start with just one player up front. Lewis Hilliard bedded into midfield got in the first shot that was only a foot wide and then Stefan Moore had his first effort deflected for a corner and saw his second – a header – rebound from a post. Webb also saw a fierce shot blocked but after twenty minutes the contest was decided as St Neots upped their rhythm to score four times in six minutes. Shane Tolley get the goal spree under way collecting a long cross from Dan Jacob to confidently control and slot home and in the next attack Kieran Davies starting for the first time cleverly set up Dan Jacob for the second goal. It was 3-0 with a third goal in less than three minutes as a superb move split the Desborough defence with Lewis Hilliard accepting a perfectly weighted return pass from Stefan Moore to score from close range. The fourth goal after 26 minutes saw Stefan Moore on the score sheet wrong footing the exposed goalkeeper to finish off a stunning approach move involving Matt Haniver and Webb. Then a brief lull in the scoring but seven minutes before half time another searing cross from the left by Jacob was side footed past the helpless visiting keeper by Stefan Moore.
Strangely Desborough had their best spell of the match immediately upon the restart.Lee Garvie thudded a free kick into the chest of Tim Trebes who had only had to deal with crosses in the first 45 minutes and then a delightful through ball on the break from Daniel Rogers played Michael Tolton clear of the St Neots defence but as Trebes left his line to narrow the angle the Desborough player shot wide. After 59 minutes from a Davies cross Jordan Gent celebrated his return to the side with his first goal since 24th April following a corner and it was 7-0 as another defender Micky Hyem scored after Tim Smith had beaten out a cross from St Neots’ substitute Tony Scully. Shane Tolley’s second goal of the match came after another mazy run by Scully and as Desborough tired they lost their composure and had Tolton dismissed when he picked up a second yellow card for a late tackle. With seven minutes left Stefan Moore claimed his third hat trick in the month as he finished off a parried shot from Hilliard and not to be outdone Tolley also claimed a third goal with an extra time finish with Hilliard again the provider.
St Neots Town: Trebes, Haniver, Hyem (M), Webb, Fuff, Gent, Hilliard, Davies, Moore, Tolley, Jacob.
Subs: Scully (for Davies 61 mins), Byrne (for Haniver 65 mins), Essendoh (for Jacob 69 mins), Fry & Smith.
Man of the Match: Stefan Moore John Walker.
This is the second in the second series of historical records, highlighting this time the first season at our new Rowley Park stadium depicting both the highs and the lows in the recent proud history of the Club. It was the most notable season since our FA Cup run in 1966 as we moved to our spanking new premises at the new Rowley Park marked by a grand opening ceremony with the local MP Jonathan Djanogly as our guest of honour. Then in March under the glare of Regional television cameras we showcased former Northern Ireland International (45 caps) Steve Lomas as our player/manager. However, overall it was a disappointing season in the league as we slumped to seventeenth in the final table, but it was a season rich in Cup triumphs for we finished with three trophies – the Hinchingbrooke Cup (first team) and a County double of the Scott Gatty and Benevolent Cups (reserve team). Our first home league match saw us defeat Newport Pagnell 3-0 with two goals from Pete Okechukwu and a third from Luigi Rocco.
League: UCL Premier Division
Final League position: 17/21
League playing record: P40 W12 D7 L21 F66 A75 pts 43
Cup playing record: P16 W11 D0 L5 F47 A22
Steve Lomas faced a nightmare start to his first ever period in management as St Neots lost four of their first five league games under his stewardship. Our disappointing league performance was down to travel sickness – we won only four out of twenty away league matches.
Our Hinchingbrooke Cup Final 3-2 victory over St Ives Town compensated for a 0-2 Huntingdonshire Premier Cup Final defeat by Langford (a repeat of the 1987 final match before leaving Shortsands!)
The Reserve side finished sixth in a competitive highest UCL Reserve Division as well as picking up those two County FA trophies.
Our leading scorers were as follows:
·Pete Okechukwu 16
·Declan Rogers 12
·Matt Kenneford 11
·James Hall 10
·Luke Knight 9
·Chris Johnson 7
·Jamie Steele 6
Our Manager for the final two months of the season was Steve Lomas
John Walker
Goldstraw 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 and antique. 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.
www.goldstraw.co.uk
01480 407704
The FA Cup generally throws up something unusual or controversial and in this Extra-Preliminary Round opener that was no exception. After a predictably even first half a much-disputed goal for St Neots was followed by a very late equaliser six minutes into added time that sent this tie into a Tuesday evening Norfolk decider. The visitors went home convinced that they deserved their second chance because of the nature of St Neots second goal that saw the Assistant Referee reverse the Referee’s initial decision which resulted in a converted St Neots penalty kick that had looked to be the deciding goal. St Neots had the better chances but visiting keeper Luke Pearson took the plaudits for several excellent saves to keep his side in the tie. St Neots welcomed back James Goff in goal after suspension carried over from last season and included Sam Johnson and Tommy Reynolds for Reece Crowter and Nathan George.
St Neots had the chance of a very early lead after just two minutes when Harvey Williams outpaced his marker to send a cross through the six yards box that just needed a touch.Fakenham responded with a shot from Jay Mulhill well gathered by James Goff. Then after twelve minutes St Neots were ahead as the unfortunate Pearson fumbled a cross, and Dean Dummett was on the spot to score from close range.Seven minutes later the visitors levelled from a Jack Guyton corner when Alex Walpole was left unmarked at the far post to head past the keeper. Pearson made amends for his error with a good save to deny Williams and then after 32 minutes James Hatch won a corner in the air, but his effort was just too high.Just one minute later Hatch brough an even more impressive save from the under pressure visiting custodian and then on the turn Lorrell Smith fired narrowly over the bar.
St Neots opted for an early second half change sending on Dom Lawless for Smith in a straight swap. From a Sam Johnson free kick Hatch had a shot cleared off the line and as the visitors responded Goff saved one-handed following a corner. After 67 minutes confusion reigned as Johnson burst into the penalty area to be upended by a defender. The Referee waved away St Neots appeals awarding a free kick to Fakenham.However, as the sides lined up for the free kick an Assistant Referee was flagging and after a lengthy conversation the Referee overturned his initial decision to award St Neots a penalty kick calmly slotted home by Josh Brown.
A series of substitutions late in the game saw limited goalmouth action although Pearson kept his sides’ flagging hopes alive with an outstanding full length save to deny Johnson. As the game moved into added time Goff did well to keep out a stinging shot from Finn Whiteley and then in the sixth minute of added time the St Neots keeper well out of his goal failed to catch a free kick and the ball dropped to substitute Finn Field who chipped the ball into the unguarded net for the equaliser that sent the match into a replay.
St Neots Town: Goff, Reynolds, Nickels, Dummett, Brown, Lincoln, Johnson, Myembe, Smith, Hatch, Williams
Subs: Lawless (for Smith 57 mins), Rowley (for Williams 80 mins), Romeo (for Dummett 85 mins). Barnett, George and Bent.
Cards: Rowley (Y – 90+4 mins)
Fakenham Town: Pearson, Rasberry, Field, Whiteley, Young, Walpole, Terry, Sturmer, Watts, Guyton, Mulhill
Subs: Field (for Rasberry 80 mins), Banda (for Guyton 83 mins), Poore (for Sturman 88 mins), Edwards, Wright and Molenguka.
Cards: Mulhill (Y – 25 mins), Terry (Y – 45 mins), Field (Y – 45+2 mins), Whiteley (Y – 50 mins)
Referee: Scott Hanna
Attendance: 211 (John
Walker)
St Neots bowed out of the FA Cup after a long midweek journey to Norfolk for this replay. They managed to pull back a first half goal to send the match into extra time, but it was the home side who snatched the winning goal. It was a match St Neots should have won for they created the better chances, but their finishing was poor – a fact acknowledged by Manager Cameron Mawer after the match. ‘It is frustrating not to win when you are the better side’ he observed after the match.There were two team changes from the initial match with Demi Romero replacing the unavailable Dean Dummett in midfield and Dom Lawless leading the attack with Lorrell Smith on the bench.
There was a brisk start as both sides began in a positive vein. Jack Guyton broke through the St Neots defence after just three minutes but shot over the bar and then at the other end Dom Lawless angled his effort wide.From a Sam Johnson corner, Harvey Williams fired over the bar and then the visiting keeper was in action saving well from a Cameron Beazer header from a corner. Johnson found the head of James Hatch after good work by Dammy Nickels, but his effort was too high before Fakenham took an eighteenth minute lead. An attack on the left saw a shot rebound from a goalpost and Jay Myhill was the first to react firing low past James Goff. St Neots responded with Williams firing over the bar after neat work by Dom Lawless and the same visiting player then saw a second effort deflected for a corner. From another set piece Kyle Lincoln headed narrowly over the bare before home keeper Luke Pearson produced the save of the match to deny Williams. In a flare up both Josh Brown and Lewis Sturman were booked, and the half ended with Fakenham holding on to their slender lead.
08-08-2023
They then began the second half well with Goff having to save smartly from Jake Watts before the same home player shot across the face of goal after his pace had taken him around the last defender. The lively Williams had a shot blocked as St Neots came back into the game, and then after 68 minutes St Neots found a foothold back into the contest as substitute Lorrell Smith produced a smart finish after an attack down the left flank.Now St Neots looked more comfortable but both sides seemed happy to slow the pace and wait for an opening. Substitutes broke up any pattern of play and the match moved into extra time.
St Neots created the first chance, but Williams shot across the face of goal before the Referee played a significant advantage after a home player had been fouled near the half-way line.He waved play on with the home side in possession catching the St Neots defence slow to turn and Jake Watts took full advantage to beat Goff with a low shot eight minutes into the first period of added time. That signalled a St Neots offensive in a bid to retrieve their position, but the home side funnelled back and defended well making it difficult for the visiting attack.Substitute Tom Rowley twice tested the home keeper, but Fakenham held out to take their place in the next round.
St Neots Town: Goff, Reynolds, Nickels, Romero, Brown, Lincoln, Johnson, Myembe, Lawless, Hatch, Williams
Subs: Smith (for Lawless 57 mins), Rowley (for Johnson 80 mins), Ajana (for Reynolds 85 mins). Barnett, and Dean.
Cards: Brown (Y – 42 mins), Romero (45+1 min), Hatch (Y – 65 mins), Mawer (Y – 105 mins).
Fakenham Town: Pearson, Rasberry, Field, Whiteley, Young, Beazer, Terry, Sturmer, Watts, Guyton, Mulhill
Subs: Poore (for Sturman 88 mins), Banda (for Guyton 90 mins), Malenguka (for Watts 114 mins), Edwards, Field, Andrews and Gauntlett.
Cards: Sturman (Y – 42 mins), Terry (Y – 45 mins)
Attendance: 236
Referee: Andrew Wilson (Kings Lynn)
(John Walker)
A stunning perfectly placed shot from 35 yards ten minutes from time by 17 years old substitute Israel Ajana ensured that St Neots returned from Leicester with their 100% league record intact at the top of the league table. The home side unbeaten in their two opening matches, proved to be stubborn opponents but rarely threatened the St Neots goal. The conditions were perhaps the real factor in a disappointing game with the gusty wind making anything airborne nothing less than a lottery and it was surprising that there was little significant goalmouth action throughout the ninety plus minutes. St Neots suffered an early blow pre-match when full back Tommy Reynolds had to pull out after suffering a strain in the warm-up. However, that proved a case of every cloud having a silver lining for his late replacement recent signing Rav Kalek proved to be a more than adequate alternative on his debut for the club.
Losing the toss St Neots faced the blustery win in the first half, and after Lorrell Smith had won an early corner, Tom Rowley shot over the bar after good approach work by Magloire Muyembe. The only real effort by the home side was a shot by Will Gonga across the face of goal after twelve minutes. Johnson looked lively on the right flank, and he saw a cross deflected for a corner with unmarked players at the far post. James Hatch looked likely to break through after 23 minutes nut he was brought down by Andre Raceada earning the home defender a caution. Four minutes later home keeper Luis Parry had to dive bravely at the feet of Lorrell Smith to prevent the St Neots striker from opening the scoring, before in a rare home attack Mahmoud Juma volleyed wide from a set piece. The first half ended with Smith seeing his rising shot deflected for a corner which was cleared.
After the break St Neots had the wind at their backs and they found it difficult to utilise it to their advantage. Hatch was upended in the penalty are from behind, but the Referee waved play on as St Neots appealed in vain for a penalty. Muyembe weaved his way past defenders also to be upended in the area but to the visitors’ astonishment he was shown a yellow card for what the Referee deemed to be a dive! Several substitutions followed as both sides tried to get to grips with the conditions but apart from a Josh Brown effort blocked by a defender and a last-ditch tackle to rob Hatch as he went through the penalty area there was little sign of a goal from either side. There were just ten minutes left when Israel Ajana lit up the game with that stunning strike that proved to be the winning goal, and part from a late shot by Dom Lawless well gathered by Luis Parry there was little to suggest that St Neots narrow lead and three points haul would be threatened.
St Neots Town: Goff, Kalek, Nickels, Brown, George, Lincoln, Johnson, Myembe, Smith, Hatch, Rowley
Subs: Lawless (for Smith 62 mins), Ajana (for Rowley 63 mins), Romero (for Hatch 85 mins), and Barnett.
Cards: Myembe (Y – 55 mins), Johnson (Y – 60 mins), Hatch (Y – 85 mins), Goff (Y – 90+5 mins)
Leicester Nirvana: Perry, Masendo, Dassu, Forish, Rowley. Conteh, Raceada, Juma, Umeh, Moye, Gonga
Subs: Hopewell, Ashkir, Elliott, Carter-Fell, and Zakeraseem.
Cards: Raceada (Y – 23 mins), Rowley (Y – 78 mins), Carter-Fell (Y – 87 mins)
Referee: Nathan Parry (Coventry)
Attendance: 63 (John Walker)
2 0 2 3 / 2 4
2 0 2 3 / 2 4
Desborough Town have a remarkable history since it was formed in 1896 and joined the Northants League which is now known as the United Counties League. It has been a continual member of that combination apart from Season 1945/46 when the club had not been reformed following the break for the second world war. The club was first affiliated to the Northants Football Association in 1896 with the Secretary being Mr A.L Mobbs the landlord of the Swan Inn which used to stand in Lower Street. The club has always played its home matches at the Waterworks Field and in the early days used to change in the outbuildings at the back of the Swan Inn before marching up the Braybrooke Road to the ground. The second season saw the Formation of Northampton Town and the Cobblers first ever League game was played at the Waterworks Field on 25th September 1897 with Ar Tarn triumphing by two clear goals
It was at this period that Desborough inherited the nicknames that are not forgotten with the passing of time. ‘Ar Tarn’ the local dialect meaning our town has probable survived the longest ‘The Buckets’ is a reference to the adjacent waterworks and was used by the local newspaper’s licensed crank in his reports on the Desborough matches at the time. The most infamous of them all was ‘Dirty Desborough’ which had no reference to the team at all and were remarks made by a visiting medical officer referring to the town’s poor sanitation. Success on the field came quickly to the Desborough Town team and in season 1900/01 they captured the Northants League title for the very first time. There was a double celebration in the town as the club also captured the Northants Junior Cup beating Northampton Town Reserves in the Final Desborough’s first glory in the F.A Cup came in season 1910/11 when they reached the Fourth Qualifying Round of the competition before losing to Midland League Champions Chesterfield at the Waterworks Field before a crowd of over 2000 spectators. Chesterfield went on to beat Rotherham and Bolton before eventually losing to Chelsea. Desborough’s best run in the competition was reserved for season 1926/27 when they reached the first round proper of the competition and were drawn at home to Doncaster Rovers.
The joy which swept the town was short lived however when the committee decided that the gate would be severely reduced by the fact that Kettering were playing Coventry City in another tie just six miles away and the game was switched to Doncaster’s Belle Vue ground. This proved to be a disastrous decision as many of the towns spectators claimed they had been robbed of the greatest game ever to be staged at the Waterworks Field and deserted the club. As a result the club soon found itself with financial problems and the glory years of the twenties were not to be repeated. As for the game itself Desborough were drawing with just eight minutes.
remaining when the match was abandoned through fog and in the midweek replay they went down by three clear goals.
The twenties were certainly the glory years for Desborough Town as they captured trophy after trophy and on only two occasions in 1949 and 1967 have they been able to top the league chart since. However whilst they may not have had so much success on the field the progress behind the scenes has certainly been tremendous. They have purchased the freehold of the ground allowing them a secure future, they have erected the best floodlighting system in the league and more recently have erected a first class social club following the destruction of their original premises through fire in 2009 and in 2014 the club rebuilt the changing facilities. The transfer of the cricket club to a new ground has now seen the club in total control of their premises with full training facilities next to the main pitch
Manager - Cameron Mawer
Assistant - George Thorne
GK Coach - Gary Dean
Physios - Craig Lambert
Kitman - Mick Hunt
JJamesGoff(GK) amesGoff(GK)
TommyReynolds TommyReynolds
DammyNickels DammyNickels
KyleLincoln KyleLincoln
NathanGeorge NathanGeorge
RavKalek RavKalek
DeanDummett DeanDummett
JJoshuaBrown oshuaBrown
DemiRomeroDebola DemiRomeroDebola
SamJohnson SamJohnson
MagloireMuyembe MagloireMuyembe
HarveyWilliams HarveyWilliams
TomRowley TomRowley
IIsraelAjana sraelAjana
JJamesHatch amesHatch
LorrellSmith LorrellSmith
DomLawless DomLawless
JJackBarnett ackBarnett
Colours Colours
Navy/LightBlueQuarters Navy/LightBlueQuarters
DarkBlueShorts DarkBlueShorts
Dark DarkBlueSocks BlueSocks
Manager - Jim Le Masurier
Coach - Carl Mallett
Physio - Frank Benjamin
Squad List Squad List
Adam Honour Adam Honour
Arjun Hundal Arjun Hundal
Simeone Okoro Simeone Okoro
Liam Boath Liam Boath
Aaron Davies Aaron Davies
Liam Honour Liam Honour
Kye Little Kye Little
Dominic Ledgeway Dominic Ledgeway
Archie Elmore Archie Elmore
Rico Duggan Rico Duggan
Will Russell Will Russell
Adam Randall Adam Randall
Billy Tebbatt
Billy Tebbatt
Jude Coated Jude Coated
Gleb Mihalcov Gleb Mihalcov
Amechi Madu Amechi Madu
Colours Colours
Red Shirts Red Shirts
Red Red Shorts Shorts
Red RedSocks Socks
