CHROMASPORT & TROPHIES UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE SEASON REVIEW 2012/13 CHROMASPORT & TROPHIES UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE REVIEW 2013 – CONTENTS Editorial 2 2012-13 Diary 3 League Review 6 League Tables 9 Results Grids 11 Attendances 13 League Knockout Cup 15 Reserve Knockout Cup 17 Reserve Supplementary Cup 19 League Awards 22 FA Cup 23 FA Vase 24 County Cups/Other Cups 26 Leading Goalscorers 27 Club Player of the Year Awards 29 Sequences/Biggest Wins & Highest Scoring Matches 31 Hat Tricks 32 Fair Play & Hospitality Awards 33 Club Reviews : AFC Kempston Rovers 34 Blackstones 35 Boston Town 36 Cogenhoe United 37 Deeping Rangers 38 Desborough Town 39 Harborough Town 40 Holbeach United 41 Huntingdon Town 42 Irchester United 43 Long Buckby 44 Newport Pagnell Town 45 Peterborough Northern Star 46 Quorn 47 St Ives Town 48 Shepshed Dynamo 49 Sleaford Town 50 Spalding United 51 Stewarts & Lloyds Corby 52 Wellingborough Town 53 Yaxley 54 AFC Rushden & Diamonds 55 Bourne Town 56 Buckingham Town 57 Bugbrooke St Michaels 58 Burton Park Wanderers 59 Eynesbury Rovers 60 Harrowby United 61 Northampton ON Chenecks 62 Northampton Sileby Rangers 63 Northampton Spencer 64 Oadby Town 65 Olney Town 66 Potton United 67 Raunds Town 68 Rothwell Corinthians 69 Rushden & Higham United 70 Thrapston Town 71 Wellingborough Whitworth 72 Wootton Blue Cross 73 Reserve Team Cup Results 74 Reserve Divisions – Club Leading Appearances 75 Reserve Divisions – Club Leading Goalscorers 76 1 EDITORIAL Welcome to the 2013 ChromaSport & Trophies United Counties League Review . For the second time we are producing the publication in electronic form after twenty nine years in print. The change will make the Review more accessible to all. It has been another interesting year on and off the field. Football Association decisions made last summer saw five new clubs allocated to us and these all proved to be good assets to the league. North Leicestershire pair Quorn and Shepshed Dynamo were placed with us after their relegations from the Northern Premier League while new trio in Division One AFC Rushden & Diamonds, Oadby Town and Harrowby United all proved their worth by finishing in the top six of the section. The arrival of Diamonds proved a big boost to their fellow clubs as they enjoyed spectacular support wherever they travelled, and an early season derby at Rushden & Higham drew the second tier’s highest attendance in over sixty years. In one or two cases clubs had more than half of their season’s attendance in the one match against Diamonds! The lower grade produced an unforgettable promotion race with Sileby and Diamonds eventually going up, although fellow contenders Eynesbury and Oadby would also have made worthy additions to the top flight. The Premier Division race wasn’t quite so close with Holbeach’s relentless consistency winning the day with a bit to spare. The Tigers did not seek promotion though so there was also a thrilling race within a race going on for second between St Ives and Spalding. This one went to the closing minutes of the season until a late goal gave the Saints the win required at Shepshed to pip the Tulips. St Ives will play in the Central Division of the Southern League next season and will be hoping to follow the success enjoyed by fellow recent promotees Daventry, St Neots and Kings Lynn. At the other end of the Premier Division the relegation battle was fascinating. Irchester were well adrift but with the season drawing to a close seven other clubs remained at risk of the drop. A dismal finish saw Blackstones occupy the next to bottom place as their 25 year stay in the top flight came to a sad end. The 2013-14 season will see a number of further changes in membership with four clubs departing and five more joining us. Increasing numbers of constitutional changes look set to be with us for the long term as a consequence of the FA’s review of steps 5 and 6 in 2012. A happy departure is St Ives moving to step 4, while Quorn and Shepshed have been shuffled sideways to the Midland Football Alliance after just one season with us. Saddest departure is Wootton Blue Cross after 58 years with the league. After struggling for a couple of years they hve opted to drop into the step 7 Bedfordshire County League. Joining us are Woodford United who return after seven years in the Southern League and Peterborough Sports, promoted from the Peterborough League. The requests of Wisbech Town and Lutterworth Athletic to switch from the Eastern Counties and East Midlands Counties Leagues respectively were supported by the Football Association which also allocated St Neots Saints to Division One after interviewing club representatives. The new campaign will see a milestone achieved in Division One which will become all floodlit for the first time. Progress indeed. Generally the league remains in good health but one area of concern is that of reserve football. Five of last season’s second strings have withdrawn with just two clubs returning from brief absences. With just twenty clubs it was decided, after consultation with clubs, to revert to a single reserve section for the first time in three decades. It is hoped that numbers will increase in years to come and if this does happen we may have to revisit the prospect of regionalisation of reserve football. Jeremy Biggs – Review Editor 2 2012-13 DIARY June ….Long serving Sileby manager Gary Petts resigns…..Title winning boss Glenn Botterill leaves Long Buckby and takes over at Sileby….Scott Goodwin takes the reins at Long Buckby….Jamie Weston takes charge at Peterborough Northern Star….Boston Town appoint Pinchbeck pair Ian Dunn and Matt Hocking as co- managers….Clem Dublin joins Oadby as joint manager. July ….Burton Park groundsman Graham Coles is announced as runner up in the FA Groundsman of the Year awards for steps 5 and 6…..Jason Harrison is named co-manager of newcomers Harrowby….Pre season cup action sees AFC Kempston beat Bedford Town 4-2 to win the Harry Robinson Memorial Cup but Bourne are beaten 5-3 by Stamford in the Wilf Notley Memorial Cup. August ….Buckingham announce that they are to play the season at Manor Fields, Bletchley….Long Buckby withdraw their reserve side with the season just days away….Stewarts & Lloyds lose 4-1 to Corby in the Bob Cumming Memorial Cup….Long Buckby retain the Andy Humphries Memorial Cup with a 2-0 win over Harpole….Buckingham beat Banbury 3-2 to win the James Victory Cup….Harrowby lose 1-0 to Stamford in the Ted Drury Memorial Cup….The FA Cup swings into action with an upset as Thrapston beat Cogenhoe in their Extra Preliminary Round meeting….Also enjoying FA Cup first hurdle success are Blackstones, Holbeach, Quorn, Oadby, Sleaford, Huntingdon, Peterborough Northern Star, Bugbrooke, St Ives, Wellingborough, Yaxley, AFC Kempston and Newport Pagnell….Preliminary Round ties see further progress for Holbeach, Quorn, Peterborough Northern Star, Bugbrooke, Huntingdon, AFC Kempston and Newport Pagnell….Opening day league action sees draws for Premier newcomers Quorn and Shepshed but promoted Huntingdon lose on their bow at Boston Town….In Division One 784 spectators watch AFC Rushden & Diamonds enjoy a winning kick off against Thrapston….Harrowby make a losing start but Oadby hit the ground running with an 8-0 win over Potton and their reserves enjoy a 9-1 victory at Olney in their first match…384 watch Wootton host AFC Rushden & Diamonds – exceeding the total attendance the previous season for Blue Cross…..Desborough treasurer Vic Panter receives a long service award….Harrowby treasurer Les Staniland passes away….End of month managerial awards go to John Chand of Holbeach and Paul Field of Bugbrooke….St Ives pair Karl Gibbs and Conor Washington share the season’s first Goalscorer of the Month accolade. September …The league’s FA Cup interest ends at the First Qualifying Round stage with all seven survivors exiting to higher grade opponents….The FA Vase gets under way with First Qualifying Round wins for Boston Town, Harborough, Thrapston, Desborough, Bugbrooke and AFC Kempston….Second Qualifying Round action sees further progress for Boston Town and Desborough along with victories for Spalding, Sleaford, Eynesbury, Stewarts & Lloyds, AFC Rushden & Diamonds, Yaxley and Northampton Spencer….Spalding notch up the Premier season’s biggest win, 11-1 at Irchester….Oadby beat Anstey 2-1 to win the Battle of Britain Cup….Lee Duffy of Stewarts & Lloyds becomes the season’s first managerial casualty with former boss Daren Young returning to the Foundrymen helm….Wellingborough manager Rob Gould is another casualty, with ex- Woodford boss Phil Mason replacing him at the Dog & Duck…..Holbeach enjoy their best ever start to a UCL campaign with nine wins to start the season….St Ives sell star striker Conor Washington to Conference club Newport County….End of month awards go to two managerial pairs, Warren Everdell and Jez Hall at St Ives and Oadby duo Lee Harriman and Clem Dublin….Shane Tolley of Spalding is the month’s top goalscorer. October ….FA Vase First Round action sees wins for Sleaford, Deeping, Spalding, Boston Town, Northampton Spencer, AFC Rushden & Diamonds and Desborough….1,157 watch the Rushden & Higham v AFC Rushden & Diamonds derby at Hayden Road, believed to be the highest second tier crowd since 1950….St Ives’ 24 match winning run on home soil in all competitions ends with a Hinchingbrooke Cup shootout defeat by Eynesbury….Long Buckby are removed from the League Knockout Cup for playing an ineligible player in their win at Desborough….A Lincolnshire Senior Trophy upset sees Bourne win at Blackstones….Northampton Spencer equal a 74 year old club record by beating Finedon 14-0 in the Northants Junior Cup….Sad news from Rushden & Higham is the death of long serving secretary Chris Ruff….Seven Burton Park members climb five Welsh mountains in 24 hours to raise funds for the club’s floodlight project…..Buckingham part company with manager Steve Orchard, Dan Kingston taking caretaker charge….Matt Clarke resigns as Rothwell Corinthians boss….Dan Newman makes his 500 th appearance for St Ives….Manager of the Month awards go to St Ives duo Warren Everdell and Jez Hall and Northampton Spencer’s Ben Stone….Kris Nurse of Quorn is the Goalscorer of the Month.