Tuesday 8 November - SSML Results/Reports

[Rhodes]

Karen is on a go sIow this midweek:

Tuesday 8 November (aII kick off 7.45pm)  

Premier Division
Baldock Town v Risborough Rangers
Leighton Town v Harpenden Town
Stotfold v Colney Heath
Tring Athletic v Shefford Town & Campton 

SSML ChaIIenge Trophy Second Round
Dunstable Town v Moulton FC

Berks & Bucks FA Senior Cup First Round
Buckingham Athletic v Flackwell Heath

Leicestershire & RutIand FA Senior Cup Second Round
Lutterworth Athletic v Desford & Caterpillar FC (at North Kilworth FC)

Edited November 7, 2022 by Rhodes

[Rhodes]

7 hours ago, Rhodes said:

Tuesday 8 November  

Premier Division
Leighton Town v Harpenden Town

 The match programme:

2022-11-08 Leighton Town v Harpenden Town Programme by leightontownfc - Issuu

[Karen Browne]

18 hours ago, Rhodes said:

Tuesday 8 November (aII kick off 7.45pm)  

Berks & Bucks FA Senior Cup First Round
Buckingham Athletic v Flackwell Heath

Postponed waterlogged pitch - new date Tuesday 15 November

[Rhodes]

21 hours ago, Rhodes said:

Tuesday 8 November 

Premier Division
Stotfold v Colney Heath

Can Stotfold extend their lead at the top of the Premier Division table: 

[Rhodes]

21 hours ago, Rhodes said:

Tuesday 8 November 

SSML ChaIIenge Trophy Second Round
Dunstable Town v Moulton FC

Will this be a case of how many Dunstable Town score or can Moulton FC make a fist of it: 

[Rhodes]

On 07/11/2022 at 22:22, Rhodes said:

Tuesday 8 November 

Premier Division
Baldock Town v Risborough Rangers

How do we see this affair going, see the match programme:  

files.pitchero.com/clubs/1770/uzBCkpqnRemUArbakhFD_Programme_Vol+15_Iss9_Risborough.pdf

Edited November 10, 2022 by Rhodes

[Rhodes]

21 hours ago, Rhodes said:

Tuesday 8 November 

Premier Division
Tring Athletic v Shefford Town & Campton 

The match programme:

https://issuu.com/tringafc/docs/2022.11.08_shefford_town_campton

[Rhodes]

The resuIts:

Tuesday 8 November  

Premier Division
Baldock Town 2 Risborough Rangers 0
Leighton Town 3 Harpenden Town 0
Stotfold 4 Colney Heath 3
Tring Athletic 4 Shefford Town & Campton 2 

SSML ChaIIenge Trophy Second Round
Dunstable Town 2 Moulton FC 3

Berks & Bucks FA Senior Cup First Round
Buckingham Athletic P Flackwell Heath

Leicestershire & RutIand FA Senior Cup Second Round
Lutterworth Athletic 5 Desford & Caterpillar FC 3

Edited November 9, 2022 by Rhodes

[Rhodes]

21 minutes ago, Rhodes said:

Tuesday 8 November  

Premier Division
Baldock Town 2 Risborough Rangers 0

A good win for Baldock Town, here's their Iine up.

[Rhodes]

11 hours ago, Rhodes said:

Tuesday 8 November  

Premier Division
Stotfold 4 Colney Heath 3

A groundhopper from another Forum was in attendance, George Georgiou hasn't wasted any time in turning round Colney Heath's fortunes:

Stotfold 4 v 3 Colney Heath - South Midlands League Premier Division
Programme 32 pages £1.50 - Admission £7.00 (nc) - Att. 139
There was the usual amount of apprehension between attending a contest between a clearly in form top of the table team against visiting opponents who are second bottom and had picked up a meagre five points all season. Apprehension dispensed by a surprisingly good display from Colney Heath that contributed to one of the best matches seen this season.
The presumption was that the unanticipated performance from the visitors was due in part to a recent change in Manager with ex prolific scorer at Purfleet George Georgiou now in charge, he has brought in several more experienced players (noted a couple from FC Romania) whose ability having played at a higher level and confidence made sure that this contest did not end up horribly one sided. I was equally impressed by Stotfold, they were patient in their approach during the first half when seeking an equaliser and cleverly changed their tactics in the second half utilising the wind and becoming much more direct in their approach.
Due to a pre-arranged Service of Remembrance with representatives of the local British Legion and the various youth teams we did not commence proceedings until 19.53. However, within two minutes the visitors had taken a surprise lead with Jayden Silcott-Brown dispossessing Aaron Hector in his own half, speeding forward and directing an excellent angled shot into the corner. There was more than a hint of a foul when Silcott-Brown gained possession and Hector and the home bench made their points rather too firmly and persistently to the Referee who later in the half, cautioned Hector and dismissed the Stotfold Manager.
Having taken the lead, Colney Heath were forced to defend in depth for the vast majority of the first half, their cause was not helped by the sin binning of Alex Cathline by a referee who was very firm in his approach where his decisions were questioned. Difficulty for Stotfold was the over reliance on crosses into the middle which were headed clear by the massed Colney Heath defence. Stotfold should have levelled when Dan Sears whose run into the penalty area was not picked up by the visiting defence glanced a close-range header wide after an excellent inswinging corner from Jordan Stevenson. A Stotfold equaliser did arrive in a slightly fortunate manner when a pass forward from Stevenson was deflected off of Deondre Pascoe's studs thus eluding Adrian Darabant who had come too far forward, Mason Spence retrieved possession just in front of the byline and his low cross was touched in at the near post by Archie Sayer. Stotfold continued to push forward and could have taken the lead in the final minutes of the half but good control from Stevenson was not matched by a misdirected shot which travelled the wrong side of the far post.
With the wind favouring the hosts in the second half, it was not surprising that they adopted a much more direct approach reflected with a long ball forward in the opening minutes of the half which was controlled by Spence, he noticed Codi-Lee Spavins in space to his right and passed accordingly with Spavins having the required space to place past Darabant to give Stotfold the lead. At this point in time, the initial thought was that going behind would end Colney Heath's resistance, but within a minute they were level with a low cross from the right being met with a shot on the turn from Cathline which took a deflection and looped over a stranded Liam Gooch.
For the remainder of the second half, Stotfold had far more success with their more direct approach rather than attempting as was frequently the case in trying to force their way through a massed visiting defence. They could have retaken the lead when a cross from Aaron Diviney was directed towards Stevenson on the back post, but the bounce of the ball did not help, and he could only direct over the bar. A further low cross from Stevenson travelled through a forest of legs eluding all. We then had a rare Colney Heath attack which ended with Cathline seemingly being felled as he outpaced Diviney, however the referee surprised many by waving away the penalty appeals.
The fact that the hosts had so much possession was eventually going to translate into them taking the lead and this was achieved with twenty minutes left with a long ball taken by the wind reaching Spavins who cleverly let the bounce of the ball take the visiting defender out of the equation leaving Spavins to take a couple of touches and expertly place a shot just inside the far post. The visitor's resilience was again not ended, and they should have levelled when a powerful drive from Rory Gleeson rebounded off of Gooch's chest into the path of Cathline but he directed the rebound wide from close range. With minutes left, Stotfold established an unassailable two goal lead when a further long punt forward saw Spavins complete his hat trick outpacing the trailing visiting defender and despite an attempt to pull him back, he poked a shot wide of the advancing Darabant which found the net. In the fourth minute of the obligatory elongated period of stoppage time, Gleeson found the net with an excellent twenty yard effort, but by this stage there was no time available for the visitors to seek a leveller. Stotfold are a very good Level 5 team and are heading towards the Divisional Play-Offs at the very least, however, if their new found confidence and resilience is repeated, then the visitors should start accumulating a few wins to alleviate any fears of a second successive relegation.
First visit to the new(ish) environs of New Roker Park and like many of the previous reports from those who have made the journey, I was suitably impressed by the facilities with a reasonably sized stand and a small amount of cover on the far side. The ground move has certainly invigorated the club with numerous officials being visible and the attendance, which many Level 4 Clubs would welcome midweek, is one of the lowest that has been recorded at the venue this season. Giving the crystal ball a dust down and providing that the current impetus is maintained I would anticipate a Level 3 status within five years. One very minor grumble, is that I would not like to visit on a winters day when a northerly wind is blowing across the neighbouring flatlands as the ground is quite exposed on the edge of the village.
Arrived far too early into Stotfold and despite the fear that an apparition from the past could appear, the fact that it was dark and the village street lighting was not the brightest, a tour around a very pleasant village was undertaken. Particularly impressed by the area around The Green. Perhaps unwisely given the complaining limb not to enter either of the two hostelries around this area and thus arrived back at the ground with an hour prior to the scheduled kick off time.
The return journey though did put a dampener on what had been a very good evening. Knew that if the match finished at a reasonable time, then as per London Buck's visit the 22.05 departure from Arlesey could be reached. However, once we had the delayed start and then the obligatory plethora of stoppages it was 21.47 before proceedings were brought to a conclusion. In the end I only missed the above train by six minutes, however a swift pint in The Old Oak a GK tied pub near to Arlesey Station that was remembered from a number of visits three decades ago for having for a GK establishment a surprising number of guest ales was not possible as the establishment closes at 21.30 at the beginning of the week. The 22.35 service arrived on time, but at Stevenage the peace was disturbed by a large number of raucous Charlton supporters travelling back from Broadhall Way. The train was then diverted from the main line onto the Hertford loop meaning a half hour extended journey. Ended up on the last train from Fenchurch Street (though there was a later service from Liverpool Street if required) and it was fifty eight minutes into Wednesday before the locks were turned..

[Rhodes]

On 09/11/2022 at 01:13, Rhodes said:

Tuesday 8 November  

Premier Division
Leighton Town 3 Harpenden Town 0

A match report and photographs. 

Match Report: Leighton Town 3 - 0 Harpenden Town : First Team (leightontownfc.co.uk)

08/11/2022 Leighton Town v Harpenden Town - Images | Simon Gill (simongillphotography.com)

[Rhodes]

On 09/11/2022 at 01:13, Rhodes said:

Tuesday 8 November  

Premier Division
Tring Athletic 4 Shefford Town & Campton 2 

A match report and the line ups:

https://www.tringathletic.co.uk/teams/252691/match-centre/1-11116123/report