This Saturday, with my daughter's league suspended for half-term, I was somewhat spoilt for choice when it came to potential fixtures. However, one not too far from home caught my eye. The Bedfordshire Senior Trophy semi-final between two County Premier sides, Caldecote AFC and AFC Oakley. Caldecote won the Premier League last season and made t to them semi-final stage of this competition, before going out to eventual winners Totternhoe. Oakley went out in the second round, losing 1-0 at home to Langford. League-wise this season, Oakley have the upper hand, currently in third spot, nine pints and two places above today's hosts. The teams have already met twice in the league and, once again, Oakley have held sway this season. Early on, at Oakley Rec, they won 3-0 with goals from Bankole, Cammarano and captain Zach Ives. More recently, in mid-December, The Oaks left Caldecote with all three points following a 5-1 victory. Bankole and Cammarano again on the mark, with Chisom Amari scoring twice and Teddy Daniels scoring the other goal.
So, all of the recent history pointed to Oakley being favourites, but this is cup football so league form goes out of the window.
Many thanks to referee Luke Damon who kindly gave me sight of the team sheets before kick-off. As always, much appreciated.
So, all of the recent history pointed to Oakley being favourites, but this is cup football so league form goes out of the window.
Many thanks to referee Luke Damon who kindly gave me sight of the team sheets before kick-off. As always, much appreciated.
Dan Webb opens the scoring In front of a decent turnout, it was the visitors who appeared to settle first, with Caldecote looking a little disjointed for the opening five minutes or so. However, they did begin to find their feet, helped along by two early enforced changes for Oakley, who were a side clearly already carrying a few knocks. First of all Teddy Daniels went down and was unable to continue. Then captain Zach Ives also went down clutching his leg. Two early blows for the visitors.
The game was largely disjointed in the opening 20 minutes or so. Not only did Oakley suffer the two injuries, but a Caldecote player was also down for a little while, meaning that the physios had spent a fair bit of time on the pitch.
The home side, however, were beginning to get the upper hand. Their captain Taz Andrews had the first meaningful strike on target after 21 minutes. It was easily gathered by Jack Cunningham in the Oakley goal, but was a signal of intent from the home team. Just before the half hour mark Andrews again hit the target, this time forcing Cunningham to scramble the ball out for a corner.
There was an undercurrent to this game from the first minute. As an neutral, I didn't have too much of an idea of the history between the teams, but it always felt as if it may boil over. An incident in front of the pavilion saw the home players complaining to the referee and resulted visiting striker Jamie Box being the target of plenty of stick from the local supporters. I was too far away to hear what it was all about, but it leant to the feeling that there was no love lost between the teams.
The game remained goalless until the 41st minute when Caldecote finally made their extra possession count. A free-kick way out on the right flank was delivered into a dangerous area near the penalty spot where the stooping figure of Dan Webb met it with a firm header into the bottom corner. 1-0.
Just before the end of the half the home side should really have been two up. Probably the best passing move of the match so far resulted in Jake Bruce finding himself in a good position on the wdge of the box. As bot keeper and a defender moved to close him down he may have been able to get a shot off but, instead, unselfishly slid the ball sideways to the unmarked Rafe Goodman who then lifted his effort over the bar from 10 yards or so. A golden opportunity squandered.
HT Caldecote AFC 1 AFC Oakley 0. The visitors started well but the two enforced changes seemed to knock their rhythm. Caldecote took advantage of that and began to dominate possession, finally breaking the deadlock toward the end of the half. They should really have gone in two goals to the good. Would they regret missing the second opportunity?
The game was largely disjointed in the opening 20 minutes or so. Not only did Oakley suffer the two injuries, but a Caldecote player was also down for a little while, meaning that the physios had spent a fair bit of time on the pitch.
The home side, however, were beginning to get the upper hand. Their captain Taz Andrews had the first meaningful strike on target after 21 minutes. It was easily gathered by Jack Cunningham in the Oakley goal, but was a signal of intent from the home team. Just before the half hour mark Andrews again hit the target, this time forcing Cunningham to scramble the ball out for a corner.
There was an undercurrent to this game from the first minute. As an neutral, I didn't have too much of an idea of the history between the teams, but it always felt as if it may boil over. An incident in front of the pavilion saw the home players complaining to the referee and resulted visiting striker Jamie Box being the target of plenty of stick from the local supporters. I was too far away to hear what it was all about, but it leant to the feeling that there was no love lost between the teams.
The game remained goalless until the 41st minute when Caldecote finally made their extra possession count. A free-kick way out on the right flank was delivered into a dangerous area near the penalty spot where the stooping figure of Dan Webb met it with a firm header into the bottom corner. 1-0.
Just before the end of the half the home side should really have been two up. Probably the best passing move of the match so far resulted in Jake Bruce finding himself in a good position on the wdge of the box. As bot keeper and a defender moved to close him down he may have been able to get a shot off but, instead, unselfishly slid the ball sideways to the unmarked Rafe Goodman who then lifted his effort over the bar from 10 yards or so. A golden opportunity squandered.
HT Caldecote AFC 1 AFC Oakley 0. The visitors started well but the two enforced changes seemed to knock their rhythm. Caldecote took advantage of that and began to dominate possession, finally breaking the deadlock toward the end of the half. They should really have gone in two goals to the good. Would they regret missing the second opportunity?
Oakley look for a way back Oakley began the second half looking much sharper than they had in the first. Their pace increased and they were winning more of the ball. However, try as they might, they were struggling to find a way through to trouble home keeper Giuseppe Follano.
Increasingly being played in the midfield area, neither side managed to get any serious efforts on target for the first 15 minutes or so of the second half. When they finally did, it was home captain Taz Andrews who again tried his luck, fizzing a shot just wide of the post from 25 yards. Bruce then missed a good chance when a lofted ball found him unmarked at the far post. However, with no pace on the cross, he needed to generate some power himself which caused him to head into the side netting.
A big feature of this half was also the number of times that Caldecote were getting caught offside. I counted at least six before the midway point of the half. However, with 19 minutes of normal time remaining, substitute Josh Roberts took it upon himself to settle matters. Outmuscling his marker, he broke into the box before lifting the ball over the advancing Cunningham. 2-0 and a long way back for the visitors nw.
There was, however, still time for more shenanigans on the pitch. Once again, I was on the opposite side, so didn't get to hear what was going on. However, after the ball went out of play in front of the Oakley bench, there was some kind of fracas involving at least one Caldecote player and the visitors bench. A few other players got involved and the referee ran over to try to calm the situation. Having seemingly done so, with players starting to move away, the referee then called over Jake Bruce and produced a card, sending the striker to the sin-bin, presumably for dissent.
This gave Oakley a man advantage for the majority of the remaining time but, despite forcing the home side back a little and winning a couple of free-kicks in dangerous spots, they were still unable to cause Follano any real trouble.
FT Caldecote AFC 2 AFC Oakley 0. On balance of the 90 minutes, a deserved victory for Caldecote. Oakley never gave up but, on the day, they just didn't have enough to cause too many problems for the home defence. Two well taken goals from Caldecote did for Oakley's resistance and they will now face the winner of Stotfold Reserves v Queens Park Crescents, which will be played on Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile Caldecote have another semi-final next Saturday when Riseley Sports are the visitors in the Britannia Cup. Oakley have a week off, hopefully time to reduce their injury list, before they travel to Elstow Abbey on the 8th of March. The same day, Caldecote are at home to second placed Wootton Blue Cross.
Caldecote AFC: 1.Follano, 2.Davis, 13.Bunday, 5.Richardson, 4.Webb, 8.H.Roberts, 6.Faulkner, 10.Andrews(c), 11.Evans, 7.Bruce, 17.Goodman. Subs: 3.Jones, 9.Tubridy, 14.J.Roberts, 15.Tyler
AFC Oakley: 1.Cunningham, 15.Smith, 4.Ives(c), 3.Hammond, 5.Cammarano, 6.McLean, 18.Chinn, 11.Box, 10.Daniels, 8.Aulsberry, 17. Bankole. Subs: 14.Harding, 19.Bangala, 7.Cox, 2.Mensah, 1.Hamilton
Increasingly being played in the midfield area, neither side managed to get any serious efforts on target for the first 15 minutes or so of the second half. When they finally did, it was home captain Taz Andrews who again tried his luck, fizzing a shot just wide of the post from 25 yards. Bruce then missed a good chance when a lofted ball found him unmarked at the far post. However, with no pace on the cross, he needed to generate some power himself which caused him to head into the side netting.
A big feature of this half was also the number of times that Caldecote were getting caught offside. I counted at least six before the midway point of the half. However, with 19 minutes of normal time remaining, substitute Josh Roberts took it upon himself to settle matters. Outmuscling his marker, he broke into the box before lifting the ball over the advancing Cunningham. 2-0 and a long way back for the visitors nw.
There was, however, still time for more shenanigans on the pitch. Once again, I was on the opposite side, so didn't get to hear what was going on. However, after the ball went out of play in front of the Oakley bench, there was some kind of fracas involving at least one Caldecote player and the visitors bench. A few other players got involved and the referee ran over to try to calm the situation. Having seemingly done so, with players starting to move away, the referee then called over Jake Bruce and produced a card, sending the striker to the sin-bin, presumably for dissent.
This gave Oakley a man advantage for the majority of the remaining time but, despite forcing the home side back a little and winning a couple of free-kicks in dangerous spots, they were still unable to cause Follano any real trouble.
FT Caldecote AFC 2 AFC Oakley 0. On balance of the 90 minutes, a deserved victory for Caldecote. Oakley never gave up but, on the day, they just didn't have enough to cause too many problems for the home defence. Two well taken goals from Caldecote did for Oakley's resistance and they will now face the winner of Stotfold Reserves v Queens Park Crescents, which will be played on Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile Caldecote have another semi-final next Saturday when Riseley Sports are the visitors in the Britannia Cup. Oakley have a week off, hopefully time to reduce their injury list, before they travel to Elstow Abbey on the 8th of March. The same day, Caldecote are at home to second placed Wootton Blue Cross.
Caldecote AFC: 1.Follano, 2.Davis, 13.Bunday, 5.Richardson, 4.Webb, 8.H.Roberts, 6.Faulkner, 10.Andrews(c), 11.Evans, 7.Bruce, 17.Goodman. Subs: 3.Jones, 9.Tubridy, 14.J.Roberts, 15.Tyler
AFC Oakley: 1.Cunningham, 15.Smith, 4.Ives(c), 3.Hammond, 5.Cammarano, 6.McLean, 18.Chinn, 11.Box, 10.Daniels, 8.Aulsberry, 17. Bankole. Subs: 14.Harding, 19.Bangala, 7.Cox, 2.Mensah, 1.Hamilton
Caldecote Playing Field
The Ground
Caldecote AFC play their home games at Caldecote Playing Fields on the outskirts of Upper Caldecote on the road leading out to Lower Caldecote. The village is around 8 miles East of Bedford and just 2 miles North of Biggleswade. The playing fields are situated at the end of Harvey Close which leads of Biggleswade Road. There are two car parks, one either side of The Peter Maudlin Pavilion, which serves as the clubhouse and bar. There are two full size pitches, the main one directly outside the pavilion and a second one to the right as you enter the field, behind the block that is used for changing facilities. There are also tennis courts, a cricket square and children's play areas. The main pitch, where the first team play, is sideways on to the pavilion. The majority of spectators congregate there as there are some benches and a little cover from the elements. There is no other spectator cover around the pith. The playing surface looked in pretty good condition and is more or less flat. There are no dugouts, although Caldecote did have a multi-seat portable bench. There was a decent crowd there for this game, although it was a semi-final, so maybe that boosted the numbers?
Ground Number: 437
Att:
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A
Caldecote AFC play their home games at Caldecote Playing Fields on the outskirts of Upper Caldecote on the road leading out to Lower Caldecote. The village is around 8 miles East of Bedford and just 2 miles North of Biggleswade. The playing fields are situated at the end of Harvey Close which leads of Biggleswade Road. There are two car parks, one either side of The Peter Maudlin Pavilion, which serves as the clubhouse and bar. There are two full size pitches, the main one directly outside the pavilion and a second one to the right as you enter the field, behind the block that is used for changing facilities. There are also tennis courts, a cricket square and children's play areas. The main pitch, where the first team play, is sideways on to the pavilion. The majority of spectators congregate there as there are some benches and a little cover from the elements. There is no other spectator cover around the pith. The playing surface looked in pretty good condition and is more or less flat. There are no dugouts, although Caldecote did have a multi-seat portable bench. There was a decent crowd there for this game, although it was a semi-final, so maybe that boosted the numbers?
Ground Number: 437
Att:
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A
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