Tuesday 26th August 2008 - New Bradwell St Peter 3 Brache Sparta 0

Three top class finishes from hatrick hero Greg Tite was too much for a lively Brache side at The Rec. Watched by a good crowd, the game was played at a good pace from the start.

Bradwell were quick top get into gear and had early chances with a Lee White effort after a couple of minutes. Brache moved the ball well and were full of skill and hard work.

Bradwell used the space in the corners well and stretched Brache's three man back line and it was this movement which led to our first goal. Adam Castagnetti, Ed Wheatley and Nick Ryan combined well to release Lee White down the left hand side. His pinpoint cross was side-footed home on the volley by Tite after 7 minutes. Move of the season so far. A great bit of build up work, a lovely cross and a very smart finish from the diminutive (that means small!!) striker.

Brache came straight back at Bradwell and caused us problems with their movement and passing. They pressed the self destruct button after half an hour though when Jim Benton appeared to elbow Mark Kalek off the ball. The incident was seen by the referee and Benton was sent off after a further offence of spitting.

The sending off didn't appear to bother Brache too much though and they pegged Bradwell back for long periods. They didn't force Shaun Abson into making any saves in the first half but were dangerous nontheless and had our defence at full stretch on several occasions.

At the other end Bradwell continued to cause problems. Greg Tite was put through by Will Smith for a one on one with the keeper but saw the stopper dive at his feet to dispossess him. At this time Bradwell had changed their formation to suit Brache and started to get back into the game. Our passing was a bit rushed at times though.

The second half was more of the same but this time Abson had more work to do. He pulled off a brilliant save to deny Franklin Fevrier an equaliser from a header with the follow up blazed over the bar. Jason Thomas also came close when his left foot drive was tipped over the bar a while later. Andzej Juraszck also had an effort go wide. Brache had a few corners and free kicks awarded in dangerous areas but the home defence held firm and hit the visitors on the break.

Bradwell had chances of their own with Lee White blasting just over from the edge of the box after good work from Tite and Wheatley. Andy Allison beat a host of defenders before playing a one-two with Wheatley. Allison just failed to connect properly with the centre with the goal at his mercy. More good football in this end to end match.

In the 86th minute a break from defence saw Castagnetti feed the ball through to both Lee White and Greg Tite, neither were offside. Tite took the ball on and chipped Nigel Blower to grab his second of the game and 4th of the season.

Just a few seconds later Gary Davis, on for Will Smith, sent in an excellent low centre for Greg Tite to finish with his left foot at the near post. Another sweeping move from Bradwell, rough justice for Brache who had worked tirelessly from the start.

This was a very good game of football, played in the right spirit, despite the sending off. Brache were sharp and played good football wherever possible. Bradwell were quick on the break and exploited gaps in the visitors defence. We also played some good football and passed well in the second half. We were defensively sound and looked very sharp going forward, particularly down the left with Adam Castagnetti's passing. Both sides gave their all and on the night, Bradwell's finishing proved to be the winner.

Bradwell battled hard throughout, despite not being at our best in the first half. Kalek, Ryan and Wheatley put in a good shift and were well supported by Smith and Castagnetti on both sides. Tite and White were unlucky to be caught offside but attempted to play off the last man wherever possible and both had good chances to score more goals. Stokes and Quill continue perform admirably at the heart of the defence with new signing Andy Allison also settling in well. A pleasing result.

Line up; 1) Abson 2) Allison 3) Castagnetti 4) Stokes 5) Quill (Capt.) 6 )Wheatley 7) Ryan 8) Tite 9) White 10) Kalek 11) W. Smith. Subs used Davis and Robb; Not used; Hatcher, Egelsfield, Kennard, Downard.

Saturday 23rd August 2008 - Royston Town 1  New Bradwell St Peter 1

A much deserved last gasp equaliser from Lee White gave Bradwell a point at title favourites Royston after the visitors had been on the back foot for much of the game.

Bradwell opened brightly and could have been a couple of goals up before Royston really got going. Lee White was played through on goal after 5 mintutes, he lobbed the keeper from around 25 yards but saw his effort go wide. Brendan Quill then saw a header go wide from a set piece.

A few minutes later White tested the keeper from range with a rocket shot which the home keeper did well to hold.

Royston came back at Bradwell and almost forced an equaliser when good play from Hammond left Robins in the clear. Shaun Abson pulled off a stunning save to deny the youngster an opening goal. The same player saw his free kick pushed around the post by Abson after the referee had given hand ball offence right on the edge of the box.

The rest of the half belonged mainly to the home side although chances were few and far between. One unsavory moment just before half time occurred when Craig Hammond appeared to back heel Andy Allison in the head when the midfielder was on the floor. A row at half time saw the forward taken off.

The second half mirrored the first with Royston having the better of the possession but Bradwell battling very hard with our keeper and defenders in outstanding form. Wheatley and Kalek broke up play well and were assisted with hard work from Allison and Smith. Tite and White had to feed off the scraps in order to keep the home defenders busy.

Bradwell did have a couple of good openings and saw shots from Davis and Wheatley blocked by defenders. Davis also had a couple of crosses well defended when any slip would have seen Lee White in the clear.

The opening goal came from a cross down the Bradwell left. A free kick had been cleared but a quickly taken cross from the clearance found Alan Reid clear and he made no mistake with his header at the far post.

Royston went close again with the ball flashing across the box after Robins had cut inside the box. The same player went down under a challenge a short while later but the referee wasn't interested in awarding a penalty.

Then, with the game drawing to a close, came the sucker punch. With big centre half Brendan Quill thrown forward for the last few minutes of the game, he and Ed Wheatley won the ball from the home defence. Wheatley advanced towards the edge of the box before unselfishly slipping the ball through the White. The young striker drew the keeper before slipping the ball under him, the ball seemed to take an age to go over the line but it did and it gave New Bradwell some reward for the hard work throughout the game.

A terrific team performance with a scratch side due to holidays and players unavailable. We worked our socks off and employed a never say die attitude. Several outstanding individual performances ensured a well earned point at a tough venue.

Line up; 1) Abson 2) Mooney, Captain 3) Egelsfield 4) Stokes 5) Quill 6) Wheatley 7) W. Smith 8) Tite 9) White 10) Kalek 11) Allison. Subs used; Green and Davis. Not used; Hatcher and Kennard.

Saturday 16th August 2008 - Kings Langley 2 New Bradwell St Peter 1

A very disappointing second half performance from New Bradwell left us empty handed at Division One necomers Kings Langley, despite us not having faced a single shot on target throughout the game.

Greg Tite gave us the lead after 5 minutes following a free kick from Lee White which the home keeper failed to hold. Brendan Quill kept the ball alive in the six yard box and Tite headed home after the ball had rebounded off the cross bar.

Bradwell then took the game to the home side and would have been further ahead had it not been for the keeper. He kept out a one on one from Dave Cole before pulling of a wonder save from a White thunderbolt from just outside the box. At this stage we were bossing the game with Smith, Robb and Wheatley running the midfield. Dave Cole was causing problems with his pace.

Langley got back into the game just before half time after we had to adjust to the heavy loss of Ben Chouhan. The youngster went down on his shoulder and now faces an operation to have it pinned. A few minutes later and a heavy challenge on James Smith went unpunished. The influential midfielder had to remain off the field at half time.

Much of the second half belonged to the home side. We had to change the formation of the team due to the injuries to Smith and Chouhan. Despite facing heavy pressure, we didn't have a single save to make and it was to be mistakes that would cost us. The second of which came in the last minute of normal time after we had defended stoutly. Quill, Stokes and Castagnetti didn't deserve to be on the losing side and we have to learn to battle and scrap for everything in future.

Our first half performance was very good but it was made clear that you win nothing at half time depsite our good play and 1-0 lead.

Line up; 1)Abson 2) Chouhan 3) Castagnetti 4) Stokes 5) Quill 6) Wheatley (Capt.) 7) Cole 8) Tite 9) White 10) J. Smith 11) Robb
Subs;  Used Wilson, Davis and W. Smith.  Not used; Johnstone.