The countdown towards the 2007/08 Ryman League Premier Division season is already well underway at the Pilot Field. United's new league campaign will commence on Saturday 18 August, and the full season's fixtures are expected to be announced in mid-July, with the various cup draws starting to be confirmed a week or so beforehand.
United already have five pre-season games arranged, with more expected to follow in due course. At present, they begin with a trip to Dartford's new Princes Park stadium on Saturday 28 July, followed by a visit to Conference South neighbours Eastbourne Borough on Tuesday 31st. A scheduled home match against Fleet Town on Saturday 4 August has sadly had to be cancelled, replaced by an away trip to Horsham YMCA, while Burgess Hill Town are due to call at the Pilot Field on Tuesday 4th, followed by Croydon Athletic on Saturday 11th.
Further dates, hopefully including a much anticipated meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion, will be announced as and when they are arranged.
The Football Association's Leagues Committee met today to discuss the constitution of the various levels of the non-league pyramid for next season. The Ryman League subsequently announced the following line-up for its 2007/08 Premier Division, which includes the four sides promoted from Division One South and Division One North, Maidstone United, Hastings United, AFC Hornchurch and Harlow Town, and also Wealdstone, who have been switched from the Southern League's Premier Division. None of the sides dropping down from level two of the pyramid have been placed in the Ryman League set-up.
AFC Hornchurch, AFC Wimbledon, Ashford Town (Middx), Billericay Town, Boreham Wood, Carshalton Athletic, Chelmsford City, East Thurrock United, Folkestone Invicta, Harlow Town, Harrow Borough, Hastings United, Hendon, Heybridge Swifts, Horsham, Leyton, Maidstone United, Margate, Ramsgate, Staines Town, Tonbridge Angels and Wealdstone.
These are exciting times for Hastings United Football Club. Less than a week after securing a place in the Ryman League Premier Division, thanks to last weekend's play-off final victory over Tooting & Mitcham United, the Club has secured a major new sponsor for the 2007/08 season.
Hastings based company, Park Holidays UK, the largest holiday park operator in the south of England, has signed a deal with the Club, which will include shirt sponsorship and other commercial opportunities. The company’s head office is situated at Coghurst Hall Holiday Park, barely a mile from the Pilot Field, and they are a major local firm, employing 1300 staff nationally. The company owns twenty-three holiday parks in the south and south-east of England, eleven of which are situated in Sussex and Kent, including Beauport Park, Winchelsea Sands and Frenchman’s Beach, as well as Coghurst Hall itself.
Commenting on the deal, Park Holidays UK's Commercial Director, Tony Clish, said, "We are very pleased to be entering into an association with the Club at this important time of its development, with promotion secured, and the excitement of a possible new ground." Tony added, "As major employers in the area, and drawing many thousands of holidaymakers into the area each year, it is something we and our customers can be proud to be part of. The Club is enjoying a very successful time, as are Park Holidays UK, and it's a partnership that we hope will be a winner for both parties."
United Chairman Dave Walters said, "It's great to have a major company of Park Holidays UK's status backing us. The relationship will help both of us to prosper and the deal was signed the day we won promotion, and hopefully that's a good sign that will bring us a bit of luck next year! Our two mascots, Leonard the Seagull and Loopy the Rabbit, have already established a firm friendship!" Dave added, "We will also be continuing with our successful promotion, which was used to find a main sponsor for last season, although for next season, it will be to find an associate sponsor. The successful entrant will receive naming rights for the Elphinstone Road stand, programme sponsorship for the season, their company name on the back of First Team shirts, their name displayed on the fascia board at the entrance to the ground, and six corporate season tickets. As with last season, all entrants will receive a sponsorship benefit at a game next season, so we hope more local companies will support us in this venture and help us towards continuing success."
Tony Clish and Dave Walters are pictured below, celebrating the signing of the sponsorship agreement, alongside mascots Leonard the Seagull and Loopy the Rabbit.
With a new main sponsor on board at this early stage, United can truly begin to look forward to next season's challenges with relish, with manager Nigel Kane already starting to pinpoint areas of his squad that are in need of improvement, and even identifying certain individual players that he would like to bring into the squad. On the field of play, United are likely to renew old rivalries with the likes of Tonbridge Angels and Folkestone Invicta, while this season's Division One South champions Maidstone United will join other Kent sides in Margate and Ramsgate, and Horsham should offer United at least one Sussex derby, albeit a fairly distant one. AFC Wimbledon and Chelmsford City are likely to be the big draws from an attendance point of view, both having averaged over 1,000 per game during the 2006/07 campaign. The final line-up will not be confirmed for a few weeks yet, with further restructuring likely to lead to some switching of sides between leagues, but full details will be provided as soon as possible, with the website's Links and Travel Info pages being updated over the summer.
The website has obtained a copy of the interviews given by Sean Ray, Dave Walters and Nigel Kane to Arrow FM after the match at Imperial Fields last Saturday. All three spoke to Jo Sykes from Arrow FM's news team, who has kindly permitted us to make them available to download, and while Sean and Dave spoke only briefly with Jo immediately after the game, Nigel gave a four minute interview an hour after the final whistle. The clips can be heard by clicking on the following links. Sean Ray Dave Walters Nigel Kane
Finally, please don't forget that this coming Saturday, the Clubhouse at the Pilot Field will be staging a special presentation evening, when the Supporters' Club will be handing over its Player of the Year and Goal of the Season awards. Obviously, after last weekend's success, the evening will double up as a promotion party of sorts, with all of the players and management team expected to be in attendance. It would be wonderful to see as many people as possible at the event, to join in the celebrations and to send everyone off for their summer break on a high note.
United manager Nigel Kane has today confirmed his sixteen man squad for tomorrow's Division One South play-off final against Tooting & Mitcham United at Imperial Fields. United will unfortunately be denied the services of striker Sam Adams, following his first half red card at Crabble on Tuesday, and his place in the starting line-up seems most likely to be taken by Danny Ellis in a straight swap on the right flank. Meanwhile, Sam's place in the squad has been awarded to reserve keeper Sam Harris-Green, who will provide purely precautionary cover, lest any mishaps should befall regular number one Lee Worgan during the contest.
The sensational midweek win at Dover appears to have sparked a huge local interest in the final showdown with a Tooting & Mitcham side, unbeaten in thirty-one matches and assistant managed by former United boss George Wakeling. The Club is well on its way to filling a second coach dedicated to travelling supporters, to add to those heading to the game on the team coach, and countless others making their own way to south London. The vocal support was truly magnificent at Crabble on Tuesday and everyone at the Club, especially the players, were extremely grateful of the efforts made by those who made the trip, and helped to sing United to victory. And many thanks in advance to everyone heading north to the final tomorrow, for what will hopefully be another memorable occasion.
Anyone who cannot be at the game, and anyone who wishes to relive it over again, will be able to download highlights of the match, courtesy of Dave Shirley and DAFCtv, from some time on Sunday. Currently, highlights of United's game against Dover are also available, so follow the link to www.dafctv.co.uk and take a look at Dave's fantastic coverage.
After seeing off Dover Athletic at Crabble this evening, United will visit Tooting & Mitcham United on Saturday, as Imperial Fields prepares to host the Division One South play-off final. United's 2-0 triumph against the adversity of Sam Adams' first half red card, courtesy of Ade Olorunda's eighteenth and nineteenth goals of the season, contrasted somewhat with the Terrors' own semi-final success, a 2-1 comeback victory at home to Fleet Town, in which Joe Vines and Paul Vines scored deep in stoppage time to win the match, just when all seemed lost.
United's playing record at Imperial Fields does not make for impressive reading, and they lost 1-0 to an early goal on their regular season visit way back in August. However, United are incredibly the last team to have beaten Tooting & Mitcham in a competitive fixture, a 1-0 win at the Pilot Field on 6 January, after which they embarked on a thirty-one match unbeaten run, that saw them ultimately finish as runners-up to Maidstone United in the league table, and win the London Senior Cup, and the Surrey Senior Cup, in the space of forty-eight hours last week. United will be hoping that such good things really do come to an end when they line up at the weekend, although they will have to manage without Sam, who will be suspended after his sending off this evening.
There will of course be a team coach running to the game, while a second coach will also be available with a later departure time. Anyone wishing to travel on either coach should please contact the Club to book a seat. The team coach will leave the Pilot Field at 11.30am, with the second leaving an hour later at 12.30pm, with the usual costs applying. If you have already booked a seat, please contact Simon Rudkins on 07703 358399 to confirm on which coach you would prefer to travel.
After yesterday's morale boosting victory at Godalming, which took them back up a place into fourth at the end of the Division One South's regular season, United learnt that the rather dubious reward for their final day endeavours would be a return visit to Crabble on Tuesday evening, to take on Dover Athletic in the play-off semi-final. A little more than three weeks after the Whites brought their sixteen match unbeaten run to an end, United will head back to east Kent to face a Dover side that lost only one of their final twelve league games, and won their last five, scoring eighteen goals in the process. United's own end of season form was less impressive, as suspensions denied them the services of Sean Ray, Ade Olorunda and Lee Carey at key points during the run-in, while Jimmy Elford also missed three games after getting married over the Easter holidays. Now back to virtually full strength though, United will hope to give a better account of themselves this week than they did on Easter Monday, although even then, despite United's poor display, Dover only ran out 2-1 winners on the day, after surviving a late goalmouth scramble and a vociferous penalty appeal deep in stoppage time. Sam Adams should be fit to start on Tuesday, after resting a slight hamstring problem yesterday, while United are also hopeful that Ade Olorunda will have recovered from the ankle injury he suffered early in the second half at Godalming.
Warmest congratulations to Maidstone United, who followed in Ramsgate's footsteps yesterday, by winning the Division One South championship twelve months after lifting the Kent League crown. A double from defender Ryan Royston earned the Stones a 2-1 win away to Walton Casuals, giving them the victory they needed to finish a single point clear of Tooting & Mitcham United, who did enough to claim the runners-up spot, thanks to an early Paul Vines goal at Ashford. Imperial Fields will play host to the other play-off semi-final on Tuesday, where Fleet Town will be the visitors, the Hampshire side slipping below United and into fifth place after playing out a goalless draw at Sittingbourne. Sixth place was snatched by Metropolitan Police, who leapfrogged Dartford, after beating them 4-3 at Imber Court, and Dulwich Hamlet, who lost by the same score at Cray Wanderers. At the bottom, Corinthian-Casuals' 3-1 at home to Leatherhead took them off the foot of the table for the first time since September, leaving Godalming to bring up the rear. The relegation fate of both sides now rests in the hands of the F.A.'s restructuring committee, with Corinthian-Casuals already sensing a second successive reprieve to be on the cards, and Godalming hoping that the expansion of the Northern Premier League into two divisions at level four, will see them hang onto their status as well. Chipstead, Eastbourne Town and Whitstable Town seem likely to be awarded promotion to Division One South for next season, with Worthing and Walton & Hersham facing relegation from the Premier Division, although some movement of clubs between the Isthmian and Southern Leagues would appear to be essential to keep the number of sides to twenty-two in each division.
Here are all of yesterday's Division One South results. Ashford Town 0-1 Tooting & Mitcham United, Chatham Town 3-1 Molesey, Corinthian-Casuals 3-1 Leatherhead, Cray Wanderers 4-3 Dulwich Hamlet, Croydon Athletic 1-0 Whyteleafe, Dover Athletic 5-0 Horsham YMCA, Godalming Town 0-4 Hastings United, Kingstonian 5-0 Burgess Hill Town, Metropolitan Police 4-3 Dartford, Sittingbourne 0-0 Fleet Town, Walton Casuals 1-2 Maidstone United.
The Reserves' brought their County League campaign to a rather bizarre, but entertaining, end at the Pilot Field yesterday, when they lost 5-4 at home to Oakwood Reserves. Paul Greenaway's side looked all set to finish on a high note, as goals from Bernard Asante and Gavin Ramsden gave them an early two goal advantage, but the visitors had turned the game on its head by half time, coming back to lead 3-2 courtesy of an own goal, a penalty and a free kick. United lost goalkeeper Julian Killner to injury shortly after the restart, forcing defender and occasional keeper Scott Vickers to take over the gloves. Bernard scored his second goal of the game to level things up, only for Oakwood to then retake the lead, concede another equaliser, and finally win the match with a goal in the dying stages of an incredible match. The defeat left United in fifth place in the league table, having completed their fixtures, with three of the sides below them holding games in hand to potentially overhaul United's final points total in the last week of the season.
It's forty-one league games down and one to go in the Ryman League Division One South regular season, although four of the current top five sides will still have the small matter of the play-offs to keep them occupied during the first week in May. United pay their first ever visit to Godalming Town on Saturday, and maybe their last for a while as well, with the Surrey side set to finish in one of the two relegation places and facing an immediate return to the Combined Counties League. Although the league title is now out of reach as far as Nigel Kane's squad is concerned, three points at Weycourt could yet see United finish as high as second, although fourth or fifth place seems a more likely outcome, which would send United on their travels again for an away play-off semi-final next Tuesday. Skipper Sean Ray and striker Ade Olorunda are both available again after serving out their recent suspensions, so United should at last be back to a virtually full strength line-up for a match that will hopefully provide a timely boost to United's recently flagging fortunes.
Less than three weeks ago, United were on the brink of overhauling Maidstone at the top of the table, but crucial defeats to Dover and Dartford, followed by last weekend's home draw with Corinthian-Casuals, conspired to send United sliding to the fifth place that they currently occupy. Dover's 5-0 win at Corinthian-Casuals on Tuesday took them above United and Fleet and into third place, and eliminated Dartford from play-off contention, whilst keeping the Whites in with a chance of stealing the title. Maidstone remain in pole position, after a 1-1 at Ashford took them a point clear of Tooting & Mitcham, but the top two both face tricky away encounters this weekend, while Dover entertain Horsham YMCA, who lost 2-0 at Sittingbourne in the week. Fleet visit Bourne Park and must win to be of finishing above United. At the bottom, although Corinthian-Casuals and Godalming are both already relegated, the ignominious wooden spoon is still at stake, with Godalming needing a point to stay off the bottom, and Casuals needing a win at home to Leatherhead to have any chance of avoiding twenty-second spot.
Here are all of Saturday's fixtures. Ashford Town v Tooting & Mitcham United, Chatham Town v Molesey, Corinthian-Casuals v Leatherhead, Cray Wanderers v Dulwich Hamlet, Croydon Athletic v Whyteleafe, Dover Athletic v Horsham YMCA, Godalming Town v Hastings United, Kingstonian v Burgess Hill Town, Metropolitan Police v Dartford, Sittingbourne v Fleet Town, Walton Casuals v Maidstone United.
If United do finish outside the top three and are left to plan for a semi-final away trip, there will be a coach to the game, which will leave the Pilot Field at 4.30pm. Anyone wishing to book a seat in advance should please contact Simon Rudkins on 07703 358399 and supporters are advised to reserve a place early as usual, to avoid disappointment.
On Monday, United Reserves lost out in the final of the Hastings Intermediate Cup, when they were beaten 2-0 by East Sussex League Premier Division side Hollington United at The Saffrons in Eastbourne. A strong United line-up, which included Sean and Ade, to give them some match practice ahead of their return to First Team duty, started well and missed a host of first half chances that might have put them out of sight by the interval. Hollington made them pay by taking the lead within ten minutes of the restart, and were well deserving of their second and decisive goal in the closing stages. Paul Greenaway's side are in action for the final time this season on Saturday, when struggling Oakwood Reserves visit the Pilot Field. A win will just about guarantee United a top six finish in their first season of County League action.
Finally, a special word of congratulations and praise for United's Under 12 side, who clinched their Rother League title last weekend thanks to a crushing 10-2 victory over Hastings Town Red. The squad has enjoyed a phenomenal season under manager Neil Phillips, winning all thirteen of their league matches to date, and scoring seventy-eight goals in the process. Last Sunday's win saw them bounce back in style from a surprise 6-3 defeat to Glenco in the previous week's League Cup final, with hot shot striker Nelson Whyman scoring a hattrick. Further details of the Under 12's tremendous campaign are available via the Youth Team section of the site.
Ahead of yesterday's draw against Corinthian-Casuals at the Pilot Field, the acting chairman of the United Supporters' Club, Paul Golding, announced the results of the traditional end of season awards. There was a runaway winner in the player of the season category, with goalkeeper Lee Worgan receiving an overwhelming percentage of the overall vote to finish well clear of runner-up Sean Ray. Meanwhile, striker Sam Adams won both goal of the season awards, for his spectacular efforts at home to Dulwich, and away to Ashford. The trophies will officially be handed over at a special presentation evening, which is to be held at the Pilot Field Clubhouse on the evening of Saturday 12 May.
Unfortunately, the footballing fare dished up yesterday was worthy of no prizes, and the two dropped points left United out of the running for the league title, barring a few mathematical miracles, and down in fourth place, albeit that they are guaranteed a play-off place. Realistically, four teams are still in with a chance of finishing top; Maidstone, Tooting & Mitcham, Fleet and Dover, although the Stones can eliminate the latter two if they win their game in hand at Ashford on Tuesday evening. Even a draw would put Fleet out of the running, while Dover must win at Corinthian-Casuals to stay in the hunt themselves. The Whites need just a single point from their final two games to clinch a play-off spot and end Dartford's interest, while Dulwich are already destined to miss out.
Yesterday's action saw Maidstone win for the first time in four matches, a late Ryan Royston goal seeing them squeeze past Kingstonian at Bourne Park. Tooting & Mitcham hung onto the seventh minute lead given them by Ronnie Green at home to Godalming, to stay behind the Stones on goal difference, while Fleet's comfortable win at home to Croydon saw them leapfrog United into third. Two goals apiece from Tommy Tyne and James Dryden earned Dover a 4-1 win at Burgess Hill to move the Whites to within two points of United in fifth, while Dartford's goalless draw at home to Walton, and Dulwich's 3-3 draw at home to Ashford, where Hamlet recovered from two goals down with two minutes to go, resulted in both losing ground in sixth and seventh.
Here are all of the results from the penultimate weekend of the season. Burgess Hill Town 1-4 Dover Athletic, Dartford 0-0 Walton Casuals, Dulwich Hamlet 3-3 Ashford Town, Fleet Town 3-0 Croydon Athletic, Hastings United 0-0 Corinthian-Casuals, Horsham YMCA 2-1 Chatham Town, Leatherhead 2-2 Cray Wanderers, Maidstone United 2-1 Kingstonian, Molesey 1-5 Sittingbourne, Tooting & Mitcham United 1-0 Godalming Town, Whyteleafe 0-2 Metropolitan Police.
United Reserves will be in action tomorrow (Monday) evening, when they travel over to The Saffrons in Eastbourne to take on Hollington United in the final of the Hastings Intermediate Cup. They go there with three more County League points in the bag, despite not having been in league action this weekend. Their final scheduled opponents of the season, Worthing United, have sadly been forced to withdraw from the league, although too late to have their playing record expunged, so all of their remaining opponents have been awarded walkover victories. The Reserves' final match of the season will therefore be a Pilot Field visit from Oakwood Reserves next Saturday.
At the end of yet another week, in which the three main championship contenders have all seemingly tried their best not to take a firm grip on the title race, United head into the final eight days of the season, facing games against the two relegated teams, knowing that victories in both matches could still earn them automatic promotion to the Premier Division. Bottom of the table Corinthian-Casuals visit the Pilot Field tomorrow, with United hoping to bounce back from successive defeats to Dover and Dartford, and Jimmy Elford's return from honeymoon should give Nigel Kane's side a more balanced look, at least enabling them to revert to a 4-4-2 formation. James Sims misses out through injury, with Danny Spice standing by for a recall to the starting line-up, although Rhys Whyborne will also hope to be involved, after having the eleven stitches, which were required to repair the head wound he suffered last weekend, removed yesterday. Sean Ray and Ade Olorunda serve the final match of their respective suspensions tomorrow, with both set to return for the final game of the campaign at Godalming next weekend.
Here are the results of all the Division One South matches played during the last week. Burgess Hill Town 0-2 Ashford Town, Chatham Town 2-0 Leatherhead, Cray Wanderers 1-2 Dover Athletic, Dulwich Hamlet 0-1 Walton Casuals, Fleet Town 1-0 Corinthian-Casuals, Hastings United 1-2 Dartford, Kingstonian 4-0 Godalming Town, Metropolitan Police 1-0 Maidstone United, Molesey 1-1 Horsham YMCA, Sittingbourne 3-1 Croydon Athletic, Whyteleafe 0-1 Tooting & Mitcham United, Burgess Hill Town 1-4 Corinthian-Casuals, Molesey 5-3 Cray Wanderers, Sittingbourne 2-3 Metropolitan Police, Tooting & Mitcham United 2-2 Walton Casuals, Fleet Town 2-1 Ashford Town.
United's Under 18 side travelled to Priory Lane last Sunday for their County League East Division title showdown with Eastbourne Borough. Needing to beat their hosts to finish top, United got off to a great start and took the lead midway through the first half with a goal from Brian Caetano. But, after missing several chances to extend their advantage, and despite a dominant, attacking display, United allowed the home side to get back into the game and to equalise courtesy of a fortunate defection with twenty minutes remaining. Borough were then able to hang on to take the point that consigned United to the runners-up spot, although manager Andy Thomson remained full of praise for the manner in which his entirely underage squad had approached the season, and declared himself to be genuinely excited by United's prospects for the next campaign, when they will have high hopes of going one better.
The Reserves have seen an improvement in their recent fortunes over the past week, picking up a win and a draw in their last two County League fixtures. Last Friday, goals from Billy Trickett and Gilberto da Palma saw United twice come from behind to earn a 2-2 draw away to Eastbourne Town, the third draw between the two sides in the space of four weeks. Then on Wednesday evening, Paul Greenaway's side collected their first win in seven league matches, a 2-0 victory over Ringmer at the Pilot Field, thanks to second half strikes from Dominic Cruttenden and Allaa Alzahab. The Reserves have no game this weekend, giving them some extra preparation time for the Hastings Intermediate Cup final against East Sussex League side Hollington United, which has not only been brought forward to next Monday 23 April, but the venue has also been switched to The Saffrons, the home of Eastbourne Town, with a 7.30pm kick off and a £2 admission fee.
United emerged from the Easter weekend knowing that wins in their final three matches could just as easily bring the Division One South championship trophy to the Pilot Field, as it could leave them in third place and without the advantage of guaranteeing a home play-off final, should they get that far of course. After missing out on the chance to go two points clear at the top of the table on Bank Holiday Monday, United now sit a point behind leaders Maidstone, who have an extra game to play, and three points ahead of third placed Tooting & Mitcham, who also have a game in hand and a superior goal difference. On the other hand, United need six points to stave off any late challenge from Dover and Fleet, which could theoretically still see United miss out on a play-off place altogether, although four points will see them finish ahead of Dulwich, and a draw on Saturday will ensure that this weekend's opponents, Dartford, cannot overhaul United in the table either.
Saturday brings with it another selection challenge for manager Nigel Kane, with Ade Olorunda commencing a two match suspension for accumulating ten bookings. John Bradley will be the favourite to partner Sam Adams in attack, while Dominic Cruttenden has been added to the squad that travelled to Dover, as Sean Ray and Jimmy Elford continue their late season absences. Jimmy is due to return for next weekend's match at home to bottom of the table Corinthian-Casuals, while Sean will have to sit out until the final game of the regular season, away to Godalming Town, when Ade will also be eligible to return.
There have been contrasting fortunes for the Youth Team and Reserves in the last few days. The Under 18s won 1-0 at Sidley last Sunday morning, to set up a title decider away to Eastbourne Borough this coming weekend. Matt Maclean's first half goal was good enough on the day for United, for whom Jack Franklin missed an early second half penalty. Borough head the table by a single point going into the final match of the campaign, so United must win to take the title and complete a fantastic season for Andy Thomson's largely underage squad. Kick off at Priory Lane on Sunday morning is 11.00am.
The Reserves slipped to a second successive league defeat on Tuesday evening, beaten 4-1 by a Hailsham Town side that went top of the table as a result of their win. United went in at the break on level terms at 1-1, Graham Webb scoring for Paul Greenaway's side, but United were swept away in the second half and now appear destined for a mid-table finish in their debut season of County Reserve League football.
The Club has been saddened to learn of the death of Joe Taliana, who passed away after suffering a heart attack last week. Joe was a popular and familiar figure at the Pilot Field for many years, and enjoyed great success in his long term role as the Club's Promotions Manager. He retired only a few short years ago, returning to live in his native Malta, although he still kept in touch with United's progress from afar. Everyone at the Club would like to extend their condolences to Joe's family and friends, and will invite supporters to join in a minute's silence in Joe's memory ahead of Saturday's game with Dartford.
Also on Saturday, the Pilot Field will be receiving a visit from a Maidstone United supporter who is raising money for the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research. Simon Randall has been involved with the charity for some time and is passing up the chance to watch Maidstone play at Metropolitan Police in order to sell Bobby Moore and West Ham United memorabilia and badges for this very worthwhile cause. Simon will have a small stand set up between the main stand and the tea bar, so please pay him a visit and donate what you can.
A booking sheet for the coach travelling to United's final game of the season at Godalming Town on 28 April will be available in the Club Shop on Saturday. Costs are £5 for under 18 Supporters' Club members, £10 for adult Supporters' Club members, and £13 for non-members. The departure time will be 11.15am and, as there is likely to be a high demand for this game, please book early to avoid disappointment.
This week's results have been as follows. Ashford Town 0-0 Whyteleafe, Croydon Athletic 1-2 Cray Wanderers, Dartford 1-3 Chatham Town, Dover Athletic 2-1 Hastings United, Godalming Town 1-2 Fleet Town, Horsham YMCA 0-3 Burgess Hill Town, Leatherhead 0-1 Kingstonian, Maidstone United 2-2 Sittingbourne, Tooting & Mitcham United 1-1 Dulwich Hamlet, Walton Casuals 2-1 Molesey, Corinthian-Casuals 2-3 Metropolitan Police, Cray Wanderers 0-4 Ashford Town.
Although United enjoyed a comfortable afternoon at the Pilot Field today, culminating in their biggest league win of the season to date, it was still some way short of the fourteen goal performance that they had needed to replace Maidstone at the top of the table. However, United do go into part two of their Easter campaign level on points with the Stones once again, and arguably continue to show better form than their long time automatic promotion rivals.
The Terrors of Tooting & Mitcham maintained their late challenge with a slender victory at Burgess Hill this afternoon, a first half Ben Abbey goal keeping them four points behind United with a game in hand, and extending their unbeaten run to eighteen games. It now seems entirely likely that the championship will be won by one of the current top three, who have a cushion to the four sides in immediate contention for the remaining couple of play-off places. Dulwich recovered from an early gaol down to thump Horsham YMCA today, to return to fourth place above Dartford, who could only draw at Kingstonian. A seventh minute Steve Hemmings goal was enough to earn Fleet a league double of 1-0 wins against a Dover side that will now be desperate for a victory when United visit Crabble on Monday. Metropolitan Police (one win in six), Leatherhead (one win in ten), and Horsham YMCA (two wins in seven) all appear to have suffered a slump in form at the wrong time of the season, and are surely now out of contention.
Down at the foot of the table, bottom side Corinthian-Casuals produced a stunning performance at Cray to pick up their first win in nine games, although probably too late to prevent them finishing in a one of the relegation places. Ashford's fine win at Molesey took them out of the bottom two once again, with Godalming slipping back after losing their vital clash at Chatham, who are now five points clear of twenty-first place with four games left, while Ashford still have to squeeze seven more games into the final three weeks of the season and are two points clear of Godalming at present. Walton's point at Imber Court kept them ahead of Chatham on goal difference, and Croydon should be safe enough, despite their recent poor form and lack of resources.
Here are all of today's results. Burgess Hill Town 0-1 Tooting & Mitcham United, Chatham Town 1-0 Godalming Town, Cray Wanderers 2-4 Corinthian-Casuals, Dulwich Hamlet 4-1 Horsham YMCA, Fleet Town 1-0 Dover Athletic, Hastings United 4-0 Croydon Athletic, Kingstonian 1-1 Dartford, Metropolitan Police 0-0 Walton Casuals, Molesey 1-2 Ashford Town, Sittingbourne 1-1 Leatherhead.
Easter Monday is derby day of course, although not so, if some of the fixtures are anything to go by. Maidstone will be in the home dressing room when they take on landlords' Sittingbourne in a morning kick off at Bourne Park. Tooting & Mitcham entertain Dulwich, while United visit Dover, Dartford host Chatham, and Fleet visit Godalming. The other fixtures are Ashford v Whyteleafe, Croydon v Cray, Horsham YMCA v Burgess Hill, Leatherhead v Kingstonian and Walton v Molesey. Corinthian-Casuals play Metropolitan Police on Tuesday, while Ashford continue to play catch-up when they travel to Cray on Wednesday.
Finally, congratulations to another of the Club's successful Youth sides, with the Under 14s, managed by Dave Stevens, having clinched their Rother League championship with four games still to play. The team has enjoyed a fantastic season, going unbeaten through all seventeen matches played thus far, and the title was confirmed with a victory over Eastbourne Borough & Stone Cross last weekend.
The Division One South title race remains wide open this afternoon, after leaders Maidstone dropped a couple more points in a 2-2 Good Friday draw at Whyteleafe. That one point gained extended their lead over United to three points, with the two sides now having played the same number of fixtures, at least until United entertain Croydon Athletic at the Pilot Field tomorrow afternoon. A seventeen match unbeaten run, including four wins in the last ten days, has seen a third side now lay down a championship challenge, with Tooting & Mitcham winning at both Leatherhead and Corinthian-Casuals this midweek to move into the top three, still four points behind United, but still with a game in hand. The solitary automatic promotion place is still Maidstone's to lose of course, although a relative dip in form by their own previously high standards, coupled with several of their rivals hitting form at just the right time, now threatens to take the race down to the wire.
The results since last weekend have been Croydon Athletic 1-1 Ashford Town, Dulwich Hamlet 1-1 Fleet Town, Horsham YMCA 2-1 Walton Casuals, Leatherhead 2-3 Tooting & Mitcham United, Metropolitan Police 0-0 Godalming Town, Sittingbourne 1-4 Burgess Hill Town, Corinthian-Casuals 0-3 Tooting & Mitcham United, Whyteleafe 2-2 Maidstone United. The Westview League Cup final took place on Wednesday at Bromley's Hayes Lane ground, with Premier Division class showing, as Ashford Town (Middx) thumped Dover 4-1 to lift the trophy.
Having eventually hit top form back in November, United have scarcely been off their game ever since, and a run of one defeat in twenty-five league games is testimony to that fact. They must, of course, be wary of not taking the challenge of cash-strapped Croydon too lightly, especially as United will again be at far from full strength, with Sean Ray and Lee Carey still suspended, and Jimmy Elford commencing a three match absence, as he is away celebrating his marriage. John Bradley and Bernard Asante are both available to return to the squad tomorrow, while Lee will be available for Bank Holiday Monday's big visit to play-off rivals Dover Athletic, currently top of the Division One South form table.
The Reserves were looking ahead to a busy week of matches, facing three away fixtures in the space of six days. The first of those, at Arundel tomorrow afternoon, has been called off though, with United unable to name a full strength side to accommodate the later kick off of 4.30pm. On Tuesday, Paul Greenaway takes his side to Hailsham, before returning to The Saffrons to take on Eastbourne Town next Friday. The Youth Team are scheduled to play their penultimate game of the season on Easter Sunday morning, away to Sidley United at Gullivers.
United may have shrugged aside their selection problems to pick up another valuable three points away to Horsham YMCA yesterday, but as usual, the win came at a cost, with striker Ade Olorunda unfortunate to pick up his tenth caution of the season, which will see him miss the games at home to Dartford and Corinthian-Casuals later in the month. The only good thing about this recent spate of suspensions would appear to be that they will all be served before the last game of the season and should leave United close to full strength heading into the play-offs, assuming they end up there of course! The season's tally now stands at sixty-eight yellow cards and five sendings off, some way short of last year's figures, although still higher than would be considered ideal, with a £1,000 suspended fine from the Football Association hovering over the Club's head.
The knock-on effect of the First Team being short on their usual numbers yesterday, was that the Reserves were also deprived of some of their familiar faces, as Graham Webb and Lee Jules joined Brett Griffin and Dominic Cruttenden in the senior squad at Gorings Mead. As a result, Paul Greenaway's thinner than usual resources slipped to a first defeat in nine matches, losing 2-1 to Crowborough Athletic Reserves at the Pilot Field. United found themselves a goal down at the interval, with Paul having been sent from the dugout to add to their troubles. The visitors doubled their advantage in the second period, before Allaa Alzahab pulled one back, but too late to affect the final outcome. This coming Tuesday, the Reserves will be at home to Bexhill United in the semi-final of the Hastings Intermediate Cup, with the winners set to take on Hollington United in the final, after their 3-0 win at home to Sidley United Reserves on Saturday.
Yesterday's Division One South action saw Maidstone retain their two point lead over United, courtesy of Simon Austin's first half penalty that beat Burgess Hill at Bourne Park. Dartford in third played out a draw with Dulwich in fourth, which allowed Dover to move above Hamlet with a big win at home to Chatham. Tooting & Mitcham swapped places with Fleet just outside the top five after beating them at Imperial Fields, while Leatherhead and Metropolitan Police both won to stay in touch. Corinthian-Casuals are now eight points from safety, despite picking up a point against Kingstonian, with Ashford slipping into the bottom two after Godalming's victory over Whyteleafe. Walton's great win at home to Cray took them above Chatham, while United's next opponents, Croydon, complete the bottom six.
These were all of the scores. Ashford Town 3-3 Sittingbourne, Corinthian-Casuals 0-0 Kingstonian, Croydon Athletic 0-2 Metropolitan Police, Dartford 1-1 Dulwich Hamlet, Dover Athletic 5-0 Chatham Town, Godalming Town 2-0 Whyteleafe, Horsham YMCA 1-2 Hastings United, Leatherhead 2-1 Molesey, Maidstone United 1-0 Burgess Hill Town, Tooting & Mitcham United 3-1 Fleet Town, Walton Casuals 2-1 Cray Wanderers.
The most significant midweek result saw Maidstone lose for the first time in twelve matches, a bizarre 2-1 home defeat to Chatham. Elsewhere, Tooting & Mitcham beat Leatherhead 3-1, Molesey easily beat Croydon 3-0, Horsham YMCA struggled past ten man Ashford 2-1, and Godalming produced a late comeback to force a 2-2 draw at Cray.
This week's league fixtures are Croydon Athletic v Ashford Town, Dulwich Hamlet v Fleet Town, Horsham YMCA v Walton Casuals, Leatherhead v Tooting & Mitcham United, Metropolitan Police v Godalming Town and Sittingbourne v Burgess Hill Town on Tuesday, and Corinthian-Casuals v Tooting & Mitcham United on Thursday. The Easter programme begins on Good Friday when Whyteleafe entertain Maidstone, while Dover have a League Cup final date with Ashford Town (Middx) at Bromley's Hayes Lane ground on Wednesday evening.
United went into this afternoon's home match with Leatherhead knowing that a win could have taken them back to the top of the league today, with leaders Maidstone facing a testing encounter away to third placed Dulwich. As it turned out, a goalless draw at Champion Hill would have been enough to keep the Stones ahead of United on goal difference anyway, but United's disappointment at dropping two points at the Pilot Field will have been even harder felt, after seeing skipper Sean Ray receive his second red card in three matches, today's for alleged violent conduct. Sean was already due to miss next Saturday's visit to Horsham YMCA, serving the one match ban for his sending off at Ashford, but he will now sit out the following four games as well, ruling him out of action until the trip to Godalming on the final weekend of the season.
Manager Nigel Kane looks set to face a few other selection headaches in the coming weeks, with Lee Carey banned for the next two league matches for accumulating ten yellow cards this season, John Bradley and Bernard Asante both unavailable next weekend due to university commitments, and Jimmy Elford due to miss the first three matches in April as he is getting married. With several vital games to come next month, including fixtures against play-off rivals Dover and Dartford, United have taken steps to bolster their squad by putting in an official seven day letter for Ashford Town skipper Simon Glover, who played in central defence for the Nuts and Bolts when United won 3-2 at the Homelands a couple of weeks ago. United will hope to discover whether or not their approach has been successful a couple of days ahead of their visit to Gorings Mead next weekend.
With the top three at the start of play picking up only a point apiece, Dartford took full advantage, switching places with Dulwich after a Jay May hattrick helped them to a comfortable win at home to bottom of the table Corinthian-Casuals. Dover stayed in fifth place, after snatching a last minute winner at home to Godalming, but their victory was marred by a first half bust-up between two of their own players, Danny Chapman being sent off, and striker Anton Innocent nearly walking off in disgust. Fleet remain firmly in touch after a decent win at Molesey, but Tooting & Mitcham lost ground after conceding a late equaliser at Kingstonian and have now drawn five of their last six matches. The bottom three all lost today, but Walton exchanged places with Chatham after a vital win at Ashford. United's next two opponents met in West Sussex, with Croydon edging a surprise win at Horsham YMCA.
Here are all of today's results. Ashford Town 0-1 Walton Casuals, Burgess Hill Town 1-1 Metropolitan Police, Cray Wanderers 0-0 Whyteleafe, Dartford 4-0 Corinthian-Casuals, Dover Athletic 2-1 Godalming Town, Dulwich Hamlet 0-0 Maidstone United, Hastings United 1-1 Leatherhead, Horsham YMCA 0-1 Croydon Athletic, Kingstonian 3-3 Tooting & Mitcham United, Molesey 1-3 Fleet Town, Sittingbourne 3-1 Chatham Town.
This coming midweek could see Maidstone go five points clear at the top if they beat Chatham at Bourne Park on Wednesday. Twenty-four hours earlier, Tooting & Mitcham face a big game at home to Leatherhead, Cray take on Godalming, Horsham YMCA play Ashford, and Molesey are at home to Croydon. United are due to send a side to the Salts on Thursday evening for the much postponed Hastings Senior Cup semi-final against Rye United.
The Reserves took their current unbeaten run to nine matches on Friday evening, drawing 1-1 away to Sidley United Reserves in the County League. Paul Greenaway's side were trailing at the break, but, after Billy Trickett had missed a penalty, a Graham Webb goal earned them a point, the very least that they deserved on the night. Earlier in the week, United also shared the points at home to Eastbourne Town Reserves, with all the goals coming in the first half of an entertaining 2-2 draw. United twice came from behind thanks to goals from Graham and Dominic Cruttenden, while the visitors missed a second half penalty and Graham had a couple of efforts ruled out for offside. United have now drawn four games in a row, and lie in fourth place in the league table, with Crowborough Athletic Reserves their next opponents, at the Pilot Field next Saturday.
The Youth Team's potential title showdown away to Eastbourne Borough Youth tomorrow (Sunday) morning has been called off at their hosts' request, due to the ongoing problems with the Priory Road playing surface. A new date for the fixture will be confirmed as soon as possible, but it seems likely that it will now become a winner takes all clash towards the end of the season.
Due to ever-increasing running costs, the Club is reluctantly putting up some of the admission prices for next season. Adults will be charged £8, with concessions at £5, although entrance for under 18s will remain at £2. Season ticket prices will be £143 for adults; £90 for concessions, and £36 for under 18s. This represents a 15% reduction on face value charges for First Team league matches, and also includes entrance to Reserve Team league games and pre-season friendlies, which already represents excellent value for money. As a further concession though, anyone who purchases their 2007/08 season ticket prior to the end of next month will be charged the 2006/07 season's prices, which were £118 for adults, £67 for concessions and £34 for under 18s. Please visit or contact the Club for further details.
United Reserves lost ground on the County League's top sides on Saturday, when they were held to a 2-2 draw by East Preston Reserves at the Pilot Field. The struggling visitors had concede five goals in losing to Paul Greenaway's side in the reverse fixture at the end of September, but they battled their way to a 2-1 interval lead, Allaa Alzahab scoring for United in a frustrating first half. Billy Trickett's second half strike earned United a share of the spoils in the end, although the dropped points saw United slip a place to fourth in the league table. The Reserves are in midweek league action this week, with Eastbourne Town Reserves due to visit the Pilot Field tomorrow (Tuesday), just five days after the two sides met at The Saffrons, when Eastbourne knocked United out of the League Cup on penalties, following a 1-1 draw after extra time.
Yesterday morning, United Youth continued their rampant form in their quest for a County League title, beating Hailsham Town Youth 4-0 at the Pilot Field. The visitors remain the only team to beat Andy Thomson's young side in the league this season, a 4-2 win back in October, but they were no match for United this time around. First half goals from Brian Caetano and Matt Maclean set up United for a comfortable victory, with Brian adding his second in the closing stages, and Dean Phillips then completing the scoring. This weekend, United travel to Priory Lane to take on Eastbourne Borough Youth for what seems likely to be the championship decider.
In the Ryman League Division One South on Saturday, Maidstone reopened a two point lead at the top of the table with a narrow home win over Horsham YMCA. With United and Dulwich both drawing, the chasing pack of Dartford, Dover and Fleet all made up ground with wins, although Tooting & Mitcham remain better placed to mount a play-off challenge, despite a home draw against Molesey on Friday evening. At the bottom, Chatham were the only winners amongst the bottom six, moving four points clear of the relegation zone as a result.
Here are all of the weekend's results. Tooting & Mitcham United 0-0 Molesey, Chatham Town 2-1 Cray Wanderers, Corinthian-Casuals 1-4 Sittingbourne, Croydon Athletic 1-2 Burgess Hill Town, Fleet Town 2-1 Kingstonian, Godalming Town 1-3 Dartford, Leatherhead 3-3 Ashford Town, Maidstone United 1-0 Horsham YMCA, Metropolitan Police 1-1 Hastings United, Walton Casuals 1-4 Dover Athletic, Whyteleafe 1-1 Dulwich Hamlet.
The sun shone and the birds sang, and all to celebrate United going top of Ryman League Division One South after a dramatic 3-2 victory away to Kent neighbours Ashford Town on Tuesday night. Sadly, the normal order of things was restored within twenty-four hours, as Maidstone reclaimed first place, but only on goal difference, after surprisingly being held to a goalless draw by Croydon Athletic at Bourne Park. At least United can say that they made it though, a far cry from their early season contest against the Nuts and Bolts, after which United were dead last. Who said it's a funny old game?
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Dulwich Hamlet's 2-0 home defeat to Tooting & Mitcham United allowed United to put a little more distance between themselves and their play-off rivals, while the Terrors moved above Fleet Town into sixth place, just two points behind Dover Athletic and still with three games in hand. At the bottom end of the table, Whyteleafe moved nine points clear of the relegation zone, and left Chatham Town in severe trouble, after winning 1-0 at Maidstone Road, while, in a slightly more meaningless encounter, Kingstonian won 2-0 at Molesey.
On the down side as far as United are concerned, Sean Ray and Lee Carey will both serve suspensions after picking up red and yellow cards respectively at Ashford. Sean's dismissal for two yellow card offences should earn him just a one match ban, the trip to Horsham YMCA on 31 March, while Lee has now amassed ten cautions this season and will miss the same fixture, and the home game against Croydon Athletic on 7 April.
The much cancelled Hastings Senior Cup semi-final away to Rye United has another new date, Thursday 29 March, with a 7.30pm kick off at The Salts. The Reserves' Hastings Intermediate Cup semi-final at home to Bexhill United has now been penned in for Tuesday 3 April, and don't forget that Paul Greenaway's side are due to visit The Saffrons for a League Cup quarter-final against Eastbourne Town tomorrow (Thursday) evening.
Two of the Club's junior sides have also been achieving cup success recently, with the Under 12s and Under 16s both making it through to their respective League Cup finals. The Under 12s, managed by Neil Phillips, have had an outstanding season, winning every game that they have played in the Rother League, and a 3-0 win against Hastings Rangers on 4 March, courtesy of a Dan Tewkesbury hattrick, booked their place in next month's final. Rick Tate's Under 16 side also have a shot at some silverware, after a 2-1 semi-final victory over Ridgeway on 11 March. Ashley Oprey and an Aaron Howe penalty won the day for United, who will face Hailsham United in the final on 22 April at Ringmer F.C.'s Anchor Field ground. Congratulations and good luck to both teams.
United Reserves made it five games without defeat yesterday, showing no mercy to struggling Oakwood Reserves in a 5-1 away victory. Billy Trickett scored a hattrick playing as a makeshift centre forward, the first from a penalty won by strike partner Graham Webb, who himself had given United an early lead. Two goals up at the interval, United added a third goal before Oakwood pulled one back, after which Billy completed his treble and Gilberto Da Palma wrapped up the win that took United back up into third place in the County League table. This coming Thursday, United are due to visit Eastbourne Town Reserves for a League Cup quarter final tie, before entertaining East Preston Reserves in another league fixture next weekend.
This morning, Andy Thomson's Youth Team completed an impressive weekend for the Club, winning 3-2 away to Bexhill United Youth to consolidate their position at the top of the table. Wins in their remaining three matches, starting at home to Hailsham Town Youth next weekend, will see United crowned champions, although one of those outstanding matches will be away to Eastbourne Borough Youth, who today enjoyed a walkover victory over bottom club Crowborough Athletic Youth.
The First Team also hold their destiny in their own hands, and even have the luxury of knowing that losing a game or two before the end of the season would scarcely damage their quest to at least qualify for the Division One South play-offs. However, United's title hopes would appear to rest on them winning all nine of their remaining fixtures, and even then, they would also have to rely on leaders Maidstone dropping nine points, which is certainly not looking likely at this stage.
Maidstone collected their eighth successive win yesterday, Mo Takalobighashi scoring twice in a comfortable victory at Molesey. United stayed two points behind in second with their win at home to Fleet, while Serge Musungu's double helped Dulwich ease past Leatherhead, and a Ryan Hayes hattrick saw Dartford to three points at home to Croydon. Popular opinion seems to suggest that the current top four will now hold on to their respective positions for the rest of the campaign, which would leave just one play-off spot up for grabs. Dover are the team in possession at present, but a draw at home to rivals Tooting & Mitcham yesterday will have done little to boost the recently flagging fortunes at Crabble. Fleet remain in the hunt despite their defeat at the Pilot Field, while Horsham YMCA also have games in hand to make a late challenge. At the bottom, Corinthian-Casuals have slipped five points from safety after extending their run to four games without a win, while Ashford swapped places with Godalming, after holding on to beat them at Homelands. The Kent side were the only winners in the bottom six yesterday and still hold a hatful of games in hand over their relegation rivals.
Here are all of yesterday's Division One South results. Ashford Town 2-1 Godalming Town, Burgess Hill Town 2-1 Chatham Town, Cray Wanderers 2-1 Metropolitan Police, Dartford 3-0 Croydon Athletic, Dover Athletic 1-1 Tooting & Mitcham United, Dulwich Hamlet 3-0 Leatherhead, Hastings United 3-1 Fleet Town, Horsham YMCA 4-1 Corinthian-Casuals, Kingstonian 3-1 Walton Casuals, Molesey 1-3 Maidstone United, Sittingbourne 3-1 Whyteleafe.
Tuesday evening brings with it a chance for United to go top of the table on their own for the first time this season, if they can win their rearranged match at Ashford, the original fixture having been abandoned towards the end of December. A defeat for United would give Dulwich the opportunity to climb above them into second with a win at home to Tooting & Mitcham, who can themselves go sixth with at least a draw. Molesey entertain Kingstonian, and there is a key relegation clash between Chatham and Whyteleafe. Whatever occurs on Tuesday though, Maidstone will be top of the table on Wednesday evening if they avoid defeat at home to Croydon. Tooting & Mitcham are then at home to Molesey on Friday evening.
United will be aiming to wrap up another league double at the Pilot Field tomorrow afternoon, and a significant one at that, against a Fleet Town side currently sitting just outside the play-off places in sixth place. The Hampshire outfit lie nine points behind United going into the contest, with two games in hand, but a victory would see United open up a good lead on another of their promotion rivals, although Fleet will be equally keen to avenge the 3-2 home defeat that they suffered against United at the end of November.
An enforced break from action for a week and a half has given the Pilot Field playing surface adequate chance to recover from the mauling that it took in the game against Chatham Town, and it is considered likely that the match will proceed as planned, barring any overnight or last minute downpours. Manager Nigel Kane has named the same sixteen man squad that featured away to Walton Casuals last Saturday, with Tim Olorunda and Sam Adams both pushing for recalls to the starting line-up. Rhys Whyborne appears to have almost shrugged off the effects of the dead leg that he picked up on his return from a long term hamstring injury at Dulwich last month, but he will probably be given a game or two for the Reserves before being invited to rejoin the First Team squad. Nima Cham has unfortunately suffered a further setback in his recovery from a broken toe though, and is likely to remain on the sidelines until next month at least.
Kevin Rose collected his fifth yellow card of the season at Walton last week, but will escape a one match suspension, as it occurred just past the F.A.'s end of February cut-off point., when slates are essentially wiped clean for any player with four cautions or less to that point. Ade Olorunda did collect an eighth booking of the season in the closing stages though, and is a couple away from a further two match ban.
The Club has as usual organised a team coach for its forthcoming away fixtures, at Ashford next Tuesday, and at Metropolitan Police next Saturday. Departure times are 5.00pm for Homelands, and 11.30am for Imber Court, with the normal prices applying. Anyone wishing to travel to either game can book a seat by calling in at the Club Shop during tomorrow's match, or by calling the Club on 01424 444635, or Simon Rudkins on 07703 358399.
The home game against Croydon Athletic on Saturday 7 April has been designated a Kids For Free occasion, with anyone under the age of eighteen able to gain admission free of charge on that day.
Only one game in Division One South survived the midweek cull due to the latest band of appalling weather, which also affected United's visit to Rye, and the Reserves' home game with Bexhill United. Molesey won 2-0 at Burgess Hill Town on Tuesday, while United will be hoping for a favour from the Moles tomorrow, as they entertain league leaders Maidstone.
While the First Team were completing a league double over Walton Casuals, the Reserves and Youth Teams were left kicking their heels over the weekend, both suffering postponements due to waterlogged pitches. Paul Greenaway's side were scheduled to take on struggling Worthing United Reserves at the Pilot Field yesterday, but not even United's usually flawless drainage system could cope with the recent downpours and another County Reserve League fixture was lost. The Reserves are next due to take on Bexhill United at the Pilot Field on Wednesday in the semi-final of the Hastings Intermediate Cup, weather permitting of course.
A similar fate befell Andy Thomson's league leading Youth Team this morning, as their short trip to take on Bexhill United Youth at the Polegrove was called off and immediately rearranged for next Sunday morning. United then received a boost when title favourites and second placed Eastbourne Borough Youth crashed to a heavy defeat away to Eastbourne Town Youth in the only game to be played today, Town cutting United's lead to two points as a result.
The First Team are due to visit the Salts on Tuesday evening for the already twice postponed Hastings Senior Cup semi-final against Rye United. The County League relegation candidates have suffered hugely from a glut of home postponements since late November, The Salts often finding itself under large amounts of standing water. Steps had even been taken to maybe switch the tie to the Pilot Field if a third consecutive cancellation is looking likely, although United have already confirmed that this possibility has been ruled out this week, especially with the Reserves due to play there the following evening, and another important Ryman League fixture coming up against Fleet Town next weekend.
United's victory at Walton was plenty good enough to keep them in second place in the Division One South table yesterday, still two points behind Maidstone, who came through another testing encounter at home to Dartford with a comfortable win. Dulwich also stayed in touch with a win at Godalming, but none of the sides from fourth to eighth at the start of play managed a victory between them, Dover's game at Corinthian-Casuals being one of two postponements. With games in hand over most of the sides above them, Horsham YMCA in tenth are still in play-off contention, especially after a fine win at Leatherhead, with Cray now apparently slipping out of touch, despite a decent draw at Fleet. The bottom two didn't play, and Whyteleafe were the only winners in whole of the bottom half yesterday, a second handsome victory in a row lifting them well clear of the relegation zone.
These were all of yesterday's results. Chatham Town 1-1 Kingstonian, Corinthian-Casuals P-P Dover Athletic, Croydon Athletic P-P Ashford Town, Fleet Town 2-2 Cray Wanderers, Godalming Town 0-2 Dulwich Hamlet, Leatherhead 1-3 Horsham YMCA, Maidstone United 4-1 Dartford, Metropolitan Police 2-1 Molesey, Tooting & Mitcham United 2-2 Sittingbourne, Walton Casuals 1-3 Hastings United, Whyteleafe 3-0 Burgess Hill Town.
The previous midweek results were Kingstonian 0-3 Whyteleafe, Dartford 2-2 Tooting & Mitcham United, Dover Athletic 2-1 Leatherhead, Hastings United 2-1 Chatham Town. The other seven scheduled matches were all postponed.
This week, Dulwich have a chance to return to second if they win at home to Fleet on Tuesday. Dartford visit Ashford, while Tooting & Mitcham entertain Walton. The other fixtures are Burgess Hill v Molesey, Metropolitan Police v Godalming, Sittingbourne v Horsham YMCA and Whyteleafe v Leatherhead.
United Reserves did to their opponents from Arundel at the Pilot Field exactly what Cray did to the First Team at Bromley yesterday, scoring a late equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw. Arundel had led from around the hour mark against Paul Greenaway's side, but Billy Trickett struck from the penalty spot in the eighty-ninth minute, his third goal in as many games, to earn United a share of the points. The draw did nothing to improve United's league placing of fourth, despite the fact that theirs was one of only two Premier Division games to survive the weather this weekend. The County League has now announced all of the remaining fixtures for this season, which have been added to the fixtures and results pages of the site.
Maidstone United took another giant step towards the Ryman League Division One South title yesterday, when a Ryan Royston hattrick helped them to a comfortable win at Croydon. With the four sides currently occupying the play-off places all drawing, Maidstone now have a five point advantage at the top of the table, and a game in hand, with the championship really looking like theirs to lose now. Dulwich played out a rare goalless draw with Metropolitan Police, while United were being denied late on at Cray, and Dover and Dartford were sharing four goals at Crabble, all of which were decent results for the likes of Fleet and Tooting & Mitcham, who didn't play, and Leatherhead, easy winners at home to Godalming. Only two matches involving sides near the bottom took place, with United's next two opponents coming face-to-face at Maidstone Road, where Tuesday's visitors Chatham were humbled by next Saturday's hosts Walton, who climbed up three places as a result. Whyteleafe's defeat at Horsham YMCA saw them slip into the bottom four.
Chatham Town 0-4 Walton Casuals, Corinthian-Casuals P-P Tooting & Mitcham United, Cray Wanderers 1-1 Hastings United, Croydon Athletic 1-4 Maidstone United, Dover Athletic 2-2 Dartford, Dulwich Hamlet 0-0 Metropolitan Police, Fleet Town P-P Ashford Town, Horsham YMCA 3-2 Whyteleafe, Leatherhead 3-0 Godalming Town, Molesey P-P Kingstonian, Sittingbourne P-P Burgess Hill Town.
There is a full midweek programme scheduled this week, with Maidstone facing a Kent derby trip to Ashford, Dulwich at home to Fleet, Dartford at home to Tooting & Mitcham, and Dover at home to Leatherhead.
Nigel Kane takes promotion chasing United to Bromley tomorrow afternoon, for what is sure to be a stern test against a Cray Wanderers side that must still be harbouring hopes of at least being involved in the end of season play-offs. The two sides shared the points in a 2-2 draw at the Pilot Field in early December, when United twice came from a goal behind against a typically good footballing Cray outfit. More recently, the Kent club have suffered a slump in form though, and they are without a win in five matches, including defeats to Walton and Burgess Hill, although they remain amongst the division's top ten sides, with a game in hand or two on the leading teams.
United have a couple of known selection headaches going into the game, with skipper Sean Ray and striker Sam Adams both due to serve suspensions tomorrow, having reached ten and five yellow cards respectively this season, with Sean due to miss next Tuesday's Pilot Field clash with Chatham Town as well. John Bradley seems the most likely choice to partner Ade Olorunda in Sam's absence, although Dominic Cruttenden is also called into the squad after an impressive two goal performance for the Reserves against Little Common earlier in the week. The defensive situation represents more of a dilemma though, with a recall for Kevin Rose to partner Dan Williams perhaps the simplest solution, although Danny Spice, James Sims and Brett Griffin would be alternative options, as would a switch to a three man defence, which proved so successful in the second half comeback at Dulwich. Rhys Whyborne is definitely out of the equation, still struggling to shake off the effects of a dead leg, while Nima Cham also remains on the sidelines.
The fifteen man squad to travel to Hayes Lane will be Bernard Asante, John Bradley, Lee Carey, Dominic Cruttenden, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Brett Griffin, Ade Olorunda, Tim Olorunda, Kevin Rose, James Sims, Danny Spice, Dan Williams, Lee Worgan.
The Hastings Senior Cup semi final against Rye United has been rearranged once again, this time for Tuesday 6 March, with a 7.30pm kick off. The match is still scheduled to take place at The Salts, although a late switch to the Pilot Field will be considered if the weather is deemed likely to force a third postponement at Rye's home ground. The Reserves are scheduled to play their Hastings Intermediate Cup semi final at home to Bexhill United on the following night, Wednesday 7 March, with a 7.45pm kick off at the Pilot Field.
The midweek Division One South results saw Maidstone go three points clear at the top of the table after a winning at Fleet. The other four games, which included some key match-ups near the foot of the table, all ended with honours even. Ashford Town 1-1 Horsham YMCA, Burgess Hill Town 1-1 Walton Casuals, Corinthian-Casuals 1-1 Molesey, Fleet Town 0-1 Maidstone United, Metropolitan Police 1-1 Cray Wanderers.
The gloom and despair, which were so much in evidence throughout a difficult first three months of the season, have long since been banished, replaced by the confident swagger befitting a side that has suffered only one defeat in seventeen league games. The desperation of home defeats to Waltham Forest and Burgess Hill Town, and the embarrassment of heavy losses away to Metropolitan Police and Chatham Town, have long since given way to that glorious sense of elation that comes from such a magnificent sequence of results, while the players and backroom staff give the distinct impression that they really are quite enjoying themselves at present, carrying an almost invincible air at times, last weekend's match at Dulwich a fine example, one of ten come-from-behind performances since the night it all began, at Whyteleafe on 21 November.
All the talk at Church Road that evening was of the potential relegation battle ahead, but John Bradley's stoppage time winner hauled United out of the bottom six and there has been no looking back ever since. By the time Ade Olorunda rounded off United's biggest win of the season thus far this afternoon, United were already on their way into the top three, while goal difference is all that separates them from the outright lead, although there is still some way to go, if United are to claw back the healthy advantage shared by several of their promotion rivals in that regard.
This evening, Division One South does not so much have new leaders, as former leaders reclaiming top spot, as Dulwich Hamlet returned to the summit, matching United's own result today, only away from home at Kingstonian. Maidstone remain favourites for the title though, still holding two games in hand, and now having lost once in fifteen matches, after a Mo Takalobighashi hattrick helped them to a big win over bottom club Corinthian-Casuals, whose cause was not exactly helped by having two players sent off in a five goal first half. Overnight leaders Dartford slipped to fourth after losing at home to sixth placed Fleet, while Dover's third league defeat in a row has them clinging to a play-off spot, having played more games than anyone else in the top half. Tooting & Mitcham, Leatherhead and Metropolitan Police all remained in touch near the top, while none of the bottom eight managed a win, leaving positions largely unchanged near the foot.
Here are all of the weekend results. Tooting & Mitcham United 3-1 Croydon Athletic, Ashford Town 1-1 Chatham Town, Burgess Hill Town 2-1 Cray Wanderers, Dartford 1-2 Fleet Town, Godalming Town 0-2 Horsham YMCA, Hastings United 5-2 Sittingbourne, Kingstonian 2-5 Dulwich Hamlet, Maidstone United 6-0 Corinthian-Casuals, Metropolitan Police 2-0 Dover Athletic, Walton Casuals 0-3 Leatherhead, Whyteleafe 0-0 Molesey.
There are a couple of games of note scheduled for the coming week. Maidstone will go top if they avoid defeat at Fleet on Tuesday, while a point will also be enough for the home side to return to the top five at Dover's expense. Cray, who entertain United next Saturday, will try to end a run of four games without a win at Metropolitan Police, who need all the points they can get as well. The other three matches all have more significance to the relegation battle than the title race, as Ashford host Horsham YMCA, Walton visit Burgess Hill, and Corinthian-Casuals take on Molesey.
United Reserves collected three excellent County League points this afternoon, winning 3-1 away to Horsham YMCA Reserves. Graham Webb scored twice and Billy Trickett added the third, before the home side grabbed a late consolation goal. With the three sides above them in the table all winning, United remain in fourth place, seven points behind leaders Shoreham Reserves, but with two games in hand.
Barely two and a half weeks have elapsed since Dan Williams' ninetieth minute goal earned United a precious three points on an emotionally charged evening at Bourne Park, when assistant manager Norman Kane's touchline bust-up with Sittingbourne manager Steve Lovell probably grabbed the attention as much as another United comeback victory. The two teams renew acquaintances for the return fixture at the Pilot Field tomorrow afternoon, and their relative positions in Division One South remain largely unchanged since the end of January, with United having beaten Molesey and drawn at Dulwich, and Sittingbourne having picked up two points from a possible nine, extending their winless run to thirteen league matches.
Striker Ade Olorunda rejoins Nigel Kane's squad after missing last weekend's astonishing encounter at Dulwich through suspension, and he replaces defender Rhys Whyborne, who suffered a dead leg a week ago, rather than a recurrence of his recent hamstring problem, but is set for another run-out with the Reserves in any case. Nima Cham also continues to miss out through injury, but United are otherwise at virtually full strength this week, and it remains to be seen whether they stick to the 3-5-2 formation that served them so well in the closing stages at Champion Hill, or stick with a tried and tested 4-4-2 line-up. Either way, Danny Spice and Danny Ellis will both consider themselves to be in strong contention for a place in the starting eleven, after impressing as second half substitutes at Dulwich.
This is Nigel's full sixteen man squad: Sam Adams, Bernard Asante, John Bradley, Lee Carey, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Brett Griffin, Ade Olorunda, Tim Olorunda, Sean Ray, Kevin Rose, James Sims, Danny Spice, Dan Williams, Lee Worgan.
Paul Greenaway takes the Reserves to Horsham YMCA tomorrow for another County League contest. United currently lie four places and six points above their hosts, who have admittedly played three games less than United and have lost only once in ten league matches to date. The two teams drew 1-1 at the Pilot Field back in September. The Reserves are also due to be in action on Tuesday, when Little Common are scheduled to visit the Pilot Field for a Hastings Intermediate Cup third round tie. On Sunday morning, the Youth Team are due to take on Bexhill United Youth, also at the Pilot Field.
This week's Division One South results were Ashford Town P-P Dartford, Corinthian-Casuals 3-3 Walton Casuals, Godalming Town 3-2 Burgess Hill Town, Molesey 2-0 Cray Wanderers (abandoned after seventy-four minutes), Maidstone United P-P Chatham Town.
United have a new leading goalscorer after this afternoon's staggering fightback at Dulwich, with inspirational skipper Sean Ray calmly slotting home his fifth in as many matches, and his tenth of the season altogether, in the dying seconds, to go one clear of both Lee Carey and Sam Adams. His impressive goalscoring exploits are matched however, by his tally of yellow cards, which also reached double figures today, and will see him serve a two match suspension, missing the games at Cray in a fortnight, and at home to Chatham the following Tuesday. Sam Adams will also sit out the Cray match, after picking up his fifth caution of the campaign today.
The Reserves returned to winning ways at the Pilot Field this afternoon, a first half strike earning them a 1-0 victory over Sidley United Reserves that took them back up into fourth place in the County League table. Further details on the game will be added to the site when they become available in the week. Weather permitting, the Youth Team are also due to be in action at the Pilot Field at 11.00am on Sunday morning, when they will seek to avenge their only league defeat of the season thus far against Hailsham Town Youth.
Only five games survived the generally waterlogged conditions in Division One South today, although eight of the top ten sides were in action. After one week on top, Dover's much heralded defence took its tally of goals conceded to eight in two games, after a contest of three penalties and a red card at the Crabble. Maidstone's seventh win in eight matches took them above Dover and United into third, with only Dulwich separating them from new leaders Dartford, back on top for the first time since September after winning at Sittingbourne. Fleet missed the chance to go back above United after being hammered by Metropolitan Police, while Cray made it three games without a win with a draw against back in form Kingstonian.
This afternoon's results were Chatham Town P-P Whyteleafe, Corinthian-Casuals P-P Walton Casuals, Cray Wanderers 1-1 Kingstonian, Croydon Athletic P-P Godalming Town, Dover Athletic 2-4 Maidstone United, Dulwich Hamlet 3-3 Hastings United, Fleet Town 1-4 Metropolitan Police, Horsham YMCA P-P Ashford Town, Leatherhead P-P Tooting & Mitcham United, Molesey P-P Burgess Hill Town, Sittingbourne 1-2 Dartford.
This week, Dartford will have a chance to move five points clear at the top on Tuesday, when they visit Ashford, while Maidstone could go top themselves if they beat Chatham at home on Wednesday. Cray need a win at Molesey to stay in touch with the promotion battle, while there are also two important games at the bottom, with Godalming at home to Burgess Hill, and Corinthian-Casuals playing Walton, in a game hastily rearranged from today.
With no midweek action to interrupt their plans, United will head into tomorrow afternoon's game away to promotion rivals Dulwich Hamlet having had a full week to prepare for arguably their biggest match of the season thus far. The two teams go into the contest at Champion Hill level on points, and with identical playing records, although Dulwich have much the more superior goal difference, placing them second to United's fourth at present. And the hosts will also have history on their side, with United having lost on each of their four previous visits to Dulwich, 2-1 defeats in the FA Trophy in 1993/94 and in the FA Cup in 1999/00, along with 4-0 and 2-0 hidings on United's two Ryman League trips to south-east London.
United go into the game without in-form striker Ade Olorunda, suspended after collecting five yellow cards since the start of the season, with John Bradley seemingly the most likely to deputise, while Nima Cham continues to miss out, having broken a bone in his foot against Maidstone last month. Rhys Whyborne returns to the First Team squad after a six week absence, his hamstring injury showing no ill effects in a run-out for the Reserves last weekend, and Bernard Asante earns a recall, with substitute keeper Sam Harris-Green unavailable. Dulwich have been a picture of inconsistency over the course of the last couple of months, recent impressive wins over Cray, Dover and Sittingbourne, being sandwiched between almost inconceivable defeats Ashford, Croydon, Corinthian-Casuals and Burgess Hill. But they will be out to avenge their 4-2 defeat at the Pilot Field back in late November, the second match of the fifteen game run that has taken United to within a point of the Division One South summit, a position that they could even occupy themselves if several results go their way tomorrow.
This is Nigel Kane's full sixteen man squad: Sam Adams, Bernard Asante, John Bradley, Lee Carey, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Brett Griffin, Tim Olorunda, Sean Ray, Kevin Rose, James Sims, Danny Spice, Rhys Whyborne, Dan Williams, Lee Worgan.
The midweek Division One South results were Ashford Town 1-1 Leatherhead, Cray Wanderers 0-2 Walton Casuals, Godalming Town 1-2 Metropolitan Police, Horsham YMCA 2-3 Kingstonian, Sittingbourne 1-1 Molesey, Tooting & Mitcham United 4-1 Dover Athletic.
Currently United's longest serving player, defender Jimmy Elford clocked up a true milestone when he took up his usual left back role for the Club at Sittingbourne last Tuesday evening, that being his 200th appearance in United colours. Now twenty-six, Jimmy made his debut for the Club as a teenage right sided midfielder in the late 1990s, and has become something of a utility player since then, filling at right back, in central defence, and in central midfield, before settling at left back under present manager Nigel Kane. His versatility has earned him the respect of his fellow players and supporters alike, and he was a popular winner of the player of the year award last season.
While Jimmy's goals per game ratio may leave a little to be desired, it is fair to say that he goes about his business quietly and efficiently, without incurring the wrath of too many referees during his career. The same cannot be said for some of his current colleagues, and the four yellow cards collected in today's victory over Molesey will be sure to contribute to some suspension headaches for Nigel Kane in the weeks ahead. Striker Ade Olorunda will miss next Saturday's big game at Dulwich, after accumulating five cautions this season, and he is already 40% of the way to another ban, after being booked for the third game in a row this afternoon. Skipper Sean Ray is one caution away from a two match ban, after picking up his ninth of the campaign today, while Kevin Rose and Sam Adams are also just one booking away from serving suspensions too. That said, United have at least made a concerted effort to avoid the glut of red cards that blighted the Club last season, and led to a summons from the Football Association at the end of the campaign.
The Division One South promotion and relegation issues have both taken an interesting turn over the past seven days. At the top, just three points now separate the leading six sides, with Dover moving to the summit this afternoon, after a comfortable Kent derby win at Ashford. Overnight leaders Dulwich handed Burgess Hill their first win in ten matches and slipped to second, ahead of Dartford and United on goal difference, after the Darts were held at home by Cray. Maidstone's win at home to Leatherhead saw them jump above Fleet, who let a two goal half time lead slip at Whyteleafe, and fell out of the play-off zone for the first time this season. At the other end, Corinthian-Casuals's fourth win in six games saw them close to within two points of the safety line, while Ashford dropped back into a relegation place, following Walton's win over Croydon. With the season approaching its two thirds point, it is probably fair to say that very few teams have nothing to play for but mid-table mediocrity, many in the middle third of the table either having sufficient games in hand to catch up with the promotion contenders, or being close enough to the bottom of the table to get sucked in to the relegation dogfight.
The midweek results were Kingstonian 3-1 Metropolitan Police, Chatham Town 1-0 Ashford Town, Croydon Athletic 0-4 Tooting & Mitcham United, Godalming Town 0-1 Maidstone United, Leatherhead 0-0 Dover Athletic, Sittingbourne 1-2 Hastings United.
Saturday's full league programme ended Ashford Town 0-3 Dover Athletic, Burgess Hill Town 3-2 Dulwich Hamlet, Dartford 0-0 Cray Wanderers, Godalming Town 0-4 Corinthian-Casuals, Hastings United 2-0 Molesey, Kingstonian 1-1 Sittingbourne, Maidstone United 4-2 Leatherhead, Metropolitan Police 1-1 Horsham YMCA, Tooting & Mitcham United 1-0 Chatham Town, Walton Casuals 2-1 Croydon Athletic, Whyteleafe 2-2 Fleet Town.
Behind the scenes at the Pilot Field, the Club has reluctantly been forced to accept Dave Bealey's resignation as Promotions Manager, a vital role that he has fulfilled with distinction for many years. Dave has played an integral part in many of the Club's fund-raising schemes, overseeing the monthly 200 Club draw and the weekly United Special draw, and, most recently, he helped to organise the Christmas raffle, which raised over £370 for the Club. He was also a long time editor of United's matchday programme, before handing over those reins to Simon Rudkins a couple of years ago, and will most definitely be a tough man to replace, but if anyone is interested in doing just that, please contact Dave Walters at the Club.
Finally, and on a happier note, the Club was able to re-open the Main Stand tea bar this afternoon and is most grateful for the hard work of everyone who made this possible at last. Responsibility for the ongoing running of the tea bar has now been passed to the Club's Youth Section and it will initially be managed by Under 11 Colts' manager, Rose Darvill.
There were contrasting fortunes for United's Reserves and Youth Team this weekend, as the County League scene returned to something approaching normality, after several weeks of weather induced fixture chaos. The Reserves suffered only their third league defeat of the campaign, and slipped back to fifth place in the table as a consequence, losing 2-1 away to Hassocks Reserves, despite leading at half time. Meanwhile, the Youth Team played their first game since 19 November, and made up for lost time with a staggering 17-0 victory over bottom of the table Crowborough Athletic Youth at the Pilot Field this morning. The three points also took them clear at the top of the table, with a goal difference that must surely be the envy of the rest of the league, not to mention their colleagues in the First Team squad. Further details of these games will hopefully be added to the site within the next couple of days.
Although the First Team enjoyed another fine win themselves yesterday, the three points did come at some cost, as striker Ade Olorunda picked up his fifth caution of an injury interrupted season, which will see him suspended for the visit to current league leaders Dulwich in a fortnight.
Elsewhere yesterday, none of the top five at the start of play managed a win between them, and United finished the day back in the play-off zone, after Maidstone's long unbeaten run came to end at Tooting & Mitcham. Dulwich's draw at Molesey took them a point clear at the top, ahead of Dartford, who suffered their second away defeat in four days. Dover could only manage a draw at home to lowly Whyteleafe, who ended a stormy encounter with only nine men, while Fleet's indifferent form continued with a draw at Chatham. Wins for Leatherhead, Cray and Horsham YMCA ensured that the gap between the top sides and those in mid-table narrowed still further, in what is looking like being a extraordinarily close fight for the promotion and play-off places in the final three months of the season. At the other end of the table, Corinthian-Casuals picked up the biggest win of a day on which Walton were the only one of the bottom six to lose, slipping back into a relegation place as a result.
These were all of Saturday's scores. Ashford Town 2-1 Metropolitan Police, Chatham Town 0-0 Fleet Town, Corinthian-Casuals 4-0 Croydon Athletic, Dover Athletic 1-1 Whyteleafe, Godalming Town 2-1 Walton Casuals, Hastings United 3-1 Kingstonian, Horsham YMCA 3-2 Dartford, Leatherhead 2-0 Burgess Hill Town, Molesey 1-1 Dulwich Hamlet, Sittingbourne 0-1 Cray Wanderers, Tooting & Mitcham United 3-1 Maidstone United.
At the conclusion of yesterday's game at the Pilot Field, the Club held a Fans' Forum in the Clubhouse to discuss its vision for the future of senior football in the town, specifically its proposal to relocate to a purpose-built new stadium elsewhere in the borough. Chairman Dave Walters elaborated on the press release that appeared on this site on Thursday evening, and also introduced two guest speakers, Bruce Hayter from Rix & Kay Solicitors, and Roger Sedgley from Alexander Sedgley Ltd, the architects responsible for Dartford's recently constructed new stadium at Princes Park.
Dave began by confirming his belief that the proposed move could be vital in safeguarding the future of Hastings United Football Club, with the cost of repairs and improvements to the Pilot Field unlikely to be controllable in the coming years, as the already aging infrastructure shows ongoing signs of wear and tear. With safety regulations becoming ever more stringent, and the ground's capacity apparently shrinking as a result, the only viable way for the Club to progress, would be to take advantage of Hastings Borough Council's desire for regeneration in the town, and move to a new multi-purpose sports complex, to include a separate training facility for the Football Club, and a new stadium for Hastings Athletics Club, in addition to a new stadium for United. The timing for such a move would be critical however, with the Club having no plan to give up its long term lease on the Pilot Field, until the new facility was completed, with the development costs being raised from the sale proceeds of The Firs, and the sale of the Pilot Field to be negotiated only when United had fully vacated their current home. Informal talks had already been held with Peter Pragnell, the leader of Hastings Borough Council, and with the two Residents' Associations that serve the Pilot Field's surrounding area, and the Club had taken a number of positives from these meetings, whilst remaining open-minded about the potential level of opposition to these proposals, which it must be stressed, are at the very earliest stage of discussion at present.
Roger Sedgley provided an insight into the potential lay-out and overall design of the new football stadium itself, allowing those present to see copies of the Princes Park site plan and drawings of the finished article. He also spoke of the need to build a ground, which would allow for further development in the future, bearing in mind the strict grading requirements enforced at each progressive level of the non-league pyramid. An indicative starting capacity would be 4,000, as is the case at Dartford, but the scope to increase that figure would be incorporated in the design, in keeping with the Club's aim to achieve and cement a place at Conference South level at first, before considering any further steps up the ladder. There would clearly be no point in building too large a site from the outset though, as such a venture would bring with it greater running costs than could be coped with at the Club's current level.
Although the response from the modest gathering was generally favourable, there were some dissenting voices, with concerns being expressed over the ability of the Club to trust Hastings Borough Council, who have been perceived as being less than supportive of United, and the town's sports clubs in general, in the past. This venture could even be seen as the focal point of the ongoing regeneration in the borough however, and, if timed correctly, the wider facilities might hopefully even attract attention from nations attending the Olympic Games in 2012. Several supporters spoke in emotional and sentimental terms about their connection to the Pilot Field, some considering it to be like a 'second home' for them, and others suggesting that leaving should be a last resort, questioning whether it may be possible to sell The Firs on its own, in order to fund the necessary developments to modernise the Pilot Field, specifically moving the main stand closer to the pitch. Whilst not ruling out that eventuality, and repeating that options were fully open at this time, it was thought likely that the two sites combined would be of significantly great enough scale and value for the Club's initial proposal to be the more viable and attractive, even if purely in financial terms.
The meeting ended with a call for all supporters in favour of the Club's proposal to write to both the local press, and the council, in order to voice their approval for the project. Keeping this idea high on the agenda and continually in the public eye can only bring positive results and allow for further discussion at the appropriate level, with the Club keen to involve its supporters at every step of what will doubtless be a lengthy, but hopefully a rewarding, process.
Please encourage as many people as possible to write to Peter Pragnell, Leader of Hastings Borough Council, The Town Hall, Queens Road, Hastings, TN34 1QR, and Peter Lindsay, Hastings Observer Editor, Telford Road, St Leonards on Sea, TN38 9LZ. The Club has also started a petition, which it would be most grateful for individuals to sign and add their support. An on-line petition is also being investigated. Please help the Club to turn its exciting vision into a reality.
The good news continued to roll out of the Pilot Field today, along with a collective sigh of relief, when United skipper Sean Ray committed himself to the Club until the end of the season at least, ending a fortnight of speculation linking him with a move to join Terry White at United's promotion rivals Dover Athletic. Sean becomes the third player to agree a contract with United since the turn of the year, and the fourth in all to be tied to the Club in that way. His decision will serve as a further immense boost to the already soaring confidence within Nigel Kane's squad, who remain firmly entrenched in the Division One South promotion race, despite slipping out of the top five places earlier in the week.
United will be hoping to regain a play-off berth tomorrow, when Kingstonian visit the Pilot Field, on the back of a wretched run of form, which has seen them lose their last five league games, all of which were home fixtures, and undergo a change in management as well. United are set to name an unchanged squad to that which triumphed at Burgess Hill last Saturday, although Nima Cham may return to the squad after an ankle injury, and Jimmy Elford is back from Futsal duty with England, although both could feature for the Reserves away to Hassocks instead.
The squad in full: Sam Adams, Bernard Asante, John Bradley, Lee Carey, Nima Cham, Russell Eldridge, Danny Ellis, Brett Griffin, Ade Olorunda, Tim Olorunda, Sean Ray, Kevin Rose, James Sims, Danny Spice, Dan Williams, Lee Worgan.
The Hastings Senior cup semi-final against Rye United has been rearranged for Tuesday 13 February, with a 7.30pm kick off. The Reserves' Hastings Intermediate Cup third round tie at home to Little Common had been penned in for Tuesday 6 February, but that date has had to be changed already and a new one will be advised in due course.
The midweek Division One South results were Kingstonian 2-4 Cray Wanderers, Corinthian-Casuals 1-2 Maidstone United, Godalming Town 1-1 Croydon Athletic, Molesey 2-1 Dartford. Maidstone's tenth match without defeat took them above United in the table, while Dartord missed out on a chance to go top of the table.
United have a coach running to next Tuesday's game against Sittingbourne at Bourne Park, leaving the Pilot Field at 5.00pm. Please contact the Club on 01424 444635, or Simon Rudkins on 07703 358399, to reserve your seat.
The following is a press release, which has been issued by the Club this evening, and will be featured in tomorrow's Hastings Observer. It will also form the principal topic for discussion at the Fans' Forum, which will take place after Saturday's encounter with Kingstonian.
"Hastings United Football Club is pleased to be able to announce that initial discussions are underway with appropriate parties, to see if it is feasible for the Club to relocate from its current ground at the Pilot Field in Elphinstone Road, to an alternative site within the borough, at which a new stadium would be built.
The town’s senior side has been housed at its current, very aged, premises since the early part of the last century, and is now finding that the upkeep of the ground is growing more expensive each season, especially with ground grading specifications becoming more and more stringent, both in terms of facilities, and safety requirements. A relocation was previously considered by the Club some fifteen years ago, but, at that time, the possibility never got beyond the discussion and planning stages.
The Club feels that now is the ideal time to look at the possibility again, with a new stadium the prime target. To make this happen, the Club is aware that it will need to work very closely with Hastings Borough Council, the owners of the freehold to the Pilot Field site. In addition, the Club would want, and need, to involve the various residents' associations in the Pilot Field area, so that they could have input on what they would like to see replace the Football Club on the site.
We are, at this stage, of the opinion that the Pilot Field and The Firs would be ideal sites for suburban housing developments. Since St Leonards Football Club went out of business a few years ago, The Firs has become run down, and has been subject to some vandalism, and the only things that have changed at the site have been the conversion of the clubhouse into an educational facility and the erection of a multi-purpose games area. Both of these facilities could be easily relocated.
The sale of the Pilot Field and The Firs could generate sufficient capital to, not only build a new football stadium, but to also provide other much needed sporting facilities for the borough. It is hoped that a third generation, all-weather training pitch could be built alongside a new stadium, along with facilities for athletes. With the vision, enthusiasm, and energy provided by the principal partners in such a project, the borough could end up with something that Hastings could be proud of for years to come. Without a new facility, the Football Club may struggle to survive another decade, and, for a town the size of Hastings, this must not be allowed to happen. Conversely, a new stadium could help propel the club up the non-league pyramid, to a status more befitting a town that has a greater population than Wigan, who currently have a Premiership football club.
Anyone interested in finding out more should initially write to Hastings United Football Club Chairman David Walters at the Pilot Field, Elphinstone Road, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 2AX. Other sports clubs in the town are particularly welcome to make contact, to see if their needs could be met within such a project.
This exciting project will only proceed if the residents of Hastings want it to, and support it in any way possible. Let's put Hastings on the sporting map and make this happen."
United's Youth Team were left without a game for the ninth week on the trot, when their scheduled match away to Sidley United Youth was predictably called off due to a waterlogged pitch yesterday. Andy Thomson's side, who had made an encouraging start to their County League campaign last year, have not played since completing the double over Eastbourne United Youth on 19 November, but will hope to return to action at the Pilot Field this coming Sunday, when the league's bottom club, Crowborough Athletic, are due to visit for an 11.00am kick off.
The chances of tomorrow evening's First Team game away to Rye United going ahead are rated as no better than slim, with The Salts one of many pitches to be suffering badly at the moment due to the weather. Rye have been able to host only one match in the last two months, back on 2 January, and it is considered unlikely that a Tuesday pitch inspection will result in that particular statistic altering. However, if the game does go ahead after all, please note that it is due to commence at 7.30pm, and, although no squad details are available as these notes are being written, it is anticipated that manager Nigel Kane will take the opportunity to rest some of his regular First Team line-up and give some match practise to the less frequently utilised members of the senior squad.
Should the Hastings Senior Cup tie be postponed as expected, supporters may yet be able to witness a game closer to home, as neighbours Eastbourne Borough have been in touch with the Club to request permission to stage their twice postponed FA Trophy second round encounter against Northwich Victoria at the Pilot Field, should Priory Lane be considered unplayable after an early morning pitch inspection. If required, the Pilot Field will also be inspected at 10.00am, while all the usual spectator facilities will be available if the game does go ahead.
Unusually, not even the Pilot Field managed to cope with the rain that fell on it toward the end of this week, causing today's Reserve Team cup encounter with Little Common to be postponed. The Sidley v Bodiam tie was also called off this afternoon, as were all of today's scheduled County Reserve League matches, as the fixture backlog continued to grow.
Only one game failed to make it in Division One South, but it was significant in that Fleet's inactivity allowed Dover to move above them into third place in the table. Dulwich stayed top on goal difference from Dartford, who recovered from two goals down to beat Ashford with a last minute penalty. Maidstone's unbeaten run now stands at nine matches, and they and Leatherhead can both overhaul United by winning their games in hand. Corinthian-Casuals four match unbeaten run came to an abrupt halt at Whyteleafe, who have responded well to a recent change in management.
These were today's league results. Burgess Hill Town 2-3 Hastings United, Cray Wanderers 2-0 Molesey, Croydon Athletic 1-3 Leatherhead, Dartford 4-3 Ashford Town, Dulwich Hamlet 3-1 Sittingbourne, Fleet Town P-P Horsham YMCA, Kingstonian 1-3 Dover Athletic, Maidstone United 2-1 Godalming Town, Metropolitan Police 4-0 Chatham Town, Walton Casuals 1-1 Tooting & Mitcham United, Whyteleafe 3-0 Corinthian-Casuals.
United are due to visit Leylands Park tomorrow afternoon, seeking to avenge November's dismal 1-0 home defeat to Sussex rivals Burgess Hill Town. Since then, the two sides have experienced rather contrasting fortunes, with United embarking on the long unbeaten run that took them from the brink of despair to a place in the top five. Meanwhile, the Hillians have won only once in nine matches since that stormy victory at the Pilot Field, and have slipped out of the play-off zone, and down to fifteenth place, following last week's shocking 7-2 defeat at Dartford.
Nigel Kane has named a fifteen man squad for the trip to West Sussex, with the omission of Dominic Cruttenden, in need of match practise and set for a run in the Reserves, the only alteration to Tuesday's squad at Leatherhead. Jimmy Elford remains absent with the England Futsal side in Romania, while Nima Cham's ankle problem will not be risked, and Rhys Whyborne remains on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. Sean Ray faces another late fitness test, with Kevin Rose, rapidly attaining supersub status, standing by to start if the skipper is unable to play.
The full squad: Sam Adams, Bernard Asante, John Bradley, Lee Carey, Russell Eldridge, Danny Ellis, Brett Griffin, Ade Olorunda, Tim Olorunda, Sean Ray, Kevin Rose, James Sims, Danny Spice, Dan Williams, Lee Worgan.
A new date has been confirmed for the visit to Ashford Town, the original game having been abandoned at the end of December of course. The match will be replayed on Tuesday 13 March, with the usual 7.45pm kick off time.
The midweek Division One South results were Ashford Town P-P Horsham YMCA, Cray Wanderers 1-2 Maidstone United, Dover Athletic 3-0 Croydon Athletic, Leatherhead 1-1 Hastings United.
While the First Team were surrendering their nine match unbeaten league run at Maidstone, the Reserves, who enjoyed a similar run in all competitions last year, collected their third win on the trot, albeit covering an eight week span, beating County League leaders Whitehawk Reserves 2-1 at the Pilot Field. Lee Brown and Allaa Alzahab were the United goalscorers and they also had to overcome Gavin Ramsden's first half sending off to claim the three points. Further details are available in the Match Reports section of the site. Next weekend, the Reserves are back in cup action, when they entertain County League Division Three side Little Common in the third round of the Hastings Intermediate Cup. They will have to do so without unavailable manager Paul Greenaway though, so assistant Andy Thomson and coach Raddy Popovic will take charge of team affairs for what should be a keenly contested local derby, in which the visitors will be seeking to avenge a second round defeat in the same competition two years ago.
For the first time in several weeks, the weather chose not to play havoc with the Division One South programme and all ten scheduled matches reached an uninterrupted conclusion. No doubts about the result of the day, a late comeback victory for bottom of the table Corinthian-Casuals over leaders Dulwich. Fleet's defeat at Leatherhead allowed Dartford to join a three-way tie at the summit, a second half hattrick from Brendan Cass the highlight of their big win at home to Burgess Hill. Dover's surprise home defeat to Molesey, along with the demise of United's unbeaten run, allowed a number of the other play-off contenders to close the gap on the top five places, and only four points now separate Sittingbourne in sixth from the likes of Cray down in fourteenth. With Corinthian-Casuals winning twice in the last week, they are now only four points from the safety line, and Ashford's recent lack of completed matches has dragged them back into the bottom two.
Here are all of yesterday's scores. Corinthian-Casuals 2-1 Dulwich Hamlet, Croydon Athletic 2-2 Chatham Town, Dartford 7-2 Burgess Hill Town, Dover Athletic 1-2 Molesey, Godalming Town 2-2 Sittingbourne, Horsham YMCA 2-4 Cray Wanderers, Leatherhead 2-1 Fleet Town, Maidstone United 3-1 Hastings United, Tooting & Mitcham United 3-1 Metropolitan Police, Walton Casuals 3-3 Whyteleafe.
United are off on their travels again on Tuesday, when they make a midweek trip to play Leastherhead at Fetcham Grove. The Club will be running a team coach to the game, and would like to do the same to most other away matches, but this relies on there being sufficient interest amongst supporters to fill the remaining seats. If anybody is interested in avoiding having to make their own way to Leatherhead, please contact the Club as early as possible on Monday, or email simonrudkins@hotmail.com to reserve one of the few remaining empty seats. Departure time from the Pilot Field on Tuesday will be 4.45pm and the cost will be £10 for adult members of the Supporters' Club, £5 for under 18 members of the Supporters' Club, and £13 for all non-members.
Lee Worgan, who has long since proved himself to be the answer to United's goalkeeping prayers, has this week agreed to join Sam Adams and Lee Carey on contract at the Pilot Field, initially committing himself to the Club until the end of the current season. The one time Wales Under 21 International joined the Club at the beginning of October last year and has often been outstanding during United's current nine match unbeaten run in the league, with several man of the match winning performances.
United are due to test that unbeaten run three times on their travels in the next week and a bit, commencing with a scheduled visit to Bourne Park tomorrow, to take on Maidstone United, presently ground-sharing with Sittingbourne. The north Kent side's pitch has been struggling to cope with the additional demands being put upon it this season though, and has suffered a number of postponements, with Maidstone having played as few games as any other team in the division. Tomorrow's match is already considered extremely doubtful, but a pitch inspection will be held at 9.30 on Saturday morning, before a formal decision is made.
If the game does go ahead, United may well be without their influential skipper, as Sean Ray has suggested that his troublesome knee might require a rest, which would leave United a little short of options in defence, with.Rhys Whyborne also out of action. Tim Olorunda is due to serve a one match suspension, while Dominic Cruttenden has been suffering with a bout of tonsilitis and will only be considered for Reserve Team duty at home to Whitehawk, if he is fit enough to play at all. Kevin Rose appears the most likely candidate to replace the ailing captain, if necessary, and Russell Eldridge returns to the First Team squad for the first time since injuring his ankle against Walton Casuals on 23 September.
Nigel Kane has named the following fourteen man squad, which may yet be boosted by Sean Ray's inclusion of course. Sam Adams, Bernard Asante, John Bradley, Lee Carey, Nima Cham, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Brett Griffin, Ade Olorunda, Kevin Rose, James Sims, Dan Williams, Lee Worgan.
Later this month, following the home game against Kingstonian on 27 January, the Club is hosting another Fans' Forum, or a variation on that theme at least. As usual, all are welcome to attend this event, which will be held in the Clubhouse, and has specifically been arranged to provide supporters with details of a proposal, which, potentially, will have huge implications on United's future. For various reasons, it is not possible to go into any further detail at this stage, but all will be revealed in due course.
On the fixture front, a date has been set for United's latest foray into the Hastings Senior Cup, with the semi final against Rye United having been scheduled for Tuesday 23 January at The Salts. And this coming weekend, United Reserves will be at home to Whitehawk Reserves instead of Worthing United Reserves, as originally planned.
Tuesday's Division One South results were Sittingbourne 0-0 Ashford Town, Walton Casuals 1-2 Corinthian-Casuals, Whyteleafe 2-0 Chatham Town.
Even before this afternoon's victory over Tooting & Mitcham, United manager Nigel Kane had already received a new year bonus with the news that midfielder Lee Carey had agreed to sign a contract that should keep him at the Pilot Field until the end of the 2007/08 season. The nineteen year old former Brighton & Hove Albion trainee proved to be an almost instant success when he joined United a week into the season, and currently stands as the Club's leading scorer with nine goals in his twenty-seven appearances. Having initially operated in a central role, Lee moved to the left flank when Russell Eldridge suffered the ankle injury that would keep him out for over three months, and the switch has proved so successful that Russell now faces a real fight to regain his place in the side.
This afternoon's Division One South programme was again decimated by the bad weather, with only four of the ten scheduled matches getting started, and Ashford unfortunately suffering a second successive abandonment, this time when they were leading at Cray. United stayed in fifth place after their win, with Croydon moving up five places after their sixth game without defeat and Kingstonian's fourth without a win. The only other game saw bottom of the table Corinthian-Casuals earn a point at Chatham. Tomorrow, second plays fourth at Champion Hill, as Dulwich entertain Dover, pitch inspection permitting of course.
Today's results were Burgess Hill Town P-P Walton Casuals, Chatham Town 2-2 Corinthian-Casuals, Cray Wanderers 0-2 Ashford Town (abandoned after forty-five minutes), Fleet Town P-P Maidstone United, Hastings United 1-0 Tooting & Mitcham United, Kingstonian 1-3 Croydon Athletic, Metropolitan Police P-P Godalming Town, Molesey P-P Dartford, Sittingbourne P-P Horsham YMCA, Whyteleafe P-P Leatherhead. Sunday: Dulwich Hamlet 3-1 Dover Athletic, a result that puts Dulwich back on top of the table, as Terry White begins his caretaker managerial stint with a defeat.
Saturday's Reserve Team fixture away to Shoreham Reserves, and Sunday's Youth Team game away to Eastbourne Town Youth were both postponed because of waterlogged pitches.
Strikers Ambrose Kamara and Alex Okisor have both left the Pilot Field to sign for Division One South basement boys Corinthian-Casuals. Both players joined United towards the end of last year, with Ambrose scoring once in six First Team appearances, and Alex netting a couple of goals for the Reserves, but unable to force his way into the front side. United would like to wish both players every success for the future.
United are due to play their first game of the new year tomorrow, when Tooting & Mitcham United visit for a Ryman League Division One South fixture. Unusually, there are some question marks over the state of the Pilot Field playing surface however, which was unfit for the players to train upon yesterday, and is likely to suffer a further battering from the elements, if the overnight forecast is to be believed.
Assuming the contest can go ahead as planned, manager Nigel Kane is set to welcome back Danny Ellis to the squad, after a protracted spell on the sidelines with a shoulder injury. Dan Williams is likely to renew his defensive partnership with Sean Ray, with the news that Rhys Whyborne suffered a torn hamstring in the first half of last weekend's abandoned and faces around six weeks out of action. Russell Eldridge will continue his comeback from injury by again linking up with Paul Greenaway's Reserve Team, who tomorrow are scheduled to visit Shoreham Reserves for a County League fixture.
Saturday's sixteen man First Team squad is confirmed as Sam Adams, Bernard Asante, John Bradley, Lee Carey, Nima Cham, Dominic Cruttenden, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Brett Griffin, Ade Olorunda, Tim Olorunda, Sean Ray, Kevin Rose, James Sims, Dan Williams, Lee Worgan.
Update: The Reserve Team fixture at Shoreham has been postponed because of an unsurprisingly waterlogged pitch.
Playing for the first time in four weeks, Paul Greenaway's Reserves lasted two minutes longer than their senior counterparts this afternoon, as the County League contest against Crowborough Athletic Reserves at the Pilot Field was abandoned after fifty-eight minutes due to the heavy rain. The aborted match did at least mark the return to action of left sided midfielder Russell Eldridge, out with an ankle injury since 23 September, and he made a goalscoring comeback, finding the net with a trademark free kick. United will hope for better fortune next week, when they are due to visit Shoreham Reserves for another league fixture.
Tim Olorunda picked up his fifth yellow card of the season this afternoon, and he will be forced to serve a one match suspension as a result, missing the game at Maidstone United on 13 January. Although the result of today's contest will not count of course, and neither will the goals scored by Tim and John Bradley, yellow and red cards from abandoned matches do still stand, so Sean Ray's eighth caution of the season, and Sam Adams' third, will also count.
The bad weather caused three postponements and two abandonments in Division One South this afternoon. The top four all played though, overnight leaders Dulwich slipping to a second defeat on the trot, and surrendering their place at the summit to Fleet, while Dartford and Dover both closed the gap with home wins. United stayed in fifth place, while at the bottom, defeats for Walton and Whyteleafe meant that Ashford's position was unaltered, despite the match at The Homelands ending thirty-four minutes early.
Here are all of this afternoon's results. Ashford Town 2-2 Hastings United (abandoned after fifty-six minutes), Corinthian-Casuals P-P Molesey, Croydon Athletic 1-0 Dulwich Hamlet, Dartford 4-2 Whyteleafe, Dover Athletic 2-0 Sittingbourne, Godalming Town P-P Burgess Hill Town, Horsham YMCA 0-0 Kingstonian (abandoned after twenty-five minutes), Leatherhead 0-3 Metropolitan Police, Maidstone United P-P Chatham Town, Tooting & Mitcham United 3-1 Cray Wanderers, Walton Casuals 1-2 Fleet Town.
Seven league games without a defeat have certainly turned United's season on its head, and Nigel Kane's injury and suspension hit squad continued to defy its early season critics this afternoon, collecting another three points to take United into the Division One South play-off zone for the first time this season. United's pre-Christmas leap of three places was assisted by Sittingbourne's Central Park seeing another postponement, and by Burgess Hill's narrow defeat at Dover, but was nonetheless a fitting reward for a remarkable upturn in fortunes, which began with a last gasp win at Whyteleafe less than five weeks ago.
Three points separate United from their Boxing Day opponents, Dover, who picked up a first win in six matches this afternoon, but remain handily placed in the table, with games in hand that would take them clear at the top if they were to win them all. Current leaders Dulwich continued their recently inconsistent form with a shock defeat at Ashford today, while second placed Fleet trailed Croydon by two goals on three separate occasions, before claiming a draw in an eight goal thriller. Dartford twice recovered from a goal behind to draw at Walton, but United are truly the division's form team at present, although there is little doubt that a massive Bank Holiday test awaits them on Tuesday. Corinthian-Casuals now find themselves ten points from safety at the foot of the table, but showed enough form this afternoon to suggest that they will not be relegated without a fight. Whyteleafe's heavy defeat at Imber Court saw them drop into the bottom two, as a result of Ashford's win and as Walton followed up their midweek win at the Crabble with another creditable result.
Here are all of this afternoon's scores. Ashford Town 1-0 Dulwich Hamlet, Chatham Town 0-1 Horsham YMCA, Corinthian-Casuals 1-2 Hastings United, Cray Wanderers 0-2 Leatherhead, Croydon Athletic 4-4 Fleet Town, Dover Athletic 2-1 Burgess Hill Town, Godalming Town 1-1 Tooting & Mitcham United, Kingstonian 0-3 Maidstone United, Metropolitan Police 5-2 Whyteleafe, Sittingbourne P-P Molesey, Walton Casuals 2-2 Dartford.
United have been pretty fortunate with the weather this season, the First Team losing just the one match to the elements, the scheduled trip to Sittingbourne at the start of December. But the dense fog that has enveloped parts of Greater London this week has cast doubts over whether or not tomorrow's planned visit to Corinthian-Casuals will go ahead. The Surrey town of Tolworth, where Casuals play their home fixtures, was heavily fog bound today (Friday) and United will be keeping their fingers crossed that things improve overnight, with a decision on suitability of the conditions likely to be made by late Saturday morning.
The trip to King George's Field is due to coincide with one game suspensions for last week's matchwinner Kevin Rose and midfield dynamo Lee Carey, and United will be hopeful that those bans do not get carried over to the Boxing Day meeting with Dover Athletic, especially as skipper Sean Ray seems likely to remain on the sidelines with a knee injury. Tim Olorunda returned to training in the week, as did long term ankle injury victim Russell Eldridge, and Tim could well feature in tomorrow's squad, which has not been made available as these notes are being written. Reserve Team striker Alex Okisor is tipped for a second call-up to the senior squad, while left sided midfielder Lee Brown may also be drafted in, as United aim to continue a six match unbeaten run in the league, against a Casuals side that is yet to win at home in the league this season, and currently lies nine points from safety at the foot of the table.
United Reserves are without a fixture tomorrow afternoon and are next scheduled to play on 30 December at home to Crowborough Athletic. January's fixtures have been made available by the County League today, and United start and end the month with away league matches, at Shoreham and Hassocks respectively. In between times, they entertain struggling Worthing United in the league, and Little Common in the third round of the Hastings Intermediate Cup. The Youth Team have been without a fixture since 19 November, as bad weather has resulted in three successive postponements. At present, they have no scheduled matches until well into the New Year.
United Reserves' long overdue return to County League action was once again denied them this afternoon, when their scheduled visit to The Saffrons to take on Eastbourne Town Reserves was called off due to a waterlogged pitch. Paul Greenaway's side have now played only one league fixture in the last six weeks, and are not due to play another until Crowborough Athletic visit the Pilot Field on 30 December. The recent bad weather has played havoc with the County League fixture list for much of the last month, although three games did take place this afternoon, none of which had an effect on United's current league placing of fourth, however United are now six points off Whitehawk Reserves' lead, with a game in hand.
There were draws aplenty in Ryman League Division One South this afternoon, five in all, and not too many goals around either, as United moved up one place to eighth and closed the gap to the play-off places to just two points after Sittingbourne's defeat at Fleet. Dulwich's lead remains at five points, with Fleet moving back into second place, clear of Dartford, who recovered from two goals down to draw with Metropolitan Police. Dover's current patchy form continued, but they still have games in hand in fourth place, while Burgess Hill and Molesey are also struggling to maintain earlier season form. At the bottom, Corinthian-Casuals are still without a league win since August and have now lost seven of their last eight matches. Walton's point nudged them to within one of Ashford, while both have three games in hand on Whyteleafe.
Here are all of this afternoon's results. Burgess Hill Town 1-1 Kingstonian, Dartford 2-2 Metropolitan Police, Dulwich Hamlet 1-0 Cray Wanderers, Fleet Town 1-0 Sittingbourne, Hastings United 1-0 Godalming Town, Horsham YMCA 0-0 Dover Athletic, Leatherhead 1-0 Corinthian-Casuals, Maidstone United 2-2 Walton Casuals, Molesey 1-1 Chatham Town, Tooting & Mitcham United 3-0 Ashford Town, Whyteleafe 0-1 Croydon Athletic.
Tuesday's results were Dover Athletic 0-2 Walton Casuals, Fleet Town 0-0 Tooting & Mitcham United, Leatherhead 1-2 Croydon Athletic.
Last season's Combined Counties League champions Godalming Town visit the Pilot Field tomorrow, for the first ever meeting between the two sides, with United hoping to maintain their five match unbeaten run in Ryman League Division One South, which has lifted them into their highest league placing of the campaign thus far. Manager Nigel Kane has become accustomed to making injury enforced changes from game to game of late, and tomorrow will be no exception, as winger turned striker Bernard Asante sits out United's fourth home encounter on the trot, after picking up a thigh strain in Tuesday's victory over Metropolitan Police.
On the plus side though, Danny Ellis has quickly shrugged off his shoulder injury and will take Bernard's place in the squad, which should show no further changes from Tuesday night, although skipper Sean Ray does face a late fitness test on the knee problem that left him limping against the Met, not that it hampered him in front of goal of course. United have also been boosted by the news that Tim Olorunda's knee injury has responded to treatment far more quickly than expected, and he hopes to resume training next week.
The full squad tomorrow should be as follows. Sam Adams, John Bradley, Lee Carey, Nima Cham, Dominic Cruttenden, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Brett Griffin, Ambrose Kamara, Ade Olorunda, Sean Ray, Kevin Rose, James Sims, Rhys Whyborne, Dan Williams, Lee Worgan.
United are once again in action at the Pilot Field on Tuesday, facing Metropolitan Police for the third time this season, although for the first time in the league, in a meeting between the top two sides in the current Division One South form guide. Met Police suffered their first league defeat in eleven outings at the weekend, losing 2-0 at home to leaders Dulwich, to leave them in twelfth place in the league table, while United's own run of one defeat in six has them just one place behind in thirteenth.
The Pilot Field injury crisis unfortunately claimed yet another victim on Saturday, as United's man of the match and equalising goalscorer Danny Ellis suffered a shoulder injury late in the game, which will keep him out of Tuesday's encounter. Defender Dan Williams has finally shrugged off an ankle problem to rejoin the squad though, that forced change being the only one from Saturday's sixteen man line-up.
For confirmation, the full squad will be as follows. Sam Adams, Bernard Asante, John Bradley, Lee Carey, Nima Cham, Dominic Cruttenden, Jimmy Elford, Brett Griffin, Ambrose Kamara, Ade Olorunda, Sean Ray, Kevin Rose, James Sims, Rhys Whyborne, Dan Williams, Lee Worgan.
The threat of a ban for accumulating five bookings has been hanging over midfielder Lee Carey for several weeks now, since he picked up caution number four in United's 5-1 defeat at Chatham on 17 October in fact. Ten matches later, in most of which he has played on the left flank rather than in the centre of midfield, Lee did finally collect a further yellow card in this afternoon's home draw with Cray Wanderers, which means that he will perhaps be free for a touch of last minute Christmas shopping, as he will miss United's visit to Corinthian-Casuals on 23 December, joining Kevin Rose on the banned list that day.
United's hard earned point this afternoon took them up one place in the Division One South table to thirteenth, behind Tuesday's opponents Metropolitan Police on goal difference, and still seven points beneath a play-off place. There were no positional changes in the top five this afternoon, although Dulwich opened up a four point gap at the summit after their impressive victory at Imber Court. The Kent derby draw between Dartford and Dover was witnessed by a healthy attendance of 1,652, but a point apiece did little for either side's championship ambitions, with Fleet sealing the gap in third place after their win at Ashford. There was no change at all at the other end of the table, where the bottom three all lost.
Here are all of this afternoon's league results. Ashford Town 1-2 Fleet Town, Burgess Hill Town 2-2 Sittingbourne, Dartford 1-1 Dover Athletic, Godalming Town 2-1 Leatherhead, Hastings United 2-2 Cray Wanderers, Kingstonian 2-0 Molese