Football came home on Saturday as the Spartan South Midlands League resumed following the Covid break, although for many clubs life remains tough as tea bars and clubhouses remain closed leaving them looking for other ways to attract much needed finances into their coffers.
SATURDAY’S HEADLINES
Biggleswade United are in ‘seventh heaven’ after winning at Aylesbury Vale Dynamos, the result being United’s best away day since winning 7-1 at Wootton Blue Cross in the FA Vase back in September 2014. Pitstone & Ivinghoe remain the league’s only club with a 100% record after a late winner. Colney Heath and Bedford both taste league defeat for the first time this campaign. The weekend brought about 97 goals from the 21 games (an average of 4.62 per game) with Mason Spence (Milton Keynes Irish) and Codi-Lee Spavins (Biggleswade United) leading the way with a four goal hauls while Christopher Stapleton (Dunstable Town) and Danny Watson (Crawley Green) both netted hat-tricks.
Saturday Stats: 21 games played of which 12 were home wins, 7 were away wins and 2 draws.
100% league record to date: Pitstone & Ivinghoe.
Saturday’s Highest Attendances: 314 Leighton Town v Newport Pagnell Town, 151 Harpenden Town v Arlesey Town and 143 Eynesbury Rovers v Dunstable Town.
Season’s Highest Attendances to date (Premier Division Clubs): 320 Leighton Town v Leiston (FA Cup), 320 Leighton Town v Biggleswade United and 315 Leighton Town v Leverstock Green.
Season’s Highest Attendances to date (Division One Clubs): 315 New Salamis v West Essex (FA Cup), 285 Winslow United v Newport Pagnell Town (FA Cup) and 280 Ampthill Town v Walthamstow (FA Vase).
Season’s Highest Attendances to date (Division Two Clubs): 109 Codicote v Berkhamsted Comrades, 103 Codicote v New Bradwell St Peter and 92 Codicote v Pitstone & Ivinghoe.
Saturday 12th December
PREMIER DIVISION
Eynesbury Rovers remain at the top of the Premier Division standings despite being held at home by Dunstable Town 3-3, the hosts securing a point thanks to a last minute equalizer. Biggleswade United move up into second place level on points with the leaders after producing their biggest away win for six years with a 7-2 drubbing of Aylesbury Vale Dynamos. Colney Heath drop to third after they suffered their first league defeat of the season at Leverstock Green, a result made even more remarkable when the hosts were reduced to ten men after just five minutes play. Heath having gone ahead found themselves trailing 1-2 at the break before levelling on the hour mark before conceding the winner with 18 minutes remaining. At the bottom London Colney remain rooted following a 3-5 defeat behind closed doors at Crawley Green while Edgware Town, now under new management, came from behind at the interval to defeat high flying Harefield United 3-1, the club’s first home league win of the season. North Greenford United picked up a useful point in their relegation battle with a 3-3 draw at Oxhey Jets, a penalty six minutes from time securing the point for the visitors. Potton United and Leighton Town maintained their title ambitions with 2-1 home wins, Potton defeating Broadfields United while Leighton overcame Newport Pagnell Town. Elsewhere Tring Athletic were beaten 0-2 at home by Baldock Town while Harpenden Town edged out the threat of visiting Arlesey Town by the odd goal in three. Full results and goalscorers are listed below.
2-7 Aylesbury Vale Dynamos v Biggleswade United (Baldwin, Owusu) / (Spavins [4], Dave Parkinson [2], Clayton) Attendance: 79
5-3 Crawley Green v London Colney (Watson [3] [1 pen], Crook, Blackman) / (Cleaver 2], Ismail) Attendance: 0 (Behind Closed Doors)
3-1 Edgware Town v Harefield United (Coker [2], White) / (Farhall) Attendance: 78
3-3 Eynesbury Rovers v Dunstable Town (Bradbury, Moss, Andrews) / (Stapleton [3] [1 pen]) Attendance: 143
2-1 Harpenden Town v Arlesey Town (Scott [pen], Rickman) / (Carvalho [pen]) Attendance: 151
2-1 Leighton Town v Newport Pagnell Town (Collier [2]) / (Stronge) Attendance: 314
3-2 Leverstock Green v Colney Heath (Wilkes, Ovington, Jowle) / (Woods, Mealing) Attendance: 81
3-3 Oxhey Jets v North Greenford United (Putman, Sweeney, Stead) / (Mitchell [2] [1 pen], Brosnan) Attendance: 83
2-1 Potton United v Broadfields United (Andrews, Thomas) / (Anderson-Richards) Attendance: 74
0-2 Tring Athletic v Baldock Town (Hay, Furness) Attendance: 95
DIVISION ONE
Milton Keynes Irish take over at the top of the table after thumping winless London Tigers on their travels, the Buckinghamshire side winning 6-1. Shefford Town & Campton moved into second spot with a 4-0 home success against previously unbeaten Bedford while London Lions are third thanks to a solitary goal from the penalty spot by Lee Goldberg at Winslow United. At the other end of the table heavy defeats for Park View and Hillingdon Borough left them with an uphill battle as they look to avoid the drop, Park View were beaten 0-5 at home by New Salamis and Hillingdon Borough suffered a 0-4 defeat at the ever improving Stotfold. The day’s other action saw Ampthill Town winning 3-2 at Rayners Lane thanks to a last gasp penalty. Full results and goalscorers (where known) are listed below.
1-6 London Tigers v Milton Keynes Irish FC (Unknown) / (Spence [4], Clarkson, Coleman) Attendance: 80
0-5 Park View v New Salamis (C Georgiou [2], Foster, Piggott, Rosero) Attendance: 0 (Behind Closed Doors)
2-3 Rayners Lane v Ampthill Town (Davis [2]) / (Butler, Darvall, Cerminara [pen]) Attendance: 61
4-0 Shefford Town & Campton v Bedford (Unknown) Attendance: 89
4-0 Stotfold v Hillingdon Borough (Barnes [2], Robertson, Ryan) Attendance: 86
0-1 Winslow United v London Lions (Goldberg [pen]) Attendance: 73
DIVISION TWO
Old Bradwell United continue to set the pace at the top, the morning leaders eased their way to another three points with a 4-0 home win against struggling Mursley United. Pitstone & Ivinghoe moved into second place having twice come from behind to record a hard fought 3-2 success at Buckingham United while Codicote drop to third after surprisingly being beaten at MK Gallacticos by the odd goal in five after being 2-0 up at one stage, the hosts now lie fourth in the standings. Elsewhere both Berkhamsted clubs moved into the top six, Berkhamsted Raiders are fifth after defeating Aston Clinton 3-2 at home while Berkhamsted Comrades are one place lower, level on points and goal difference but having scored four goal less, after beating visiting New Bradwell St Peter 3-0. Full results and goalscorers (where known) listed below.
3-0 Berkhamsted Comrades v New Bradwell St Peter (Bonner, Hemington, Tabor) Attendance: Unknown
3-2 Berkhamsted Raiders v Aston Clinton (Mullins, Wood [pen], Brown) / (Unknown) Attendance: 40
2-3 Buckingham United v Pitstone & Ivinghoe (Ginger [2] [both pens]) / (Hall, Wells, Downes) Attendance: 78
3-2 MK Gallacticos v Codicote (Lines [2], Wreh) / (Chavhundra, Antcliff) Attendance: 30
4-0 Old Bradwell United v Mursley United (Butler [2], Ferris [pen], Cribb) Attendance: 47
AND FINALLY
The result of this week’s Team of the Day Poll with 314 votes cast is:-
Leverstock Green 48.7%
Biggleswade United 41.1%
MK Gallacticos and Shefford Town & Campton 5.1%
Don’t forget that every Sunday afternoon the Non-League Show on Three Counties Radio (Herts, Beds & Bucks), a show all about local non-league football. The popular show presented by Ollie Bayliss has been increased to two hours each week and moves to a new day and time, every Sunday afternoon from 2.00pm – 4.00pm and is the perfect opportunity to catch up with our local non-league scene at all levels.
For those who missed it then you can catch up here:-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09038vd
The Twittersphere once again produced a couple of gems with Mike Motson the new tweeter for Aylesbury Vale Dynamos enlightening me with this one ‘Goal!!! Bored now … will only tweet when Biggleswade score 1-6’. Elsewhere I appear to have missed Manchester United’s relegation to the United Counties League, ‘BREAKING: Manchester United are out of the #UCL’.
Finally can you work out which two clubs (that participated in this season’s FA Cup) are facing each other in this fantasy game based upon their former names?
LSS Lucarlys (Northern Premier League) v Malex (Spartan South Midlands League)