This coming Friday sees the welcome return to the Pilot Field of the fantastic soul singer Ola Onabule, after a well received debut appearance back in February. Ola has worked with a host of world class musical names, including Natalie Cole, Al Jarreau and Gladys Knight, and has also spent time as a session musician for Simply Red and George Michael, amongst others, but possibly one of Ola's proudest achievements though, was to be asked to perform at the much-heralded wedding of David and Victoria Beckham at Luttrellstown Castle near Dublin in 1999. Ola has just released his fifth album, full of original material, entitled 'In Emergency, Brake Silence', on his own independent label, Rugged Ram Records, and further information can be found on his website www.ola-onabule.co.uk. Tickets cost £7 on the night, but can be purchased in advance for just £5. Please contact the Club during office hours for further details.
It is with regret that the Club has taken the decision to call a halt to its regular Music Nights on Thursday evenings, due to an unexpectedly disappointing lack of support. This will also mean that the Clubhouse itself will remain closed on at least one evening a week and maybe more, as the poor support of the Club's fund-raising ventures makes the bar unsustainable in its own right. Music Nights will now become considerably less frequent, maybe just one Friday per month, and it would be wonderful to see a sharp increase in attendance figures, as the Club strives to retain financial stability.
On Thursday 28 July between 10.00am and 3.00pm, 300 footballers from United’s Youth and Ladies teams will be taking part in an event at the Pilot Field to raise money for children with cancer and leukaemia and their families. They are taking part in Kick for CLIC, a national event organised by the country's leading children’s cancer charity, CLIC Sargent. Everyone involved will be raising sponsorship and will be taking part in a ‘beat the goalie’ competition. The event is being organised by United director and Under 9 Colts manager Chris Russo. Chris lost her brother-in-law to cancer last year and became determined to do something in his memory. Having seen the information about Kick for CLIC on the Sussex FA website, Chris decided to get her Youth team involved and things have just snowballed from there. As well as the sponsored events, there will be numerous other attractions, including Soccer Elite’s inflatable football pitches and the chance to win footballs signed by Charlton Athletic's players and CLIC Sargent's patron, former England hero Gary Lineker. So come along on the day and support CLIC Sargent, whilst having a fun day out.
CLIC Sargent is there for every family whose child has cancer, caring every step of the way and providing individual support to children and young people with cancer and leukaemia and their families through clinical, psychosocial, emotional and financial services in hospital, at home and in the community across the United Kingdom, being a strong voice nationally and locally and aiding research into improving treatment and care. A photo call to launch the event has been arranged for 4.30pm on Monday 23 May at the Pilot Field, Anyone requiring further information should contact Chris Russo on 07980 495237 or Dan Powell, the Community Fundraising Manager for CLIC Sargent South East on 07917 096563. You can also visit the Kick for CLIC website at http://www.clic.org.uk/helping_us/events/kicking/.
The Club is pleased to announce that, for the 2005/06 season, the Youth section will be running two Under 18 teams. The current Under 18 side will be jointly managed by Dean Jinks and Ryan Light, the former Rye & Iden United manager. Ryan will bring with him a wealth of coaching experience and is looking forward to returning to the Pilot Field. There will be trials for the team at the end of June and further details will be announced on the website nearer the time. The second team will be run by Paul Greenaway and Scott Vickers, who have joined United from the Hastings Town Youth set-up. The Club, and the Youth section in particular, welcomes them all ahead of what will hopefully be a rewarding season.
United are today pleased to announce the capture of the first three new signings of the summer, more than three months ahead of the start of their new Ryman League campaign. Ade and Tim Olorunda will be returning to the Pilot Field next season and they will be joined by striker Sam Adams, all three having decided to leave Sussex County League runners-up Rye & Iden United. Indeed, all three played their part in Rye & Iden's Hastings Senior Cup final success over United last month, Tim scoring Rye & Iden's goal during normal time, before Ade struck the decisive penalty in the shoot-out that followed. The signing of three such talented, young and local players should be seen as a real sign of United's intent to develop and strengthen their squad over the coming months and the Club will hope to announce further additions in due course.
The new Ryman League Division One line-up was announced this week, as United begin preparations for what everyone hopes will be a vigorous promotion challenge in the 2005/06 season. At this stage, it would appear that the division will contain twenty-three teams next season, with the Football Association having decided to promote nine clubs from level five of the pyramid, despite there officially being only eight promotion places available. Two of the teams vying for promotion, Combined Counties League champions Walton Casuals and Wessex League champions Lymington & New Milton, were initially eliminated from the equation after their respective grounds failed to meet the necessary grading criteria. but both were reinstated on appeal and both have been placed in the Ryman League Division One, along with Kent League champions Ramsgate. As expected, Kingstonian, Dover Athletic and Tonbridge Angels will also be joining us, following their relegation from the Ryman League Premier Division. The new Ryman League season is due to get underway on 20 August and the new fixture list will be added to the site when it is published by the league. It was announced this week that The Ryman Group have agreed to renew their sponsorship of the Isthmian League for a further three years. The current deal had expired at the end of the 2004/05 season and it was believed that Ryman were planning to withdraw their support, so the new £250,000 deal will no doubt come as some relief to the league bosses.
Ahead of the league campaign, there will be the usual batch of pre-season friendly games, with three matches confirmed thus far. Conference National side Crawley Town will be sending a side to the Pilot Field on Thursday 28 July for a charity match in aid of the Alzheimer's Society. Two days later, another Conference National side, Gravesend & Northfleet will be paying United a visit and on Saturday 13 August, United will be away to Ryman League Premier Division Worthing. Further friendly fixtures will be announced in due course.
On the playing front, it will be some time before Neville Southall is in a position to start naming his 2005/06 squad, but the Club is already speaking with a number of potential new signings. Full details will be provided as they become available, although that is unlikely to be for some time yet of course.
The Club is pleased to confirm that First Team admission prices will remain unchanged for next season, at £6 for adults, £3 for senior citizens and disabled supporters and £2 for under 16s. Season tickets are currently available at £95 for adults, £47 for senior citizens and disabled supporters and £31 for under 16s. They remain valid for all home league and friendly matches and can be purchased from the Secretary's office. Please note though, that the office will be closed for one week from 23 May.
The Club is also delighted to announce and to welcome a new director and shareholder in Christine Russo, who has been involved in managing United's Under 9 Colts team this season. One of Chris' key roles will be to act as a liaison between the Club and its Youth and Ladies sections and she was an instrumental figure as the Club's new Schools Development Programme got up and running last Monday. Chairman Dave Walters and three United coaches attended St Mary Star of the Sea School in Magdalen Road that morning, where a class of Year Three pupils took part in a one hour football coaching session, organised by the Club. All of the children had enormous fun as they showed off their soccer skills to the coaches on The Oval, adjacent to the school. The Club provided all of the equipment for the session, with its principal aim to bring grass roots football to the community, through this new initiative.
The afternoon saw the Club move on to St Leonards Church of England School in Collingswood Drive, where a class of Year Two students took to the playing field. Persistent rain eventually put paid to the outdoor activities, but the Club has agreed to return to the school, in order to carry out a complete session at a later date. All of the children who attend these courses will receive a certificate of participation and a free pass to a First Team league game next season.
Tuesday evening saw the finals of a local Primary Schools' Girls' mini tournament at the Pilot Field, rain not stopping play on this occasion, and West St Leonards won the event with St Mary Star of the Sea in the runners up spot. The event was well attended by a crowd of around 100 parents, teachers and children.
On Saturday 14 May, there will be a further Girls' Schools' tournament at the Pilot Field, which has been organised by Hastings United Ladies and the Schools Football Association. The day will kick off at 9.00am and thirty local schools will be taking part.
Congratulations to George Wakeling's Bromley, who became the inaugural winners of the Ryman League Division One play-off final yesterday, after a 3-1 victory away to Horsham. They join AFC Wimbledon and Walton & Hersham in promotion to level three of the non-league pyramid for the 2005/06 season. Other level four play-off winners yesterday were Maldon Town and Evesham United in the Southern League and AFC Telford United in the Unibond League Division One.
Eastleigh beat Leyton 2-1 to win the Ryman League Premier Division final, with Hednesford Town winning 1-0 at Chippenham Town in the Southern League equivalent. And up at level two, our neighbours Eastbourne Borough followed up Thursday's superb 4-2 win at Thurrock with an even better 3-0 victory at Cambridge City yesterday, earning themselves a trip to Stoke City's Britannia Stadium next Sunday, where they will meet Altrincham for the right to join the Conference National next season.
At last Wednesday evening's Committee meeting, it was decided to remove the forum facility from the official site, following the latest in a string of posts containing speculative and potentially damaging information concerning personal details of individual players and management. At no stage has the Club ever sought to deny people the right to express their views on footballing matters, whether supportive or not, but it was felt that the Club could no longer endorse a forum that was being used to spread such divisive rumours. If anyone has any comments or questions, please feel free to email me at the Webmaster address.
Contrary to certain speculation on the forum, nobody within the Club has gone, or will go, out of their way to try to convince supporters that the 2004/05 season was anything other than a disappointment on the playing front, as far as both the First and Reserve Teams were concerned. When the season kicked off back in August, everyone had high hopes of United at least being able to mount a serious promotion challenge in their debut Ryman League Division One campaign, with the play-offs to fall back on if a top two finish became out of reach. The poor run of results throughout much of October and November, which ultimately led to Steve Lovell's departure as manager, was sadly to be United's undoing and it is hard to imagine many clubs managing to cope with the upheaval that United endured, with so many players departing at that time. Neville Southall's appointment as Steve's permanent successor did bring some much needed off-field stability, but it was impossible for Neville to build a successful squad from his mid-season starting point and some indifferent end of season form forced us all to settle for an eleventh place finish. Everyone at the Club is now 100% committed to putting the groundwork in place to build a squad capable of winning promotion during the 2005/06 season and news of any developments will be published as soon as possible after the summer break.
For the time being, I am working on an end of season review, lest anyone should care to relive anything that has occurred during the last nine months. David will be working on some further improvements to the site, so please let him know, via the Webmaster address, if anyone has any sensible suggestions or ideas. And for now, to counteract some of those feelings of doom and gloom, there follows a list, in no particular order, of some of the good things that have happened to the Club this year and some of the reasons why we should try to look ahead with a touch more optimism than is currently prevalent.
In other words, this is a great family club to be involved with and will continue to be so for many years to come.
Briefly, on the playing front once again, the Reserves ended their season on May Day Bank Holiday Monday with a 4-1 defeat away to Ramsgate Reserves in the Kent League Division One. As he had done on Saturday, Nicky Stiles grabbed United's consolation goal, as the lads suffered their fourth heavy defeat in their last five matches, which ultimately saw them relegated, finishing in eleventh place in the table, four points from safety.
Tonight saw the two Ryman League Division One play-off semi-finals take place, with Horsham beating ten man Cray Wanderers 3-1 after extra time at Queen Street, and ten man Bromley seeing off Metropolitan Police 4-3 on penalties, after a 1-1 draw at Hayes Lane. Bromley will now visit Horsham for the final on Saturday, with the winners earning promotion to level three of the non-league pyramid.
The Football Association also announced today that Ramsgate, Enfield Town and Ilford have all been accepted for promotion to level four, along with four other sides, and the winners of a play-off final between Didcot Town and either Enfield or Winchester City. Geographical reorganisation of the existing level four leagues will take place when all of the play-offs are concluded and the precise make-up of next season's Ryman League Division One will be announced in due course.
There were issues to be resolved at the top and bottom of the Ryman League Division One table yesterday afternoon, with three sides chasing two remaining play-off places and three more sides battling to avoid being relegated along with Croydon. In the end, not a great deal changed positionally speaking, although Cray's home defeat to promoted Walton & Hersham saw them slip into sixth place and they will now have to visit third placed Horsham in the play-off semi-finals. Bromley's final day win at Banstead kept them ahead of Metropolitan Police in the table, so the two of them will meet at Hayes Lane in the other semi-final, both matches taking place on Tuesday evening. Leatherhead agonisingly missed out on goal difference only, after a comfortable home win over Croydon Athletic yesterday, a result which did allow United to sneak back into the top half of the table in eleventh place.
At the bottom, Fleet, Ashford and Dorking all went into the final weekend needing wins to enhance their chances of staying up, but all three managed to lose, which meant that Dorking remained in twenty-first place, just a point behind Ashford in the end, but enough to see them drop down to level five of the non-league pyramid next season.
In the Premier Division, Cheshunt joined Tonbridge, Dover and Kingstonian in relegation to level four, although no more than three of the four will be playing Ryman League Division One football next season, Cheshunt being the geographically least likely. Ilford finished as champions of Division Two yesterday, with Enfield pipping Brook House to the runners-up spot. The top two, along with Walton Casuals, Enfield Town, Ramsgate and Lymington & New Milton could be promoted in the close season, with two potentially replacing Croydon and Dorking, and more depending on further restructuring.
For the record, here are the final Division One regular season results of the season. Banstead Athletic 0-1 Bromley, Burgess Hill Town 1-3 AFC Wimbledon, Cray Wanderers 1-2 Walton & Hersham, Croydon 2-2 Hastings United, Dulwich Hamlet 4-1 Corinthian-Casuals, Horsham 5-0 Ashford Town, Leatherhead 3-0 Croydon Athletic, Metropolitan Police 4-1 Fleet Town, Molesey 3-3 Newport IoW, Tooting & Mitcham United 2-0 Bashley, Whyteleafe 3-1 Dorking.
The Reserves failed in their bid to retain their place in the Kent League Division One yesterday, when they suffered another heavy home defeat, 5-1 to third in the table Cray Wanderers Reserves. The defeat left Tim Holland and Alan Green's young side four points adrift of safety with only one game to play, at Ramsgate Reserves tomorrow. It means that United will now drop into Division Two for the first time since the Kent League was restructured a couple of seasons ago. The lads will also be taking part in a new midweek competition, involving the leading intermediate sides from Sussex, more on which will be confirmed in due course.
United head into their final game of the 2004/05 season at Croydon tomorrow with nothing more than pride left to play for, after a miserable run of one win in ten matches long since ended their play-off challenge. Compared with Croydon though, United's season has been perfectly acceptable, as the South London side are set to finish bottom of the Ryman League Division One table following an end of season run of one win in thirteen matches, which United will hope to extend by one tomorrow.
Danny Spice has become United's latest injury victim, having suffered a calf problem in Wednesday night's Hastings Senior Cup final against Rye & Iden United. He will miss the visit to the Croydon Sports Arena, as will Chris Honey, although United do welcome back goalkeeper Matt Brown from illness, David Henham from a long term injury lay-off and Marcus Sawyerr, who was unavailable on Wednesday. United will take a fifteen man squad to the game, allowing Dominic Cruttenden and Sam Harris-Green to link up with the Reserves squad for their crucial Pilot Field encounter with Cray Wanderers Reserves.
The full First Team squad heading to Croydon will be Richard Bolton, Matt Brown, Andy Ducille, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Stephen Graham, David Henham, Peter Mortley, Sean Ray, Shaun Reece, Carl Rook, Steve Sands, Marcus Sawyerr, Peter Sayer and Mitchell Sherwood.
The Reserves have two more fixtures left in which to secure their Kent League Division One survival after a season that has been continually disrupted by player upheaval. Technically, United could still escape relegation with a win and a draw from their remaining matches, but in that scenario, the victory would need to be by a minimum of nine clear goals, given United's inferior goal difference to Herne Bay Reserves, the team directly above them. Tomorrow's visitors have already secured third place in the table and are likely to prove tough opposition for Tim Holland and Alan Green's young side. United then end their campaign with a trip to Ramsgate Reserves, currently fifth in the table, on Bank Holiday Monday.
Tomorrow's fifteen man Reserve Team squad is set to be Alan Aboalzahb, Mark Butler, David Colvin-Morgan, Dominic Cruttenden, Josh Dando, Joe Harmer, Sam Harris-Green, Yeson Loaiza, Darren McDonald, Jamie McGuigan, Charles Morgan, Rob O'Shaughnessy, Daniel Skelton, Nicky Stiles and Damien White.
To finish on some really positive news, everyone at the Club would like to extend its warmest congratulations to United's Under 15 side, who were last weekend crowned champions of the Crowborough & District League Division A, under the guidance of Barry Emery and Andy Thomson. Well done to all those involved in what has clearly been a wonderfully successful season.
The Supporters' Club handed out its annual awards this afternoon, ahead of the final home league match of the campaign, as has been the tradition for many years now. It came as no real surprise that defensive colossus, occasional striker and stand-in penalty taker Sean Ray took the honours as Player of the Year, polling over two-thirds of the votes cast. Sean has had a truly outstanding debut season with United, scoring six goals in thirty-eight appearances to date, and excelling in his chief role at the heart of United's defensive unit. Two of his colleagues, Peter Mortley and Richard Bolton, were placed second and fourth respectively, either side of popular striker Chris Honey, with skipper Jimmy Elford finishing in fifth place.
The vote for the home Goal of the Season was deservedly won by Marcus Sawyerr for his stunning free kick against AFC Wimbledon on 19 February. The runner-up was Steve Ringwood's, and United's, very first goal of the league campaign, a left foot volley from an acute angle against Fleet Town way back on 14 August. Congratulations to Sean and Marcus on their awards and thankyou to everyone who took the trouble to vote over the last few weeks.
The penultimate weekend of the Ryman League season failed to resolve the outstanding issues at either end of the table, with play-off and relegation places still up for grabs heading into the final set of games next Saturday. Whilst the two promoted sides both won, Horsham were held to a draw at Fleet and could yet finish as low as fifth, despite only slipping out of automatic promotion contention last weekend. Cray's defeat at AFC Wimbledon allowed Bromley to close the gap with a win at home to Dulwich, while Metropolitan Police's draw at struggling Ashford, coupled with Leatherhead's win at the Pilot Field, kept the race well and truly alive. Indeed, only Horsham are absolutely guaranteed a play-off place at present, although it is inconceivable that Cray will miss out thanks to their huge goal difference. Next week, Bromley visit Banstead, while Metropolitan Police entertain Fleet and Leatherhead are at home to Croydon Athletic. Tooting & Mitcham, Burgess Hill and Whyteleafe all dropped out of the race today.
At the bottom end, wins today for Banstead and Newport ensured their survival for another season. With Fleet, Ashford and Dorking all drawing though, all three go into the final weekend in fear of the drop. Dorking's inferior goal difference suggests that they must win at Whyteleafe to stand any chance of staying up. Ashford visit Horsham, while Fleet are at Imber Court, and wins for both will avoid them the ignominy of joining Croydon in relegation. United's final opponents lost again this afternoon, making it ten goals conceded and none scored in their last two games, which were against fellow strugglers Banstead and Newport.
Here are all of today's Division One scores. AFC Wimbledon 3-0 Cray Wanderers, Ashford Town 0-0 Metropolitan Police, Bashley 0-1 Banstead Athletic, Bromley 2-0 Dulwich Hamlet, Corinthian-Casuals 1-1 Molesey, Croydon Athletic 5-3 Burgess Hill Town, Dorking 0-0 Tooting & Mitcham United, Fleet Town 1-1 Horsham, Hastings United 0-1 Leatherhead, Newport IoW 4-0 Croydon, Walton & Hersham 1-0 Whyteleafe.
In the Premier Division today, Tonbridge's 1-0 defeat at Harrow saw them relegated, along with Dover and Kingstonian. Cheshunt, Harrow or Wealdstone will become the fourth relegated side next week, and three of the four will slip into Division One next season, unless geographical restructuring leads to one or two of this year's Southern League sides being switched to the Isthmian League set-up, in the same way United were at the end of last season. All will become clear during the summer I am sure. Meanwhile, Ilford, Brook House and Enfield are battling over the top two places in Division Two heading into the final set of matches next weekend. Kent League champions Ramsgate are among a host of other sides also seeking promotion to level four of the non-league pyramid, although the exact destinations of all the promotion candidates will not be confirmed for some while.
The Club is pleased to announce its decision to reduce admission prices by 50% for Saturday's match against Leatherhead, the final home league game of the 2004/05 campaign. This is simply a gesture of thanks to all United supporters for sticking by the Club during what has ultimately proved to be another largely disappointing season, but one that will end with the Club in a somewhat healthier position than it found itself in twelve months ago. Don't forget that Saturday will also see the presentation of the Supporters' Club awards for Player and Goal of the Season, with the trophies being handed out before kick off.
There were two matches in the Ryman League Division One this evening, with relevance to both the play-off and relegation issues. Sixth met fifth at Hayes Lane, with Bromley and Metropolitan Police sharing a 1-1 draw that did little to greatly enhance the promotion prospects of either side. Meanwhile at the other end of the table, Ashford moved back out of the bottom two thanks to a 4-1 win at home to Bashley. Dorking now occupy twenty-first position, although just three points separate the five teams battling to avoid joining Croydon in relegation to level five of the non-league pyramid.
The Ryman League Division One automatic promotion race came to an end at Horsham's Queen Street ground this afternoon, where Walton & Hersham picked up a surprisingly healthy 4-1 victory against the West Sussex side, who were their only rivals for the runners-up spot behind champions AFC Wimbledon. The Swans now head the Hornets by an unsurpassable eight points with only two games each remaining and also closed the gap at the top to a mere nine points, as the Dons struggled to a 1-1 draw at Tooting & Mitcham. Horsham could at least console themselves by the knowledge that they are now guaranteed to finish in one of the four play-off places, courtesy of Leatherhead's surprise 3-1 home defeat to Corinthian-Casuals, which saw the Tanners slip out of the top six, with Bromley moving in the opposite direction after a 2-0 win at Fleet. Cray's win over United and Metropolitan Police's 2-1 victory at home to Dorking have left them fourth and fifth respectively. Cray's outstanding goal difference means that they are all but certain of being involved in the play-offs and whichever side wins Tuesday's encounter between Bromley and Metropolitan Police will strongly fancy their chances as well.
Croydon said farewell to life in Division One this afternoon, effectively by half time when they trailed 5-0 to fellow relegation candidates Banstead. The home side added one more goal in the second half and Croydon were officially relegated as a result. With Ashford still holding a game in hand, at home to Bashley on Tuesday, their 2-0 home defeat to Whyteleafe may not prove as damaging as it might have done, considering that Newport edged out Dulwich 3-2 on the Isle of Wight to move four points clear of the bottom two. Dorking's defeat leaves them as our Kent neighbours' main rivals for the drop, although none of the other sides mentioned are in any way safe, and Fleet have been dragged into mire as well. An interesting couple of weeks lie ahead it would seem.
For the record, here are all of this afternoon's Division One scores. Ashford Town 0-2 Whyteleafe, Banstead Athletic 6-0 Croydon, Bashley 0-0 Croydon Athletic, Cray Wanderers 2-1 Hastings United, Fleet Town 0-2 Bromley, Horsham 1-4 Walton & Hersham, Leatherhead 1-3 Corinthian-Casuals, Metropolitan Police 2-1 Dorking, Molesey 3-0 Burgess Hill Town, Newport IoW 3-2 Dulwich Hamlet, Tooting & Mitcham United 1-1 AFC Wimbledon.
At the Pilot Field today, United Reserves suffered a huge body blow in their bid to avoid relegation to Division Two of the Kent League, when they were soundly beaten 4-1 by Danson Furness, against whom they had achieved a 3-3 draw the previous weekend. United got off to a dreadful start, conceding the opening goal within the first thirty seconds and a series of unfortunate individual errors allowed Danson to score a further three goals before half time. Some pride was restored after the interval, with Nicky Stiles converting a penalty to slightly reduce the deficit, but United's misery was compounded by the late sending off of defender Dhergaun Hadar for kicking out at an opponent in an off-the-ball incident, after Dhergaun himself had been felled by the same player, an offence not spotted by the officials. In a match that featured several unsavoury incidents, United manager Tim Holland was also threatened by a Danson player after a disagreement over a poor tackle on Damien White and emotions continued to run high through to the final whistle. Sadly, the match ended with United effectively needing to win their remaining two fixtures, at home to Cray in a fortnight and away to Ramsgate on May Day, to preserve their Division One status.
The solitary piece of good news for the Reserves this week has been the return of left sided midfielder Dominic Cruttenden, after a self-imposed month's exile playing for Westfield. Dominic went straight into the starting eleven this afternoon, which also included Sam Harris-Green, Rob O'Shaughnessy, Mark Butler, Joe Harmer, Liam Frejiszyn, Alan Aboalzahb and Yeson Loaiza, along with those others already mentioned.
Having finally been officially knocked out of the play-off race last weekend, United begin their end of season run-in with a second visit of the campaign to Bromley's Hayes Lane ground tomorrow, this time to take on last season's Kent League champions Cray Wanderers, who have been ground sharing with their divisional rivals this year. United will travel without Chris Honey, who has failed to shake off the ankle injury that forced him to hobble out of last Saturday's game with Bashley in the first half, and defender Richard Bolton, due to work commitments. Their places in the squad are taken by Stephen Graham and Steve Sands, while Peter Sayer also returns, as United name the following, fully rested sixteen man squad.
Matt Brown, Andy Ducille, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Stephen Graham, Jamie McGuigan, Peter Mortley, Lee Newman, Sean Ray, Shaun Reece, Carl Rook, Steve Sands, Marcus Sawyerr, Peter Sayer, Mitchell Sherwood and Danny Spice.
The Reserves will be in action at the Pilot Field against Danson Furness, in what appears to be a must-win game, with United needing two wins from their remaining three fixtures to avoid relegation. Tim Holland and Alan Green have again lost as many as five players to the senior squad, so the line-up is sure to have a youthful look for such an important game. United will be hoping that free-scoring striker Nicky Stiles in on good form once again, as they look to build on last week's fine 3-3 draw against the same opponents.
The Club would once again like to thank everybody who was involved in making last Sunday's charity match against Sky One's Dream Team such a great success. The healthy attendance of 572 allowed United to donate £750 to the South East Asia Fund and it is sincerely hoped that everyone enjoyed the event. The Dream Team cast were kind enough to leave the Club some signed merchandise after the game, a pair of shorts and half a dozen photos, which can be purchased on a first come first served basis by contacting the Club on 01424 444635. Offers of £30 for the shorts and £10 for the photos will be accepted.
Auction bids are still being accepted for the signed Chelsea First Team shirt, and will continue to be accepted until next Saturday's final home league game against Leatherhead. The bidding had reached £250 by 3.00pm on Monday, so if you would like to raise the stakes still further, please email your details to the website address, or contact the Club by telephone or in writing. A further auction is also underway for a walk-on part in the next series of Dream Team. Bids will be accepted in the same way as for the Chelsea shirt and the current high bid is £50 from Chairman Dave Walters.
United Reserves' hopes of avoiding relegation suffered a blow this evening when Herne Bay Reserves, United's chief rivals at the foot of the Kent League Division One table, won their final fixture of the season, 2-1 away to Ashford Town Reserves. The three points lifted the Kent side four clear of United, who have an inferior goal difference, and will almost certainly now need to pick up a minimum of five points from their remaining three matches to stay up. The first of those games is at home to Danson Furness this coming Saturday, seven days after United earned a 3-3 draw against the same opponents.
There has been just a single game in the Ryman League Division One this week, with Horsham winning 2-0 at Corinthian-Casuals, to close the gap on second placed Walton & Hersham to five points, ahead of their showdown at Queen Street on Saturday.
Finally, it is desperately sad to report the tragic death of Folkestone Invicta striker Paul Sykes, from a suspected heart attack, at the age of just twenty-eight. Paul collapsed half an hour into Invicta's Kent Senior Cup semi final with Margate, one of his former clubs, last night and paramedics were unable to revive him. Paul was a well known figure in Kent footballing circles, having also played for Welling United, Dover Athletic and Dartford, for whom he played against United in the Dr Martens League last season, and in a pre-season friendly at the Pilot Field last August. The Club would like to offer its deepest sympathies and condolences to Paul's family and friends.
What has seemed inevitable since last August finally came to pass this afternoon, as AFC Wimbledon's 1-0 victory at home to Metropolitan Police saw them crowned champions of Ryman League Division One, with three matches to spare. An eighth minute goal from New Zealand international striker Shane Smeltz was enough to secure a second successive league title for the Dons and congratulations to them as they celebrate this evening. Walton & Hersham's 2-1 win at home to struggling Ashford proved all the more crucial, as Horsham lost 1-0 at Whyteleafe to fall eight points behind the Swans in the race for the second automatic promotion place. The West Sussex side do have a game in hand, away to Corinthian-Casuals on Tuesday, and face their rivals at home next Saturday, with wins in both games surely essential, if Horsham are to avoid the lottery of the play-offs. Aside from the top two, it was a miserable day at the business end of the table, with all four sides occupying play-off places at the start of the day contriving to lose this afternoon. Leatherhead, Bromley and Burgess Hill all took advantage with wins today and although Bromley and Metropolitan Police have a game in hand on the rest of the challengers, it just happens to be against each other in ten days time. United's own play-off chance finally died even a mathematical death this afternoon and ninth place is the best that can now be achieved, although eleventh would appear a more likely outcome at this stage.
At the other end of the table, Croydon are virtually relegated after losing to Leatherhead today. Newport's 3-0 win at Corinthian-Casuals lifted them out of the bottom two at Ashford's expense, as Dorking beat Fleet and Banstead drew at Croydon Athletic. Croydon's next two games are at Banstead and Newport. Ashford play their game in hand at home to Bashley a week on Tuesday, the start of a tough run-in for them. Dorking's is perhaps tougher still though and, with only two points separating the four sides, it is all to play for to avoid the drop.
Here are all of this afternoon's results. AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Metropolitan Police, Bromley 3-2 Cray Wanderers, Burgess Hill Town 2-0 Tooting & Mitcham United, Corinthian-Casuals 0-3 Newport IoW, Croydon 1-3 Leatherhead, Croydon Athletic 1-1 Banstead Athletic, Dorking 2-1 Fleet Town, Dulwich Hamlet 1-1 Molesey, Hastings United 1-1 Bashley, Walton & Hersham 2-1 Ashford Town, Whyteleafe 1-0 Horsham.
United Reserves recovered from last weekend's mauling at the hands of Erith & Belvedere Reserves with an entirely respectable 3-3 draw away to Danson Furness this afternoon. The result did strangely little to improve United's chances of escaping relegation, but does augur well for the return match between the two sides at the Pilot Field next Saturday. Tim Holland and Alan Green had a full side at their disposal this week, but fell behind to an early penalty, before Nicky Stiles grabbed an almost instant equaliser. United went in trailing 2-1 at half time though and conceded a third goal soon after the restart, but showed immense character to come back with two goals in the final ten minutes, Nicky scoring his second and Alan Aboalzahb securing a share of the points. By the time of Danson's visit next weekend, United should have a pretty good idea of what will be required of them to avoid relegation, as the side directly above them in the table, Herne Bay Reserves, play their final match of the campaign away to Ashford Town Reserves on Wednesday evening. As long as Herne Bay manage no better than a draw, United will need three points from their final three matches to stay up, assuming bottom club Deal Town Reserves don't manage to win both of their remaining fixtures, away to Thamesmead Town Reserves and leaders Maidstone United Reserves.
A year to the day after their last visit, Bashley make the long trek from the New Forest to take on United at the Pilot Field tomorrow in what has become little more than a battle for mid-table bragging rights. Just a few short weeks ago, both United and Bashley were still very much in the play-off hunt, but runs of two wins in nine matches for both sides have all but ended any lingering hopes of escaping the First Division this season.
The United squad for tomorrow's match shows three changes from last week's unsuccessful visit to Metropolitan Police. Peter Mortley returns after missing the last two matches due to work commitments. Mitchell Sherwood, who has missed the same two matches through injury, is fit enough to rejoin the squad once again, and United will hope to give a debut to Lamin Saidykhan, a powerful defensive midfield player previously on Grimsby Town's books, who was initially signed a couple of months ago, only for the Club to lose contact with him almost immediately. Stephen Graham, Steve Sands and Jamie McGuigan all drop out of the squad and should link up with the Reserves for their trip to Danson Furness. Ben White's season appears to be over, as the midfielder requires an operation to cure an ankle problem.
The full sixteen man squad is due to be Richard Bolton, Matt Brown, Andy Ducille, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Chris Honey, Peter Mortley, Lee Newman, Sean Ray, Shaun Reece, Carl Rook, Lamin Saidykhan, Marcus Sawyerr, Peter Sayer, Mitchell Sherwood and Danny Spice.
Sunday's charity match against Sky One's Dream Team should see the majority of the First Team squad play some part, with members of the Reserve Team squad also likely to feature, alongside cameo appearances from Neville Southall, Vince Moorton, Terry and Dean White, Dave Walters, Arrow FM's Andy Knight and auction winner Clive Galbraith. The match will be refereed by our own Reserve Team Assistant Manager Alan Green and he will be assisted by two other local referees in Matt Goldsmith and Dennis Milward.
The Dream Team themselves have thus far confirmed that the following cast members will be coming to the game, with their character names in brackets. Terry Kiely (Karl Fletcher), Kara Tointon (Gina Moliano), Chucky Venice (Curtis Alexander), Robbie Gee (Linton Alexander), Ricky Whittle (Ryan Naismith), James Watts (Lee Presley), Tim Smith (Clyde Connelly), Michael Ryan (Dean Boyle) and Daffer L'Abidine (Marcel Sabatier)
Details of the raffle being held on the day have already been published, but the Club has now been fortunate enough to obtain a replica Chelsea shirt, signed by the Blues' current First Team squad. Rather than simply add this to an already impressive list of raffle prizes, the Club would like to auction the shirt separately and would like to invite bids by email, or in writing, containing your name, address and telephone number. Any written bids should be handed to a Football Club Committee member, or delivered to the Secretary's office. The auction will close on Saturday 23 April, the day of the final home game of the season against Leatherhead.
Preparations for Sunday morning's charity game against Sky One's Dream Team are now almost complete and the Club is pleased to be able to announce the winners of its email auction and mascot competition.
The highest bid received in the auction, to 'win' a fifteen minute appearance in the game, was £170 from Clive Galbraith, who is the Managing Director of one of the Club's Business Partners, Green Insurance Brokers Ltd, and a lifelong Everton fan. Thankyou to Clive for his generous bid and to everyone who took part in the auction over the course of the last couple of weeks. Clive will be joined in the Hastings United XI squad by Arrow FM's Breakfast Show DJ Andy Knight, who has agreed to make a cameo appearance. The full squad will be confirmed in due course.
The winner of the mascot competition was twelve year old Sophia Willis, who plays football for the Brighton & Hove Albion Centre of Excellence and whose brother Josh is a goalkeeper for United's Youth and Reserve Teams and recently enjoyed a trial at Queens Park Rangers. Sophia correctly answered that Carl Rook was United's leading goalscorer in Ryman League Division One matches, up to 17 March, and her name was selected at random from all the correct entries that were received. Thanks again to everyone who took part.
Don't forget that half price tickets for the game can be purchased from the Club before, during and after this Saturday's home game with Bashley. Saturday is also United's 'Kids for Free' day and anyone under the age of sixteen will be admitted to the Pilot Field free of charge, irrespective of whether or not they are accompanied by an adult. Saturday will also be the final opportunity to vote for your Player of the Year and Goal of the Season. The candidates for the latter award are Peter Sayer's chip in the friendly against Gillingham, Steve Ringwood's first goal of his hattrick against Fleet Town, Simon Rowland's late match winner against Banstead Athletic, and Marcus Sawyerr's free kick against AFC Wimbledon.
There was just the one midweek game in the Ryman League Division One this week, Banstead beating Dorking 3-0 in a crucial relegation battle. The three points lifted Banstead up a couple of places in the table, although they are still in trouble, only three points above the drop zone, with Dorking a couple of points and places worse off.
Finally, there have been one or two amendments to the events schedule for the next couple of months, so please take a look at the Music & Events page for full details. Forthcoming attractions include another return visit by the Barnstormers Comedy team on Tuesday 12 April, followed on Thursday 14 April by local rock band The Heaters, and then the return of Doors tribute band, Doors Alive, on Saturday 16 April. Admission prices are also to be found on the Music & Events page.
AFC Wimbledon were forced to put the champagne back on ice this afternoon, as they suffered their heaviest defeat of the season, and only their third in the league, losing 4-0 away to second placed Walton & Hersham. Horsham enjoyed an altogether less impressive 2-1 win at home to bottom of the table Croydon, but it was good enough to keep them in contention for the second automatic promotion place, which could well be decided when the Swans visit the Hornets in a couple of weeks. Cray's thumping win over Newport today may just about have tied up a play-off place, which would leave five sides battling for the two remaining places, with Metropolitan Police and Bromley having the advantage of a game in hand on the others. Down at the foot of the table, Croydon need a minimum of seven points from their last four games to stand any chance of staying up, but Ashford's sensational last gasp win over Tooting & Mitcham not only took them back out of the bottom two, but up three places to eighteenth. Newport have dropped into the second relegation place once again, with Banstead and Dorking in deep trouble as well and they play each other in a six pointer on Tuesday.
Here are all of this afternoon's Division One scores. Ashford Town 3-2 Tooting & Mitcham United, Banstead Athletic 0-0 Molesey, Bashley 0-3 Bromley, Cray Wanderers 5-0 Newport IoW, Croydon Athletic 0-1 Dulwich Hamlet, Dorking 0-2 Leatherhead, Fleet Town 2-1 Corinthian-Casuals, Horsham 2-1 Croydon, Metropolitan Police 1-0 Hastings United, Walton & Hersham 4-0 AFC Wimbledon, Whyteleafe 1-0 Burgess Hill Town.
United Reserves suffered an ignominious 12-1 drubbing away to title chasing Erith & Belvedere Reserves this afternoon. Any plans that Tim Holland and Alan Green may have had to build on the midweek triumph over Ashford Town Reserves were thrown into disarray, as five members of Wednesday's winning squad travelled with the First Team to Metropolitan Police, and four other players withdrew from the match at relatively short notice. That left Tim and Alan with only ten available players come the morning of the match, many of whom would have been youngsters from Dean Jinks' Youth Team, and all of whom must have experienced a pretty demoralising afternoon. Perhaps the sole positive thing to emerge will have been that United did not lose any ground in their bid to escape from relegation, simply used up one of their games in hand on Deal and Herne Bay.
United have reached the last five matches of their debut Ryman League campaign, still harbouring an outside chance of being involved in the end of season promotion play-offs. And United will help their own cause greatly tomorrow, along with several of their rivals, if they can beat sixth placed Metropolitan Police at Imber Court, where the Met have lost only twice in the league all season, to fellow play-off hopefuls Cray and Bromley.
Simon Rowland's knee ligament injury will obviously rule him out of the squad and his place in the squad will be taken by new signing Lee Newman, in the only change from Easter Monday's game with Ashford Town. Mitchell Sherwood is nursing rib and groin injuries and remains on the sidelines and work commitments will deny United Peter Mortley's services once again. Germain Amanuel, United's second new striker, will not play an active role tomorrow, as United go in search of another league double, and attempt to avenge a 5-1 Bryco Cup mauling, when a below strength United line-up was soundly beaten.
The full sixteen man squad is due to be Richard Bolton, Matt Brown, Andy Ducille, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Stephen Graham, Chris Honey, Lee Newman, Sean Ray, Shaun Reece, Carl Rook, Steve Sands, Marcus Sawyerr, Peter Sayer, Danny Spice and Ben White.
Two new strikers signed for United today, as the Club attempts to overcome the loss of recent top marksman Simon Rowland, who is almost certainly out for the rest of the season, after suffering knee ligament damage during Easter Monday's Pilot Field clash with Ashford Town.
Twenty year old Lee Newman, a prolific scorer in local football in the St Albans area of late and formerly with Barnet Reserves, and twenty-six year old Germain Amanuel, a player with plenty of Ryman League experience, most recently at Horsham and Croydon, have both joined United today and both will hope to feature in Saturday's match away to Metropolitan Police, the squad for which should be available for tomorrow evening.
Metropolitan Police were in action on Tuesday evening at Bromley, in the sole Ryman League Division One fixture held over from Easter Monday, but the match was abandoned at half time due to a heavily waterlogged pitch, with the score goalless at the time.
Congratulations go to AFC Wimbledon this evening, after their 3-0 Bank Holiday win at home to Dorking confirmed their second successive promotion and guaranteed them Premier Division football next season. The Dons have been a class apart from the rest of the First Division during a campaign that has yielded just two defeats and they will rightly be crowned champions if they avoid defeat at second placed Walton & Hersham on Saturday. The Swans maintained their own promotion push today with a 1-0 win at Molesey, but Horsham and Cray both stayed in touch with victories of their own. The play-off race is no less congested than it was before Easter and, if Bromley avoid defeat at home to Metropolitan Police tomorrow, four points will separate the five main contenders. At the bottom. Croydon's victory at home to Croydon Athletic allowed them to retain some hope of avoiding relegation, but they still require a couple more wins to stand a chance of escaping. Ashford's defeat at the Pilot Field saw them drop back into the bottom two, with Newport climbing back out after their draw with Bashley. Defeats for Banstead and Dorking did nothing to ease their fears, although both of them, and Ashford as well, have a game more to play than Croydon and Newport.
Here are all of Easter Monday's results. AFC Wimbledon 3-0 Dorking, Burgess Hill Town 1-2 Horsham, Corinthian-Casuals 2-1 Banstead Athletic, Croydon 3-1 Croydon Athletic, Dulwich Hamlet 1-3 Cray Wanderers, Hastings United 1-0 Ashford Town, Leatherhead 2-0 Fleet Town, Molesey 0-1 Walton & Hersham, Newport IoW 1-1 Bashley, Tooting & Mitcham United 4-1 Whyteleafe.
After suffering another setback in their relegation battle on Saturday, the Reserves are in action again at the Pilot Field on Wednesday evening, when Ashford Town Reserves will be in town for a Kent League Division One fixture. Tim Holland's squad has been boosted by the news that today's five First Team substitutes have all been made available for selection. New signing Darren Nicol should also be involved, although attempts to persuade Carl Oxenham to join the Club have thus far proved unsuccessful. Kieren Startup is struggling to overcome a knee injury and will face a fitness test on Tuesday, but Nigel Jones has already been ruled out. The provisional seventeen man squad for the match is Alan Aboalzahb, Mark Butler, David Colvin-Morgan, Danny Ellis, Stephen Graham, Sam Harris-Green, Yeson Loaiza, Jamie McGuigan, Darren Nicol, Rob O'Shaughnessy, Shaun Reece, Steve Sands, Daniel Skelton, Danny Spice, Nicky Stiles and Damien White.
The Club would like to clarify the position regarding next season's playing squad, after a spurious thread on the forum suggested that wholesale changes were afoot, ahead of the 2005/06 campaign. The management team has no immediate intention of releasing any members of the current squad, although none of the players will be tied to the Club by way of contract and all are free to move on if they choose to do so. It is hoped simply to add four or five new players, with the ability to fill key roles, to the current line-up in the close season, or more if appropriate, but anyone who wishes to remain at the Club, adhering to some stringent new fitness guidelines, will be most welcome. Competition for places should be an important factor in, what everyone at the Club hopes, will be a serious promotion challenge.
Don't forget that the Dream Team charity match is less than two weeks away now, so keep the auction bids coming in, if you fancy the chance to make a cameo appearance in the United XI on the day. Please see the Dream Team page for full details.
Seven more matches were played in the Ryman League Division One today and Horsham's draw with Tooting & Mitcham means that AFC Wimbledon will be promoted if they win at home Dorking on Monday. Walton & Hersham's narrow home win over Newport ensured that the Dons still need two more wins for the title, although if Walton drop points at Molesey on Monday, it could well all be over. Cray's win over Corinthian-Casuals kept them in charge of a play-off spot, although everyone down to Leatherhead in ninth will still reckon on having a chance of a top six finish. The Tanners could have done without this afternoon's surprise defeat at Ashford, which lifted our Kent neighbours out of the bottom two for practically the first time all season. Newport have replaced them in the relegation zone, but Banstead, Dorking and Fleet are all well and truly in the dogfight now, to see who will join virtually doomed Croydon in level five next season.
For the record, here are all of yesterday's and today's results. Banstead Athletic 1-3 AFC Wimbledon, Croydon Athletic 1-1 Hastings United, Fleet Town 0-0 Croydon, Whyteleafe 0-3 Bromley, Ashford Town 2-1 Leatherhead, Bashley 0-2 Molesey, Cray Wanderers 2-0 Corinthian-Casuals, Dorking 2-2 Burgess Hill Town, Horsham 2-2 Tooting & Mitcham United, Metropolitan Police 2-1 Dulwich Hamlet, Walton & Hersham 1-0 Newport IoW.
Hopes of the imminent return of goalkeeper Ryan Harrison were dashed when he re-signed for League One side Wrexham on Good Friday. And United's Reserve and Youth Team keeper Josh Willis was invited to Loftus Road for a trial with Queens Park Rangers in the week and everyone at the Club wishes him well.
Four matches, including our own, were brought forward twenty-four hours to avoid clashing with England's World Cup qualifier. AFC Wimbledon moved another three points closer to the title with a 3-1 win at Banstead and require just two more victories for championship glory. Elsewhere, Bromley moved to within a point of the top six with a 3-0 win at Whyteleafe, who themselves are on the brink of dropping out of play-off contention. Bottom of the table Croydon managed a 0-0 draw at Fleet, but still need three wins in their last six games for a chance of escaping.
United begin their Easter programme tomorrow with a Good Friday visit to Croydon Athletic for what has sadly become little more than a mid-table battle, after three games without a win have left United's play-off hopes in tatters. This will be the first of three trips to south east London in the space of five weeks and a first ever visit to Athletic's Mayfields ground. Indeed, the only other meeting between our two sides was in the reverse fixture at the Pilot Field way back in August, when the teams shared a 1-1 draw.
Neville Southall has made three alterations to the squad that faced Walton & Hersham last weekend. Midfielder Marcus Sawyerr is unavailable, although his place will most likely be taken by the fit again Ben White. And youngsters Joe Harman and Sam Harris-Green are also missing, their places filled by Peter Sayer and defender Danny Spice, the latter earning a well deserved call-up after several impressive performances for the Reserves of late. Goalkeeper Ryan Harrison, who has been released from his short tenure with League One side Wrexham, is not included, but may feature in Easter Monday's game.
The full sixteen man squad is Richard Bolton, Matt Brown, Andy Ducille, Jimmy Elford, Stephen Graham, Chris Honey, Peter Mortley, Sean Ray, Shaun Reece, Carl Rook, Simon Rowland, Steve Sands, Peter Sayer, Mitchell Sherwood, Danny Spice and Ben White.
Club captain Jimmy Elford has again been named in England's Futsal squad for two friendly matches in Belgium next week. Futsal is the FIFA and UEFA recognised version of five-a-side football and Jimmy has already represented his country on half a dozen occasions. He will link up with a fifteen man squad, which also includes AFC Wimbledon's Rob Ursell and Tooting & Mitcham United's James Husband, for matches on Wednesday and Thursday of next week. You can find out he gets on, and learn more about Futsal itself, by clicking on the following link to thefa.com.
Preparations for the Dream Team charity match on Sunday 10 April continue apace. Neville Southall, Dean White and Terry White are all now confirmed in the Hastings line-up, with more names due to be announced next week. The Club is arranging a raffle to be drawn on the day, which will hopefully include prizes of a Hastings United goalkeeping jersey, signed by Neville Southall, a football signed by the Charlton Athletic First Team, a signed Brighton & Hove Albion First Team shirt and an England jacket. It was initially announced that normal admission prices would apply on the day and, whilst that remains the case, supporters will be given the opportunity to purchase half price tickets at each of the next two home First Team games, on Easter Monday and on 9 April.
And finally, it was with great sadness that the Club learnt this week of the death of Ian Blundell, who was a key member of Steve Lovell's coaching staff during his spell as manager at the Pilot Field. Ian, who was just forty-six and worked as a Centre of Excellence coach, amongst other roles, at Gillingham Football Club, suffered a sudden and fatal heart attack on Sunday 20 March. The Club would like to extend its heartfelt sympathies and condolences to Ian's family and friends, and plans to hold a minute's silence in Ian's memory ahead of Easter Monday's game with Ashford Town.
AFC Wimbledon are within three victories of winning the title and claiming a Premier Division place, after seeing off second placed Horsham 4-1 at Kingsmeadow yesterday. Our West Sussex rivals lost that second automatic promotion place as a result of their defeat, and Walton & Hersham's win at the Pilot Field, which took the Swans three points clear, albeit having played a game more and having an inferior goal difference. The play-off race is still threatening to go down to the wire, with just three points separating Cray, Tooting & Mitcham, Metropolitan Police, Burgess Hill and Leatherhead, while Bromley are hanging on in ninth, with Whyteleafe now slipping out of contention. At the bottom, Croydon look to have left themselves too much to do now, and Ashford remain one win from joining Newport and Banstead on points, the Islanders having played a game more and having a worse goal difference. The Easter weekend could well see issues at either end of the table settled, although other matters are unlikely to be resolved until the last week in April at this rate.
Here are the results of all of Saturday's Ryman League Division One matches. AFC Wimbledon 4-1 Horsham, Bromley 1-0 Dorking, Burgess Hill Town 2-1 Ashford Town, Corinthian-Casuals 0-0 Croydon Athletic, Croydon 0-2 Cray Wanderers, Dulwich Hamlet 1-1 Bashley, Hastings United 0-1 Walton & Hersham, Leatherhead 1-1 Banstead Athletic, Molesey 2-0 Whyteleafe, Newport IoW 1-4 Metropolitan Police, Tooting & Mitcham United 6-1 Fleet Town.
There are no games in Division One now until Good Friday, when four matches have been rescheduled to avoid clashing with England's World Cup qualifier on Easter Saturday, including our first ever trip to Croydon Athletic. The big game on Saturday sees Horsham take on Tooting & Mitcham United, that's third against fifth. On Easter Monday, there is a full programme of fixtures, as United entertain struggling Kent neighbours Ashford Town. Horsham face another big game in a West Sussex derby at Burgess Hill Town and AFC Wimbledon could be celebrating at home to Dorking, if other results go their way.
At the Pilot Field on Wednesday evening, there is another friendly fixture for United, with Eastbourne United Association sending a side over for a 7.45pm kick off. As usual, the United squad will be of mixed strength and reduced admission prices will apply. The Reserves are back in action at the Pilot Field next Saturday, taking on Thamesmead Town Reserves, with the game due to get underway at 3.00pm.
The forthcoming charity celebrity match against Harchester United, Sky One's Dream Team, on Sunday 10 April is already attracting a good deal of interest and the Club has decided to give supporters an opportunity to make a fifteen minute cameo appearance for the Hastings United XI. This can be secured through an auction, which will take place on the website, with the highest bidder earning the right to play alongside Neville Southall, ex-United and current Brighton & Hove Albion Reserve Team manager Dean White, not to mention the cast of Dream Team and various other celebrities, who are being lined up to feature as well. Please watch this space for further announcements.
The successful bid must be for a minimum of £25, and the winner must be aged sixteen or over. Please email your bids to the website, webmaster@hastingsunitedfc.co.uk, including your full name, your home address, your preferred contact email address, and a contact telephone number. The auction will close at 10.00pm on Sunday 3 April and the successful high bidder will be notified as soon as possible to confirm the arrangements for the day.
In addition to the auction, the Club is also running a competition for children under the age of fourteen, to win the chance to be the mascot on the day, to run out with the teams, and to meet all of the players for photos and autographs, etc. To win, you must answer the following question:
Please post entries to Mr David Walters, Hastings United Football Club, The Pilot Field, Elphinstone Road, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 2AX, to arrive no later than Monday 4 April. Please remember to include your full name, your home address, and a contact telephone number. The winner will be drawn at random from all of the correct answers that are received, and will be notified as soon as possible to confirm the arrangements for the day.
The Club is delighted to announce that Sky One's Dream Team will be coming to play a Hastings United XI on Sunday 10 April, kick off 11.00am. Dream Team has been one of Sky's most successful drama series for a number of years, and many of its actors have gone on to appear in other well known dramas and soaps. Most of the current cast will be in attendance at the game, and it is hoped to see performances from new cast member Shane Lynch of Boyzone fame, The Royle Family's Ralf Little, and Harvey from So Solid Crew, not to mention Lewes FC. United manager Neville Southall will also be making a guest appearance in goal for Hastings, at what is sure to be a great event for all the family.
Normal First Team admission prices will apply and a percentage of any profits will go to the SEA Fund to help build fishing boats for the village of Talay Nork in Thailand, which suffered badly in the Tsunami disaster. Facilities to help make this event happen have very kindly been provided by Rambler Coaches and the Lansdowne Hotel. The Club would like to thank president Mick Maplesden for volunteering to sponsor the game, although other sponsorship opportunities are available, so please call chairman Dave Walters on 01424 444635 for details. Click on the following link for full details of Sky's Dream Team.
There have been three matches played in the Ryman League Division One since the weekend. Our next opponents Walton & Hersham missed out on the chance to return to second place tonight, losing 3-2 away to Croydon Athletic, our Good Friday opponents. On Tuesday, Whyteleafe moved up to ninth and to within three points of the play-off zone, with a 2-1 win at home to Dulwich Hamlet. Meanwhile, Bashley kept their faint play-off hopes alive, and dented Tooting & Mitcham's in the process, beating them 2-0 in the New Forest.
AFC Wimbledon's almost relentless pursuit of back to back league titles gathered momentum yesterday with a big win at home to struggling Newport that increased their advantage to fourteen points at the top of the table. Horsham moved back into second with a win at home to Bashley, while Walton & Hersham were surprisingly held at home by Dulwich. Cray's win at Dorking saw them swap places with Tooting & Mitcham, whose long unbeaten run came to an end at home to Leatherhead, who themselves are outside the top six on goal difference alone. Wins for Burgess Hill and Bromley kept both in touch, with Whyteleafe losing ground, along with United, still down in eleventh. At the bottom, Ashford's crucial win over Croydon lifted them to within just two points of Banstead, with Newport, Dorking and Molesey looking over their shoulders with increasing nervousness as the season heads to an exciting conclusion at both ends of the table.
Here are all of Saturday's Ryman League Division One results. AFC Wimbledon 5-0 Newport IoW, Ashford Town 3-2 Croydon, Bromley 4-0 Molesey, Burgess Hill Town 1-0 Hastings United, Dorking 0-3 Cray Wanderers, Fleet Town 2-0 Banstead Athletic, Horsham 2-0 Bashley, Metropolitan Police 1-0 Corinthian-Casuals, Tooting & Mitcham United 1-2 Leatherhead, Walton & Hersham 0-0 Dulwich Hamlet, Whyteleafe 1-1 Croydon Athletic.
At the Pilot Field yesterday, a severely under-strength Reserves side lost by just a single goal at home to league leaders Maidstone United Reserves, and remain rooted to the foot of the table as a result.
United visit Burgess Hill Town's Leylands Park ground this afternoon, scene of one of their worst results last season when they were crushed 6-2 on Boxing Day 2003. The match is the latest in a series of 'six pointers' for United, a sequence that has yielded eight points from a possible eighteen thus far, as United desperately endeavour to keep pace with a host of clubs chasing the four play-off places.
The squad for the journey to West Sussex is boosted by the return from suspension of key defender Sean Ray, although goalkeeper Chris May has been recalled by Brighton, which will see Matt Brown taking over the number one jersey, with Sam Harris-Green also added to the squad as cover. There has been no conclusive update on the fitness of Richard Bolton or Mitchell Sherwood, both of whom were injured during the first half last weekend, so for now, I am assuming that the following seventeen man squad will travel.
Richard Bolton, Matt Brown, Andy Ducille, Jimmy Elford, Steve Graham, Sam Harris-Green, Chris Honey, Peter Mortley, Sean Ray, Shaun Reece, Carl Rook, Simon Rowland, Steve Sands, Marcus Sawyerr, Peter Sayer, Mitchell Sherwood, Ben White.
The Reserves will be hoping to complete an unlikely league double this at the Pilot Field this afternoon, as Maidstone United Reserves are in town for a bottom versus top encounter. Tim Holland's team will be nothing like as strong as it was when United won 3-1 in Kent at the end of January, one of only two defeats that the leaders have suffered in the league all season. Dominic Cruttenden's recent departure has been followed by that of skipper Ben Bennett. Paul Henty is unavailable, whilst new scoring sensation Nicky Stiles is out for a month after having an ingrown toenail removed. Defender Alan Cowley has been ruled out for the rest of the season through injury, but former First Team defender Kieren Startup has now returned to fitness and is included in this afternoon's squad, along with several members of Dean Jinks' Youth Team squad.
The following thirteen man squad has been named thus far, to which a couple more names will hopefully be added as the day goes on. Josh Willis, Dhergaun Hadar, Rob O'Shaughnessy, David Colvin-Morgan, Jamie McGuigan, Danny Ellis, Nigel Jones, Danny Spice, Kieren Startup, Damien White, Alan Aboalzahb, Joe Suggitt, Darren McDonald.
A friendly fixture against County League rivals and Sussex Senior Cup quarter finalists Westfield has been arranged for this coming Monday 13 March. Kick off at the Pilot Field will be at 7.45pm and squad news will be provided when it becomes available, although this may not be until the evening of the game itself. The usual friendly admission prices will apply, £3 for adults, £2 for senior citizens and disabled supporters, and £1 for under 16s.
Just a few brief bits of news this midweek, with nothing significant occurring at the Pilot Field since the weekend. There was one match in the Ryman League Division One last night, Walton & Hersham thrashing Dorking 5-0 at home to move into second place in the table, two points ahead of Horsham. Dorking drop below Fleet on goal difference and into the bottom five as a result.
The Sussex Senior Cup semi final line-up was completed last night, as the two remaining quarter final ties were played. There was a major upset, as our conquerors, Ryman League Premier Division Worthing, were beaten 1-0 at County League Ringmer, the winner coming from the penalty spot deep into extra time. Conference South side Lewes experienced no such problems, running out 7-1 victors at Oakwood. Last week, Westfield's great run came to a predictable end when they were beaten 3-0 at Bognor Regis, whilst the tie of the round saw Crawley win 2-1 against Brighton & Hove Albion, in a match played at Worthing's Woodside Road ground. The Crawley winner also arrived late in extra time, apparently courtesy of an error by our mutual goalkeeper Chris May, who had an otherwise superb match by all accounts.
The Club would like to serve supporters with early notice of its intention to have a 'Kids for Free' day on 9 April, when Bashley are due to visit the Pilot Field. Anyone under the age of sixteen wishing to come along to this game will be admitted free of charge, irrespective of whether they are accompanied by an adult or not. If anyone of pre-GCSE school age is reading this, please spread the word around your friends and try to help the Club get as many youngsters as possible to take advantage of this offer. Further reminders will appear on the site over the course of the next few weeks.
Finally, on the fundraising side of things, the Club would be delighted to hear from anyone who would be willing and able to assist in promoting the 200 Club, which has been bringing in extremely useful additional funds since its inception last April. As we approach the first anniversary draw, the scheme presently boasts 107 members, although if someone would like to take on the 'project' of spreading the word in and around the town, who knows to what lengths that number could escalate, and of course, more members means more prize money and more funds for the playing budget. If anyone is interested in helping out, please contact Dave Walters via the Club on 01424 444635.
Tomorrow (Tuesday) evening sees the return of the Barnstormers Comedy Team to the Pilot Field, after their hugely enjoyable debut last month. Once again, the show will be compered by Kevin Precious and will feature three highly rated comedians. Admission will cost £8 on the door and just £5 for members of the Supporters' Club, although it is not too late for non-members to purchase their tickets in advance in order to get a £1 discount.
Two nights later, on Thursday, the Liane Carroll Trio are also making a welcome return to the Club. Born in London and raised in Hastings, Liane has been playing the piano since she was three and has become well known around the world. She has been performing as a professional pianist and singer since the age of fifteen and has toured and recorded with artists such as Gerry Rafferty, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Paul McCartney. Entry will cost just £3, payable on the night.
On the football front, the Reserves home league fixture against Ashford Town Reserves, postponed last week because of the snow, has been rearranged for Wednesday 30 March. United still await confirmation of a new date for the away game with Ramsgate Reserves, which was called off on Saturday.
The recent cold spell accounted for two of this afternoon's Ryman League Division One fixtures, as the games at Banstead and Corinthian-Casuals were postponed due to the effects of all that snow and ice. Elsewhere, AFC Wimbledon's win at Molesey means that they can now finish no lower than thirteenth, and could well have promotion wrapped up by the end of the month. Horsham were one of those to be affected by the weather, and Walton & Hersham's win at bottom club Croydon moved them to within a point of the Hornets, still with a game in hand. Just seven points separate the next eight clubs, down to United in eleventh in fact, with Cray edging closer to Tooting & Mitcham this afternoon after a fine win over Metropolitan Police. None of the other sides above United in the table managed a victory, and Bashley's win at home to Whyteleafe keeps them in with an outside play-off shout as well. At the bottom, Croydon's fourth successive defeat has far from sealed their fate, although a similar result at Ashford next weekend might well do just that. Our Kent neighbours managed a draw on the Isle of Wight this afternoon, which just about keeps the five sides above them looking over their shoulders for now.
Here are all of today's scores. Banstead Athletic P-P Dorking, Bashley 1-0 Whyteleafe, Corinthian-Casuals P-P Horsham, Cray Wanderers 4-1 Metropolitan Police, Croydon 1-3 Walton & Hersham, Croydon Athletic 1-0 Bromley, Dulwich Hamlet 1-1 Fleet Town, Hastings United 0-0 Tooting & Mitcham United, Leatherhead 2-2 Burgess Hill Town, Molesey 0-1 AFC Wimbledon, Newport IoW 0-0 Ashford Town.
The Reserves proposed trip to Ramsgate Reserves was unsurprisingly called off due to the heavy snow that has fallen in North Kent this week. None of the other relegation threatened sides played either, so United remain a single point adrift at the foot of the table.
Although Hastings has escaped the worst of the recent cold spell, the Pilot Field has seen its fair share of snow this week, which has inevitably cast some doubt as to whether or not Saturday's game against Tooting & Mitcham United will go ahead. Virtually all of the snow had melted by late Friday afternoon, but there remained a large amount of surface water, which may prove too much for even the Pilot Field's excellent drainage system.
In light of the obvious uncertainty over the state of the pitch, coupled with the potential travelling problems that will be faced by players and visiting supporters alike, a local referee will assess the ground conditions at 10.00am on Saturday morning, and the result of this preliminary inspection will be added to the site as soon as possible. Please bear in mind though, that even if this early inspection results in the pitch being declared playable, the match referee will still be within his right to call the game off upon arrival at the ground later in the day, should he disagree with the earlier judgement, or should conditions have worsened during the morning. As usual, every effort will be made to keep supporters informed of developments.
One event that has already regrettably been postponed, is Saturday evening's musical appearance by Ryan Peters and Sonia Ali, which will hopefully be rearranged for the very near future.
United get a quick chance for revenge against Tooting & Mitcham United on Saturday, when the Terrors visit the Pilot Field, just two and a half weeks after beating United 3-1 at their own Imperial Fields ground. Since being completely outplayed that night, United have bounced back and taken four points from matches against the top two sides in the league, while Tooting & Mitcham have extended their unbeaten run to ten matches, with league wins over Dulwich and Molesey, and victory over Walton Casuals in the Surrey Senior Cup quarter finals.
Neville Southall's squad will show a couple of changes from that which triumphed at Horsham last week. One is due to the enforced absence of Sean Ray, who is to serve a one match suspension after collecting his fifth booking of the season at Tooting last month. His place in the squad will be taken by fit again striker Chris Honey. The other change sees goalkeeper Matt Brown return to the squad, having been unavailable last weekend, although he takes Sam Harris-Green's place, as Brighton have indicated that United may retain the services of Chris May once again this Saturday.
The full squad will be Richard Bolton, Matt Brown, Andy Ducille, Jimmy Elford, Steve Graham, Chris Honey, Chris May, Peter Mortley, Shaun Reece, Carl Rook, Simon Rowland, Steve Sands, Marcus Sawyerr, Peter Sayer, Mitchell Sherwood, Ben White.
And don't forget that, on Saturday evening, performing live at the Pilot Field are Ryan Peters and Sonia Ali. Ex-United player Ryan is now concentrating full time on his music career and will be performing covers of some classic 1970s soul tracks, through to modern day R'n'B numbers.
Although the weather forecast must surely put Wednesday evening's Reserve Team game against Ashford Town Reserves in serious jeopardy, manager Tim Holland has been able to name a considerably stronger squad than he would normally have at his disposal, and will no doubt be hoping that the snow stays away long enough for the game to go ahead. The squad will hopefully be bolstered by the appearance of defensive lynchpin Sean Ray, who will miss Saturday's First Team clash with Tooting & Mitcham United through suspension, and striker Chris Honey, who was forced to miss last weekend's glorious win at Horsham through illness. Former Reserve Team regulars Sam Harris-Green, Ben White, Steve Sands and Steve Graham all return from varying degrees of First Team duty, whilst Peter Sayer and Shaun Reece are also set for a run-out. New signing Lamin Saidylhan has finally been tracked down and is set to make his first appearance in United colours, along with other new faces Damien White and Peter Hinks. Rob O'Shaughnessy, Dan Spice, Danny Ellis, Josh Willis and Mark Butler will complete the squad, although the list is subject to one or two potential late changes. One player who appears to have played his last game for the Club, for the time being at least, is winger Dominic Cruttenden, who has requested the termination of his registration after an approach from Rye & Iden United.
It was a day of draws in the Ryman League Division One today, as six of the ten matches finished all square, and the game at Whyteleafe postponed due to a waterlogged surface. Leaders AFC Wimbledon were one of those held, as were third placed Walton & Hersham, and with United winning at second placed Horsham, Tooting & Mitcham were able to close the gap on all three sides above them. The only other side above United in the table to win were Bromley, who edged a seven goal thriller at home to bottom of the table Croydon, but frustratingly, United failed to improve on their placing of eleventh, although are now just four points below the play-off places again. It's looking increasingly bleak for Croydon at the bottom, and for Ashford too, despite an encouraging draw with Cray.
These were all of this afternoon's league results. AFC Wimbledon 1-1 Corinthian-Casuals, Ashford Town 2-2 Cray Wanderers, Bromley 4-3 Croydon, Burgess Hill Town 1-1 Banstead Athletic, Dorking 2-2 Newport IoW, Fleet Town 0-1 Croydon Athletic, Horsham 1-2 Hastings United, Metropolitan Police 1-1 Bashley, Tooting & Mitcham United 4-2 Molesey, Walton & Hersham 1-1 Leatherhead, Whyteleafe P-P Dulwich Hamlet.
At the Pilot Field, United Reserves lost 2-1 at home to Herne Bay Reserves and have now sunk to rock bottom of the Kent League Division One. Tim Holland's lads have played three games fewer than the two sides immediately above them and their first game in hand will be against Ashford Town Reserves, again at the Pilot Field, this coming Wednesday evening. In the absence of any First Team action this week, I shall be able to take a rare look at the Reserves myself and will report accordingly. If I am sent a report on today's match, it will be added to the site on Monday.
United have been hit by something of a striker crisis ahead of this afternoon's desperately difficult visit to second placed Horsham. Barely a month ago, United had five capable goalscorers competing for the two starting positions, but with Lee Barnett leaving the Club this week, a short while after fellow recent signing Darryl Wilson decided to depart the scene, and Chris Honey suffering with a chest infection, which will see him miss the trip to Queen Street, Neville Southall's attacking options would appear to be restricted to just Simon Rowland and Carl Rook today, with Peter Sayer possibly returning to the squad as cover. To be fair, neither Simon nor Carl have exactly found difficulty in finding the back of the net this season; Simon averages a goal every other game since his arrival in October, and Carl remains United's leading scorer over the last two seasons, but injuries to both have meant that they have seldom played together as a partnership thus far, not an ideal position for such a big game.
Having solved a potential goalkeeping problem earlier in the week, when Brighton agreed to release Chris May as cover for Matt Brown, the rest of the squad should look fairly solid, with David Henham the only serious injury doubt, as Andy Ducille appears to have pretty much returned to fitness. Today's full squad will look something like this. Richard Bolton, Andy Ducille, Jimmy Elford, Sam Harris-Green, Chris May, Peter Mortley, Scot Mulholland, Sean Ray, Shaun Reece, Carl Rook, Simon Rowland, Steve Sands, Marcus Sawyerr, Peter Sayer, Mitchell Sherwood, Ben White.
Plans to send a senior squad to the Saffrons for Tuesday evening's friendly against Eastbourne Town have been scuppered by the fact that the hosts have had their County League game at Sidley United rearranged for the same night. The friendly has therefore been postponed, but will possibly be rescheduled for later next month.
In the absence of any midweek action at the Pilot Field after all, news is rather thin on the ground at the moment. However, it is confirmed that goalkeeper Greg Nessling has left the Club, although I am not privy to the exact reasons behind this decision. It is fair to say that Greg has not had the luckiest of seasons from an injury and illness point of view and every time he looked like being given a good run in the First Team, along would come another unfortunate absence, forcing the Club to bring in the likes of Chris May, Ryan Harrison and, more recently, Matt Brown, all of whom have performed well enough to ensure that Greg has found it difficult to force his way back into the reckoning. There is no doubt that Greg is a talented young keeper, a veritable chip off the old block for any that are old enough to remember his father's exploits for the Club back in its County League days, and I am sure that we all wish him well for the future. And whilst on the subject of keepers, I am told that Matt Brown will be unavailable for the weekend trip to Horsham, and that Chris May's services are due to be called upon once again. Chris has spent much of the last three months on the bench for Brighton's First Team, after a series of injuries to Albion's more senior keepers, but he was squeezed out of contention again last week and it is hoped that he will now be available for United's latest Sussex derby.
Just a few announcements now. The Supporters' Club is hosting another Quiz Night in the Clubhouse this Friday evening, starting at 7.30pm. The cost is just £2 per person and teams of up to four people will be made extremely welcome. A new series of Music and Comedy Nights has been put together and details will shortly be available on the site's Events page. Forthcoming highlights include three further visits by the Barnstormers Comedy Team, after their hugely entertaining Pilot Field debut earlier this month, and the appearance of United's former midfield maestro Ryan Peters, along with his musical partner Sonia Ali, on Saturday 5 March. There are also a host of new and repeat performances in the regular Thursday night slot. Finally, can I remind everyone about the site's Shopping page, which is a link into a variety of well known on-line retail outlets, about eighty in total, all of whom will pay the Club commission for purchases made using this link. Apparently, the Club is currently halfway to receiving another cheque, so many thanks to everyone who has been using the service, and can I urge any regular Internet shoppers out there to take a look and see if you too could assist the Club in its fund raising efforts.
Life at the Pilot Field has returned to normal, after the phenomenal success of Saturday's (hopefully not, but maybe) once in a lifetime visit of AFC Wimbledon and their mass of travelling support. Although I do not have the statistical knowledge to know for sure, I suspect that the attendance of 1,834 was the highest for a competitive fixture in the Club's history, albeit a country mile short of the record for the Pilot Field itself, for which you probably need to have a rather longer living memory than mine. Many thanks to both sets of supporters for coming along and making the occasion so memorable.
The logistics for staging such an event seemed extraordinarily complicated, and being involved in the last couple of Committee meetings certainly opened my eyes to the complexities of putting on a 'simple' game of football, especially one always likely to attract five or six times as many attendees as would normally be the case. The safety aspect was of particular importance of course, in light of the continually updated legislation governing the staging of public events, and the Club owes a great debt of thanks to everyone involved in the security effort, before, during and after the game. So, without naming names, a huge thank you to United's loyal team of stewards and their coordinators, and to the Youth and Ladies sections for providing the many additional volunteers on the day. And thank you also to Inspector Martin Sims from Sussex Police for providing a team of officers, including two from the Metropolitan Police, to keep an eye on things inside and outside the ground, and whose services were provided free of charge, an especially welcome gesture.
On the catering side, the Club would firstly like to pay tribute to the efforts of Karen, Kath and everyone who worked tirelessly in the two tea bars on Saturday. In an effort to alleviate some of the pressure on them, it was decided to call on some external assistance, to avoid falling into the trap that has befallen so many other sides in the past, of having inadequate resources to meet supporter demand. In this respect, the Club was once again delighted to receive help from Luca and Mark Venditto of the Simply Italian Group, and would like to thank them and their staff for their efforts, and also for their most generous decision to donate their profits from the day to United's Youth section. The Club would also like to extend its thanks to Carlsberg for its assistance in providing additional supplies of beer for sale on the day. Some people have been understandably critical of the decision to install additional alcoholic points of sale around the Pilot Field, but the Club would like to assure those concerned that this was done purely in an effort to alleviate the potential strain on the Clubhouse facilities, with the comfort of supporters in mind, and in the interests of safety, the Club ensured that only plastic bottles were available.
The time has come to move on though, and tomorrow night at the Pilot Field, United are set to play another hastily arranged friendly, this time against Westfield. Once again, the game will more than likely be used to give the Reserves and fringe First Team players a chance to impress, but the actual prospective squad will be posted on the forum as soon as it becomes available.
The Kent League have announced their league fixtures for March and our lads can look forward to four league games in total, starting next Wednesday, when Ashford Town Reserves visit the Pilot Field. This fixture puts into doubt the friendly game against Eastbourne Town at the Saffrons, which had been organised for the previous evening, although I am told that United still plan to honour the commitment. The Reserve Team's other matches next month are Ramsgate Reserves away on Saturday 5th, league leaders Maidstone United Reserves at home on Saturday 12th, and Thamesmead Town Reserves at home on Saturday 26th. The latter fixture, scheduled for Easter Saturday, will clash with England's World Cup qualifier that day, and the Kent League have given clubs permission to alter the kick off time, or bring the game forward, by mutual agreement. Please watch this space for further details as far as that is concerned.
It was another good day for the top three sides in the Ryman League Division One today, and not such a good one for the bottom two, as the season approaches its final quarter. Despite dropping a couple of points at the Pilot Field, AFC Wimbledon still hold a ten point lead at the summit, two less than at kick off though, as Horsham and Walton & Hersham both picked up fine away wins. Tooting & Mitcham have leapt into fourth place, while Metropolitan Police and Leatherhead fill the remaining play-off places. United are still only six points off the top six, but seven of their last eleven games are against sides currently occupying a top eight placing, so the six pointers will be coming thick and fast over the course of the next few weeks. At the bottom, defeats for both Croydon and Ashford left them seven and six points from safety respectively, and the signs appear to be that the recent improved form enjoyed by both sides could prove to be in vain. Both are due to play United once more as well, just for some light relief as far as we are concerned.
Here are all of Saturday's league results. Banstead Athletic 1-3 Whyteleafe, Bashley 1-2 Dorking, Corinthian-Casuals 0-1 Walton & Hersham, Cray Wanderers 3-2 Fleet Town, Croydon 1-2 Burgess Hill Town, Croydon Athletic 2-1 Metropolitan Police, Dulwich Hamlet 0-1 Tooting & Mitcham United, Hastings United 1-1 AFC Wimbledon, Leatherhead 0-1 Horsham, Molesey 3-0 Ashford Town, Newport IoW 1-1 Bromley.
Sean Ray was cautioned for the third game running today and the yellow card that he collected at Tooting & Mitcham on Tuesday was his fifth of the season, which will see him suspended for one match, ironically the return game against Tooting & Mitcham in two weeks time.
The talk and preparation is almost over, as the showdown with the champions-elect is less than twenty-four hours away. AFC Wimbledon visit the Pilot Field tomorrow, along with their hordes of travelling supporters, for a game that will probably have far more repercussions for United's season, than it will for the Dons, sitting pretty atop the Ryman League Division One table, with a twelve point cushion over second placed Horsham, and a massive seventeen point advantage over the best of the rest. With promotion, and the championship, a near certainty for the Dons, United will go into the game as huge underdogs, but with little to lose, in the middle of as tough a run of matches as the fixture computer could possibly have thrown up.
Manager Neville Southall has demanded a positive reaction after a disappointing midweek performance led to a 3-1 defeat at Tooting & Mitcham United, and is likely to stick with largely the same squad as he had at his disposal on Tuesday, a squad that had pulled off a comeback win at Bromley three days beforehand. United will definitely be without the injured David Henham, and his central midfield colleague Andy Ducille faces a late fitness test after being forced out of the Tooting game through injury just after half time. Recent signing from Queens Park Rangers, Scot Mulholland, who enjoyed a decent debut in the week, could well be joined by another face in Lamin Saidylhan, a player of whom I know little other than his description as a 'powerful centre half or central midfielder'. Peter Mortley's involvement will depend on his fitness, not least as he is only due to return from a foreign trip tomorrow morning, but fellow defender Russell Eldridge is another who will definitely not be involved, as he has asked the Club to cancel his registration to allow him to look for another club.
United's full provisional nineteen man squad is Lee Barnett, Richard Bolton, Matt Brown, Andy Ducille, Jimmy Elford, Sam Harris-Green, Chris Honey, Peter Mortley, Scot Mulholland, Sean Ray, Shaun Reece, Carl Rook, Simon Rowland, Lamin Saidylhan, Steve Sands, Marcus Sawyerr, Peter Sayer, Mitchell Sherwood, Ben White.
The match is due to kick off at 3.00pm of course, although the Pilot Field gates will open rather earlier than usual at 11.30am, to cater for any early arrivals from South London or elsewhere. The Clubhouse will also be open from that time and tomorrow's early FA Cup tie between Arsenal and Sheffield United will doubtless be viewable from its 12.30pm kick off time, as will the early evening kick off between Everton and Manchester United at 5.30pm. As many Dons fans are expected to travel by train, the Club minibus will be available to ferry visiting supporters from the station to the ground. Anyone travelling by car should be aware that the entrance to the Club car park is to be found down a narrow lane, which runs adjacent to the ground, up the hill from the Pilot Field.
Aside from our game at Tooting & Mitcham, there were two other games in the Ryman League Division One this midweek. The Dons increased their lead at the top of the table with a 2-0 win at home to Burgess Hill Town, while Leatherhead kept the pressure on the leading sides with a 2-1 win at Fleet Town. Tooting & Mitcham United's victory over United lifted them up into sixth place, whilst the two goal defeat saw us slip below Corinthian-Casuals on goal difference, back into twelfth place. A twenty-five goal victory tomorrow though could take us up to seventh, as long as other results go our way. No pressure lads.
It remains as you were at the top of the Ryman League Division One table after Saturday brought wins for the top two, and all of the top six managed to avoid defeat. AFC Wimbledon's routine victory at home to bottom club Croydon saw them retain a nine point lead over second placed Horsham, but extend their lead over third placed Metropolitan Police to a surely impregnable fourteen points. Just three points now separate Cray in sixth from United in eleventh, with Corinthian-Casuals behind United on goal difference, and Bashley a further four points adrift with a couple of games in hand, so the top thirteen clubs will all still reckon on having a chance of being involved in the play-offs at least. Meanwhile, the bottom seven clubs are still involved in a relegation battle, although Croydon and Ashford still occupy the bottom two places, Ashford after the postponement of their trip to Bashley yesterday.
These were all of yesterday's Division One scores. AFC Wimbledon 3-0 Croydon, Ashford Town P-P Bashley, Bromley 1-2 Hastings United, Burgess Hill Town 1-0 Dulwich Hamlet, Dorking 0-0 Croydon Athletic, Fleet Town 1-0 Newport IoW, Horsham 2-1 Molesey, Metropolitan Police 2-2 Leatherhead, Tooting & Mitcham United 3-2 Corinthian-Casuals, Walton & Hersham 2-0 Banstead Athletic, Whyteleafe 0-0 Cray Wanderers.
United Reserves suffered a disappointing 2-0 home defeat to Deal Town Reserves yesterday afternoon, to slip a place to eleventh in the Kent League Division One table. Below them, Herne Bay also won yesterday, which makes the Pilot Field meeting between the two clubs in a fortnight all the more important.
This week, on Tuesday evening, United visit Tooting & Mitcham United for another vital Ryman League fixture. On the same night, AFC Wimbledon are at home to Burgess Hill Town, and Fleet Town entertain Leatherhead. On Wednesday, United have a friendly match at home to Eastbourne Town, in which Neville Southall will take another look at the players on the fringe of the First Team squad.
United's injury hit squad visit George Wakeling's Bromley tomorrow, hoping to return to winning ways after last week's first defeat under Neville Southall. Once again, I do not have details of the full squad, but United will be sweating on the fitness of several key players for the trip to Hayes Lane, and have also been forced into an unexpected change in the goalkeeping position, as young Ryan Harrison was due to sign for Nationwide League One side Wrexham today, assuming the Welsh club received the necessary approval from the Football League, owing to the fact that they are currently in administration. Matt Brown has signed Ryman League forms with United in time to link up with the First Team squad and, with Greg Nessling still out injured, Matt will be competing with Sam Harris-Green for the start tomorrow.
Defenders Jimmy Elford and Peter Mortley were both left struggling for fitness after the Whyteleafe game, so Steve Sands has been called up from the Reserves as cover, and Russell Eldridge may also be part of the squad. David Henham and Andy Ducille each managed only forty-five minutes of last week's game and are doubtful starters tomorrow. Ben White is also brought in from the Reserves, and United have signed Marcus Sawyerr, a Reserve central midfielder from Yeading, who is expected to go straight into the squad. Up front, Chris Honey is recovering from a knock, but his potential loss will perhaps be least felt from an available personnel point of view, as United do have Carl Rook and Lee Barnett in reserve.
Depending on who is fit, tomorrow's squad will be chosen from the following group of players. Lee Barnett, Richard Bolton, Matt Brown, Andy Ducille, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Sam Harris-Green, David Henham, Chris Honey, Peter Mortley, Sean Ray, Shaun Reece, Carl Rook, Simon Rowland, Steve Sands, Marcus Sawyerr, Peter Sayer, Mitchell Sherwood, Ben White.
Tim Holland's Reserve team plans, ahead of an important home league clash with Deal Town Reserves, have been hit by those First Team call-ups, although Danny Ellis will be available after being omitted from the senior squad. Two new signings, Rob O'Shaughnessy and Alex Campos, are added to the squad, and striker Nicky Stiles returns to action as well. The rest of the squad will be Alan Aboalzahb, Ben Bennett, Mark Butler, Dominic Cruttenden, Steve Graham, Dhergaun Hadar, Paul Henty, Aaron Lidster, Jamie McGuigan, Rob O'Shaughnessy, Dan Spice, Josh Willis.
On the fixture front, United have confirmed a couple more friendly matches, both against County League side Eastbourne Town, as Neville Southall continues to take a look at players on the fringe of First Team selection. Next Wednesday, the day after United's trip to Tooting & Mitcham United, a virtually exclusive Reserve based side will entertain Eastbourne at the Pilot Field, with a 7.45pm kick off. A 'return' fixture will take place at the Saffrons on 1 March. Later next month, United's Ryman League match at Croydon Athletic on Easter Saturday has been brought forward twenty-four hours to Good Friday, still with a 3.00pm kick off, in order to avoid clashing with England's next World Cup qualifier.
This midweek saw Fleet beat Ashford 2-0 to ease their relegation fears, and Walton & Hersham lose their FA Trophy fourth round replay at home to Stamford on penalties, after a 3-3 draw.
Today saw one of those rare occasions when at least one of the sides harbouring ambitions of catching AFC Wimbledon actually managed to take advantage of the leaders dropping a couple of points. Leatherhead tried to do the rest of the division a favour this afternoon, holding the Dons to a draw, and Horsham's fine win at Cray closed the gap at the top to a mere nine points, but they were the only winners in the top nine at start of play. One win now separates Cray in sixth from Tooting & Mitcham in eleventh, with United trying to hold on grimly, still in twelfth place. The bottom of the table is looking rather more congested than it did a month ago, with both Croydon and Ashford within three points of Fleet and even Molesey not out of danger up in sixteenth. With about a third of the season remaining, there is still much to play for at either end of the table, although one thing is now for certain, AFC Wimbledon have now bagged enough points to ensure that they are mathematically safe from relegation.
Here are this afternoon's ten Division One results. Walton & Hersham's game at Croydon Athletic was called off, as the Swans were involved in the fourth round of the FA Trophy today, drawing 0-0 at Stamford to earn themselves a replay on Tuesday and a great chance of progressing to the last sixteen. Banstead Athletic 1-1 Metropolitan Police, Bashley 1-0 Fleet Town, Corinthian-Casuals 1-1 Bromley, Cray Wanderers 1-2 Horsham, Croydon 1-1 Tooting & Mitcham United, Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 Ashford Town, Hastings United 1-2 Whyteleafe, Leatherhead 1-1 AFC Wimbledon, Molesey 0-1 Dorking, Newport IoW 1-4 Burgess Hill Town.
United Reserves lost 2-1 away to Thamesmead Town Reserves this afternoon, to remain in tenth place in the Kent League Division Two. Tim Holland's squad was somewhat weaker than that which triumphed so magnificently at Maidstone last week, but I am sure that all concerned will still be disappointed not to have built on that success. A full report on the game should be on the site on Monday as usual.
In addition to Walton & Hersham's FA Trophy replay, there is just the one Division One game scheduled for the coming midweek. It promises to be a real relegation six pointer too at Calthorpe Park, where Fleet take on Ashford. As United are without a game, why not come along to the Barnstormers Comedy Night in the Clubhouse on Tuesday evening. The critically acclaimed show is highly recommended, albeit for adults only, and gets underway at 8.00pm. Advance tickets cost £7, or it's £8 on the night. United Supporters' Club members can get in for just £5, so come on down and have a laugh at the Pilot Field. It might just put a smile back on your face after this afternoon's result.
Whyteleafe make their first visit to the Pilot Field in over thirteen years tomorrow, for a battle between two of the form teams in the Ryman League Division One. Our own long standing unbeaten run has been well documented of late, but the Leafe have won eight of their last eleven games, including a 2-1 success at AFC Wimbledon on New Year's Day, so we are sure to be in for another tricky contest. Whyteleafe's win over Newport last Saturday took them back above United in the table, two places and a single point ahead, having played a game more, and with the season now approaching its climax, neither side will be wanting to drop points, with the play-off zone well within reach.
The squad news is that I have no squad news, but Neville Southall will have at least two gaps to fill, following the midweek departure of Ryan Bernard and Darryl Wilson. Peter Mortley will be an obvious replacement for Ryan, but only if his calf injury is up to the test, otherwise Richard Bolton could well revert to a central role, with Russell Eldridge or Shaun Reece starting at left back. Danny Ellis must be about due for a recall, after being rested for the last couple of matches, although his inclusion could well depend on whether United decide to start with Chris Honey, Carl Rook and Simon Rowland in a three man attack.
Injuries, illness and unavailability permitting, I would expect the final sixteen man squad to look like this. Richard Bolton, Andy Ducille, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Sam Harris-Green, Ryan Harrison, David Henham, Chris Honey, Peter Mortley, Sean Ray, Shaun Reece, Carl Rook, Simon Rowland, Peter Sayer, Mitchell Sherwood.
The Reserves will be hoping to build on their outstanding victory at Maidstone last week, when they visit third placed Thamesmead Town Reserves tomorrow. Tim Holland will be forced to make a handful of changes for the game, notably in goal, as Greg Nessling is out with an ankle injury and Matt Brown is unavailable, which will see young Josh Willis start in their place. Last week's two goal hero Nicky Stiles is also unavailable, but on the plus side, Steve Graham has returned to full fitness and Kieren Startup has shrugged off a hamstring injury,
The full fourteen man squad will be as follows. Alan Aboalzahb, Ben Bennett, Mark Butler, Dominic Cruttenden, Steve Graham, Dhergaun Hadar, Paul Henty, Aaron Lidster, Jamie McGuigan, Steve Sands, Dan Spice, Kieren Startup, Ben White, Josh Willis.
United have announced the departure of two of Neville Southall's recent signings, after barely a month at the Pilot Field. Defender Ryan Bernard and striker Darryl Wilson have both left the Club, Ryan joining Carshalton Athletic, who put in a seven day letter for him little more than a week after he had signed for United. It is unclear whether Darryl has joined the Conference South club as well, or merely returned to Thurrock, from where he was on trial.
Not a great deal to report this week, with no league action to look at, although the fourth round of the Bryco Cup got underway this week. Only five Division One sides made it through to the last sixteen, two of whom have now advanced to the quarter finals. AFC Wimbledon twice came from a goal behind to beat Cray Wanderers 3-2 in an all Division One clash, while Leatherhead followed up their third round win at Hendon, with a sensational victory over Premier Division leaders Yeading, 4-2 on penalties after a 3-3 draw. Walton & Hersham play at home to Braintree Town next Tuesday.
The third round of the Sussex Senior Cup has also been taking place recently, with one match, Brighton & Hove Albion Reserves v Eastbourne Town, to be played next Tuesday. The other results went like this. Arundel 0-4 Bognor Regis Town, Crawley Town 5-1 Hailsham Town, Lewes 1-0 Eastbourne Borough, Oakwood 1-0 Horsham YMCA, Ringmer 3-2 Seaford, Westfield 2-1 St Francis Rangers, Worthing 3-0 Horsham. Congratulations to local rivals Westfield then, whose reward for what I presume is their first ever Senior Cup quarter final appearance is a trip to Bognor. Elsewhere, Ringmer will entertain Worthing, Lewes travel to Oakwood, and Crawley will be away to the winners of that sole outstanding third round tie.
The Club would like to hear from anyone who would be willing and able to assist in the build-up, and aftermath, of the AFC Wimbledon game on 19 February. There is much work to be done ahead of the game, to ensure that the Pilot Field is issued with the relevant safety certificate to stage the game. And afterwards, the ground will need to be tidied up in time for the Ladies' game the following day. On a separate issue, two of the Club's fund raising agents have been forced to give up their rounds recently, so the Club would be pleased to hear from anybody who might be willing to take over. Could all volunteers please contact Club Secretary Tony Cosens in the first instance on 01424 444635.
Finally, please don't forget the Club's Music Nights, the latest one of which takes place on Thursday 3 February, when local musicians, Mike Hatchard and Herbie Flowers, will be performing.
It was draws all round for the top three sides in the Ryman League Division One today. As a result, positions remained unchanged, but there was some movement in the top six, with Bromley dropping out after their fourth defeat in five matches. United's single point actually saw them fall three places to twelfth, albeit just the four points off the play-off zone now. It's as you were at the bottom as well, although Croydon won for the second week in a row and Ashford extended their unbeaten run to four matches, to keep the rest on their toes.
Here are all of this afternoon's results. AFC Wimbledon 0-0 Bashley, Ashford Town 2-2 Croydon Athletic, Burgess Hill Town 5-1 Corinthian-Casuals, Cray Wanderers 2-1 Molesey, Croydon 2-1 Dorking, Hastings United 2-2 Dulwich Hamlet, Horsham 1-1 Metropolitan Police, Leatherhead 3-0 Bromley, Tooting & Mitcham United 2-0 Banstead Athletic, Walton & Hersham 2-1 Fleet Town, Whyteleafe 3-0 Newport IoW.
Tim Holland's Reserves secured their best result of the season by far today, winning 3-1 away to the runaway league leaders Maidstone United Reserves. United scored all three goals in the opening twenty-five minutes, two from newly signed striker Nicky Stiles and the other a penalty by Ben White, before withstanding a fightback from the home side, but held on comfortably in the end. A full report on the game will hopefully be added to the site on Monday evening.
The Fans' Forum that followed this afternoon's game was extremely well attended, as supporters took the opportunity to fire questions at Neville Southall, with Terry White also on hand. Neville spoke with great passion about the non-league game and reinforced his belief that United are on the verge of bigger and better things. Whilst winning the league remains the ultimate, if somewhat stretching, goal this season, Neville declared that he would be content with a play-off place, but would view the title as a minimum objective next season, if United are unsuccessful this time around. He also expressed his belief in the solid foundation that an extensive Youth section brings to a Club at this level, and stressed the important role that all supporters play, in not only turning up each week to cheer on the team, but also in spreading the gospel amongst their friends, work colleagues and passing acquaintances, to help the Club maximise every fund-raising opportunity available.
United have something of a revenge mission to look forward to on Saturday, when they take on Dulwich Hamlet at the Pilot Field, hoping to extend their impressive unbeaten run. United were thumped 4-0 in south-east London in their first match following Steve Lovell's resignation back in November and will be keen to redress the balance at the weekend, against a side that, despite their undoubted superiority in the earlier match, remain considerably closer to the foot of the table than the top.
The most notable absentees from Neville Southall's provisional seventeen man squad are defender Peter Mortley, who has failed to shake off the injury he picked up on the Isle of Wight last week, and young striker Lee Barnett, who will be missing for the second Saturday running. The key decision will surround how to cope without Peter, whether to play a flat back four, or with three in the centre and two wingbacks, as was the case after Peter was substituted at Newport.
The full squad, which will be reduced by one on match day, is; Ryan Bernard, Richard Bolton, Andy Ducille, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Sam Harris-Green, Ryan Harrison, David Henham, Chris Honey, Sean Ray, Shaun Reece, Carl Rook, Simon Rowland, Peter Sayer, Mitchell Sherwood and Darryl Wilson.
We are pleased to have probably our best (and most expensive!) band yet playing at the Club this coming Thursday, 26 January. It would be great if you could come along and even better if you could bring a friend or two! The band are called Protect The Beat and they are all top session musicians. One of them was even playing with Eric Clapton at the charity gig in Cardiff last week. I guarantee you will enjoy it!!!
The Club would also like to extend its grateful thanks to Mr Luca Venditto of the Simply Italian group, for all his help in providing food for the players after the last two home games. We thank him also for the loan of a cooker, which has allowed Tony to lay on more food for spectators at recent games, and for his continued general help and support.
Two games in the Ryman League Division One last night finished Bromley 0-1 Banstead Athletic and Walton & Hersham 1-0 Molesey. On Wednesday, it finished Newport IoW 1-2 AFC Wimbledon, a result that saw the Dons open up an eleven point lead at the top.
United's Supporters' Club are hosting another of their increasingly successful quizzes in the Clubhouse on Wednesday evening. The fun gets underway at 7.30pm, with Phil Glazier filling the quizmaster role this month. Teams of up to four will be very welcome at a cost of £2 per person.
There was a full programme of fixtures in the Ryman League Division One this weekend and results went largely to form at both ends of the table. AFC Wimbledon retained their eight point lead over Horsham at the top, as both won narrowly away from home. Walton & Hersham and Burgess Hill were the only losers in the top half of the table in fact, so positions were unchanged on the whole, although United did pick up another place, moving into ninth, now just three points off the play-off zone. At the very bottom, Croydon and Ashford picked up only their third and fourth victories of the season respectively, to make up ground on the seven sides above them, who all lost. There are three league matches this coming midweek. On Tuesday, Bromley entertain Banstead and Walton & Hersham are at home to Molesey. Then on Wednesday, the AFC Wimbledon juggernaut crosses the Solent to take on Newport.
Here are all of Saturday's results. Banstead Athletic 2-3 Horsham, Bashley 1-5 Cray Wanderers, Bromley 1-0 Burgess Hill Town, Corinthian-Casuals 0-2 Croydon, Croydon Athletic 2-4 Tooting & Mitcham United, Dorking 0-2 Ashford Town, Dulwich Hamlet 0-1 AFC Wimbledon, Fleet Town 1-3 Whyteleafe, Metropolitan Police 1-0 Walton & Hersham, Molesey 0-1 Leatherhead, Newport IoW 0-1 Hastings United.
United's Reserves were knocked out of the Kent League Division One/Two Cup, beaten 3-2 by Second Division Beckenham Town Reserves at the Pilot Field, despite leading 1-0 at half time, courtesy of a Ben White goal. Along with Bromley Reserves, Sevenoaks Town Reserves and Slade Green Reserves, Beckenham bizarrely make up an all Second Division semi final line-up. February's Kent League fixtures have finally been announced and Tim Holland's side will visit Thamesmead Town Reserves on the 5th, entertain Deal Town Reserves on the 12th, and also entertain Herne Bay Reserves on the 26th.
United are off to the Isle of Wight tomorrow in search of three more Ryman League Division One points. Newport's St Georges Park has been far from a happy hunting ground for United down the years, but last season's 2-1 victory has hopefully bucked that trend, with United needing to at least keep their eight game unbeaten run intact, to ensure that they keep pace with the other play-off chasers. The Islanders are on a pretty good run themselves at the moment, having gone four without defeat in the league, including last Saturday's excellent 2-1 win away to Tooting & Mitcham United. And Newport triumphed at the Pilot Field in the corresponding fixture on 20 November, winning 4-3 in that slightly bizarre game, in which United had Danny Knowles and Sean Ray sent off.
Danny has long since moved on of course, but Sean will doubtless be an integral part of tomorrow's squad, which shows three changes from the midweek trip to Ashford. Out go Danny Ellis, Darryl Wilson and Shaun Reece, their places going to Peter Sayer, Carl Rook and Russell Eldridge. To confirm, the full squad is Lee Barnett, Ryan Bernard, Richard Bolton, Andy Ducille, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Ryan Harrison, David Henham, Chris Honey, Peter Mortley, Greg Nessling, Sean Ray, Carl Rook, Simon Rowland, Peter Sayer and Mitchell Sherwood.
Tim Holland's Reserve side will be in action at the Pilot Field tomorrow, tackling Second Division Beckenham Town Reserves in the quarter final of the Kent League Division One/Two Cup. Although Tim will not have the luxury of adding Danny, Darryl or Shaun to his squad, he is able to welcome back some more old faces, in defenders Steve Sands, Kieren Startup and Dhergam Hadar. Recent signing Alan Cowley will be absent with injury for a couple of weeks, but Tim's squad has a considerably stronger look to it now that the New Year is upon us, which seems to augur well for the remainder of the season. If you are not planning to make the trip to Newport with the First Team tomorrow, why not go along and judge for yourselves. As always, the support is fully appreciated, and might help propel the lads into the semi-finals.
The full Reserve squad tomorrow will be Alan Aboalzhab, Ben Bennett, Mark Butler, Dominic Cruttenden, Liam Frejiszyn, Steve Graham, Dhergam Hadar, Sam Harris-Green, Aaron Lidster, Jamie McGuigan, Kenny Pogue, Steve Sands, Dan Spice, Kieren Startup, Ben White and Josh Willis.
I hope to at least add the results to the site before, or during, the ferry journey back to the mainland at 6.00pm tomorrow. That is always assuming that the travelling laptop experiment proves more successful than on its last outing at Spalding last year. If you can't wait that long, it is my turn to provide the Arrow FM report tomorrow, which usually airs at about 5.10pm, so I believe.
The Club is pleased to announce that advance tickets are now on sale for the home clash with AFC Wimbledon on 19 February. After last week's controversy, it was decided to retain admission prices at their usual level and to withdraw the voucher scheme for visitors to the Pilot Field during the weeks ahead of the game. It should be borne in mind though, that seats in the main stand will have to be restricted on the day for safety reasons, so in order to reserve a place on a first come first served basis, please visit, or contact, the Club as soon as possible, to avoid any potential disappointment on the day. Advance ticket holders will also be able to gain direct admission on the day, avoiding the queues at the turnstiles. If you are applying for tickets through the post, please remember to specify whether stand tickets are required, or tickets for the ground only, and please make any cheques payable to the Club. And just as a reminder, admission costs will be £6 for adults, £3 for senior citizens and disabled supporters, and £2 for children under sixteen, with no additional charge for access to the main stand.
Please note also that the friendly fixture with Lewes at the Pilot Field has been put back to Wednesday 2 February, with the same 7.45pm kick off time.
In addition to the Lewes friendly, which has been penned in for 1 February, United have announced that County League neighbours Sidley United will return to the Pilot Field next Tuesday, 25 January, for a further friendly, specifically with a view to giving Neville Southall a chance to take a look at his playing squad as a whole. Both games will kick off at 7.45pm, season tickets will be valid, and admission at the gate will cost £3 for adults, £2 for senior citizens and disabled supporters, and £1 for children under sixteen.
There was one other game in the Ryman League Division One last night, Whyteleafe drawing 2-2 with Tooting & Mitcham United, a result that kept both clubs below United in the league table. United's own point at Ashford took them above Bashley and into tenth place, now just four points beneath the play-off positions. Walton & Hersham won their FA Trophy third round replay at home to Tonbridge Angels, 3-2 on penalties, after a 1-1 draw after extra time. The Swans will be away to Stamford, our former Dr Martens League rivals, currently lying bottom of the Premier Division.
United have announced that an extra fixture has been added to next month's list, after Conference South side Lewes agreed to send a side to the Pilot Field on 1 February for a friendly game. Neville Southall will use the match as an opportunity to take a proper look at some of his new signings, and also some of the other players on the fringes of First Team selection. The match will kick off at 7.45pm and I will be pleased to confirm the (hopefully) correct admission prices in due course.
Meanwhile, the twice postponed Ryman League Division One clash away to Tooting & Mitcham United has been rearranged for Tuesday 15 February, also with the usual 7.45pm kick off.
My name is Dave Walters and I am the Chairman of Hastings United Football Club. Since the announcement of our ticket prices for the AFC Wimbledon game, I have followed, with interest, the comments on both our own forum, and that of the Isthmian League. To explain the thinking behind our decision would take too long and would bore most of you. Suffice to say, I do not want to offend, or ‘rip off’ AFC Wimbledon fans, or anyone else for that matter. Like most of you, I love the non-league game for many reasons, not least the alienation most of us feel towards the professional game. I think our reasons for raising the prices for this game were sound. However, that does not seem to be the popular opinion and, despite being a stubborn, opinionated so and so, we will revert to our normal pricing policy for this game.
Just the ten games in the Ryman League Division One today, due to Walton & Hersham's prolonged involvement in the FA Trophy, which reached the third round stage this afternoon. The Swans were drawn away to Tonbridge Angels at Longmead and emerged with a creditable 1-1 draw, to earn a home replay on Tuesday evening. In the league, virtually every result went AFC Wimbledon's way today, including their win at home to George Wakeling's Bromley. Elsewhere, Horsham were the only other side in the top eight to get any points at all, beating Croydon Athletic to go second in the table. The gap between the top six and mid-table is ever decreasing, with United now back up to eleventh place and just five points off the play-off places, with a game or two in hand on most sides above them. At the bottom, Tuesday's opponents Ashford picked up only their third win of the season, but remain well back in the bottom two. Banstead's victory at Cray, their third win in four games, was probably the surprise result of the day, although Burgess Hill was clearly the place to be for goals, as Bashley recovered from 3-1 down at half time to win by the odd goal in nine.
These were all of this afternoon's results. AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Bromley, Ashford Town 1-0 Fleet Town, Burgess Hill Town 4-5 Bashley, Cray Wanderers 0-1 Banstead Athletic, Croydon 1-1 Molesey, Hastings United 2-0 Corinthian-Casuals, Horsham 3-0 Croydon Athletic, Leatherhead 2-1 Dulwich Hamlet, Tooting & Mitcham United 1-2 Newport IoW, Whyteleafe 1-0 Metropolitan Police.
In view of the interest being created in our forthcoming game against AFC Wimbledon, the Club has decided to tak