Lea Sports PSG Football Club

Lea Sports PSG Football Club PIRTON * SHILLINGTON * GRAVENHURST

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Lea Sports PSG—A Charter Standard Development Club Affiliation to Bedfordshire Complete

Vol. 4, No. 1, August 2009

I am pleased to be able to tell you all that our application to become a Development Club has been approved by the FA. This is a prestigious award for the Club and a fitting reward for the hard work put in by the Committee. It will be a major boost to our fundraising and recruitment in the future. After a dozen years of affiliation to the Hertfordshire FA, the Club has returned this season to an affiliation to Bedfordshire, its original home. The reasons have been outlined before—we play in three Bedfordshire leagues, have a majority of Bedfordshire-based players and committee members, etc, but the two main benefits will be that County Cup travels will be much closer to home—no more treks to Enfield and Bishops Stortford in the middle of December; and secondly, we have a much closer working relationship with the officials at County Headquarters. We have already been in contact with County Development Officer James Slack, who has visited Pirton and helped us with our application for Development Club status, and with Anika Leslie-Walker, who is helping us in our efforts to establish girls’ football.

Insurance Cover Now in Place One other consequence of our Bedfordshire affiliation is the provision of mandatory insurance cover for all our players, through Northamptonshire-based company Sportsguard. Most injuries which might be sustained on a football pitch, including broken bones (legs, hands, wrists, collarbone, cheekbone, etc), damage to eyesight, hospital confinement, dental expenses, etc are covered. All players who have completed a Club Registration Form and paid their Annual Subscription are covered. If you have to make a claim, contact me for full details, but keep copies of all sick notes, wage slips and any other documentation relating to the injury. Steve Smith gets loads of money from some posh bloke...

It’s Time to Make a Stand... Following a presentation to the Southern Rural Committee of the North Herts. District Council, the Club has been awarded a grant of £1,000 towards replacing the seating in the stand. This is in addition to the £250 pledged by Pirton Parish Council and £300 received from District Councillor Claire Strong.

ALL THE RESULTS AND FIXTURES AT: www.lspsg.co.uk WEEKLY RESULTS AT: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p6R-zcdrBhhlwk0bN1GwAaQ&hl=en (You need to sign up for a Google account if you don’t have one already. Google accounts are free—just enter your e-mail address and a password).


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Farewell to Andy Shiers Club veterans gathered at the Rec on July 26th to play a match to say farewell to Andy Shiers, who moves to New Zealand shortly.

A mixture of old and young players took part in a friendly match (apart from the odd tackle by Rick or Bobby) which ended 6-5 to the Reds. Highlights were a rare headed goal by Chairman Greg Whelan, (who later proved that if you are well over six foot and playing in goal you can still be chipped) and a stunning volley from Steve Williams to round off proceedings. Someone asked me how many appearances the players had between them, and of course I love a challenge: former Chairman Keith Lee, Archie Conway, Rick Vipers and Bobby McGrath between them have 2,178 games under their belt; Andy Shiers himself has 416 and other members of ‘The 200 Club’ included Richard Knock (275), Al Palmer (292), Greg Whelan (208), Steve Baggett (256), Paul Gathern (439), Jamie Richards (284), Steve Goldsmith (230), Chris Gathern (228) and Steve Bingham (209). So far, that makes: 5,015. Then you have: Ben Alderton (100), Rich Masters (10), Mark Attwell (77), Scott Ayres (68), Jack Baggett (162), Ash Cooper (81), Laurence Freed (50), Mathew Hill (151), Mark Kempton (152), Barry Leek (66), Nigel Leek (119), Chris Littlejohn (23), Paul Maclennan (120), Pat McAneney (44), Mav Fuller (22), Ben Thomson (156), Ed Thomson (182), Steve Williams (136), Scott Morgan (87), Michael Hughes (32), Richie Bevan (31) and me (178). Apologies to anyone I missed. Grand total: 8,462 Good job Gav Bidgood (241), Phil Thompson (612), Trev Taylor (351), Trev England (150) and Closey (261) didn’t make it, otherwise we’d have had over 10,000 games between us….

It’s all Kicking-Off... Our teams have been in pre-season action already: the Under 10s have reached the semi-finals of two tournaments, whilst in the Shefford Tournament the Under 13s under Phil Toyer fought their way through to the Final, where they lost 1-0 to a strong Crawley Green side. Well done to both!

Comments, Suggestions, Complaints, Articles, Photos, etc….. Send them to me at:

[email protected]

Lea Sports PSG Football Club Page 1

PIRTON * SHILLINGTON * GRAVENHURST

Peguform Icknield Take the Premier Cup Lea Sports PSG Lose on Goal Difference

Vol. 4, No. 2, September 2009

The traditional pre-season tournament—the Premier Cup, sponsored by Form IT Solutions—was won by Peguform Icknield by the closest of margins. Of the four teams taking part, three beat each other to finish on four points, so the tournament was decided on goal difference. At half-time in the final round of matches things were looking good: Lea Sports’ closest rivals Brache Green Man were losing 2-1 to Woodstock, whilst the game between Lea and Peguform was locked at 0-0 (Peguform having had a goal disallowed for offside). Although Brache equalised and then went ahead in the second half, it didn’t seem to matter as Lea took a two-goal lead with strikes from Ollie Palmer. However, for the second week running the home side failed to hang on to a 2-0 advantage and Peguform snatched an all-important goal back, which gave them the trophy, despite the 2-1 defeat. (Full Results on the website at www.lspsg.co.uk) P.

W.

D.

L.

F.

A.

Pts.

GD

Peguform Icknield

3

2

0

1

5

3

6

+2

Brache Green Man

3

2

0

1

10

9

6

+1

Lea Sports PSG

3

2

0

1

8

7

6

+1

Woodstock Wnds.

3

0

0

3

2

6

0

-4

Youth Tournament a Great Success On August 29th, the Under Nines and Under Tens held their inaugural Tournament at the Recreation Ground in Pirton. Each age group had invited three teams along for a tournament which ran from 10.30 until mid-afternoon. Burgers, hot-dogs and lots of sweets and cold drinks were on sale as the players toiled through a warm Saturday morning. In the end, the Honours in the Under Nine section were taken by Toddington Rovers, with the home side a close second; whereas in the Under Ten Section Bedford Town were victorious in the final vs. Shillington. Almost £200 was raised for Club funds and the bar in the Sports & Social Club also did good business throughout the day. Everyone agreed the event had been played in a great spirit and was a success. Congratulations must go to the management teams of both age groups for all their hard work in making the tournament happen. We all hope that the Tournament will become a regular annual feature on the fixture calendar and that we can expand it to include another age group next year.

NEW SEASON’S FIXTURES NOW AVAILABLE—Go to the Club’s website at www.lspsg.co.uk or the Football Mitoo site for Bedfordshire. ALL THE RESULTS AND FIXTURES AT: www.lspsg.co.uk WEEKLY RESULTS AT: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p6R-zcdrBhhlwk0bN1GwAaQ&hl=en (You need to sign up for a Google account if you don’t have one already. Google accounts are free—just enter your e-mail address and a password).


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Website Additions More historical information about the Club has been added to the website. On the Home Page is a new button, labelled ‘Overall Performance’. This page shows the complete playing record of the Club, team by team.

The left-hand menu then allows you to look at results season by season in each of the decades shown. For example, by clicking on ‘The 1990’s’ you will see:

Mini-Soccer details are also included—see ‘The 2000s’ page. Below each season CupFinal appearances are also noted—together with a link to the ‘Cup-Finals’ page.

More History Too... From the home page, click on the HISTORY button and you will see three new sub-headings: The GOALSCORERS button will take you to a page with full details of the Club scorers and Golden Boot winners; CLUB OFFICERS will list all those who have held official posts in the Club since 1973; and CLUB AWARDS will list all those who have won Clubman, Players’ Player, Manager’s Player, Supporters’ Player, etc, etc since records began.

THE GOLDEN BOOT

Other Friendly Results August 23rd

First XI vs. Kent’s Athletic

3-1

Matches to come: 1st September Under 13s vs. AFC Dunstable 2nd September Under 15s vs. Shefford Saints 6th September Flitwick Tournament

Comments, Suggestions, Complaints, Articles, Photos, etc….. Send them to me at:

[email protected]



Mixed Fortunes at Flitwick Holders Cannot Retain their Trophy

Vol. 4, No. 3, October 2009

Last year’s Under 14s were unable to retain their trophy in the annual pre‐season tour‐ nament at Flitwick. Their 2 wins and a draw in the qualifying round was not enough to take them through to the final stages of the competition. It was a similar story for the Under Thirteens—despite gaining revenge for their defeat in a pre‐season friendly vs. AFC Dunstable, they too just failed to make the final stages. The Under Twelves did not concede a goal in the group stage, with 1‐0 wins vs. Caddington and Dunstable Town, a 5‐0 defeat of Toddington ‘B’ and a hard‐fought 0‐0 draw with Crawley Green ‘B’. It was a different story in the second stage, however, as the team went down 2‐0 to Celtic and 4‐0 to a strong Crawley Green ‘A’ side.

Not All Plain Sailing in the County Cup Playing in the Bedfordshire County Cups for the first time since 1995‐96 after the move from the Hertfordshire FA, our teams came up against some tough opposition. The First Team recovered from going a goal down to Haynes, with a hat‐trick from Greg Whelan and a goal from Mark Brown, but it wasn’t enough as Haynes scored with the last kick of the game to steal a 5‐4 win. The easiest passage into Round 2 was for the Reserves, whose opposition, Shillington, folded after being un‐ able to secure a home pitch for the season. The Under Thirteens were not far behind: forced to play their game away from home because of fixture congestion in Pirton, the lads romped to a 10‐0 victory in Sharnbrook, with Dan Bannell and James Hirst both claiming hat‐tricks. There was a hat‐trick too for Danny Butler for the Under Fifteens, but that too was not enough as visitors Potton Colts recorded a 4‐3 win. The Under Sixteens had a rude intro‐ duction to life in Bedfordshire—they were level at 1‐1 after b90 minutes with Sharnbrook after a goal from Ben Morris, but two goals in extra time took the visitors through 3‐1. The best come back of the round was the Under 12s. After losing their Captain Jacob Tavener in the warm‐up, they started against Celtic Lions with ten men and found them‐ selves 2 down in the second half. A great fight back with goals from Boggon, O’Connell (2) and Reaper saw them run out 4‐2 winners. FIXTURES AND RESULTS ON THE WEBSITE

Fixtures, results and league tables are all now readily accessible on the Club website at www.lspsg.co.uk. The ‘FIXTURES’ buttons for each team take you directly to the Football Mitoo sites (youths) or the North Home Counties site (adults). The CLUB button takes you to the Club’s list team by team. The ‘TABLES’ button for each team takes you directly to the League Table page for the relevant team selected. In addition, results are summarised month by month—click on ‘September’, ‘October’, etc to see the summary of fixtures and results for the month.


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Mixed start for the U12’s Having been newly promoted to CYL division one, the new season heralded a mixed start for the U12’s. The late pre season tournament organised by Flitwick Eagles saw the team win their group and lose to Celtic Lions and Crawley Green “A” in the play offs leaving them third overall. The first league game however resulted in a 6‐1 away loss to Bushmead “A” in a “Welcome to division one” match. This game showed the strength of opposition the team are now likely to face week in week out and whilst tough, the U12’s displayed plenty of promise and created a number of chances when play‐ ing to their strengths. The following week, September 20th, was the first round of the County Cup and with a home tie against Celtic Lions another exciting match was in prospect. Things didn’t quite go to plan from the off, having only 11 players available, to lose their captain in the warm up with an injured knee was not a good start. The match was tight and half time saw the 10 men of Lea Sports trailing 0‐1. A second early goal for Celtic after the break cranked up the pressure but the team responded brilliantly. The defence battled hard to hold their line, the midfield went into overdrive and goals from Curties (2), James R and Tom sealed a memorable 4‐2 victory. The Celtic Manager rang later that afternoon and com‐ plimented the team on such a great effort, a very sporting gesture!

We’re Off to the Dogs The Club has been fortunate enough to secure a num‐ ber of tickets for an Evening of Greyhound Racing at Henlow Stadium in Lower Stondon on Friday October 23rd. Tickets for the night are just £5 each and it would be great to see a sizeable representation from the Club. Please contact me if you want a ticket.

Come and Have a Go (If you think you’re smart enough….) On Friday October 30th the Sports & Social Club is holding a General Knowledge Quiz in aid of the New Pavilion Fund (8 pm). Tickets are £7.50 each and include a Fish and Chip Supper. Teams of up to six people are welcome. Sign up now as demand could be high . Tickets from Steve Smith: 01462‐712279 or 07721‐746872 or e‐mail as below.

Sponsors Come Up Trumps (or is that ‘Troups’) Main Club Sponsors Form I.T.Solutions once again have supported the Club with the purchase of a new away strip for the adult teams. Everyone who has worn the kit agrees that it is one of the smartest we have ever appeared in. A big thank you as ever to Hugh Byrne and his team at Form I.T.Solutions in Luton. Sponsors of the Under Twelves, Troup Bywaters + Anders, have reaf‐ firmed their support for the Club with the presentation to the team of a cheque for £500 from Neil Panton. This will be a great help in providing ancillary equipment for the squad. Details of all our sponsors and their services are on the website.

S.O.S.—Support Our Sponsors Comments, Suggestions, Complaints, Articles, Photos, etc….. Send them to me, Steve Smith, at:

[email protected]



Break-in at the Clubhouse Intruders Damage Doors but Steal Nothing

Vol. 5, No. 3, November 2009

Some time between the evening of Sunday September 27th and Wednesday September 30th the Clubhouse in Pirton was broken into. The intruder(s) forced their way in through one of the fire doors and kicked in the door between the main room and the corridor leading to the changing rooms. Despite looking behind the bar and in the TV cabinet, nothing was taken. The intruders obvi‐ ously didn’t know that cash is never stored on the prem‐ ises. Most stupid of all, the intruders then broke through both locks on the storeroom door, only to find them‐ selves outside again! If anyone has any information re‐ garding the break‐in, please contact me. As Kevin Keegan would say, I would love to find out who did this!

Whitbread Cup Triumph The First Team overcame Premier Division opposition on 4th October to progress to the second round of the North Home Counties’ Whitbread Cup. The lads never looked out‐ classed in their match vs. 61 FC and deservedly took the lead when Chris Littlejohn slid the ball under the advancing keeper. 61 FC equalised from their first meaningful attack with a sharp finish from inside the six‐yard box, but a fine strike from Greg Whelan put the home side in front at the break. 61 drew level and went in front against the run of play in the second half, but Greg Whelan struck again to take the game to extra‐time. The hard pitch made the going tough and Lea Sports needed all three substitutes: Dave Collins, Richard Knock and Ben Alderton. Frustration began to tell on the 61 players and dissent at some offside decisions and free‐kicks going against them led to two opposition players being sent off in extra time. The nine men of 61 FC could not hold Lea Sports and further goals from Dave Collins and a great strike from Richard Knock saw the home team go through with a 5‐3 scoreline. The Under 15s recorded their first league win with a 4‐1 thumping of AFC Dunstable. This was the first defeat and first goals conceded for Dunstable, who played in a kit of pink shirts, pink shorts and white socks! FIXTURES AND RESULTS ON THE WEBSITE

Fixtures, results and league tables are all now readily accessible on the Club website at www.lspsg.co.uk. The ‘FIXTURES’ buttons for each team take you directly to the Football Mitoo sites (youths) or the North Home Counties site (adults). The CLUB button takes you to the Club’s list team by team.

The ‘TABLES’ button for each team takes you directly to the League Table page for the relevant team selected. In addition, results are summarised month by month—click on ‘September’, ‘October’, etc to see the summary of fixtures and results for the month.


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Cup Agony for the Under Twelves Our fortunes in the Bedfordshire County Cups now rests on the Reserves (who had a bye in Round One) and the Under Thirteens, who stormed to a 9‐1 win away to Leighton United in Round 2. Hat‐tricks from Kai Bucciero and James Lovett and further efforts from George Calvert, Ross Embleton and Sam Fletcher took them through to an encounter with Crawley Green ‘C’ in the last Sixteen in Pirton on 15th November. After the Under Twelves’ great performance in Round One, (coming back from 2‐0 down to beat Celtic Lions 4‐2), a home tie against Division Five side Lewsey Centre looked to be a formality, but with striker Tom Boggon still sidelined with broken fingers sustained playing with brother Sam in the garden at home, the team struggled throughout the match and ended up crashing out 3‐2. Goals from Jake Edwards and Joseph Worboys were no consolation on the day.

‘Steve Smith Shield’ Makes its Appearance At its October meeting the Lea Sports PSG Committee decided to introduce a new award. Named the ‘Steve Smith Shield’ it will be awarded each month to the youth team which has shown the right commit‐ ment and attitude (not necessarily the most successful in terms of results). Each month youth team man‐ agers can put their team forward for the award if they think their team deserves it and the Committee will then decide who the winners are. This gives youth teams something to battle for each month even if league results are not going their way.

Best Wishes from Down Under I’ve received an e‐mail from Andy Shiers to assure me that the New Zealand branch of the Lea Sports Supporters Club is alive and kicking. Andy sends everyone his good wishes and wished us luck in the County Cups (not too effective there, Andy!). If anyone wants to drop him a line, his e‐mail address is [email protected]

Fewer Holes in the Car Park A big thank you to Dave Sadler from the Under 13s who helped to spread the new surface on the car park. An earlier appeal for help to spread the ten tons of material resulted in Greg Whe‐ lan turning up with his shovel. I guess the rest of you were washing your hair …..

Comments, Suggestions, Complaints, Articles, Photos, etc….. Send them to me, Steve Smith, at:

[email protected]


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A Little Extra Coaching? The FA Skills Team still have a limited number of places left on their FA Tesco Skills Centre at Robert Bloomfield School. The FA Tesco Skills Coaches are specially trained to work with 5-11 year olds, and aim to help players become more comfortable with a ball and have the capability to make better decisions, more often. Children will work on their Agility, Balance, Co-ordination and Speed, as well as developing their football skills, decision making and spatial awareness. Coaching activities will also help improve children's ability work as part of a team, and solve problems whilst building confidence towards physical activity.

to

At £1 a week, The FA Tesco Skills Centres are open to all 5-11 year olds who wish to have fun and become better players.

First League Win for the Under Thirteens The Under Thirteens overcame a skilful Valley Sports side in their League Division One match at Pirton on October 25th. Two first‐half goals from James Lovett ‐ his fifth and sixth of the season—were enough to overcome tough opposition. Playing with just 10 men after sickness and half‐term holidays took their toll, the Under 13s survived a spir‐ ited come‐back from Valley in the second half to take all three points. On the adjacent pitch the Reserves suffered the frustration of seeing another lead slip away as they drew 2‐2 with Hexton. A first half penalty was converted by Ben Thomson, but was evened up by an award at the other end for handball. Lea Sports saw a goal dis‐ allowed for offside before Jon Whitehead restored the lead in the second half. Poor marking gifted Hexton an equaliser as for the third time this season the Reserves drew 2‐ 2 after being in front. The Under eights, meanwhile, lost their friendly against Stevenage to a solitary goal early in the match., despite a good performance overall. The Club has requested that the Un‐ der Eights should go into Group 2 of the Fair Play categories, despite winning all four of their qualifying games. It is hoped that this will give the boys a more enjoyable season playing against teams of about the same standard. Their Group 2 games begin on No‐ vember 1st with a home fixture vs. Bedford Town ‘A’.

Two Minutes’ Silence for Remembrance Sunday On November 8th kick‐off times for the teams at home will be put back to 11.00, instead of the normal 10.30 (11.30 for the Under Tens). This is because a service and wreath‐ laying will take place at the local church and we do not want the service to be disrupted by shouts and whistles from the Recreation Ground. All teams at home will be required to observe 2 minutes silence before their matches and we would ask all players and spectators alike to respect the moments of reflection. The Club (and the Sports & Social Club) will be represented at the wreath‐laying cere‐ mony: members of the youth sides will be present to lay a commemorative wreath on behalf of Lea Sports PSG.



LEA SPORTS PSG FOOTBALL CLUB home

OCTOBER FIXTURES & RESULTS th

Sunday, 4 October MATCH

COMPETITION

SCORERS

SCORE

1st vs. 61 FC

Whitbread 1

H

5-3 aet

U16 vs. Bedford Park Rgrs

League Div.2

A

0-3

U15 vs. Brickhill Wanderers

Friendly

H

2-3

Shan, Turner

U13 vs. AFC Kempston Colts

League Div.1

H

2-5

Bucciero, Faulkner

U12 vs. Aylesbury Athletic

League Cup 1

A

6-1

Hart, O’Connell, Preston, Steeley(2), Worboys

U10 vs. AFC Kempston Colts

League Div.2

A

1-4

Spain-O’Leary

U9 vs. Totternhoe

League Div.2

H

1-2

Lomas

U8 vs. Bedford Juniors B

Group 5

A

11-0

Brown(3), Pryle(5), Simmons(2), Wyatt

1st vs. Bury Park Saracens

League Div.1

A

1-2

Brown,M.

Reserves vs. Clarence

League Div.3

H

2-2

Newland(2)

U16 vs. Mid-Beds Tigers

League Div.2

A

5-8

Miley(2), Rodgers(2), Welbury

U15 vs. Bedford Town ‘A’

League Div.1

H

0-6

U13 vs. AFC Dunstable

League Div.1

A

0-4

U12 vs. Crawley Green ‘B’

League Div.1

H

0-5

U10 vs. Totternhoe

League Div.2

A

2-0

U9 vs. Templefield Old Boys

League Div.2

H

0-3

Collins, Knock, Littlejohn, Whelan(2)

th

Sunday, 11 October

Boggon(2)

th

Sunday, 18 October Reserves vs. Co-op Sports

League Div.3

A

2-4

U16 vs. Clapham Colts

League Div.2

A

0-6

U15 vs. Dunstable Town

League Div.1

H

4-1

U13 vs. Leighton United

County Cup 2

A

9-1

U12 vs. Lewsey Centre

County Cup 2

H

2-3

Day, own goal

Butler, Faik, Gornell, Mushtaq Bucciero(3), Calvert, Embleton, Fletcher, Lovett(3) Edwards, Worboys

th

Sunday, 25 October 1st vs. Caddington Social

League Div.1

A

0-3

Reserves vs. Hexton

League Div.3

H

2-2

U16 vs. Luton United

League Div.2

A

conceded

U15 vs. Newport Pagnell T.

League Div.1

H

conceded

U13 vs. Valley Sports

League Div.1

H

2-1

Lovett(2)

U9 vs. Ampthill Town

League Div.2

A

5-2

Clarke, Hammer, Lomas (3)

U8 vs. Stevenage

Friendly

H

0-1

Thomson,B., Whitehead

Fixtures, results and league tables are all now readily accessible on the Club website at www.lspsg.co.uk.


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November Roars In Strikers Struggle in the Storm

Vol. 4, No. 5, December 2009

After the warm, sunny weather of October, November came in like a lion with winds and rain battering the pitches on November 1st. The Under Twelves had the right idea, post‐ poning their game and staying at home with tea and crumpets, but elsewhere conditions made it hard for the Club’s strikers. Only Janayd Shan from the Under Fifteens found the conditions to his liking as he hammered in five goals in a 6‐2 defeat of GNG Tigers—Liam Faik getting the other goal in his last game before going to the Cambridge Academy. For the First Team, top scorer Chris Littlejohn did find the net in their home game with Luton Old Boys, but other chances went beg‐ ging as the Firsts recorded another home draw: 1‐1 the final score. The Reserves, meanwhile, turned up at a windswept Wrest Park to take on the unknown quantity of Constant & Co Reserves in the County Cup. Top scorer Phil Thompson was cup‐tied and had to sit this one out and Manager Ed Thomson and Captain Ben Thomson were also absent. Lewis Smith, playing his first full game for over a season, went close after a few minutes, hitting the outside of the post, but it was Chris Rooney who broke the deadlock with a well‐taken goal after 20 minutes. Smith missed another good opportunity before Luke Day finished off a flow‐ ing move to put the team 2‐0 up at half‐time. With the wind and slope in their favour in the second half, the Reserves expected to seal an easy victory, but the Bedford side made a good fight of it after the break and it took a third goal from Lewis Smith to finally kill off the tie. Top scorer Ben Morris scored a penalty for the Under 16s against Toddington Rovers, but it wasn’t enough as Toddington scored four in reply. The Under Eights couldn’t man‐ age to find the net at all as they went down 2‐0 to Bedford Town ‘A’ in difficult condi‐ tions in Pirton. The most contentious game was the Under 13s’ fixture at Ampthill for whom Daniel Ban‐ nell was playing after the Chiltern Youth League rushed through his transfer. Needless to say, Bannell scored as Ampthill ran out 4‐2 winners. We have made the league aware of our disappointment with their handling of the transfer and with the fact that league rules were again blatantly ignored when a league official decided to turn up to ‘check’ the registration cards before the game—and prevented our Manager from seeing the Ampthill cards! The good news is that former striker Matty Baxter is rejoining the Under 15s after a short spell at Shefford Saints: we hope the league will ensure that his transfer goes through as quickly...

Fixtures, results and league tables are all now readily accessible on the Club website at www.lspsg.co.uk. The ‘FIXTURES’ buttons for each team take you directly to the Football Mitoo sites (youths) or the North Home Counties site (adults). The CLUB button takes you to the Club’s list team by team. The ‘TABLES’ button for each team takes you directly to the League Table page for the relevant team selected. In addition, results are summarised month by month—click on ‘September’, ‘October’, etc to see the summary of fixtures and results for the month.


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Club Honours Remembrance Sunday Lea Sports PSG donated a wreath to the Remembrance Day celebrations held at Pirton Memorial on Novem‐ ber 8th. The Club was represented by Under 10s players Hugo Case, Zac Gbadebo and James Brakenbury, who later played for the Under Tens in their 11‐1 thrashing of Houghton Regis ‘A’. President Steve Smith also attended and laid a wreath on behalf of Pirton Sports & Social Club. First League Wins for Firsts and Under Twelves November 15th proved to be a good day for the First Team and the Under Twelves as both teams recorded their first league wins of the season. The First team inflicted only the second league defeat of the season on Club Lewsey Reserves, although they had to rely on their luck on occasions as Lewsey pressed hard in the second half. Goals from Chris Littlejohn and Paul Brown secured the points. Meanwhile, positive training for U12’s is beginning to pay off: rather than being disheartened by a very difficult start and some quite heavy defeats in their first season in Division One, the U12’s have increased their focus in training and the rewards are beginning to come. A close fought match away to St Josephs on Nov.8th saw them lose 2‐0 in a game they were unfortunate not to get a point from. A week later they met Bedford Panthers—two teams who had not yet gained a point between them—and ran out convincing 4‐1 winners with goals from James Hart, Liam Panton and two from last season’s top scorer Curties O’Connell. Crawley Green “A” was their next fixture, away again, and following a nightmare start which saw them trailing 3‐0 after 15 minutes, the team fought back to lead 4‐3 up until the final min‐ utes of the game when Crawley snatched an equaliser. Once settled, the team defended very well and two goals from Curties, one from James Reaper and a fourth from Tom on his return from injury, certainly gave the Crawley side some concerns. They rounded off the month with a 3‐0 win over Celtic in the League Cup. Well done to everyone for a great effort all round! Congratulations also this month go to James Reaper. James is the youngest person this year to be offered a place in the BMS Sports Academy talent development squad. Initially James will be developed as an “all rounder” which could then lead to specialisation in later years. Gaining a place in the Academy is no mean feat and 2 of their current elite squad feature for the England Youth Rugby team, 1 for the England Youth Cricket team and 1 swimmer is in training for the 2012 Olympics.

Reserves Bow Out of Challenge Cup The Reserves failed to repeat last season’s exploits in the Challenge Cup, when they were losing finalists, after a 1‐0 defeat at home to St.John’s. A combination of atrocious weather, missed chances and bizarre refereeing put paid to this season’s chances. They made up for this defeat in style, however, a week later, with a 1‐0 win over Division 2 side Celtic Reserves in the first round of the Reserve Cup at Stockwood Park. They had to ride their luck as Celtic missed a pen‐ alty, but Phil Thompson’s goal secured a famous victory.


[email protected]



Happy New Year Everyone! Vol. 4, No. 6, January 2010

Golden Boot As Tight As Ever

The race for the Golden Boot—awarded to the top striker in the Club’s 11‐a‐side teams—is going to be as tight as ever this season, with no one striker forging ahead at the half‐way point of the season. For the First XI, Greg Whelan leads the way with 10, although his only goal since 4th October was in a friendly at Westoning. Mark Brown comes next with 6, while last season’s top scorer Chris Littlejohn is in third place on 4. For the Reserves, Tom Newland is in pole position with 5, followed closely by the evergreen Phil Thompson on 4. The Under 16s have a similar situation, with Ben Morris on 5, followed by James Miley on 4. In the Under 15s Janayd Shan has a tally of 10, including 5 in one game vs. GNG Tigers, while Danny Butler is 3 behind on 7. For the Under 13s James Lovett leads the way with 10, nine of which came in 5 consecutive games, while Kai Bucciero and current Boot holder James Hirst have 5 goals each. Finally in the Under 12s Curties O’Connell has 9 goals, 4 ahead of his nearest rival Tom Boggon. Team

Games

League

Cups

Friendlies

TOTAL

Janayd Shan

U15

7(2)

7

0

3

10

Greg Whelan

1st

9(1)

4

5

1

10

James Lovett

U13

13

5

5

0

10

Curties O’Connell

U12

12

5

4

0

9

Danny Butler

U15

6(3)

3

3

1

7

Mark Brown

1st

13(1)

3

1

2

6

Tom Boggon

U12

6(1)

3

2

0

5

Ben Morris

U16

9

3

1

1

5

Tom Newland

2nd

10

4

1

0

5

Kai Bucciero

U13

12(1)

2

3

0

5

James Hirst

U13

13

0

4

1

5

Name

Club Development Boosted By Football Foundation Grant The Club has managed to secure a grant of £5,000 from the Football Foundation to help in the development of its youth football activities over the next three years. The money will help to pay for coaches, equipment, pitches, referees, advertising and the formation of new teams in the run-up to 2012. Once again, the Club’s status as a Football Association Charter Development Club has been recognised as the Club strives to continually improve standards.

A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PEACEFUL AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR PLAYERS, SUPPORTERS AND PARENTS . KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK IN 2010.


Page 2

The Steve Smith Trophy Gets Under Way In October the Under Thir‐ teens were the first winners of the Steve Smith Trophy— voted for by Committee Members for excellent effort in a particular month. The Under Twelves (pictured left with the Trophy) picked up the award in November after recovering from a difficult start in the league to record a 4‐1 win away to Bedford Pan‐ thers before conceding a last‐ minute equaliser in their match away to Crawley Green ‘A’. They followed this up with a 3‐0 triumph over Celtic Lions in the League Cup.

Mini Golden Boot Also Close In the Seven-a-Side teams the competition for the Mini Golden Boot for the top scorer is also very close at this half-way mark of the season. For the Under Tens, Will Spain-O’Leary has scored 17 goals, including 5 in the League Cup win over Bedford Park Rangers in early December. Meanwhile, for the Under Nines, Louis Lomas has scored 16 times, also including a 5-goal haul in the 7-5 League win over Sandy Colts on November 22nd. For the Under Eights, Henry Brown and Oscar Pryle share the honours, with eight goals apiece. Team

Games

League

Cups

Friendlies

TOTAL

Will Spain-O’Leary

U10

11

12

5

0

17

Louis Lomas

U9

10

12

3

1

16

Samuel Boggon

U10

11

11

0

0

11

Henry Brown

U8

8

8

0

0

8

Oscar Pryle

U8

9

8

0

0

8

Name

Reserves Keep Their Cup Hopes Alive The Reserves continued their good Cup form in December, with a 3‐2 extra‐time win away to Clifton Sunday. Jack Baggett was drafted in to the team and obliged with two goals, Tom Newland getting the other. Their Quarter‐Final opponents in the Bedfordshire Lower Junior Cup will be Axe and Compass from Heath. The First Team bowed out of the Whitbread Cup with a 3‐ 0 home defeat to Premier Division side Offley Moat. They were not disgraced, however, and had they taken some of their first‐half chances the story could have been very different. Of the youth sides, only the Under Tens managed wins in December: in the League Cup game vs. Bedford Park Rangers, top scorer Will Spain‐O’Leary scored 5 as the team won 7‐3. They then followed this up with a hard‐fought 1‐0 win in the league away to Barton Rovers: Spain‐ O’Leary was again the man on target. Comments, Suggestions, Complaints, Articles, Photos, etc….. Send them to me, Steve Smith, at:

[email protected]



Page 1

Brrrrrrrrr…... New Pavilion One Step Closer

Vol. 4, No. 7, February 2010

The project to replace the pavilion at the Recreation Ground received a boost at the end of December when Full Planning Permission was granted for the new building. A series of events is planned for 2010, the proceeds of which will go towards the new pavilion fund. The first of these was on January 29th when there was a free concert featuring Pirton’s best-known rockers Sharp’s Hooter. Although the event was free, attendance was poor with the only supporter from the Football Club being our sponsor Hugh Byrne, from Form I.T. The work of accumulating enough cash to build the new pavilion now starts in earnest. A meeting has been held with the North Herts District Council—if they come through with a grant then the project is under way. An application will then be made to the Football Foundation for the bulk of the money—that’s if any of you could care less, of course…..

Events at the Rec You can do your bit to help the new Pavilion project by supporting the Sports & Social Club’s events at the Recreation Ground, which usually take place on the last Friday of the month. On February 26th the Club is hosting another of its popular quizzes. A supper of chilli is included in the price and teams of up to six people may enter. Places are limited so please apply early if you want to take part. Tickets are £7.50 per person and may be reserved from me, Steve Smith.

The Freeze Goes On On the footballing front there has been very little action, with only one full Sunday completed. It was a significant day for the Reserves, however, who achieved a 50 win in their County Cup Quarter Final away to Axe & Compass in Heath. The downside is that the Semi-Final is scheduled for February 28th, when six of the team are absent for a wedding. Why don’t people get married in the Summer??? The youth teams also enjoyed a good day, with not one of them on the losing side. Closest to defeat were the Under 10s who scrambled a hotly-disputed equaliser in the last seconds of their cup match vs. Bedford Panthers—we went on to secure a 2-1 win on penalties after extra time. The Under 15s managed a creditable 0-0 draw vs. Crawley Green ‘A’, while the Under 13s and Under 12s both achieved excellent wins: 2-1 vs. Bedford ‘A’ and 1-0 vs. Valley Sports respectively. The Under Nines were involved in a 4-4 draw away to Bedford Park Rangers, while the Under 8s bounced back from the enforced lay-off with a 5-1 walloping of Sandy Colts.


Page 1

Shafted!! But The Reserves Live to Fight Another Day

Vol. 4, No. 8, March 2010

The Reserves’ elation at their 5‐0 win over Axe and Compass in Heath in the Quarter Final of the County Cup was soon cut short when it dawned upon us that the semi‐final was due to take place on February 28th—the day on which half the team would be absent at a wedding. Although we had applied to the North Home Counties League for a free date on that day, that cut no ice with the Beds County FA who referred our appeal to bring the game forward to their ‘Sunday Sub‐Committee’. This is made up of none other than Alan Shury, Richard Everitt and Martin Brookes from the Referees’ Committee. The NH Counties were quite happy for the game to be played a week earlier, especially since our opponents, St.John’s, are in the same divi‐ sion as ourselves, but the County FA stood firm: the game had to be played on February 28th. We were not given the option of withdrawing from the Competition, as this would have laid the Club open to a charge of ‘gross misconduct’, so it looked as though we were go‐ ing to have to turn up with a makeshift side for this all‐important game. Fortunately, God has a sense of fair‐play and snow and rain in the week leading up to the scheduled date meant that all games were postponed because of the waterlogged state of the ground. I did have to suppress a smile (if not manic laughter) when the County representative had to phone me on February 26th to tell me the game had to be postponed. At least now the Reserves will get a fair crack at beating St.John’s and reach‐ ing their first County Cup final in 15 years. Let’s not blow that chance now!

New Pavilion Project Receives Further Funding North Hertfordshire District Council have awarded the project to build a new pavilion in Pirton a sum of £23,000, following representations to a meeting of the funding Commit‐ tee by Steve Smith and Owain Lister (Chairman of the Pavilion Committee). The grant will enable the design of the new building to be completed, following the granting of Planning Permission at the end of December 2009. There is still a long way to go in the project—and a lot of money to be raised. You should be aware by now that the Sports & Social Club is holding a series of events to raise money, but expect more details of fund‐raising initiatives through the year. Anyone who would like to be involved in the project, or can offer some expertise in any area of the planning or building of such a pavilion, is most welcome. Fund‐raising in particular is very important: even if the sums raised locally are not a ma‐ jor part of the cost, the fact that the constituent clubs have made a big effort to raise funds always looks good to the major potential funders. If you want to be involved in any way in this project, please let me know.

Fixtures, results and league tables are all now readily accessible on the Club website at www.lspsg.co.uk. The ‘FIXTURES’ buttons for each team take you directly to the Football Mitoo sites (youths) or the North Home Counties site (adults). The CLUB button takes you to the Club’s list team by team. The ‘TABLES’ button for each team takes you directly to the League Table page for the relevant team selected.


Page 2

Some Football Played—Despite the Weather The Reserves won 2 of their 3 league games in February, with the only defeat being a 3‐1 re‐ verse against top‐of‐the‐table CSFC: this after Ben Thomson had put the side ahead with a penalty. On Valentine’s Day we hosted Co‐Op Sports, who as Bird & Bush last season were our Nemesis in the Challenge Cup Final. Despite early pressure from the home side, it was Co‐Op who took the lead when an attempted clearance by Luke Day flew high into the six‐yard box. Goalkeeper Gav Bidgood felt he was impeded as he went to clear the ball, but it ended up in the net and the goal was allowed. The equaliser came a few minutes later with an unstoppable shot from Ben Thomson from 25 yards which flew into the top corner. It was nearly 25 past 11 and the players were wondering whether the referee had forgotten about half‐time when Co‐Op were awarded a free kick forty yards out. The ball was floated into the area, where it was scrambled into the net after the defence failed to clear the ball. The Reserves needed a quick response in the second half and it came whan Luke Day found himself with the ball on the edge of the area. With supporters on the touchline screaming for him to shoot, Luke calmly chipped the ball over defender and keeper for a beautiful goal. Nev‐ ertheless, Co‐Op rallied and when they scored a third we began to think that we would be unlucky again against our bogey team. Jon Whitehead had other ideas, however, and rifled a shot into the net from the outside of his boot. With time running out Tom Newland controlled a cross from the left and lobbed the ball over the advancing keeper for a great 4‐3 win. A week later a solitary goal was enough to claim an important win over Peguform after the snow had cleared. Elsewhere league leaders CSFC could only manage a 2‐2 draw with bottom side Lilley Rangers to open up the league table. Meanwhile, on the junior pitch the ball was on the other foot for the Under Twelves in their third round League Cup tie against St. Josephs. Leading three times, including being 3‐2 up with ten minutes to go, the lads eventually went down 3‐4 at a muddy Recreation Ground. In the North Home Counties Division One, the First Team inflicted the first league defeat of the season at Houghton Town, with an excellent performance. Mark Brown scored a superb goal and Chris Littlejohn and Greg Whelan completed the scoring. The previous week, away to high ‐flying Four Horseshoes, the firsts conceded no fewer than four penalties as they went down by a 3‐5 scoreline. The Under Sixteens started the month well after their long lay off. Sam Welbury scored and Ben Morris got 2 as they beat Shefford Saints 3‐1. Valentine’s Day brought a massacre how‐ ever as they lost 7‐0 to a very good Sacred Heart side. A week later they faced table‐toppers Caddington and put in an excellent performance with a strike from Sam Welbury, before fi‐ nally going down 4‐1. The Under 15s had no action at all in February and have now played just once since November 29th!


[email protected]



Page 3

Mini-Soccer League Teams Strengthen Their League Positions In the mini‐soccer section the Under Tens started the month in fine fashion with a 9‐2 thumping of hapless Houghton Regis. Sam Boggon and Lewis Hargreaves both claimed hat‐tricks, while Will Spain‐O’Leary scored twice and James Steer completed the rout. After a break on Valentine’s Day, the team continued their good form with a 3‐0 home win over Bedford Town to move into fourth spot in the league division 2. Sam Boggon scored twice and Hugo Case netted the third in a convincing win. Meanwhile, the Under Nines began the month with a 3‐0 home win over Ampthill Town in Pirton. Edward Clarke, Kieran Jones and Louis Lomas were the men on target. February 21st brought a tougher test at home to Bedford Park Rangers, who missed several chances to go ahead. In the end it was a soft goal from Louis Lomas which squeezed under the Bedford keeper which gave the home side a 1‐0 half‐time advan‐ tage. The second half was also an even‐sided affair and goalkeeper Reece Frankland proved his worth as Bedford pressed for an equaliser. The game was sealed with an‐ other Lomas shot, which again just squeezed under the keeper’s body before stop‐ ping in the mud inches over the line. The 2‐0 win also takes the Under Nines to fourth place in Division Two. The Under Eights found the going tough in heavy conditions against Valley Sports. In the second half they struggled time and again to clear the ball and ended up on the wrong end of a 7‐1 scoreline. A week later saw a much‐improved performance away to Eastcotts in Kempston and the lads took a 2‐0 lead. Changes to the team disrupted the performance, however, and the end result was a 6‐4 defeat, despite a hat‐trick from Oscar Pryle and a consolation from Tyger Cox.

Under Thirteens Suffer at the Hand of Lady Luck Despite playing some good football at times the Under Thirteens have not been the luckiest team this month. On February 7th a goal from James Lovett was not enough to secure a point as the home side Leighton Town ‘A’ squeezed to a 2‐1 win. A week later and Valley Sports scored some very good goals in their 4‐0 home win in Stevenage, but the Under Thirteens were unlucky not to register one of their own when the ball was deemed not to have crossed the line. Worse luck was to follow on February 21st in the game away to Bedford FC ‘A’. George Calvert had scored to bring the lads back to just 2‐1 down, when a Bedford forward scored from what seemed an impossible angle. It was later proved that it was indeed an impossible angle and the ball had gone into the net through a hole be‐ tween net and post. That’s the sort of luck you get when things aren’t going for you. I’m sure the lads will want to forget all about February and concentrate on turning things around in March.


Page 1

Reserves Crash Out No Joy in County Cup Semi-Final

Vol. 4, No. 9, April 2010

The Reserves failed to make the most of the second chance given to them in the County Cup semi‐final. In the rearranged fixture at Leagrave Park on March 7th a below‐par per‐ formance saw them crash out 4‐1 to St. John’s. At the same time the Under Tens’ league cup campaign also came to an end as they went down 6‐1 to Westoning Recreation Club ‘A’ at the quarter‐final stage. The Reserves had another chance the following week in the Reserve Cup Semi‐final when they met Division One side AC Sportsman & Ravensborough Res. Unfortunately, the team with the longest name in the League just got the better of our lads, going through 2‐1 despite a strike from Phil Thompson.

Did you know? Lea Sports FC was founded by a group of Junior School Teachers in Luton in 1973. The original name was L.E.A. Sports, with the L.E.A. standing for Local Education Authority. The First team spent its first 8 seasons in the North Home Counties Division 4, before relegation to Division 5 in 1980‐81. There they lan‐ guished for 5 seasons before moving up 3 divisions in 4 seasons, only to fall back immediately to Division 3 after a last minute defeat to champions Houghton. After winning Division 3 the very next season the Club has not looked back and enjoyed a brief spell in the Premier Division in the final 2 seasons of last century. Unfortunately, that Premier team folded and the Reserves, by then in Division 3 them‐ selves, became the First XI again. Since then the First Team has never been lower than Division 3 and of course currently occupy a place in Division 1. The Club’s first badge was adopted in 1988 at the suggestion of Mick Marsh. Some say that the owl represented the influence of the teaching profession of the Club, but others have attributed it to the fact that Mick was a life‐long Sheffield Wednesday fan! Before the 1992‐93 season the Club merge with Stopsley Boys Club to give the Club its first youth teams. By 1994‐95 the Club was at its peak with Saturday teams and even a Ladies’ side. In 1995 the Club moved base to Pirton and, although the number of adult sides has shrunk, youth football at the Club has never looked healthier. By the end of the 2008‐09 season over 1,300 players had appeared in the Club’s 4,154 matches (and 58 players in 99 mini‐soccer matches) including 16 Smiths and 18 MIahs! Following the merger with Shillington & Gravenhurst United at the start of the 2008‐09 season, the Club now runs 4 eleven‐a‐side youth teams and 3 mini‐soccer teams, with more planned for next season. Indeed, if your son or daughter will be at least 6 and under 8 on August 31st and would like to be considered for next year’s Under 8 team, then please contact Phil Toyer or myself for more details.

Who likes playing at home? (Points won by each team home and away) First XI: HOME 6 out of 18* AWAY: 9 out of 21 Have beaten 3 of the top 4 sides. Reserves: HOME 8 out of 15 AWAY 4 out of 18* 4 home games left out of 6 Under 16: HOME 6 out of 18* AWAY 3 out of 24 Won first away match and none since Under 15: HOME 4 out of 12 AWAY 4 out of 18* Four out of last 5 games at home Under 13: HOME 8 out of 18 AWAY 0 out of 24 No away wins in eight attempts Under 12: HOME 3 out of 21 AWAY 10 out of 21 Won 3 home cup games but 1 in league Under 10: HOME 16 out of 21 AWAY 13 out of 24 Still have a chance of runners‐up spot Under 9: HOME 10 out of 21 AWAY 13 out of 21 (* Excludes matches awarded.)



Page 2

Pavilion Project Moves Forward The committee charged with building the new pavilion in Pirton held a meeting in early March with the Bedfordshire FA County Development Officer, Kevin England, to discuss the possibility of obtaining fund‐ ing for the project and the next steps in the process.

Kevin explained that Football Foundation fund‐ ing was becoming more difficult to obtain, but that he would consult with the FA Regional Of‐ ficer to see what could be done and to advise us on other funding streams. In the meantime, it is important that the Club pushes on with its own funding initiatives— more on this later—but please support the ef‐ forts of the Club and the Sports & Social Club to bring better facilities to the site.

Goals in Short Supply With only the Under 8s not in action on the second Sunday of March, goals were hard to come by for our teams. The First XI only managed 2 against bottom side Bury Park, despite lots of second half pressure. The Reserves hit just one in their Reserve Cup semi‐final defeat to AC Sportsman and the youth teams fared little better, with the Under Sixteens, Under Thirteens, Under Twelves and Under Nines all failing to score in their league matches. It looked for a while as though Bradley Turner’s strike for the Under Fifteens would bring all 3 points in a tough game away to high‐flying Bedford Town ‘A’, but a late equaliser for the home side meant a share of the points. Only the Under Tens bucked the trend by scoring NINE in their fixture away to Toddington Rov‐ ers. Comments, Suggestions, Complaints, Articles, Photos, etc….. Send them to me, Steve Smith, at:

[email protected]



Page 3

Firsts Notch Another Away Win On the last full Sunday of the month the First Team showed again that they are a team to be feared on their travels. After picking up just one point from two home fix‐ tures, they travelled to Luton Old Boys, who were promoted with the from Division2 last season. Two goals from Richard Knock and one from Chairman Greg Whelan brought a 3‐2 victory. The Reserves, meanwhile, were away to Peguform Icknield and cruised to a 3‐0 lead. However, some atrocious refereeing, including three good pen‐ alty calls being denied, cost the team dear and they went down to a 5‐4 defeat. Our Under Twelves and Thirteens both fell to narrow 1‐0 defeats: at home to Valley Sports and away to Toddington Rovers respectively. The Under Tens did their hopes of a Runners‐Up spot no harm at all when they came from behind to beat high‐flying Totternhoe 3‐1, while the Under Nines rescued a point at home to Brickhill Wanderers with a late equaliser from Louis Lomas. The Under Sixteens followed up their Third Round League Cup win over Dunstable Town Icknield ‘B’ (5‐0) with another home win in the league: this time a 2‐1 victory over Bushmead Rovers. The win lifts the Under Sixteens above Bushmead in the table in the scrap for survival at the foot of Division Two. Goalscorers in the cup win were Lewis Crosby, Ben Morris, Sam Welbury (2) and Jack Willis. The Under 12s finished off the month with our first midweek fixture when they hosted League leaders Crawley Green ‘A’ on March 31st. Playing with just 10 men they held Crawley to 0‐0 at half‐ time before eventually going down 5‐1 in a biting wind. Finally, thanks to all who attended the Quiz at the Rec on March 26th. Sixteen teams involving 90 people took part and over £550 was raised for the new Pavilion fund. (Modesty prevents me from telling you who won…)

Mini-Soccer’s Achievements Recognised At a recent meeting of the Bedfordshire Mini‐ Soccer League the Club was praised for the way in which it is run and was awarded £100 of Umbro vouchers in recognition of the fact. Credit must go to the managers and coaches of the Under Tens, Nines and Eights who have presented the Club in such a good light through the season. Not only that, but the contribution to Club funds from the tea, coffee and bacon roll sales by the mini‐soccer teams on Sunday mornings amounts to a staggering £730 so far this season with a few games still to go. Well done to all the ladies who help with our catering on a Sunday morning.

Not a Happy Return for Two Old Boys The Club staged a cup semi-final for the North Home Counties League on March 28th. Brian Langley, who played over 200 games for the Club in the 80s, returned to referee the game, but had a busy morning as he had to send off an Offley Moat player in extra time as tempers flared. Record youth scorer Rob O’Dell was also in action for Moat, but enjoyed the game even less as his side gave away a 2-0 lead with just 10 minutes to go and then conceded a third to Four Horseshoes in extra time.

APRIL FIXTURES (Subject to change and extra fixtures being arranged). Sunday, 4th April MATCH st

COMPETITION

H/A

1 vs. Club Lewsey Res.

League Div.1

A

Res. vs. USL Red Star

League Div.3

H

U10 vs. AFC Kempston ‘A’

League Div.2

H

U9 vs. AFC Kempston ‘B’

League Div.2

H

League Div.1

A

League Div.1

H

1st vs. Brache Green Man

League Div.1

A

Res. vs. Lilley Rangers

League Div.3

H

U16 vs. Houghton Athletic

League Div.2

A

U15 vs. Leighton Town ‘A’

League Div.1

H

U13 vs. Toddington Rovers ‘A’

League Div.1

H

League Div.2

H

League Div.1

H

U16 vs. Toddington Rovers

League Div.2

H

U15 vs. Crawley Green ‘A’

League Div.1

A

League Div.1

H

1st vs. Four Horseshoes

League Div.1

H

Res. vs. Hexton

League Div.3

A

U16 vs. St.Joseph’s / Luton Borough

League Cup QF

A

U13 vs. Bedford Town Eagles

League Div.1

A

U9 vs. Templefield Old Boys

League Div.2

A

League Div.1

H

League Div.1

A

League Div.2

H

U16 vs. Houghton Athletic

League Div.2

H

U12 vs. Bedford Panthers ‘A’

League Div.1

H

U9 vs. Totternhoe

League Div.2

A

League Div.1

H

Wednesday, 7th April U12 vs. Leighton United ‘A’ th

Thursday, 8 April U15 vs. Leighton United ‘A’ th

Sunday, 11 April

Tuesday, 13th April U16 vs. AFC Kempston Colts Wednesday, 14th April U12 vs. St. Joseph’s th

Thursday, 15 April

th

Saturday, 17 April U13 vs. Crawley Green ‘A’ th

Sunday, 18 April

Tuesday, 20th April U15 vs. AFC Dunstable Wednesday, 21st April U13 vs. Crawley Green ‘C’ nd

Thursday, 22

April

U16 vs. Mid-Beds Tigers Sunday, 25th April

Thursday, 29th April U15 vs. Bedford Town ‘B’

MAY FIXTURES ON THE WEBSITE



Your Chance to Decide Every Vote Counts!!

Vol. 4, No. 10, May 2010

No, not that political nonsense—I’m talking about the proposal from the Executive Com‐ mittee that the Club should change its name from: Lea Sports PSG Football Club to Pirton Football Club Seems straightforward, doesn’t it? But for the ‘old‐timers’ like me who have been with the Club since 1977 it will be a big wrench to lose the Lea Sports name. However, we have to look to the future and with new youth teams coming along each year the Club needs a definitive identity that everyone can relate to. What is interesting now, if you watch the various teams in the Club, is how each is identified by its players and parents/ supporters. The adults will usually shout for ‘Lea Sports’, whereas the newer teams (Under 8s and Under 16s) will shout for ‘Pirton’ and those teams who joined us from Shillington & Gravenhurst will often shout for ‘PSG’. I guess I still haven’t made my mind up, but the matter will be decided at the Club’s An‐ nual General Meeting on May 17th (7.30 pm). (I should remind you that Junior Members of the Club are not entitled to vote at Club Meetings, but everyone is welcome to come along and voice their views.)

38th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Monday, May 17th 2010 7.30 pm Pirton Clubhouse All resolutions for the AGM should be made in writing to Steve Smith, Club Secretary, two weeks before the Meeting.

Survey Results Many thanks to all those who took the trouble to return the survey regarding the Club’s website and Newsletter. Most of the comments called for more information about the teams’ performances, so next season I will try to get more information from each Man‐ ager for inclusion in the Newsletter. Other comments referred to the Newsletter being too ‘wordy’ on occasions. This is something I am aware of but suitable pictures or illustra‐ tions are sometimes hard to come by. In summary, the results were encouraging, with the majority of respondents reading the Newsletters and visiting the website. A full list of responses is below:

Always / More

Sometimes / Don’t Know

Never / Less

Do you read the monthly electronic Newsletter?

30

11

6

Do you want to see articles about the Club History?

23

16

8

Do you want to see more about the month’s matches?

41

6

0

How often do you visit the Club website?

21

19

7

How often do you look at the Club Noticeboard?

12

24

11



Page 2

A Busy April Programme Easter Day Brings a Prial of Threes

Vol. 4, No. 10, May 2010

Easter Day saw three close matches at the Recreation Ground. The Reserves were at home to wannabee Champions USL Red Star. The home side started brightly and went ahead midway through the half when Jon Whitehead’s 40‐yard free kick deceived the keeper and flew into the top corner of the net. USL rallied well in the second half and showed why they have the best goal difference in the division when they raced into a 3‐ 1 lead. Their indiscipline was to let them down, however, and a strike from Ben Thom‐ son followed by a late equaliser from Jack Baggett saw the points shared at 3‐3. The Under Nines also went in at half time in their home match with AFC Kempston ‘B’ with a one goal advantage after Kieran Jones put them in front. Kempston forced an equaliser, but further goals from Daniel Hammer and Louis Lomas gave the home side a 3‐1 lead before Kempston grabbed a late consolation. The Under Tens strengthened their claim for a runners‐up spot with a strong perform‐ ance against AFC Kempston ‘A’ in Division 2. A goal from Sam Boggon and two from Will Spain‐O’Leary saw them secure a 3‐1 win to go second in the table with 2 games to go. Only the First Team failed to have a happy Easter. Facing a strong Club Lewsey Reserve team they went down 4‐0 at Lewsey Park.

Midweek Fixtures Begin Leighton United provided the opponents for the first midweek fixtures of the month. On Wednes‐ day 7th, the Under Twelves made the trip to Leighton Buzzard to face a team with an awful home record. Leighton United had not won at home since the opening day of the season when they beat Valley Sports 1‐0 and today was no different as 2 goals from Tom Boggon gave the Under 12s a 2‐1 win. The following night Leighton United Under 15s were the visitors in Pirton. It looked for a while as though they too would end up empty‐handed when the home side took a deserved 1‐0 lead through Matty Baxter. However, a soft equaliser came from a free‐kick which eluded for‐ wards and defenders alike before finding its way into the far corner of the net and in the second half Leighton pinched a winner to reverse the score of the night before. On Sunday 11th, the Under 15s hosted the other Leighton team—table‐toppers Leighton Town— but this time the visitors did not go home with all three points as our lads put in a great perform‐ ance to share the points in a 3‐3 draw. They couldn’t take this form into their next game unfortu‐ nately and crumbled to a 6‐1 midweek defeat away to Crawley Green ‘A’. Meanwhile both adult sides drew with teams below them: the Firsts ended up 1‐1 with Brache Green Man after Ben Alderton scored and the Reserves came back down from a goal down to take a point from Lilley Rangers, with Lewis Smith grabbing a second‐half equaliser. Both teams made marked improvements for their next league encounters: the Firsts put in by far their best performance of the season when they crushed title‐contenders Four Horseshoes. The 2‐0 score‐ line was scant reward for the First’s domination of the match. The goals from Paul Brown and a Greg Whelan penalty means the First Team have now beaten all four top sides in the Division. The Reserves enjoyed themselves in the sunshine at Hexton: two goals from Tom Newland and one each from Phil Thompson and Ben Thomson gave them an easy 4‐0 win to ensure their place in Division 3 next season. The Under 16s found the going tough away to Houghton Athletic. Despite a penalty from Ben Morris and a goal from substitute Lee Rodgers the lads went down 6‐2. They made up for this reverse with a strong midweek performance at home to AFC Kempston Colts. Leading 1‐0 through a Ben Morris goal, the lads were pegged back when a sliced clearance ended up in the keeper’s arms and was deemed to be a backpass. From the free‐kick Kempston scrambled an equaliser and looked to be going home with a point until with seconds to go a cross from the left was controlled first time by Ben Morris and forced past the Kempston keeper for three points. The lads’ League Cup quarter final against First Division St.Joseph’s was a different proposition, however, and their cup hopes disappeared as they were on the wrong end of a 7‐1 scoreline.


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Under Fifteens Finish in Good Form The Under Fifteens played their penultimate fixture at home to AFC Dunstable on Tuesday April 20th. Dunstable had won the return game just one month ago by a 3‐0 scoreline, so the lads knew they were in for a tough match. At half‐time the teams were deadlocked at 0‐0 but AFC Dunstable broke the deadlock shortly after the inter‐ val. Matty Baxter rescued a point for the Pirton side with a deserved equaliser in an entertaining game. Midweek games can produce some odd results, especially if players are absent or have to rush to get to the game at all. The Under 13s faced Crawley Green C with an injured keeper and players turning up after kick‐off because of an athletics event. No surprise when Crawley ran out 5‐1 winners, despite Kiani Harkness scoring his first goal for the Club. The following night it got even worse when the Reserves had to make the trek to Markyate—within 35 minutes of the start they found themselves 7‐0 down! Although they recovered their composure somewhat in the second half and Phil Thompson pulled a goal back, the final scoreline was an 8‐1 defeat—the worst suffered by the Reserves since a 9‐1 defeat in Division 5 away to Wigmore Athletic in January 2001. Meanwhile, the midweek effect worked in favour of the Under 16s when they beat Mid‐Beds Tigers 5‐0 in Pirton: James Miley scored 1 and Ben Morris and Sam Welbury scored two each in their best league win of the season. The final Sunday of the month brought some welcome rain, but some unwelcome results: the Under 8s, missing Oscar Pryle, went down 1‐0 in a tight home game to Bedford Town ‘B’. The Under Nines also lost: 1‐2 at Totternhoe, despite a goal from Louis Lomas while, in the words of Manager Paul Boggon, ‘his midfield had a day off’ as the Under 12s squandered a 1‐0 lead at home to bottom club Bedford Panthers to draw 1‐1 (Paul’s son Tom with the only goal). The Reserves also squandered a 1‐0 half ‐time lead through Jon Whitehead, plus a hatful of chances, as St.John’s grabbed two second‐half goals in the space of 5 minutes to nick the points. The First Team man‐ aged a point away to AC Sportsman Reserves, with the Brown brothers grabbing a goal apiece in a 2‐2 draw. On April 28th the Under 16s let a 4‐1 half‐time lead slip against Toddington Rovers at Pirton. In a bad‐tempered match Toddington ran riot in the second‐half to win 6‐4. The Under 15s finished their league programme with a 3‐2 win over Bedford Town ‘B’, while the Under Tens probably missed out on the Runners ‐up spot in Division 2 as they went down 2‐1 to rivals Langford.

Well Done Ed! Reserve Team Manager Ed Thomson became the proud father to twin girls on April 8th. Good job it’s come at the end of the season as we’re sure he’ll have a few sleepless nights to deal with. Best wishes to all the family from everyone at the Club. Comments, Suggestions, Complaints, Articles, Photos, etc….. Send them to me, Steve Smith, at:

[email protected]


Lea Sports PSG 38th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Pirton Clubhouse Monday, May 17th 2010. 7.30 pm • • • •

Should the Club change its name from ’Lea Sports PSG’ to ’Pirton’? Who will replace Greg Whelan as Club Chairman? Who will take up the position of Secretary to the North Home Counties League? Who will take over from Robin O’Connell as Secretary to the Chiltern Youth League?

Your votes will decide—please come along.

ANNUAL AWARDS DAY Saturday, May 22nd 2010 Campaign medals for all youth players. Awards for Players’ Player, Manager’s Player, etc., etc. Golden Boot awards for the Club’s top scorer at 11-a-side and 7-a-side

Under 8s, Under 9s and Under 10s from 3 pm. Under 12s, Under 13s, Under 15s, Under 16s from 5 pm. Adults from 7 pm. Evening disco and karaoke—all welcome. In the evening Fish & Chip Suppers are available at a subsidised price of £4.00 per head. Suppers must be booked in advance—give Steve Smith your orders NOW and pay on the night.


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Sun Shines on Awards Day Luther Blissett Guest of Honour

Ross Embleton was both Manager’s and Players’ Player for the Under Thirteens. All pictures on the Website under Special Occasions.

Vol. 4, No. 11, June 2010

The weather gods smiled on us as the Annual Awards Day took place on May 22nd. Proceedings got under way at 3 pm with the mini‐soccer teams and ended with the adults’ presentations at half‐time in the Champions League Final! These were followed by the much‐anticipated karaoke, when the First Team contrived to murder some of today’s most popular songs. I did hear that there was a particularly tuneful rendi‐ tion of ‘Help!’ by The Beatles, however. For the later afternoon session, which covered our youth sides, we were joined by ex‐England Interna‐ tional Luther Blissett, who kindly agreed to present the trophies to the youth players. As a Luton Town fan I found it hard to shake Luther’s hand for the sec‐ ond time in my life, but I think the players and par‐ ents appreciated his presence!

Golden Boot the Closest for Years With last year’s Boot winner James Hirst play‐ ing in defence this year, the trophy for the Club top scorer was up for grabs. On Thursday May 13th, Ben Morris scored for the Under 16s in their 4‐3 win over Houghton Athletic. That took his goal tally to 16 for the season. Sam Wel‐ bury scored twice in the same game to end on 15 goals. For the Under 12s Curties O’Connell failed to score in any of the last 6 games as he too finished on 15 goals. For the Reserves Tom Newland scored twice against Markyate, but missed a few too, as he also finished on 15 goals. For the Under 15s, Janayd Shan just made double figures, while James Lovett scored a dozen for the Under 13s. That just left the First Team: Greg Whelan had scored heavily early on, with 9 in four games in Sep‐ tember and October, but as the bad weather set in, goals were hard to come by. On January 3rd, the Firsts braved the ice and snow to play a friendly against Premier Division Champions Westoning and Greg came off the bench to score. It was to prove a decisive goal, and together with a final strike in the impressive 2‐0 win over Four Horseshoes in April it took Greg’s tally to 17 goals and the Golden Boot Trophy. The Mini‐Golden Boot for the Seven‐a‐side teams also went down to the final games on May 2nd before being decided. Going into their last games were Will Spain‐O’Leary from the Under Tens and Louis Lomas for the Under Nines, both on 27 goals. The Under 9s managed a 4‐1 win over Luton Old Boys, with Louis scoring twice; the Un‐ der 10s had to face Champions Celtic and did manage to score twice, but only one of the goals was scored by Will, so Louis Lomas took the Mini‐Golden Boot by 29 goals to 28. Fixtures, results and league tables are all now readily accessible on the Club website at www.lspsg.co.uk.


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Mayday! Mayday! It’s a Cold, Tough Bank Holiday The Bank Holiday weekend at the beginning of May saw four of our teams in action— three of them against the possible Champions of their respective divisions! The Under 12s kicked off proceedings with a match on the morning of Saturday May 1st against Bedford Town, who showed no mercy running out 5‐0 winners. The following day brought a blast of cold northerly wind and rainy conditions. The First Team had al‐ ready beaten Champions Houghton Town away from home 3‐2 and were trying for an improbable double. Hopes were high after 3 games unbeaten and an impressive previ‐ ous home performance against Four Horseshoes, but it was the visitors who took a first‐ half lead. Lea Sports came back strongly in the second‐half, however, and Danny Davis scored a goal from fully 50 yards (he tells me—probably about half that but an impres‐ sive strike anyway) for a share of the points. The Under Tens were not so lucky in their final match against Champions Celtic Lions. Despite taking an early lead through Will Spain‐O’Leary (his 28th of the season) the lads made too many defensive errors and Celtic finally ran out 7‐2 winners. Our second, con‐ solation goal was scored by Sam Boggon. Will Spain‐O’Leary was doubly disappointed as earlier in the morning the Under Nines had played their last game, beating Luton Old Boys 4‐1. Louis Lomas had scored twice in that game to take his season’s tally to 29 goals (one more than he scored last season) and to win the Mini Golden Boot Trophy for highest mini‐soccer scorer. Edward Clarke and Daniel Hammer also scored to finish the season in fine style for the Under Nines. On May 5th the Under Thirteens and Under Twelves both came up against strong Craw‐ ley Green sides; and both lost 2‐0. The Under 13s put up a strong battling performance at Pirton, but were undone by 2 strong runs from a Crawley forward, both of which brought a goal. The home side were not without chances of their own, however, and the result could have been different with a little more confidence in front of goal. The Under 12s had to start with just 10 players for their game in Luton. Jacob Tavener and Tom Boggon both ended up in A & E (in different hospitals!) as the team finished with just 8 men on the pitch. Under the circumstances they did well to restrict Crawley to just 2. Polling Day brought no ‘balanced result’ at Pirton as the First Team suffered from the midweek effect against Brache Green Man. The Luton side put out a side which bore little resemblance to the team which has appeared most Sunday mornings through the season and the visitors won by a 4‐0 scoreline. At the same time the Under Sixteens were doing the double over Shefford Saints. Two goals from James Miley and one from Sam Welbury gave them all three points in a 3‐1 win despite a first‐half injury to the goalkeeper. The Under 16s took 4 more points from their last 2 games: a 2‐2 draw away to Kempston and a 4‐3 home win over Houghton Athletic.

Revenge is Sweet for the Reserves May 9th in Pirton and Archie Conway is making his 640th appearance for the Club. The Reserves have a point to prove: they are playing Champions Markyate who just two weeks ago humbled the Reserves 8‐1 in Markyate on a Thursday evening. Markyate arrived in a cocky mood, carrying the Division 3 trophy, but their good humour did not last long as the Reserves tore into them from the first whistle. Within the first half‐hour a Phil Thompson hat‐trick had put the Champions to the sword and although they pulled a goal back before half‐time, the onslaught continued in the second half. Two more goals from Simon Mayes, two from Tom Newland and one from Jon Whitehead com‐ pleted the rout. The final score: you guessed it: 8‐1. Tom will be ruing the chances he missed as he finished the season just 2 goals behind Club top scorer Greg Whelan.


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No Boycott of Sats at LSPSG... Next Season will see the return of Saturday afternoon football to mPirton, as we will be running two adult Saturday teams in the Bedfordshire County League. Brache Sparta’s reserve team, who played in Division 2 of the Beds County league last season, have been accepted as our Saturday First XI for next season. Their youth side, who played in the Eastern Alliance last season, will play as our Reserves in Division 4. We welcome both teams to the Club and wish them good luck next season.

Welcome to a New Committee There were some changes of Committee Member positions at the AGM on May 17th. Greg Whelan is stepping down after 4 years as Chairman and his place will be taken by current Head of Youth Football Phil Toyer. Greg’s position as Secretary to the North Home Counties League will be taken by Richard Randall. Steve Smith takes over from Robin O’Connell as Secretary to the Chiltern Youth League, while Lorraine Darby will be joining us as Secretary to the Bedfordshire County League for the new Saturday teams. Andy Lomas has taken over as Secretary to the Bedfordshire Mini‐Soccer League, replac‐ ing Chris Steer as the Under Elevens are not yet sure which League they will be joining next season. Steve Baggett has taken over from Ed Thomson as Second Team Manager as Ed stands down after an extremely successful seven years in the hot seat. Full details of all Com‐ mittee Members will be available shortly on the website under ‘Contacts’.

Awards Summary First XI: Top Scorer: Greg Whelan (17), Players’ Player: Chris Hill; Manager’s Player: Paul Brown; Most Improved Player: Matt Day; Clubmen: Simon Jackson, Richard Randall Second XI: Top Scorer: Tom Newland (15); Players’ Player: Tom Newland; Manager’s Player: Ollie Palmer Under Sixteens: Top Scorer: Ben Morris (16); Players’ Players: Matt Howard & James Miley; Manager’s Player: James Miley; Supporter’s Player: Matt Howard; Clubman: Jack Willis Under Fifteens: Top Scorer: Janayd Shan (10); Players’ Player: Matt Baxter; Manager’s Player: Warren Bell; Clubman: Bradley Turner Under Thirteens: Top Scorer: James Lovett (12); Players’ Player: Ross Embleton; Manager’s Player: Ross Embleton; Supporters’ Player: Sam Fletcher; Clubman: Tom Faulkner Under Twelves: Top Scorer: Curties O’Connell (15); Players’ Player: James Reaper; Manager’s Player: Jacob Tavener; Clubman: Jake Edwards Under Tens: Top Scorer: Will Spain-O’Leary (28); Players’ Player: James Parrott; Manager’s Player: Will Spain-O’Leary; Most Improved Player: James Brakenbury Under Nines: Top Scorer: Louis Lomas (29); Players’ Player: Kieran Jones; Manager’s Player: Alex Smith; Supporters’ Player: Daniel Hammer Under Eights: Top Scorer: Oscar Pryle (14); Players’ Player: Oscar Pryle; Manager’s Players: George Simmons & Tom Scott; Clubman: Luke Narroway Golden Boot: (Club Top Scorer): Greg Whelan (17) Mini-Golden Boot: (Mini-Soccer Top Scorer): Louis Lomas (29) The 200 Club: (200+ Appearances): Ed Thomson Special Club Award: Archie Conway — 640 appearances over 29 years. COPIES OF THIS YEAR’S MAGAZINE WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY ON THE WEBSITE—CLICK ON ‘MAGAZINES’ ON THE MENU ON THE HOME PAGE. That’s all for this year—hope to see you all next Season. Please remember to let me have any feedback about the Newsletter, Magazine, Awards Night, or any other aspect of Lea Sports PSG - and don’t forget to have a go in next season’s Premier League Competition—entry forms available NOW!! Cheers, Steve