2021/22 I Issue Six - Wantage Town by St Neots Town Football Club

SAINTS GAZETTE ISSUE 6

OFFICIAL ONLINE MATCHDAY MAGAZINE SEASON 2021/22 ADMISSION INFORMATION

SATURDAY OCTOBER 16TH 3.00PM KO

(MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT)

WANTAGE TOWN PITCHING IN SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIVISON ONE CENTRAL

Saints President - John Walker

First Team

Board of Directors

Manager - Peter Gill Assistant - Sean Greygoose GK Coach - Gary Dean Physio - Craig Lambert Kit Man - Mick Hunt Analyst - Ben Williamson Match Ball Retriever - Stan Scotcher

Chairman - Barry Cavilla Director of Football - Iain Parr Events Director - Louise Sales Commercial Director - Mehmet Mimoglu Secretary - Gary Wilson Director - Mike Green Director - Jez Green Director - Andy Clay Director - Brian Barnes

Sports Scholarship Contact - Iain@stneotstownfc.co.uk

Saints Match Day Team

Academy

Fixture Secretary - Marion Izzard Hospitality - Andy Clay Stadium Announcer - Mike Green Music & Scoreboard - Charlie Green Catering - Diane Sales

Manager - Iain Parr Development Manager - Alex Minall U18’s Manager - Alex Minall

Media

Club Information

Press Officer - Mike Green Match Reports - John Walker Photographer - Dave Richardson Social Media - Rowan Presland / Mike Green

Address: Rowley Park, Kester Way, StNeots, Cambs., PE19 6SL

Ground Staff Pitch maintenance - Barry Oakley

Club Welfare Officer - Mick Hunt

Website - www.stneotstownfc.co.uk Enquires - enquires@stneotstownfc.co.uk Events - misslouises@yahoo.co.uk Academy - iain@stneotstown.co.uk

Ownership: In accordance with the football association league rule 2.13 publication of ownership in relation to step 1-4 within the football pyramid, we hereby confirm the legal status of St Neots Town Football Club Identification Number 02921210, and is a Private Limited Company. For the purposes of publication of ownership we can confirm that the following are listed as Directors of the Company: significant interest Lee Kearns, Iain Parr, Louise Sales, Gary Wilson, Mehmet Mimoglu and as Non Executive Directors Mike Green, Jeremy Green, and Barry Cavilla. Company Secretary Keith Gotch, Company Accountant Keith Gotch

Greenie’s Greetings With Director Mike Green

Good Afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to the Premier Plus Stadium, home of the Saints and the Goldstraw Goldsmiths Academy, for today’s Pitching In Southern League Division One Central match. Today we extend a warm welcome to the players, officials and travelling supporters of Wantage Town Football Club and we hope your stay with us today is a pleasant one before embarking on a safe trip back to Oxfordshire later this evening. Quite amazingly, this is our first home league game on a Saturday since August 28th, when we defeated Kidlington 4-0 here at the Premier Plus Stadium, so you can imagine how good it feels for us all to be in familiar surroundings today. How exciting was our League Cup tie with Hitchin? A game which in all honesty could have gone either way in normal time but we had the excitement of a penalty shootout to endure and for once, we came out on top, winning 4-3 with George Whitehall saving two of the Canaries spot kicks. We should find out shortly who we have drawn in the second round so keep an eye on our social media platforms to find out. Before this game we went to a very wet and windy Harlow Town and came back with a fully deserved point with the skipper, Watto, scoring the all important goal. Of course, it’s very early doors but we currently sit in third place, a great place to be and to build upon. We would like to officially welcome our new players who have arrived in the past couple of weeks, namely Brendon Shabani, Kwai March-Brown and Ayub Kadiri. Welcome to the Club lads and we hope your time here at St Neots Town is both enjoyable and successful. Right then, back to today’s game. Wantage Town are having a much better time of it this season after some shrewd additions so we will have to be at our best both on and off the pitch today. Get behind Pete, Sean and all the lads from the first whistle and hopefully, come full time, we will have another three points in the locker.

Come on You Saints

Greenie

From the Dugout With First Team Manager Peter Gill

Firstly, I’d like to wish a warm welcome to everyone from Wantage Town. I hope you enjoy your visit to the Premier Plus Stadium & St. Neots Town and I wish you well for the season ahead. I’ll start by reflecting on our most recent fixtures. Unfortunately, what was due to be a really busy period of games was de-railed by a run of postponements due to cup competitions. Starting with the Harlow Town game. If truth be told, going into a game away vs fifth place in the league we would have taken a point before the game. However, as the afternoon panned out, we were disappointed to only come back with a draw. In the early stages we very much had to soak up lots of pressure. After the first 15, we felt we dominated for large spells and created more than enough openings to win the game. Again, the lads showed great character and patience to come from a goal behind. We were disappointed not to get a penalty from at least one of our three appeals throughout the game. Then, three days, later we hosted Hitchin Town from the league above in the League Cup. It’s a competition we want to take seriously and test ourselves to see just how far we can go. We used the game as an opportunity to try a new system, some new players and give a start to some of the lads who recently haven’t had an opportunity to play for various reasons. Considering we saw George, Joe & Jake start their first games of the season, Kwai and Ayub meet everyone for the first time on the night and both start the game, Aaron make his first start since the Bank Holiday weekend and Brendon come off the bench for his second appearance (more on him later), to win the game and progress was really pleasing. It’s not a performance we can say we dominated and we certainly rode our luck at times, however, to win the game and progress shows a sign of the group that is forming. As mentioned briefly, we welcome a few new faces to the squad, and I can update you on a few bits that have happened recently. We welcome Brendon Shabani, who I know from my days at Leyton Orient. Brendon started the game away at Harlow, having not trained with us or met the boys. That was Brendon’s first game since January, which shows the qualities he has. We also welcome Kwai Marsh-Brown from Marlow. Kwai started the game vs Hitchin in a slightly unfamiliar position to him. We welcome both players to the club and hope they enjoy their time here. Lawrence Hammond has decided to join Godmanchester Rovers permanently having recently been playing in dual registration. We wish Lawrence the very best of luck for the season ahead as he looks for regular game time and thank him for his efforts in a Saints shirt. One other piece of news is that Joe Sutton has signed dual registration with Newport Pagnell Town as he looks to return to match sharpness after missing the end of pre-season with a hamstring injury. We wish Joe all the best and hope to see him back with us, fit and firing in the not-too-distant future. We know Wantage will be a tough challenge this afternoon having recently added a few new faces to their squad. We will need to perform well and start much better than we have done recently to take any form of positive result from the game. They have lots of new players and lots of players returning from injury so we know we can disregard their early form in the opening weeks. They recently took league leaders North Leigh all the way and only succumbed late on and then beat a much-improved Kempston Rovers side. Lastly, I’d like to thank everyone who travelled over to Harlow to support the boys. In what felt like a home game for me (being London based) I appreciate it was a long trip for supporters. The boys really can feel your support, in particular away from home, as they look to keep climbing the league table. Enjoy the game. As always, please get behind the boys today.

Up the Saints!

Pete

Saints

Partners - Visit www.stneotstownfc.co.uk to find out how to become a partner.

We pride ourselves on being open minded with a particular emphasis on working closely with our business partners to ensure mutually beneficial achievements. Our aim is to continue developing football for all, to offer duel career pathways and to continue to engage and support the Community and local businesses.

Mehmet Mimoglu Commercial Chat...

Welcome Back to the Premier Plus Stadium. Instead of giving information on recent commercial activities I want to take time to reflect onCommercial assets we have and how these can be utilised to sustain and improve the Commercial Comfort the Club has achieved. Our main asset is the football facilities we have, which every football fan would love and every St NeotsTown local can be proud of. The Club is a massive community attraction point and has an activity most days, every evening and every weekend for most of the year and we have footfall of over 700 people per week .This creates a busy ground where advertising does get noticed. The Club also has function and meeting rooms that can be used by local businesses and use of our facilities supports business activities of local firms. The Club has active and strong social media presence where we can promoteservices and products of our Business Partners to 3500 people on Facebook, 9500 Followers on Twitter and 1800 Followers on Instagram. We use part of the sponsorship income for good causes where 20% ofIncome from first banner adverts goes into a community fund .This fund benefits over 25 local groups and charities. Last but not least, we have a thriving academy ,U18 and First team whom all provide good level and very competitive local football. The Cambridge United partnership at Academy and First Team level has increased the aspirations of the Club. At every level our teams play, the aim is to have a team competing for top end of the table which attracts more people to our games. It has been mainly these assets that attracted several local businesses to the Club over the past 15 months of my involvement. The Club is at a stage where we need to firm our business relationships with local companies. One key area for this is to keep engagement of Business Partners with Club and fans constantly very active. Club has a Community Card project . Once the membership numbers increase, such will be an attractive discussion point for our Business Partners to promote their products and services . Our Printed Match Programme has been a welcomed move for most fans. Increasing printing numbers and distribution of the programmes even after game days locally will promote our Business Partners further. Increasing activity on our Club and Academy Newsletter by adding Business Partners information to these newsletters is another area which will support this purpose. Supporting Business Partners over Social Media at every opportunity is also a very important factor. The main point to take away for us all involved with club whether our role is Club Director, Club Official, Parent, Player or Supporter is to understand how strong our offering to our Business Partners is. Also to always remember that Business Partners support is massive contribution to club activities and our joined support should be behind Business Partners to ensure long term positive two way relationships.

Mehmet

Saints

Partners - Visit www.stneotstownfc.co.uk to find out how to become a partner.

Saints

First Team Shirt Sponsor Reliable and Professional plumbing and heating service. Preferred Plumbing and Heating Ltd in Cambridgeshire

07733304549 / 01480 774723

www.preferredplumbingandheatingltd.co.uk

Saints

Partners - Visit www.stneotstownfc.co.uk to find out how to become a partner.

SAINTS FOOD TERRACE

Boardroom Gossip With Chairman Barry Cavilla

Good afternoon to you all, A warm welcome to all the players, officials and supporters of Wantage Town for today’s match here at the Premier Plus Stadium. It’s been a long wait to play each other after the last shortened Covid hit season. We have always had a tough encounter with Wantage and will have to be at our best to make sure we take the same attitude and work rate to make a difference against our visitors. This will be only our 5th home League game this season due to our cup commitments many of which against teams from our league and will be most welcome to the Club’s coffers and of course, to all our supporters. Pete and the team have been gathering momentum over the past few weeks, with new players coming in to bolster our squad and have put themselves in a strong position at this early stage of the league season. The Saints have delivered some hard working and entertaining performances over the past few weeks, which we all have enjoyed and will hopefully have galvanised the team for the tough encounters to come starting with our visitors today. Off the field, we have been enjoying some excellent club functions laid on by Louise and her team and please keep in touch with our club social media platforms for some great nights leading up to Christmas. On a separate note, I am asking if there may be any of our supporters or friends and family interested in joining our friendly team to help on matchdays, helping with stewarding duties around the ground and car park as we try to improve what is already a fantastic matchday experience for both home and away supporters. If interested please contact myself or any Club official and we can discuss how you can make a big difference to your club. Finally ,don’t forget Christmas will soon be upon us and we will be holding our annual Christmas Jumper day when Didcot Town visit us on Saturday 18th December, so check the wardrobe and dust off the cobwebs of your finest Christmas attire and don’t forget those dancing shoes for tapping those feet to some great festive tunes after the game. Best wishes to you all, YOUR TOWN, YOUR TEAM COME ON THE SAINTS

Barry

Saints

Partners - Visit www.stneotstownfc.co.uk to find out how to become a partner.

www.stneotsloftconversionsltd.co.uk

Little Paxton, Saint Neots PE19, UK

07932 453477 St Neots Town FC is not just about football we are a community focused business. We have so much more going on which ultimately and significantly increases our footfall and our website site and social media reach.This in turn means that when you advertise with the Saints you get so much more for your money.

St Neots Take away – Shop Local, Support Local

orders@takeaway-stneots.com

Pizza/fried chicken, Turkish, British, British Cafe Order through our app Order online Order on the pay store

To Advertise with the Saints contact our Commercial Director Mehmet on 07946 318888 or email mehmet@stneotstownfc.co.uk

AF Golf Store AFGolfStore offers everything a golfer could need, from premium club fitting using Trackman 4 technology to individual or group lessons for all ages and abilities. Whether you're a beginner or elite golfer, child or adult, we have something for you! Contact AFGolfStore Peterborough Feel free to contact a member of our team with any enquiries you may have using the form below. Alternatively you can call the team direct on 01733 215989 We can be found at Unit 10, Slater Court, Harrier Way, Eagle Business Park, Yaxley PE7 3SE Peterborough Store Opening Times Monday 9am-6pm Tuesday 9am-8pm Wednesday 9am8pm Thursday 9am-6pm Friday 9am-6pm Saturday 9am-5pm Sunday CLOSED Contact AFGolfStore Cambridge Feel free to contact a member of our team with any enquiries you may have using the form below. Alternatively you can call the team direct on 01763 262943. We can be found at Kingsway Golf Centre, Cambridge Road, Melbourn, Cambridge, SG8 6EY Cambridge Store Opening Times Monday 9am-8pm Tuesday 9am-8pm Wednesday 9am8pm Thursday 9am-8pm Friday 9am-8pm Saturday 9am-5pm Sunday 9am-5pm

www.afgolfstore.co.uk

Saints

Partners - Visit www.stneotstownfc.co.uk to find out how to become a partner.

St Neots Town FC is not just about football we are a community focused business. We have so much more going on which ultimately and significantly increases our footfall and our website site and social media reach.This in turn means that when you advertise with the Saints you get so much more for your money.

Saints

Partners - Visit www.stneotstownfc.co.uk to find out how to become a partner.

Som’s Salon is a Mens Barbershop and Ladies Hairdressers, we are located on Longsands Parade, Saint Neots with FREE parking directly outside the shop!

01480 589037

Saints - Goldstraw Goldmiths St Neots Town FC Academy & Main Stand Sponsor The Goldstraw Goldsmith’s St Neots Town FC Academy Sponsor

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

Saints

Partners - Visit www.stneotstownfc.co.uk to find out how to become a partner.

Saints

Partners - Visit www.stneotstownfc.co.uk to find out how to become a partner.

Call 01480 470931 / Mobile 07950 496568

Saints

Partners - Visit www.stneotstownfc.co.uk to find out how to become a partner.

Saints

Partners - Visit www.stneotstownfc.co.uk to find out how to become a partner.

www.abclifesupport.co.uk / 0800 0467 410

Saints

Partners - Visit www.stneotstownfc.co.uk to find out how to become a partner.

www.kazbarsystemsinc.com / sales@kazbarsystemsinc.com / 01234 780 177

www.cpcfinance.co.uk / contact@cpcfinance.co.uk / 01923 655 441

Saints Social Media Sponsor BlueLine Security Ltd – Social Media Sponsors

Your peace of mind is our business We draw all of our operational staff exclusively from the UK Police Force and HM Armed Forces. When it comes to your security, you can trust in us. At Blueline Security Limited we know how important integrity and reliability is to our customers. That’s why we draw our operational staff exclusively from Police and HM Armed Forces backgrounds, and have a stringent selection process to ensure that only the best people join our team. Our business is your peace of mind. To that end, our wide range of services include manned guarding, working dog teams, property/business protection, mobile patrols, close protection and surveillance/investigation. As we continue to expand across England, we pride ourselves on maintaining our ethical trade policy, and we will only ever offer a service when a genuine need exists. If you’re interested in any of our services, get in touch today. We’d be delighted to provide you with further details on any of our services.

03339874277 www.bluelinesecuritylimited.com 01480 407704

Saints

Functions and Events Visit www.stneotstownfc.co.uk To find out how to Book an Event

We have three rooms available for any number of functions and events.

These include a board room/meeting room that holds up to 12 people.

We also have two function rooms.

Reedman's

Hold up to 80 guests and is idea for smaller wedding, parties, Funeral wakes, Fitness classes, smaller trade fairs and much more

The Gregory Suite

Holds up to 250 guests and is ideal for Wedding receptions, larger parties, Dance groups, presentation events, Business networking and much more

Our dedicated team have lots of experience and will be on hand to assist in any way possible. Full flexible catering service is also available

Give Louise a call on 07753 222683

Full information is available at www.stneotstownfc.co.uk

Saints Functions and Events To book and event visit www.stneotstownfc.co.uk

JW Match Report BIGGLESWADE FC (A) 29-09-2021 SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIVISION ONE CENTRAL Biggleswade FC

St Neots Town

It was back to the Eyrie at Bedford four days after their FA Trophy defeat, for hardworking St Neots Town who ground out this important victory over Biggleswade FC to move to third in the League table. It was not an impressive performance by the visitors who were unable to make any real headway against a stubborn home side that had to play for the last 75 minutes with ten men after losing a player to an early red card. With little progress on the player injury front, St Neots named an unchanged starting line up for the third successive time, but there a late substitute appearance for Jake Battersby appearing in a St Neots shirt for the first time for almost a year. On the plus side there was an eleventh goal this season for Joe Rider – and that proved to be a welcome winner just four minutes from time. Much of the early play was in midfield except for one glancing header from Matthew Richardson that flew wide for the home side, who were then reduced to ten men after 17 minutes when Harry Roberts caught Erin Amu with a horror ‘studs up’ tackle. St Neots responded as a through pass from Neo Richard-Noel freed Joe Rider, but his low shot was the wrong side of a goalpost. Biggleswade operating with just one-man up front saw their striker evade two St Neots tackles to shot wide, but as the first half progressed the visitors seemed to become frustrated, unable to capitalise on a much greater share of possession with little significant finish against a well-drilled home defence. Seven minutes before the break the home side almost took the lead when from an Alex Marsh cross, Jack Dreyer forced the save of the match from Louis Chadwick at the expense of a corner. At the other end a low Rider shot faced the same fate and then St Neots were forced into a first half change with Aaron Smith coming on for the limping Ben Heal. As half time approached Myles Cowling weaved through the home defence to set up Rider but his finish again flew wide. The second half began badly for the visitors when after just two minutes home skipper Alex Marsh opened the scoring with a 30 yards drive through a packed defence with Chadwick possibly unsighted. St Neots responded quickly and after Richard-Noel had been thwarted as home keeper Dan Green dived bravely at his feet, an equaliser arrived four minutes after the opening goal.An attacking move down the left saw Aaron Smith feed Neo Richard-Noel, and despite having his back to goal he wriggled past his marker to beat Green with a low shot.

JW Match Report BIGGLESWADE FC (A) 29-09-2021 The keeper then saved a rising shot from Lee Watkins, but aided by some loose passing, St Neots seemed to lose the initiative and substitutions by both sides seemed to upset any rhythm. However, St Neots do not seem to know when they are beaten and with the home side tiring as the game wore on, there were just four minutes of normal time remaining when a cross from substitute Jake Battersby was not cleared and Joe Rider pounced to net from close range for what proved to be the winning goal. The home side, stunned by this setback, threw everything forward in a bid to salvage a point but under pressure the visiting defence held out for all three points.

St Neots: Chadwick, Steel, Heal, Barker, Johnson, Marfo, Cowling, Watkins, Richard-Noel, Rider, Amu Subs: Smith (for Heal 41 mins), Battersby (for Steel 82 mins), Sutton, Gill, and Whitehall. Cards: Steel (Y – 82 mins), Cowling (Y – 90+3 mins) Goals: Richard-Noel (51 mins), Rider (86 mins) Biggleswade: Green, Hunt, Simpson, Roberts, Fisher, Oswick, Marsh, Richardson, Bond, Dreyer, Warboys Subs: Taylor (for Warboys 72 mins), McCafferty (for Richardson 82 mins), Joseph, Young, and FisherDiaz Cards: Roberts (RED – 17 mins), Warboys (Y – 70 mins), Marsh (Y – 87 mins) Goals: Marsh (49 mins) Referee: Thomas Kelly (Cambridge) Attendance: 98 John Walker

JW Match Report HARLOW TOWN (A) 2-10-2021

SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIVISION ONE CENTRAL Harlow Town

St Neots Town

In a very entertaining and competitive match St Neots came back from a half time deficit to deservedly share the points with hosts Harlow Town. It ended a three-match winning run for the home side and left the sides third and fourth in the embryonic league table. The only contentious point in a very balanced match came in the 45th minute as home goalkeeper Thomas Middlehurst stole the ball at the feet of Joe Rider but he was off-balance and spilled it. Myles Cowling was quickly in to take advantage, but he was clearly brought down by the keeper, and to St Neots fury the Referee only awarded a corner kick. The sides went to half time with St Neots believing they had been robbed but to their great credit they recovered to have the better of the second half and crown their performance with an equalising goal and a deserved away point. There were two enforced St Neots team changes. Erin Amu had decided to move on after just eight appearances (two as substitute) and Ben Heal had failed to recover from a hamstring strain. They were replaced by Mamadou Jobe, fit again after missing four matches, and their most recent signing Brendon Shabani, a former Leyton Orient academist. In a bright start both sides could have registered an early goal. St Neots were fortunate when their defence let in Sammy Dadson after seven minutes on the left and his cross found leading home scorer Alexander Read, but with the goal at his mercy from six yards his shot rebounded from a post. St Neots struck back immediately, and a low Joe Rider shot was pushed for a corner by Middlehurst. St Neots defence were again culpable as they allowed Read to go clear and his unselfish cross set up the unmarked Demaray Anyadike who saw his shot deflected for a corner. New St Neots signing Brendon Shabani made an early mark with a 21st minute curling free kick that just passed the far post with the keeper beaten and then at the other end when Wynford Marfo conceded a free kick, Hector Mackie forced a good save from Louis Chadwick. By now, St Neots were beginning to have the better of the exchanges and Rider (twice) brought good saves from the home keeper and Neo Richard-Noel shot narrowly wide. Marfo then joined the attack to exchange passes with Rider and skim the crossbar with his finish but then after 42 minutes from an Demaray Anyadike corner, defender Joshua Steele sent a header into the net via the inside of a goalpost to give the hosts their half time lead.

JW Match Report HARLOW TOWN (A) 2-10-2021

After the break St Neots were playing into a swirling wind but they adapted well keeping the ball largely on the ground and showing patience as they sought to level the sores. On the hour they decided on a change with Jake Battersby replacing Harvey Steel and he was quickly effective down the left flank. Harlow did get he ball in the net after 63 minutes, but the effort was cancelled out by an offside flag and a minute later St Neots was level as home keeper Middlehurst fumbled a Battersby cross and skipper Lee Watkins gleefully bundled the ball into the net for his first goal of the season. The play continued with both sides still committed to attacking play, but clear chances were limited until Rider nodded down a Battersby cross to set up Richard-Noel who shot wildly over the bar. Demaray Anyadike who had tantalised the St Neots defence had a net bound shot deflected and as the home side looked for a winning goal, Chadwick produced the save of the match to deny substitute Jaedon Phillips. The game ended on a low note for the home side when another substitute, Alfie Attrill picked up a second yellow card in time added and was sent off.

St Neots: Chadwick, Marfo, Steel, Shabani, Johnson, Jobe, Cowling, Watkins, Richard-Noel, Rider, Barker Subs: Battersby (for Steel 60 mins), Smith (for Johnson 87 mins), Sutton, Thomas, and Anthony. Cards: Steel (Y – 59 mins) Goals: Watkins (64 mins) Harlow: Middlehurst, Small, Eadie, Simms, Steele, Marku, Anyadike, Gordon, Read, Mackie, Dadson Subs: Phillips (for Read 52 mins), Attrill (for Marks 71 mins), Wilson (for Dadson 77 mins), Ferguson, and Horgan Cards: Attrill (RED – 2 yellow 77 mins & 90+4 mins), Mackie (Y – 33 mins), Phillips (Y – 80 mins) Goals: Steele (42 mins) Referee: Joseph Gray (Thurrock) Attendance: 203 John Walker

JW Match Report HITCHIN TOWN (H) 5-10-2021

SOUTHERN LEAGUE CHALLENGE CUP – ROUND ONE St Neots Town 1Hitchin Town (St Neots won 4-3 on penalties)

In a dramatic penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw, St Neots kept their nerve to knock out higher graded Hitchin Town to repeat a first round Challenge Cup victory over the same visitors in the 2013/14 season when the Saints went on to win the trophy. The home hero of the hour was home goalkeeper George Whitehall who saved three of Hitchin’s thirteen spot kicks. Manager Pete Gill chose to use this occasion to give some of his squad players some match time making six changes in his starting line up from that which had appeared three days earlier at Harlow.This included two new signings – Kwai Marsh-Brown and Ayub Kadiri and two of the talented U18 squad were also included on the substitutes bench. Conditions could hardly have been more testing with a swirling wind and heavy rain, yet the two sides produced an entertaining and competitive match with the home side coming back from behind to earn their chance in the shoot-out. Playing against the elements in the first half, St Neots made a bright start creating the first real opening as a Harvey Steel cross found the head of Neo Richard-Noel but visiting keeper Charles Horlock saved well. An early injury to a visiting defender saw Hitchin forced into a change and they responded with a slick move that saw a shot from Rio DaSilva deflected for a corner. With both sides struggling to master the conditions many efforts on goal were from distance with Joe Sutton trying his luck at one end and Luke Brown bringing a useful save from George Whitehall at the other. New signing Ayub Kadiri looked bright and three minutes before the break he lit up the game with a mazy run past two defenders, but his finish was wide of the far post. Jake Battersby making his first start was also off target after good work by acting skipper Myles Cowling and the first period ended in added time as Kai Marsh-Brown was denied by the crossbar from a Battersby corner. Goalless but never dull summed up the first half action, and the end-to-end pattern continued after the break with defender Mamadou Jobe keeping St Neots in the match with a dramatic goal line clearance after 55 minutes. Having utilised Brendon Shabani as a second half replacement for Kadiri, St Neots replaced their second debutant with striker Joe Rider in a positive move to break the deadlock. He was quickly in the thick of the action and after 64 minutes he forced the save of the match – full length from Horlock. A third St Neots substitution with the exciting Julinho Gomes replacing Battersby after 69 minutes appeared to have gone wrong when two minutes later from a Lawrie Marsh throw found the unmarked Lewis Barker and his cross into the area set up Ryan Smith arriving late to open the scoring.This seemed to motivate St Neots and for a spell they dominated possession being rewarded after 78 minutes when a header from a Gomes cross by Rider rebounded from the bar with the visiting keeper stranded, and Neo Richard Noel was quickly on hand to level the scores. In the last few minutes both sides went looking for a winner and St Neots thought they were denied a penalty when Richard-Noel was upended in the area, but the Referee waved play on.

JW Match Report HITCHIN TOWN (H) 5-10-2021

And so onto the dramatic finale from the penalty spot. St Neots failed to score from three of their first four kicks with Rider and Cowling both shooting over the bar and Gomes sending his effort wide, but fortunately for them the visitors were equally inept thanks to George Whitehall’s three saves. In the end successful kicks from Richard-Noel, Joe Sutton, Harvey Steel and Wynford Marfo saw them through to the second round of the competition for the first time since 2016/17.

St Neots: Whitehall, Steel, Smith, Cowling, Marfo, Jobe, Marsh-Brown, Kediri, Richard-Noel, Sutton, Battersby Subs: Shabani (for Kadiri 46 mins), Rider (for Marsh-Brown 58 mins), Gomes (for Battersby 69 mins, Thomas, and Anthony. Cards: Shabani (Y – 62 mins), Marfo (Y – 82 mins) Goals: Richard-Noel (78 mins) Hitchin: Horlock, Akubuine, Brown (A), Smith, Webb, Marsh, Barker, Coldicott-Stevens, DaSilva, Brown (L), Tearle Subs: Georgiou (for Akubuine 15 mins), Jones, Snee, Black, and Gordon-Douglas. Cards: Barker (Y – 63 mins) Goals:Smith (71 mins) Referee: Ryan Dix (Northampton) Attendance: 189 John Walker

Joldstraw Goldsmiths ST NEOTS TOWN FC ACADEMY

OTHURLOW NUNN YOUTH LEAGUE – WEST DIVISION ST NEOTS TOWN U18

CAMBRIDGE CITY U 18

St Neots recorded another convincing home victory, beating visiting Cambridge City U18’s with a solid second half performance. The three points propelled then to joint leaders of their division, alongside unbeaten Deeping Rangers. Trailing 2-1 after 18 minutes despite a strong start they recovered to lead at the break before dominating the second half. In the first five minutes, St Neots looked like they meant business with Max Smalley carving out two early chances – the first a shot that hit the visiting keeper and diverted for a corner, and the second when played clear by an incisive through pass from Luke Hargreaves that rebounded from the crossbar. However, he would not be denied and after seven minutes he unselfishly set up Julinho Gomes for the opening goal. Then in their first attack two minutes later, the visitors exploited some defensive hesitation as Alfie Lee stole in to claim an equaliser. Buoyed by this Cambridge then created a great opening and Callum Bates forced an important full length save from Brooklyn Peacock in the home goal, but St Neots broke straight back with Hargreaves seeing his long-range effort rebound from the crossbar. After 18 minutes the visitors took the lead as from a free kick Harvey Gothard headed down for Victor Dwomeh to put the visitors in front. The pace did not abate and a minute later St Neots were back on terms as Julinho Gomes nipped in, to level the scores after Lloyd Barker failed to hold on to a shot from Marley Ugarte-Edwards. Eight minutes before the break Charlie Clark ensured a half time lead for the home side with his first goal of the season. St Neots dominated the second half and a fourth goal three minutes after the restart saw Julinho Gomes complete his second league hat trick of the season after he had outpaced the visiting defence. That put St Neots well in control and two further goals in the 67th and 75th minutes from Max Smalley and Ethan Camfield sealed the fate of the visiting side. A series of substitutions by both sides saw the rhythm of the match interrupted and the visitors never gave up despite being penned in their own half for long periods. St Neots almost increased their impressive lead twice in the last ten minutes, but the visiting goalkeeper twice made good saves to deny Ugarte-Edwards. St Neots: Peacock, Hargreaves, Thomas, Plummer, Perry, Camfield, Smalley, Timberlake, UgarteEdwards, Gomes, Clark Subs used: Payton, Musgrove, Kimpton, Nshangalume, and Ille Cards: none Referee: Paul Dobbs (Yaxley) (John Walker)

JW LOOKING AHEAD WANTAGE TOWN (H) 16-10-2021

OPPONENTS SPOTLIGHT (16/October/2021)

WANTAGE TOWN Year founded: 1892 Chairman: Ian Glover Club Website: www.pitchero.com/clubs/wantagetown WELCOME TO ALL ESPECIALLY TO OUR VISITORS WANTAGE TOWN WHO VISIT US FOR JUST THE SECOND TIME HERE AT THE PREMIER PLUS STADIUM This should of course be the fifth meeting of our two sides in Division One Central of the Southern League, but the COVID pandemic has seen three of the four ruled out. In fact, in our third season back in Division One we have yet to visit Wantage! However, it is good that the season seems to be progressing to plan despite the underlying COVID threat. Wantage must have been looking forward to a fresh start this season. Two years ago, when the 2018/19 season was abandoned they had won just one and drawn one of their 28 completed matches and were 13 points adrift of the club above them with just ten matches remaining. The following season truncated after an average of just eight completed matches they had improved somewhat winning three matches but still being just three points above the bottom of the table.This season they had won one and drawn one of eight completed games (when these notes were penned) and again are sitting one place above the bottom club. The only meeting of our two clubs was on 23rd November 2019 here at the Premier Plus Stadium when a hat trick from Alan Musoke and singles from Prince Mutswunguma and our current skipper Lee Watkins gave us a very comfortable 5-0 victory. In Cup matches this season, like us, Wantage have failed to impress! In the FA Cup they were beaten 2-1 at home by Highworth Town in the Preliminary Round and in the FA Trophy they bowed out in the First Round Qualifying, beaten 2-1 at home by Willand Rovers. In the League Cup they were drawn at home to Kempston Rovers – result not known when these notes were written. PREVIOUS MEETING OF OUR CLUBS 2019/20

St Neots

Enjoy the match John Walker

Wantage Town 0

Opponent Spotlight PLAYER PROFILES

WANTAGE TOWN FC PLAYER PROFILES 2021/22 Matt Biddle – Manager A young 33 year old manager with bags of enthusiasm, football knowledge and experience. Having not only a bachelors honours Football Studies degree to his name. He also plied his trade as a player at a semi professional level for several years, with a couple of league winners medals under his belt. Unfortunately, his footballing career was cut fairly short with 3x ACL injuries. However only spurred the drive and desire to stay in the game and take up management instead. Likes to think he is on the same wave length as Nuno Esprito Santo! Thinks he is playing the PC game "Football Manager" in real life James Keller – Assistant Manager Like Bidds, JK also shares a soft spot for Wantage Town as it was here where his football career all started, enduring 3 joyful seasons with the club during his time. Now 34 years old and with 17 years of experience at the semi-professional level behind him. JK feels this was a great time and fantastic opportunity to “hang up the boots” and continue his love the game within the management arena. Drives his Bentley to training and likes to chauffeur the skipper everywhere he goes! Jack Wells – Head Coach Joins the Freds management team adding a wealth of experience, ideas, and charisma. Been in and around the game for many years now having taken up multiple different roles, some for professional clubs, this guy has pretty much seen it all (literally). Jack aka Wellsy once auditioned for X factor and if given the opportunity would clean up on Love Island. Being given the gift of the “gab” and will never say no to a drink or 3. Jamie Alexander – Coach A familiar name to the Alfredian’s having played for the club during his playing days (however many years that was ago). Jamie joins the management team as the father figure whose words of wisdom and opinions will play a massive part this season. Especially ones like implementing “5 halfs” for birthdays. Tom Jeffreys – First Team Physio An excellent young addition to the management team. Looking to further his career and within physiotherapy in some capacity and shares a passion for the game. Therefore, was a no brainer when an opportunity popped up to work with his local football club. Close mates with Dave Green, lives next door to the club, but still drives to the ground. Dave Green – Player & Management Liaison Officer Long time servant to the club, Dave Green joins the 1st team management team this season with a new and crucial role! Dave has already pretty much done every role going at the club from manager, coach, committee member, sponsorship, event’s organiser to name a few. Now he has taken up the new challenge that will add the icing to the cake to an already exciting management setup. Still only 26, this guy bleeds green and white. Tries to put on a Scottish on occasions and aims to get a statue of himself at the ground in years to come. Richard Plumb – 1st Team Goalkeeper Coach Rich is the newest addition to the management team, jumping at the chance to take up the GK role with Wantage as he progresses up the footballing ladder. Rich replaces former GK coach Woody and will put his own ideas into practice, putting our keepers through their paces. He is so new we are still getting to know him! First impressions though looks like he can “handle” himself, excuse the pun.

Opponent Spotlight PLAYER PROFILES

WANTAGE TOWN FC PLAYER PROFILES 2021/22 Olly Goddard – Defender (Club Captain) Club captain Olly is now in his 2nd season with the Freds. Olly naturally brings with him the qualities and characteristics every club would want to see in a leader. Olly leads by example and someone who sets himself high standards as well as expecting it from others. Made sure that being chauffeured by JK in the Bentley was part of the deal. Never too far away from Brocky! Jack Alexander – Defender/Midfielder (Vice Captain) A quality, very experienced and solid player who has a very impressive footballing background especially for someone still at a young age. Jack is a local lad living a stone’s throw away from the ground, who is now following in his dad’s footsteps in the green and white colours. Oldest young guy you will ever meet. Gave up the dream of having hair on his head last year! Joe Gorman – Goalkeeper Joe returns back with us this year after clocking a few miles in his car last year with Westfields. Now that he has maxed out on his miles before his car lease runs out, he jumped at an opportunity to play more local and at a higher standard. A very strong, composed and consistent keeper that you will rarely catch making a mistake. Harry Brock – Defender Aka “Brocky” brings with him experience and strength to the team who is known as Mr consistent never dropping below a 7/10 every game. Although seemingly quiet when you first met him, more than happy to join in with the banter, especially after a few beers. Oldest 28 year old your will ever meet. Worn the same pair of boots since primary school and likes to wear timberland boots on a night out. Sam Hartley – Defender Sam is a sought-after defender especially given his physicality, characteristics and huge amounts of potential to make a quality player. Still at a young age the possibilities are endless for Sam given more experience and his attitude to learn. We have already seen this guy loves a tackle! Dreams of clean sheets every night! Would header a boulder if they were match balls. Jake Pemberton – Defender Exciting young full back Jake joins us after being on the books for Reading FC. After a few promising training sessions and pre season matches, it didn’t take long for Jake to stamp his mark. Even after Wellsy put him centre midfield one session. Already won 2 penalties for us, this guy will find a trip wire in an empty room. You will do well to crack a smile out of Jake and if you do you should consider yourself as a comedian. Luke Quarterman – Defender Highly rated young defender Luke joins us this season from a successful stint at Oxford City U23’s. Voted players player of the season, Wantage are looking forward to working with such a talented individual, who also has that rare quality of leadership already at such an early age! One to keep an eye for the future for sure. Thinks he is a DJ in the dressing room, fancies himself on the dancefloor Reece Bayliss – Defender Cultured full back Reece Bayliss joins the Freds for his 1st season in the green and white. This player is so versatile, when asked what his best position was he answered anywhere! Still yet to figure out if he is naturally right or left footed, Reece can whip a ball in from anywhere on the pitch. Surprise package this season!? Wouldn’t look out of place at a Korean pop band concert.

Opponent Spotlight PLAYER PROFILES

WANTAGE TOWN FC PLAYER PROFILES 2021/22 Charlie Kille – Midfielder

Powerful, pacey and purposeful winger who would be in most full backs worst nightmares. You don’t want this direct player running at you for the whole 90 minutes. Charlie is a player that we believe has huge amounts of potential that still hasn’t been unlocked yet. We are hoping we awake this beast. Doesn’t believe in drinking beer slowly, would not like to be his drinking partner! #Sloshed James Watts – Midfielder James aka “Jimbo” is a naturally gifted and talented midfielder. A player that loves to get on the ball and drive the team forward with his mazy runs, as well as backing it up with the quality end product. Due to his footballing nature expect this guy to be hacked down a few times! Don’t be surprised if he is up there with a few assists this season. No one has ever seen him between Monday to Friday! Josh Tooke – Midfielder “Tookey” or “Tuckey” is now in his 2nd season with the Freds. Very quiet lad in nature but lets his football do the talking instead. Never far away from 1st and 2nd balls where he hoovers up any loose balls retaining possession quickly. Very tidy on the ball and got a goal or 2 in him. Just don’t call him Josh whatever you do! Alex Stott – Midfielder This pocket rocket is a player you don’t want to under estimate. He can find space even in a telephone box and can be gone past you by the time you have had chance to blink. Blessed with quick feet and an eye for goal, we are looking forward to seeing the damage he will cause to defences this season. Rhys King – Midfielder Another hot prospect and extremely talented young midfielder. Joining us from Oxford City U23 with an impressive goal and assist record, we are very excited to nurture this gifted attacking midfielder into Step 4. Rhys has the knack to frustrate any defender, needing to hack him down instead. Can score a wonder goal out of nowhere! Not sure what he asks for when he goes to the barbers! James Hammond – Midfielder Talented midfielder “Hammo” also couldn’t resist the temptation to sign for the Freds this season. Somehow the gaffer managed to keep this signing under wraps from the national press! This player can truly leave you in awe after watching his performances. One of those annoying players that can do anything when challenged! Would take a lot to rumble this calm natured individual, but always first on the scene to protect his team mates! Jack Badger – Midfielder An exciting product of the Wantage development system, Jack Badger is making a name for himself this season. After an impressive season with the development team last year winning the players player award, it comes as no surprise Badger is now pushing himself in contention for the 1st team. If there was an award for most fouled this guy would get it. Thought getting his hair like “Gazza” was a good idea! Ben Barrett – Midfielder Cultured Midfielder Ben Barrett has experience at this level already for someone at such a young age. Ben joined our development team last year who also impressed during this year’s preseason. Very comfortable on the ball and has a wide range of clubs in his bag! A quiet individual who gets on with his business without any problems! One to keep an eye on!

Opponent Spotlight PLAYER PROFILES

WANTAGE TOWN FC PLAYER PROFILES 2021/22 Lewis Crosbie – Midfielder Out of nowhere this young gem of a player pops up in Wantage looking to make a name for himself in men’s football this year. Joining us from Northampton academy this player is another individual packed with bags of potential. After already been welcomed to men’s football in old fashion style with multiple crunching tackles in pre season. Lewis picked himself up, dusted himself off as if nothing happened, if anything was laughing straight after it! Another name to remember for the future. Harvey Scholes – Midfielder A familiar face returns back to the Freds this season who joins us from Fairford Town. “Harvs” is an experienced and intricate midfielder that when you look up “baller” in the football dictionary the definition would say Harvey! A player we are excited to have back, especially with a philosophy and style of play that suits him to the ground. Always looked tanned even in the winter! Ben Lodge – Midfielder Elegant and exciting new talent “Lodgey” joins the Freds this season after impressing management and fans throughout preseason. Lodgey is the type of player that once on the ball, fans stand up waiting for that bit of magic to happen. Often found in pockets of space on and off the field. Pops up out of nowhere, a nightmare to mark and catch, would probably win gold in the Olympics a game of tag. Josh Elms – Striker Highly regarded young striker Josh joins us from National Conference side Eastleigh. Once in and around the box there is only one thing on this player’s mind! With further development, along with his physicality and presence the future looks bright for this young talent. Not afraid to shoot from anywhere, we will probably need to bring an extra bag of balls for training! Ryan Knight – Striker Knighty brings with him a background littered will goals, goals and goals. Not only does he regularly appear on the score sheet, but he is also willing to do a lot of the dirty work to put the defence under pressure when without the ball. A dangerous combination of hard work and goals are always rare to come by. Loves a penalty! Wouldn’t like to be the guy to take it off him! Aleks Novakovic Aleks or widely known as “Djokovic” within the squad due his simialrities in looks and name, joins the freds after impressing in pre season. This young defender has all the attributes to play highier in the future and there is no place better than Alfredian Park to unlock his full potential. Was a like a moth to a flame when he saw the style of football at the club. Could be a surprised package this season!

Opponent Spotlight WANTAGE TOWN FC

WANTAGE TOWN FC Wantage Town FC (aka The Freds or Alfredians) have been affiliated to the Berks & Bucks FA since 1892. They played in the Swindon & District, North Berks and Reading & District Leagues, achieving success in 1903-04 in the Swindon Advertiser Cup, which they repeated in 1907-08 as well as becoming the League Champions. After the 1st World War, the Freds briefly played in the North Berks League, winning the North Berks Cup in 1920 and 1921 and the Championship in 1921-22. After a brief period playing in the Reading & District League with no success they then re-entered the Swindon & District League, winning the title in 1933-34. The Fifties was the most successful period for the Club, winning the League in 1952-53 (without losing a game) and again in 1955-56, while in 1954-55, the Fred's won no fewer than five cup competitions, including the Berks & Bucks Intermediate Cup. Since joining the Hellenic League in 1956, the Fred's have spent most of their seasons in the Premier Division, winning promotion from Division 1 on six occasions - as runners-up in 1969-70, 1987-88, 199192 (where they set a club record of 32 games unbeaten) and 1995-96, and as Champions in 1980-81 and 2003-4. Season 2003/2004 was one of the Fred's most successful. The First Team won Division One East to regain its position in the Premier Division of the Hellenic, and the Reserves finished top of their league, also winning promotion. In 2010-11, the Fred's won the Premier division title, but despite great effort on the part of the Club management, they were not promoted to the Southern League due to ground grading criteria not being achieved. In the 2012-2013 season, the club achieved the Southern League Ground grading, but finished runners-up to a very strong Marlow side, and again missed out on promotion. n 2013-2014, the Fred's won the Uhlsport Hellenic Premier title again, and this time with the appropriate ground grading in place, saw promotion to Division One (South and West) of the Southern League. The Fred's remained in the Southern League for 3 years, before seeing relegation back to the Uhlsport Hellenic Premier League at the end of the 2016-17 season, at the same time the Reserves saw relegation to the 2nd Division of the Hellenic League. In 2018-19, the Fred's won the Uhlsport Hellenic Premier title for the third time and regained their place in the Southern League, this time in the Division 1 Central section. Throughout the years the Club has worked to upgrade the facilities at Alfredian Park. In the past twenty years the main pitch has been renewed and a training pitch has been established. Two new and additional pitches have been formed, enabling five full sized pitches (including the adjacent School pitches) to be used by the growing number of teams supported by the Club (the Club supports teams, both boys and girls, from U7s upwards, and since 2016-2017, also a Ladies team). The Club has recently been granted planning permission for the installation of a 3G pitch, which shows the continued investment in the facilities

Correct at 6.00pm Saturday 3rd October 2021 The Southern League Division One Central

The Southern League Division One Central

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Manager - Peter Gill Assistant - Sean Greygoose GK Coach - Gary Dean Physio - Craig Lambert Kitman - Mick Hunt

Manager - Matt Biddle Snr Coach - James Keller Coach - Jack Wells GK Coach - Rich Plumb Physio - Tom Jeffreys

Squad List

Louis Chadwick (GK) George Whitehall (GK) Dequane Wilson-Braithwaite Mamadou Jobe Lee Watkins (c) Callum Anderson Joe Rider Neo Richard-Noel Myles Cowling Wynford Marfo Charlie Johnson Joe Sutton Charley Barker Aaron Smith Ryan Thomas Harvey Steel Jake Battersby Ben Heal Julinho Gomes Brendon Shabani Kwai Marsh-Brown Ayub Kadiri

Joe Gorman Harry Brock Jake Pemberton Roberto Di Segni Charlie Kille Jack Alexander Sam Hartley Aleks Novakovic Josh Tooke James Hammond Isaac Shaw Harvey Scholes Haydn Price Rhys King Lewis Crosbie Alex Stott Haydn Price Sam Gubbins Ben Lodge Ryan Sagar Ryan Knight Mark Francis Jack Wells

Colours Navy/Light Blue quarters Dark blue short Light blue socks

Colours Red Shirts Red Shorts Red Socks

Referee Jorden Gibson

Assistant 1 Douglas Lawson

Next Match V Aylesbury United Saturday 23rd October 3.00 pm KO

Assistant 2 A N Other Next Home Match V Waltham Abbey Saturday 30th October 3.00 pm KO Gates Open 1.30pm