Saturday 24th April 2010 - New Bradwell St Peter 0 Brace Sparta Community 0 On a Sunny day at the recreation ground this was a big occasion for Several people with it being the last home game of the season it meant it was the last home game for several people., Manager Steve Tucker who is tepping down at the end of the season, Paul Stokes who is retiring from football at the end of the current season, Committeee members Les Smith & Scott Booden who are stepping dwon and Finally Referee Paul Swannell who for him this was his last game with the whistle after 37 years in the job. Sadly the game did not live up to the occasion and although Bradwell never looked in danger of conceding we could not make the breakthrough at the other end. What bradwell needed was a bit of luck in front of goal and if we would have managed one I am sure we would have gone on to score more but Brache defended resolutely and their Keeper pulled off several good saves to keep us at bay. A disappointing end to our home campiagn but thats football. Wednesday 21st April 2010 - Leighton Town 1 New Bradwell St Peter 2 Bradwell travelled to Leighton Town with a mixture of youth and experience for the quarter finals of the Buckingham Charity Cup. The pitch was in excellent condition for the time of the season and everything was set for an interesting game of football. The first half was a tense affair with both teams working hard to cancel each other out and in the end it was a story of two keepers working hard to keep clean sheets. The first real effort at goal came from Leighton Town in the seventh minute when they sprung the offside trap but Youth Team Keeper Sam Jay was quickly off his line to close down the oncoming striker and he make a great save to deny Leighton. Mickey O'Farrell then himself broke past the Leighton back four and it was the Leighton Keeper who made a great save to deny him on 15 minutes. New Bradwell were slowly starting to see more ball now and both Jack Leadbetter and youth team centre midfield Jason Cohen were able to get their foot on the ball and look to release Mickey and wannabe youth team forward Martin Wells who were both working tirelessly upfront. On 33 minutes a Will Smith corner from the left was met at the back post by Fritzy who headed back across goal for Mickey and only another fine save by the Leighton keeper denied a goal from the good interplay. From the resultant corner, Leighton cleared downfield and again found a striker through on goal, but again Sam was off his line quickly saving at the feet of the striker to deny him and this fine display of keeping was rounded off in the 39th minute when Mickey who could have had a hatrick on another day was again denied by the Leighton keeper taking the teams in at half time with honors' even. The restart saw a determined New Bradwell take to the field, on 50 minutes youth player Matt Hayes replaced youth player Jack Howells who had had a solid game against a tricky opponent at right back and Bradwell pressed Leighton at every opportunity forcing them to play long and the ever youthful duo of Fritzy and captain Rob Mooney were able to deal with this threat all evening. The first goal of the game finally came on the 54th minute, a long throw from Mooney was flicked on by Mickey and fell to youth player Derrick MacDonald on the edge of the six yard box, Derrick powerfully helped the ball on 3 yards to Wellsy who smashed it home to make it 1 – 0 to Bradwell, could a famous upset be on the cards? Leighton weren't going to let that happen easily and the first defensive mistake by Bradwell was pounced upon in the 60th minute and they smashed home an equalizer making it 1 – 1. Both teams knew the win was up for grabs and with neither manager wanting extra time both teams looked to refresh their line-ups to gain the win. For Bradwell youth players Colm Rooney and Darryl Wilson came on to replace Rob Mooney and Jack Leadbetter, with Matt Hayes moving to centre back, Colm at fullback, Wellsy moved in to centre mid, Derrick upfront and Darryl to the left wing – phew that took some remembering. Almost immediately the Bradwell changes paid dividends. Colm Rooney with his first touch, broke past his marker and then played a lovely cross in to the box, Darryl Wilson met this cross with his first touch and netted the second goal 1 – 2 Bradwell with just over 20 minutes left. Leighton immediately changed their formation to 3 – 4 – 3 to get the goal back, but now with Derrick's pace upfront and some sublime passing from Jason Cohen and cross field balls from Giggsy and Will Smith, Derrick was able to use that pace to break free from the defenders but again two great saves and a narrow miss denied him. Bradwell continued to press at every opportunity and our back four defended magnificently and the boys held out to secure a great win and set-up a semi-final tie away to Banbury. Team – Jay, Patel, Mooney (65 Rooney), Mulholland, Howells (50 Hayes), MacDonald, Leadbetter (65 Wilson), Cohen, Smith, O'Farrell, Wells Monday 19th April 2010 - Sun Postal Sports 1 New Bradwell St Peter 2 A game of two halves. Sun Postal started brigthly and took the lead early in the game, To be fair Sun had much the better of the first halfand the score stayed the same until the break. Half-time changes seeing Jack leadbetter & Micky O'Farrell coming on changed the face of the game and it was bradwell chance to dominate, bradwell perfomed admirably in the 2nd half and deservedly took the 3 points with two goals from Micky O'Farrell. Saturday 17th April 2010 - Hoddesdon Town 0 New Bradwell St Peter 0  A very dull match for the football purists but in a game between two teams fighting for top six positions on a stereo-typical end of season pitch this was never going to repeat of the 3.3 draw earlier in the season. Both teams had chances to snatch the win but a combination of good goalkeeping along with woeful finishing ensured a 0.0 which in reflection was a fair result. this was Peter's first draw in the league wince these two teasm met back in Mid October. Tuesday 13th April 2010- London Colney 6 New Bradwell St Peter 1 Peter's took the lead early on with a strike by Will Smith but London Colney hit back with six goals, A much better performance by bradwell than the score suggests. In fact we have played a lot worse this season and won convincely. Saturday 10th April 2010 - Windsor Great Park 0 New Bradwell St Peter 1 Bradwell travelled to sunny Windsor to play their East Berks League opponents with a Cup Final place against Bucks C.C up for grabs. With 8 players not available for selection due to injury or ineligibility the squad was stretched again which seems to be the story of this cup. On paper this was a game that Bradwell should win comfortably but the game is never played on paper and with Windsor being given a 2nd life in this competition they were not going to roll over and give the peter's an easy run to the final. Bradwell started on the front foot but could not break down the Windsor defence who although not the most gifted players were of the " though shall not pass " mould. This seemed to ruin bradwells game with endless stoppages interrupting their attempts to get an early goal. Coulter made a break through the Windsor defence only to get pulled back when he seemed certain to score. The referee awarded a free kick. With the free kick struck a shout from the keeper of safe made the crowd chuckle as the ball cannoned back of the crossbar. The Windsor goalkeeper led a charmed life with Holloway blasting over when in a good position and the same player hitting the post. The score stayed at 0.0 until half time and the game was certainly closer than we would have wished for. The second half was pretty much the same with Peter's pushing for a goal with having all the pressure and Windsor trying to catch us on the counter attack. With more chances going begging the 90 minutes ended and extra time beckoned. It was almost certain one goal would decide this game. The 1st half of extra time was pretty much the same as the whole match but Peter's were unable to convert their chances. So still 0.0 after 105 minutes, Bradwell had 15 minutes to avoid the lottery of a penalty shoot out. Windsor continued to play on the break and Bradwell were lucky when with 10 minutes left Giggsy got knocked of the ball by a Windsor striker who then tried a speculative lob from 35 yards that hit the top of the crossbar. Finally in the 116th minute Bradwell got the breakthrough, the Windsor keeper who had all day defied his age and build to thwart the Peter's try a bit of juggling with the ball finally falling to Lea Coulter who gladly knocked the ball past him to put us in the final. Not a resounding performance but we got the result that matter. Peters now play Bucks C.C at Buckingham Athletics ground on 08th May kick off 3.30pm. Not exactly Wembley but at least it will be the same for both team. Well done boys on a good cup run when you have constantly had to play out of position and Tucks and Glyn for keep having to juggle the team for these County Cup matches and still getting results due to the eligibility criteria.     Team - Donaldson, Patel (Oyika), Hill, Mulholland, Leadbetter, Ward ( Mooney), Smith, Townsend, Holloway, Coulter, Castagnetti   Tuesday 30th march 2010 - New Bradwell St Peter 2 Hadley F.C 3 Bradwell lost ground on the leading pair when falling to a 3.2 defaet at home to Hadley F.C. In a close fought game Hadley came out on top. Bradwell's goals from Micky O'Farrell & Dave Holloway Team - Lampard, Lagioia, Hill, Mulholland, Mooney, Ward, Acheampong, Flinn, M. O'Farrell, Coulter, Castagnetti. Subs Used - Leadbetter, Smith, Holloway   Tuesday 23rd March 2010 - New Bradwell St Peter 6 Sun Postal Sports 1 Bradwell went into the game in good spirits fresh from their 5.0 win against Tik Tok Manor, Our visitors Sun Postal had been on a bit of a run lately beating both Crawley Green and London Colney in recent weeks so were not to be taken lightly. Sun Postal's preparation was disturbed by the late arrival of some players due to traffic but that seems to be the norm for midweek matches. Bradwell started brightly and it was no surprise when in the 9th minute Lea Coulter went on one of his trademark runs, Lea beat several players then seemed to get the ball stuck under his feet but managed to regain control before slotting in for his 32nd goal of the season. Just a minute later in was 2.0 Martin Wells had a fierce shot which the keeper could only parry to leave Adam Castagnetti with the easiest of tap ins. This is pretty much how the half continued as Bradwell continued to push and chance after chance came and went with only the occasional breakaway from Sun threatening the Bradwell goal. Finally our dominance paid off in the 27th minute when a corner fell to Martin Wells who lashed the ball home with his left foot, the surprise was he did not fall over as he only normally uses his left to stand on J. Game over you would have thought but with Bradwell seemingly in cruise control we went to sleep and Paul Barracliff pulled a goal back for Sun Postal just before half time was a comeback on the cards ?. With the score 3.1 at half time Tucks made two changes with Saturdays semi final in mind with both Martin Wells & Mickey O'Farrell who are ineligible for the cup coming off and being replaced by Mike Ward & Dave Holloway. After the changes it took time for Bradwell to settle and although we had to defend some promising Sun attacks we always looked in control, we continued to create chances but just could not apply the finishing touch. This continued until the 76th minute when Coulter picked the ball in on the half way line, he ran at the tiring Sun Defence and was taken out by a clumsy challenge, the ball fell to Adam Castagnetti who passed the ball past the keeper for 4.1. The referee then went back to the player who made the tackle on Lea and sent him off. Bradwell continue to push home their man advantage and just 4 minutes later Castagnetti completed his hatrick with a cross come shot that went in off the far post. Dave Holloway rounded off the scoring with 8 minutes left to complete a pleasing night. In truth it could have been a lot more but we will not be greedy. Team - Donaldson, Lagioia (Smith), Hill, Mulholland, Mooney, Townsend, Wells (Ward), Leadbetter, M.O'Farrell (Holloway) Castagnetti. Subs not Used - McCormick, Lampard, Saturday 20th March 2010 - New Bradwell St Peter 5 Tokyngton Manor 0 Saturday saw Tokyngton Manor visit the recreation ground, After 3 straight defeats Bradwell were determine to give a good account of themselves. Tucks shook up the team from midweek with Ben Hill, Paul Stokes, John Mulholland, Craig Townsend, Martin Wells, Joey Acheampong and Micky O'Farrell all coming into the starting line up. Right from the start Bradwell went for the jugular causing the Tokyngton defence problems on every attack, Although the Peter's were not having in their own way with the man mountain of a centre forward from Tokyngton causing a few problems with his physical prescience. Luckily although he resembled and chunkier version of Adebayor all he had was his strength and after being outwitted by Old Man Stokes and his German partner he faded out of the game. Bradwell finally made the breakthrough in the 11th minute through Lea Coulter when his shot from outside the box eluded the sprawling keeper. With conditions getting worse Bradwell continued to push and in the 32nd minute Lea Coulter got his second of the day, The score stayed the same up until half time. The 2nd half started pretty much the same with Bradwell in the ascendancy and the only surprise was it took until the 65th minute to add to our goals. Lea Coulter was the man again picking up the ball and running at the Tokyngton Defence, Lea was entered the Tokyngton box when he was hauled down from behind. While the referee dealt with the offending player Lea placed the ball on the spot ready to try and hit his 3rd hat-trick of the season. After the referee had finishing booking the Tokyngton Defender he went to consult his lineswoman and between them they decided on a free kick 2 inches outside the box. This didn't matter as Lea took the free kick and slotted it home to make it 30 goals for the season in all competitions. Surely that was game won and Bradwell made 3 subs with Joel McCormick, Massimo Lagioia and Adam Castagnetti replacing Paul Stokes, Martin Wells and Joey Acheampong. Lea Coulter looked like scoring his fourth when in the 6 yard box he turned to shoot and was pulled back and this time there was no dispute with a penalty being awarded. The ball was handed to Joel McCormick who slotted past the Tokyngton goalkeeper to score his first goal of the club. The scoring wasn't finished and the Lea Coulter popped up to score his 4th game. A very pleasing day after the last couple of weeks and put us on a high the week before our semi final clash with Aston Clinton but first up is a league game against Sun Postal Sports were we will be looking to get a little run going again. Although Lea Coulter scored 4 it was not all about him. From back to front it was a hard working disciplined performance Team - Donaldson, Mooney, Hill, Mulholland, Stokes (Lagioia), Townsend, Wells (Castagnetti), Flinn, M. O'Farrell, Coulter, Acheampong (McCormick) Subs not used - Leadbetter, Holloway Tuesday 16th March 2010 - New Bradwell St Peter 2  Bedford Town Reserves 6 St Peter's entertained Mid Table Bedford Town Reserves, Bedford skipper for the day was former Peter's Player Kieran Chouhan. The game started fairly even with both teams working hard to create chances but without finding the killer touch. In the 13th minute the ball was knocked into the Bedford box when Dave Holloway rose to meet the ball, as he was in the air the Bedford keeper jumped into the back of him and somehow managed to get awarded a free kick in the bargain. In the 15th minute Bedford took the lead when Stacey Field got on the end of a long ball to slot past Ben. The game started to become very scrappy with the game being spoiled by numerous silly free kicks without any team really creating any clear cut chances. In the 36th minute a Bedford picked up the ball and run into the Bradwell Box when a mistimed tackle by Gary Flinn resulting in a spot kick to Bedford. Bradwell Kept pushing and their persistence finally paid off when a centre was knocked into his own net by Mick Ewang to put Bradwell back into the game. Going in at Half time 2.1 would have given a boost to Bradwell but it was not to be as in 45th came a decision that may or may not have changed the game. Ben Donaldson went to kick the ball up field when he was impeded by a Bedford forward forcing Ben to carry the ball out of the box. Free kick to Bradwell surely but somehow it was deemed to actually be a Bedford free-kick for Ben Handling outside his area. Tom Damon scored form the free-kick to send Bradwell into the break 3.1 which was a right kick in the teeth after forcing their way back into the game. St peter's started the 2nd half unchanged and continued to push to get back in the game unfortunately we failed to clear our lines again in the 53rd minute when Micky Ewang scored at the right end to put Bradwell 4.1 down and facing an uphill battle. Shortly afterwards Left Back Will Smith was injured and was replaced by Striker Micky O'Farrell as Bradwell looked to make attack the best form of defence. Joel McCormick then came on to replace Dave Holloway but again in the 69th minute Bedford broke away and scored through Alex Baker. Effectively game over. Greg Tite was then injured and was replaced by the returning Joey Acheampong. Bedford added a 6th in the 83rd minute when Mick Ewang got his 2nd of the game but there was still time for Dan O'Farrell to pull a goal back when he scored in the 89th minute. At the end of the game Bedford celebrated only their 2nd win in the last 8 games but although we could point to several key moments when we felt hard done by Bedford deserved to win the game. Team - Donaldson, Lagioia, Smith (M.O'Farrell), Mooney, D.O'Farrell, Flinn, Tite (Ahceampong), Leadbetter, Holloway (McCormick), Castagnetti Saturday 13th March 2010 - Hadley F.C 3 New Bradwell St Peter 1 We travelled away to Hadley hoping to put the nightmare of the previous Tuesday defeat to Stony Stratford behind us. Bradwell started brightly enough and both teams were trying get the ball down and play football. The first half was a pretty even affair with both keepers called into action couple of times to keep the score level at the break. As the 2nd half Bradwell looked to up the game and deservedly took the lead in the 56th minute when Lea Coulter scored. Bradwell seemed to be on top when a substitution by Hadley which changed the game, Our hosts bought on Jesse Reynolds who pace caused the Bradwell Defence some problems. It was Reynolds who scored the equaliser when he broke through on the left and despite the appeals for offside he slotted home past Ben. Game on, Bradwell continued to push for the winner but were undone when two late goals from Gruar and Reynolds notching his second to send the peter's home to Milton Keynes with their tails between their legs. A disappointing day but a much improved performance from Tuesday night and on another day if we took a chances we could have got something out of the game. Team - Donaldson, Lagioia, Smith, Mooney, D.O'Farell, Townsend (Wells), Tite, Leadbetter, Holloway (McCormick), Coulter, Flinn Tuesday 9th March 2010 - Stony Stratford 5 New Bradwell St Peter 0 With Bradwell looking to win their 10th straight game what we actually had was a right horror show from the peter's. Anyone turning up to watch after looking at recent results of both teams and the league table without knowing the team would have thought we were playing in blue. But a right shocker of a performance from the whole team combined without an outstanding performance from Home Goalkeeper Dean Trowbridge meant we were well and truly humiliated by our local rivals. Stony went in 2.0 up at half time with goals through Bellhouse and Flooks, And to be fair Bradwell never looked like getting back into the game with 3 further goals from Stony in the second half with Smith slotting home and two from Ferguson put the result well beyond doubt. Bradwell's misery completed with Castagnetti missing a last minute penalty. A very bad day but we will live to fight another day. Team - Donaldson, Lagioia, Patel, Mulholland, Flinn, Townsend (Ward), Smith (Tite), Leadbetter, Holloway (M.O'Farell), Coulter, Castagnetti. Saturday 06th March 2010 - New bradwell St Peter 2 Cockfosters 0 Bradwell went into this game on the back of a run of 8 wins out of 8 and looking to keep the pressure up on Holmer Green at the top of the table, Tucks & Glyn had to shuffle the defence around after Tuesday's win with Dan O'Farrell missing through injury. Skipper Ben Hill moved to Centre back with Will Smith dropping back into Left back, Adam Castagnetti & Dave Holloway coming into the team to replace the O'Farrell Brothers. On a Sunny afternoon in Bradwell neither team could take the upper hand with both defences being on top. Neither team could create any clear cut chances despite good build up play. Finally after 30 minutes Bradwell started to get the upper hand and our pressure paid off when in the 34th minute John "Fritzy" Mulholland get on the end of a corner to head into the roof of the net to put the Peter's 1.0 up. This shook Cockfosters up and the pushed for an equaliser before the break. A good save by Ben Donaldson keep the lead intact going into the break. Early in the 2nd half yet another defensive reshuffle when Ben Hill got injured, Top scorer Lea Coulter reverted to centre back with Micky O'Farrell coming on to take Lea's place up frnt. This was still anyone game and both teams were looking dangerous on the break. Finally Bradwell made the game safe when in the 83rd Minute Dave Holloway latched onto a through ball that was completely miss-kicked by a Cockfosters defender before controlling it and slotting it past the advancing keeper. The game drew to a close and a draw by local rivals Stony Stratford against Holmer meant we had gone to the top of the league but with Holmer having 4 games in hand. We will leave the shenanigans at the end of the game to be dealt with by the relevant authorities . Team - Donaldson, Lagioia, Smith, Mulholland, Hill (M.O'Farrell), Ward, Tite,Leadbetter (Townsend), Holloway, Coulter, Castagnetti, Scorers - Mulholland 34, Holloway 83 Booked - Leadbetter   Tuesday 02nd March 2010 - New Bradwell St Peter 6 Sport London E Benfica 0 Tuesday saw us entertain Sport London E Benfica, Kick off was delayed with the Benfica team being stuck in the roadwork's on the motorway and we finally got under way at 19.50. Bradwell were quickly into their stride and pushed for an early breakthrough, Benfica put up dome resistance and it wasn't until the 21st minute that we finally made the breakthrough with a strike from Greg Tite for his 8th goal of the season. Bradwell continued to dominate but could not find that crucial 2nd goal, Finally in the 44th Minute John Mulholland had a volley from just inside the box that was going wide luckily Micky O'Farrell was hand to tap in from close range to send us in 2.0 up at the break. Benfica had played their part in the first half but for all the skill they possessed they did not seem to function as a unit and walked off at half-time arguing amongst themselves. From the restart we went on the offensive again and in the 46th minute after good work down the left from Will Smith he crossed into the box for Jack Leadebetter to get in just ahead of Micky O'Farell and slotted in for his first goal since returning to the club. Surely that was the game won and it would be case of how many we would manage to score. Top scorer Lea Coulter got in on the act in the 58th minute shooting home from just inside the box after the big Benfica goalie could only just palm away a fierce shot. Next up in the 76th Minute came the goal of the game, Greg Tite picking the ball up inside his own half he ran at the Benfica defence before playing a slide rule pass to Micky O'Farrell who lifted the ball over the advancing keeper. Bradwell continued to dominate and Tom Kennard slotted home a screamer from a yard out after good work from Micky O'Farrell. All in all a good evening which takes us up to 21 points out of the last 21 available. Team - Donaldson, Lagioia, Hill, Mulholland, D.O'Farrell, Ward, Tite, Leadbetter (Townsend), M.O'Farell, Coulter (Kennard), Smith(Castagnetti) Scorers - M.O'Farrell x 2, Coulter, Leadbetter, Kennard, Tite Saturday 27th February 2010 - Newbury F.C 0 New Bradwell St Peter 3 The boys marched into the Semi-Final of this seasons competition with an emphatic victory against their Hellenic League opponents, this Bradwell's seventh win from seven games played since the turn of the year. Due to the recent weather and a further downpour just an hour or so before kick off a pitch inspection was required by the officials but thankfully the game got the go-ahead albeit on a quite heavy pitch. Our opponents played a very high line at the back and it was just a question of being patient in order to get a clear run on goal, however a couple of decisions throughout the game from the officials at times didn't help our cause, but it was clear from the outset that if we were patient then this could be our day. We went into the game without the suspended Joey Acheampong and Craig Townsend but gave a debut to Mike Ward in midfield, an area that took a while for us to gain control of, but once we did then it was just a question of time until our authority got the credit it deserved. Chances were few and far between early on with the only notable effort arriving when a quick free kick from Gary Flinn found Dave Holloway but his effort from 20 yards was just wide. On 34 minutes though Holloway was on target, Greg Tite won a corner when his shot was blocked, the corner was swung in by Adam Castagnetti and Holloway was able to glance the ball in with a sweet header. Apart from a couple of breakaway attacks we now had control and a second goal to take into the break would be a massive boost for us, it looked like it wasn't going to be until a minute into first half injury time, Will Smith played a superb ball into Holloway, he held the ball up well and fed it into Tite, although his cross was half cleared it landed to Castagnetti and his right foot shot, although it took a bit of a deflection looped straight over their keeper and nestled in the back of the net, 2-0, right on half time, surely game over. That said in the second period Newbury came into the game a bit more, but with a combination of some good goalkeeping from Ben Donaldson and some excellent defending we were able to keep our hosts at bay. On 55 minutes Ben made an excellent double save to keep our lead intact, then 7 minutes later when it looked odds on their forward would score Ben made a crucial one-on-one save, he was beaten from a corner though on 67 minutes but great defending by Will Smith meant he was able to clear the effort off the line. Newbury knew now that it wasn't to be, and the game was finally put to bed on 85 minutes, again Castagnetti was involved, his excellent cross well met at the far post by Gary Flinn who planted his header well into the corner. Unfortunately for us with 2 minutes left on the clock Greg Tite received a second yellow card although his offence was nothing compared to the red card one of their players received not long after when he as good as mugged Castagnetti, however it was the result that mattered, and Tucker's boys are now just one game away from the Final. Squad:- B.Donaldson, W.Smith (M.Hayes 87), G.Flinn, J.Mulholland, B.Hill, G.Tite, J.Leadbetter, M.Ward (R.Mooney 76), A.Castagnetti, D.Holloway (T.Kennard 80), L.Coulter. Booked:- B.Hill, G.Tite. Sent off:- Greg Tite. Goalscorers:- D.Holloway (34). A.Castagnetti (45+1). G.Flinn (85). Saturday 20th February 2010 - New Bradwell St Peter 3 Harpenden Town 1 Bradwell went into this game high in confidence after taking 15 points out of the last 15 available, today's opponents Harpenden have had a revival of late having only lost one game in the last 11 so they should not be taken lightly. St Peter's applied the early pressure but Harpenden still had their chances with their centre forward playing the ball past the advancing Ben in the Peter's goal but luckily for us it also cleared the far post. Bradwell were not to be so lucky when in the 32nd Minute the ball was in the Peter's net after a long ball caught us napping at the back. Bradwell continued to push but could not find the final touch to get on the score sheet. Just before half time Harpenden were down to ten men when one for players picked up two yellow cards in as many minutes. The score stayed the same up to the half time whistle. Bradwell started the 2nd half brightly with Ben Hill playing more advanced to try and push our man advantage. Despite all our possession we could not find the breakthrough as at times we overplayed and our finishing was letting us down. Steve made some changes with Martin Wells & Will Smith coming onto to replace Dave Holloway and Jack Leadbetter as we tried to get back into the game. Finally in the 71st minute we were back in when Martin Wells slotted in at the far post in his first appearance since rejoining the club. John Mulholland then saw red for a 2nd yellow card which could have been classed as a bit harsh as the Harpenden player admitted he had dived to get Fritzy his 1st yellow card but once you are on a yellow you are always on a tightrope and it was challenge on a player going nowhere so in hindsight could have been avoided. This finally woke Bradwell up and they kept the ball and were patient in their build up and their domination continued. In the 76th minute the ball was played across the box for Gary Flinn to slot in for his fifth goal of the season and Bradwell got the reward their endeavours. The scoring was not over though as Bradwell played keep ball Lea Coulter ran at the tiring Harpenden defence and slotted home for his 24th goal of the season to make the final score 3.1. All in all another good day for the Peter's making it 18 points out of 18 since the suprise defeat by Buckingham at the end of 2009. A good 3 points surely helped Steve celebrate his birthday in style and moving up to 2nd to boot.   Team - Donaldson, Lagioia, B.Hill, D.O'Farrell, Mulholland, Tite (Kennard), Leadbetter (Smith), Flinn, Castagnetti, Coulter, Holloway (Wells) Scorers - Wells, Flinn, Coulter     Saturday 13th February 2010 - New Bradwell St Peter 2 Ampthill Town 0 Bradwell went into this game looking for revenge to a last minute defeat at Ampthill back in November. With several ex-Peters players in the Ampthill line up this was always looking like being a lively encounter but it failed to live up this. Bradwell finally made the breakthrough in the 12th minute after good work from Dave Holloway the ball fell to Lea Coulter who blasted the ball into the top corner. Bradwell Continued to push but the game turned into a midfield battle with the ascendancy always being in favour of the Peter's. Finally in the 39th minute Bradwell doubled their lead when Dave Holloway was pulled down by Ex-Peters player Hugo McGlue and Adam Castagnetti slotted home the resultant penalty with aplomb. The 2nd half was pretty much the same with Bradwell making all the running and the only real threats to the Peter's goal was from Ampthill set pieces but their corner kicker kept wasting chances to put the goal under pressure by kicking the ball straight out of touch for goal kicks to Bradwell. The game started to peter out with Dan O'Farrell and John Mulholland keeping the Ampthill centre forwards quiet all game.  This was far from a pretty game but at the end of the day 3 points was the main target and this was never in doubt. And revenge was pure "Gold".   Team - Donaldson, Lagioia, Smith (B.Hill, D.O'Farrell, Mulholland, Tite, Townsend ( Leadbetter (Smith), Flinn, Castagnetti, Coulter, Holloway (Acheampong) Scorers- Coulter, Castagnetti Wednesday 10th February 2010 - AFC Dunstable 3 New Bradwell St Peter 4 A snow storm at Kick-off made the opening minutes a bit of a lottery and to be fair we were not at the races for the first half an hour, in fact we found ourselves 2.0 before we really got into the game, finally in the 44th minute we got back into the game with a strike from Dave Holloway. Peters came out for 2nd half determined to get back on level terms but after 5 minutes of Peter's pressure a long ball from Dunstable released Bernard Christie to score his 2nd goal of the game and left New Bradwell with a mountain to climb. To their credit Bradwell kept pushing but just could not find a way through the Dunstable defence. Finally Bradwell won a free kick just out the AFC box and Greg Tite step up and curled the ball in via the inside of the post. Bradwell Kept pushing but time seemed to be running out. Finally in the 90th minute after good work down the right by Sub Rob Mooney the ball was crossed over into the Dunstable box where a home player headed the ball into his own net to level the scores. New Bradwell were not finished and sensed they could still win the game. Finally in added time Joey Acheampong got the ball on the left hand side and with a speculative shot that the home keeper made a mess of put us 4.3 game over or so it seemed. There was still time for a AFC Dunstable to receive his marching orders who then decided to run 25 yards and start attacking Greg Tite. Both sets of players got involved and Joey Acheampong received a red card for lashing out at the player attacking Greg. Things could have got worse with two Dunstable fans entering the pitch to try and get involved but luckily although one of them managed to trip up Joey they managed to be restrained before inflicting any more damage. All in all a good 3 points against a much improving AFC Dunstable. Bradwell line up; Lampard, Lagoia (Mooney), Patel(Smith), O'Farrell, Mulholland, Townsend, Castagnetti, Tite, Holloway (Acheampong), Coulter, Flynn. Scorers - Holloway, Tite, O.G, Acheampong Saturday 06th February 2010 - New Bradwell St Peter 7 Cranfield United 0 Bradwell made swift amends for an earlier season reverse when they smashed sweet seven past a hapless Cranfield side at The Rec. Gary Flynn opened the scoring with a deft side foot after the home side had penned Cranfield in their own half. Flynn added another to his tally with an excellent header following a cracking move involving half the Bradwell side. Lea Coulter helped himself to a couple of well taken goals as he continued to cause problems with his pace and movement. Cranfield had a young side and couldn't keep track of the Bradwell runners with Castagnetti, Tite and Holloway playing particularly well. The half time score was 4-0 to the home side. The second half took a while to get going with former Manager Dean Chapman entering the fray to offer Cranfield a little more experience at the back. Gary Hutchinson moved forward to shore up the midfield lacking the injured Ellis Spence. In fairness, they battled as well as they could but Bradwell were in no mood for charity and scored another three goals to boost their own goal difference and send them up in to the top four. Tony Hill, Greg Tite and Adam Castagnetti all adding to the tally. On the day, Bradwell had too much pace and experience for the youthful Cranfield side and the scoreline was a fair one. Bradwell line up; Lampard, Lagoia, Hill (Capt) (Patel), O'Farrell, Mulholland, Townsend, Castagnetti, Tite, Holloway (T. Hill), Coulter, Flynn. Scorers - Flinn x 2, Coulter x 2, Tite, T.Hill, Holloway Tuesday 26th January 2010 - Amersham Town 0 New Bradwell St Peter 1 My apologies, but missed the first 20 minutes or so of the game, and the only goal too, , however..... An important win for the boys as we need to keep on the tails of the teams above us in our quest for the automatic promotion places, there was a doubt too as to whether the game would be concluded as the temperature dropped below freezing and the safety of the players on a hardening pitch came into question. Fortunately for us it did and we picked up a valuable 3 points, the first 20 minutes of the game were the best I had (n)ever seen, so much so I can't remember a thing about it, only that the important goal came on the 20 minute mark when Castagnetti's through ball found Joey Acheampong and from a tight angle he finished well. Then I arrived For the remainder of the half we looked by far the better team and could've been more than just the one goal to the good going into the break. Lea Coulter went through one-on-one, he rounded their keeper but was denied at the last moment as their defender slid in and blocked a certain goal. Just before the break their keeper fluffed an attempted clearance out wide, the ball came to Coults and on his left foot from 25 yards he curled in a peach of a chip shot, the keeper to his credit though made up the ground and produced a superb one handed save tipping the ball onto the far post, the rebound landed at the feet of Joey but his follow up could only find the side netting. The second period saw our hosts battle hard for an equaliser but fair play to the boys, they more than stood up to the challenge, their best effort came when an overhead kick looked destined to be our undoing but Ben Donaldson was equal to the effort pulling off a superb save. We looked to have grabbed the all important second goal when sub Greg Tite was put through, as the keeper narrowed the angle he squared the ball to Coults to score with ease, however Lea was adjudged to have been offside and the goal was ruled out. In the end we managed to see the game out and therefore pick up a valuable 3 points, the win was only hampered by the late sending off of Craig Townsend, but in fairness to Craig at least he had shown a strong mentality, which many players did on the night to our game which had been missing of late from the team. In summary it's nice to play the perfect game but there comes a time when as a unit we have to show a mental strength, be physical and strong and in a sense grind out a result, tonight we saw a mixture of the two so hopefully a lot was learnt from the game. Squad:- B.Donaldson, M.Lagioia, J.Mulholland, G.Flinn, B.Hill, W.Smith, C.Townsend, L.Coulter, A.Castagnetti, J.Aheampong (G.Tite 75), D.Holloway. Subs not used:- R.Mooney, T.Hill, T.Kennard. Booked:- L.Coulter, C.Townsend. Sent off:- C.Townsend. Goalscorer:- J.Acheampong.

Saturday 23rd January 2010 - New Bradwell St Peter 5 Aylesbury Reserves 0 

Berks & Bucks County Cup, Round 4.

The boys eased into the Quarter Finals of this seasons competition with an emphatic victory against Aylesbury Reserves.
However we were without the services of several first team players, 2 of the 3 subs named being drafted in from our under 18's with Tucks being forced to play a few players out of position just to accommodate this, so maybe not the formality that many people would have us think given our circumstances.
That was certainly the case in the opening 20 minutes, Joey Acheampong had gone close on seven minutes but made up for it 5 minutes later when he converted Catagnetti's cross, however Aylesbury had been guilty of missing two one-on-one opportunities, the second of these being well saved by Ben Donaldson.
From here on in though the lessons had been learnt and we started to take a foot hold on the game, so much so that by the interval we had built up a healthy 3-0 lead courtesy of further efforts from Dave Holloway and Adam Castagnetti.
The second period was more of the same with the boys looking comfortable, playing good football and in complete control, 2 further goals in a 3 minute spell put paid to any lingering hopes our opponents had of staging a comeback, on 68 minutes Holloway fed in Castagnetti for his second of the game then on 70 minutes the goal of the game, good approach play involving Mihir Patel, Ben Hill and Holloway set up Lea Coulter to finish off what was a fine move.
So all in all a very good team performance which sets us up with a Quarter Final away at Newbury at the end of next month, Newbury themselves are struggling in their respective League this season, however our progress into the Semi-Final's will depend heavily like this game on availabilities on the day.

Squad:- B.Donaldson, W.Smith, G.Flinn, L.Coulter, M.Patel, T.Kennard (M.Oyika 46), C.Townsend, B.Hill (S.Jay 85), A.Castagnetti (M.Hayes 68), J.Acheampong, D.Holloway.

Goalscorers:- J.Acheampong (12). D.Holloway (30). A.Castagnetti (39, 68). L.Coulter (70).

 Saturday 5th December 2009 - New Bradwell St Peter 3 Abingdon Res 0

 Berks & Bucks County Cup, Round 3.

Without several key players again, we went into this game hoping to progress into the last 16 of the competition, in the end a comprehensive performance from the boys ensured our safe passage.
Young Sam Jay was drafted into goal as our 3 other keepers we had to choose from were unavailable, we were also without the services of Joey Acheampong and Ben Hill, so in truth not the best preparations for Tucks and Glyn.
In truth the defence protected Sam very well, however he had to be alert as early as the fourth minute when an in swinging corner nearly crept directly in, Sam though adjusted his starting position at the last moment and was able to make an excellent stop, diving forward and punching the ball away.
We then lost Ed Wheatley on the quarter of an hour mark when he was definitely kneed in the back, in truth some of our opponents tackles resembled that of what you would expect to see on a Sunday morning park pitch, the Referee, obviously out of his depth was proving a frustrating figure for many of our players as these incidents were going unpunished.
This seemed to knock us a bit and it did take the boys some time to really get on top of the game, however we managed to get our noses in front on 29 minutes, Gary Flinn fed the ball to Adam Castagnetti and his cross was met by the incoming Flinny who made no mistake with his header.
It should have been 2 almost immediately, Lea Coulter was fed through one on one with their keeper, a shot looked the best option, however Lea rounded the keeper and this allowed a covering defender time to get back and clear Lea's effort off of the line.
We deserved more than a 1-0 interval lead, and although very much on top, the longer the game stayed at this the more it gave belief to our opponents.
Tom Kennard was introduced at the interval and by now all our subs had been used, the boys continued playing the better football but that elusive second goal just wouldn't arrive, now and again Abingdon had half chances just to remind us that they were still in this game, but it would have been an injustice had they got something from it, John Mulholland was once again superb in defence and was well partnered by Rob Mooney, Giggsy and Marzy second period too were faultless back there, Craig Townsend in midfield was too having one of his best games for some time, so really it just needed that all important cushion.
On 54 minutes it looked as though it may arrive when we were awarded a penalty, up stepped Lea Coulter who had recently tucked away two penalties, however this time his shot although well struck smashed the top of the crossbar and ended behind for a visitors goal kick.
Time was ticking and still we only held a slender one goal advantage, on 72 minutes Tom's attempted cross turned into a well struck shot which done their keeper, but cannoned back off of the near post, a neat move shortly after saw the ball played in low but this time although his run was well timed Tom's shot cleared the crossbar.
On 84 minutes all our hard work deservedly paid off, their keeper done well to deny us a one on one but Craig Townsend was on hand to slot home the rebound, and like that of the last round, two late goals within a minute for number 3 when Will Smith put in a good cross which Dave Holloway comfortably finished off. A minute from time it looked like we had a deserved fourth when Tom Kennard was played in and coolly tucked the ball away, even their player said he kept Tom on and it was evident from all the supporters who were in line he was onside, but this is the downside of having to use club linesman at this stage of the competition, no one likes the phrase but it's a fact, some actually will and do blatantly cheat.
At least though we were not relying on that goal and the job had been done by then, I think a fair assumption would be at times we made it hard for ourselves rather than the opposition doing that, but given the effort of the boys Tuesday night with no reward from that against Holmer Green, today was all about progressing, we are one step closer to a long awaited and what would be for all the efforts this season, deserved Final, but then 15 other teams will feel that too, so up to us lads.

Squad:- S.Jay, W.Smith, J.Mulholland, R.Mooney, M.Patel, E.Wheatley (M.Oyika 16), C.Townsend, G.Flinn (T.Kennard 46), A.Castagnetti, L.Coulter, D.Holloway.

Booked:- G.Flinn, L.Coulter.

Goalscorers:- G.Flinn (29). C.Townsend (84). D.Holloway (85).

Tuesday 1st December 2009 - New Bradwell St Peter 0 Holmer Green 1

We entertained league leaders Holmer Green who went into this game unbeaten in the league and had to date only dropped two points away from home, so an easy game we didn't expect, but from our point of view it was massive as we could reduce the gap between them and us to only 3 points if we got the victory.
As the scoreline shows it didn't happen, but to say the boys didn't deserve something from the game would be an understatement, in truth we reduced our opponents to only two notable efforts on goal, unfortunately they only needed the one invite in the end.
In the first 20 minutes both Joey Acheampong and Dave Holloway had efforts cleared off the line, in between them Adam Castagnetti had seen the keeper pull off a great tip over save from his header following a pinpoint cross from Ed Wheatley, , defensively when required John Mulholland and Gary Flinn were excellent again, their danger appeared more likely from their left midfielder who had good pace and trickery but as a unit we were able to keep him at bay.
Still the boys kept pushing for that important opener, Joey came close but his shot lacked any real power then Adam just glanced a free kick over the upright after Lea Coulter on one of his special runs was hauled down.
On 44 minutes Holmer Green nearly stole a goal, but like on Saturday Ben Donaldson saved well when the shot came in, however by now the Ref was trying to gatecrash the party, if we thought first half he was poor then we hadn't seen anything yet.
It was probably felt that one goal would decide this game and on 52 minutes it unfortunately went against us, a huge kick by their keeper was misjudged by Flinny, the only blip he had all night, it allowed in their wide player and his cross was put away by their advancing forward giving Ben no chance.
We thought we had equalised when we put a ball into the mix, Joey went up with the keeper and was 100% committed to playing the ball, the keeper dropped it and Dave Holloway slotted it in only for the Ref to totally lose the plot in saying Joey had fouled their keeper (if you have both eyes on the ball and jump fair and square then how can it be deemed a foul).
We then had a huge penalty appeal turned down for handball.
In our two games against Holmer Green we probably should have won both instead of just gaining a solitary point, however excuses we can make, it wont change a thing, this was a blip and we can still without doubt definitely put a run together and get the second promotion spot easily, it will only be out of our hands if with one game to go we are four points behind, so heads up lads, you all done well last night, County Cup this weekend and along with promotion I'm sure a Cup Final at the end of the season wouldn't be such a bad thing....so let's bounce back in style this Saturday if we can.
Apart from individuals named, last night was an all round excellent team performance from every single player, proud of you boys, as I'm sure Tucks and Glyn were.

Squad:- B.Donaldson, W.Smith, J.Mulholland, G.Flinn, M.Patel (B.Hill 46), E.Wheatley, C.Townsend, L.Coulter, A.Castagnetti, J.Acheampong, D.Holloway (T.Hill 70).
Subs not used:- R.Mooney, K.Lampard, P.Stokes

Booked:- C.Townsend. L.Coulter

Saturday 28th November 2009 - Cockfosters 0 New Bradwell St Peter 2

 A game in the past that we probably would have lost, but there is definitely a belief within the team now as we collected our fourth straight win to set us up nicely for Tuesday's top of the table clash at home to Holmer Green.
It certainly wasn't easy, on a heavy pitch which at times was hard for players to keep their footing it was Cockfosters who attacked our back line with pace and urgency, their precise and neat football defying their lowly place in the League.
Good teams though will ride the early storm and that is exactly what the boys done, however as early as the third minute we were grateful to Ben Donaldson in goal, a low cross from the right was met perfectly by a Cockfosters incoming forward but with an outstretched foot Ben made an excellent point blank save.
Once we got going then Cockfosters had to be thankful to their keeper who denied us first half with some good saves of his own, 3 times he kept Joey Acheampong out and was fortunate with an effort from Craig Townsend, however he was beaten on 31 minutes and it took something special to from us to find a way past him, Mulhollands directed header found Wheatley wide, the ball in from Ed was controlled by Lea Coulter, one touch and then from 20 yards he buried his volley into the far corner.
By now our back line of Will Smith, Gary Flinn, Fritzy and Giggsy looked solid, Craig and Coults had a foot hold on the centre of midfield, Joey and Dave Holloway were giving their defence no rest bite, 1-0 at the break, but still a lot of work to be done.
In fairness the second period wasn't a classic, we had something to hold onto and the onus was now on Cockfosters as the home team, but as time wore on our fitness began to show, as the pitch got heavier we still looked strong and fresh, a credit to the hard work you boys have shown in training recently courtesy of Tucks and Glyn.
We needed a second though and this duly arrived on the hour mark, Fritz played a long ball forward behind their defensive line, Joey raced onto it and as he went to round their keeper was brought down, up stepped Lea Coulter to smash home the penalty, 2-0.
Towards the end our hosts had a couple of half chances but we dealt with the danger well, the plus side too is that as a team we kept a clean sheet, only our second all season, for that we had to dig deep, be collective and stay focused, today we looked as a team like we wanted to win no matter what, today we had leaders, with these ingredients we will do well and go far, definitely.
The month of December is a defining month which could go a long way in deciding how our season unfolds, of the four league games two are against promotion rivals but are all winnable, and then we have a home tie in the County Cup next weekend, the bonus for us is we carry a 4 game winning streak into them, the onus is on you boys to now keep it going.

Squad:- B.Donaldson, W.Smith, J.Mulholland, G.Flinn, M.Patel (M.Oyika 80), E.Wheatley (T.Kennard 85), C.Townsend, L.Coulter, A.Castagnetti, J.Acheampong (R.Mooney 87), D.Holloway.

Booked:- J.Mulholland

Goalscorer:- L.Coulter (31. 60)

Saturday 7th November 2009 - Hale Leys United 2 New Bradwell St Peter 4

It took 2 goals in the final 5 minutes of this game to eventually see the boys progress into the 3rd round of this seasons competition.
There was no questioning that we didn't deserve our win, but given what was an extremely small pitch and more suited to them, the fact that as a squad we were down to the bare bones and that their keeper was in inspired form then we were forced to work right to the end of this game.
Football wise we played very well, there was good movement from the boys, some good touches and link up play and we were strong and physical when it was required.
The game in reality could've been over by half time such was our dominance, the only surprise was it took us half an hour to open our account, Dave Holloway bundling the ball home after Craig Townsends effort had been cleared off the line, then we go and see our opponents equalise via a deflected free kick in what was their only notable attack of that first period.
They had to be thankful they went in all square at the break as their keeper had pulled off 3 excellent saves, twice from Holloway and once from Ben Hill, 5 minutes after the break he was at it again denying an excellent attempt from Gary Flinn.
To make matters worse HL United then go and snatch an unlikely lead on 53 minutes, we were caught with too many bodies pushing forward, again the danger could've been dealt with but we instead shot ourselves in the foot and paid the price.
Yes the game by then should've been over as a contest, and you had the feeling it could be one of those days, but credit to the boys who kept plugging away and on the hour mark we were back to all square, Joey Acheampong who had been a real force up front won a free kick, Ben Hill floated it in and Lea Coulter done the rest with a glancing header.
Ben Hill who himself had an excellent game for us then saw an effort just clear the crossbar as he came sliding in at the back post, then shortly after Coults had an effort blocked, Ben followed up and his effort was cleared off the line.
However two goals in a minute finally saw us home and dry, on 85 minutes Wheatleys cross was put away by Ben Hill, a minute later Holla's pressed their defence and an error allowed Joey to rightly claim his goal.
From a team perspective it was disappointing to concede the two goals as the boys at the back had done an excellent job all game and had been well protected by the midfield too, but given the circumstances, and it was felt that if this had been a home tie then we would have buried them out of sight, then a win is a win which all importantly puts us into the next round.

Squad:- B.Donaldson, W.Smith, J.Mulholland, L.Coullter, A.Castagnetti (M.Oyika 91), E.Wheatley (T.Kennard 90), G.Flinn, C.Townsend, B.Hill, J.Acheampong, D.Holloway (R.Mooney 89)

Goalscorers:- D.Holloway (30), L.Coulter (60), B.Hill (85), J.Acheampong (86).

Saturday 31st October 2009 - New Bradwell St Peter 1 Crawley Green 2

Who says lightening doesn't strike twice, the second week running when we have lost out to a 90th minute goal when in reality yet again a draw would have been a true reflection on the game.
Before kick off we lost keeper Ben Donaldson to an injury but were fortunate to have Kieran Lampard as back up, but this left us with only 14 players, one of those been long term injury victim Tom Kennard.
The game itself was a bit of a poor event first 45, only notable efforts on goal came on the half hour mark when Crawley Green hit the crossbar and then ten minutes later had an effort cleared off the line by Rob Mooney.
We ourselves struggled to get anything going so to go in at the break all square probably wasn't a bad thing, but in order to get something from the game then we needed to go up a gear or two.
Our first notable effort came on 53 minutes, Will Smiths ball was nodded into the path of Ben Hill by Joey Acheampong, on his favoured left foot Ben had time but unfortunately his effort was just dragged across the face of the goal.
The boys now looked sharper and with John Mulholland in excellent form at the back maybe the game would finally swing our way, however for all our efforts we let ourselves down in the 66th minute, Mooney's back pass put Kieran under pressure, at this point it's easy to say Kezza should have opted for safety, however he attempted to dribble the ball past the advancing forward, his touch was too heavy and their covering forward accepted the opportunity.
Attacking wise though we were still looking threatening, Joey a few minutes later should have done better but blazed over the bar, he was then involved in flicking on Mooney's long ball into the path of Coults but fine keeping at Lea's feet kept us at bay.
At this point it was all Bradwell as we pushed hard for the equaliser, and we came so close on 76 minutes when Will Smith cut inside onto his left foot and unleashed a beauty of a shot from 25 yards, it looked a certain equaliser but agonisingly just cleared the crossbar.
It looked like we had been denied a certain opportunity on 82 minutes, when we were awarded a free kick when playing the advantage looked much the better option, however Ed Wheatley's floated kick was glanced in by Joey, 1-1 and on our second half display well deserved.
However this game can be and is often sometimes so cruel, and in the last minute out of nothing Crawley snatched what proved to be the vital winner, just as Ampthill had done 7 days earlier.
This defeat means we have now won just one game in our last 7, we have next week our only Cup competition left open to us this season in the County Cup, so come on lads, let's give it a real go and get the winning habit back on track.

Squad:- K.Lampard, W.Smith, J.Mulholland, R.Mooney, M.Patel (M.Boland 46), D.Holloway (C.Townsend 63), E.Wheatley, B.Hill, L.Coulter, A.Castagnetti, J.Acheampong.
Sub not used:- T.Kennard.

Goalscorer:- J.Acheampong (82)

Saturday 24th October 2009 - Ampthill Town 2 New Bradwell St Peter 1

Disappointing would be an under statement, against a side who had lost 8 of their previous 12 games then anything less than a win was criminal from our point of view.
We were a goal behind in less than 3 minutes when we conceded a penalty and the kick was put away, but plenty of time for the boys to re-group and take the game to our opponents. In truth this is what we done as for some reason Ampthill appeared happy and content with their lead, but we lacked conviction, ideas and the cutting edge and this for a side who were considered promotion contenders was just in plain truth not good enough.
Our only notable effort of the first period came on 24 minutes when Ben Hill's free kick evaded their wall, it hit the foot of the post, came back and hit their keeper on the side of the head and subsequently went wide for a corner.
In truth their keeper was a bag of nerves early doors flapping at everything we sent into wards him, but rather than get in amongst him to unsettle him anymore we duly let him off the hook.
In truth the second period was no better than that of the first, we did get level on 54 minutes when a free kick was headed in by Gary Flinn but we just didn't build on it, Ampthill appeared happy with the point so it was ours for the taking, given the possession we'd had.
So to concede a goal in the 90th minute courtesy of a free kick which was only half cleared to their unmarked forward probably on the day summed us up, this after just a minute earlier Craig Townsend had come close when Ampthill only half cleared the danger but Craig's effort cleared the crossbar.
In truth a poor first half performance last week, along with a poor performance Tuesday and today, given the effort, desire and commitment shown by Tucks and Glyn in their time one would have thought they'd deserve a bit more.

Squad:- B.Donaldson, L.Marsella, J.Mulholland, G.Flinn, M.Patel, E.Wheatley, B.Hill (W.Smith 70), C.Townsend, A.Castegnetti, J.Acheampong (M.Boland 80), L.Coulter.
Subs not used:- K.Lampard, D.Holloway, T.Kennard.

Goalscorer:- G.Flinn

Tuesday 20th October 2009 - New Bradwell St Peter 0 London Colney 3

Colney got their revenge in this Challenge trophy match after us winning the league match 10 days ago, We made changes from the weekend draw with Hoddesdon with Lampard, Smith, Holloway, Townsend, Boland replacing Donaldson, Patel, Marsala, Wheatley and Acheampong. from what I saw Bradwell never really got going and conced the 1st goal in the 8th minute. The 2nd was conceded at the restart of the 2nd half and Colney sealed the tie in the last copule of minutes. We need to dust ourselves down and put the game out of mind ready for Saturday when we are back to league action when we travel to Ampthill.

Saturday 17th October 2009 -New Bradwell St Peter 3 Hoddesdon 3

If ever there was a game of two halves then certainly this was it, 0-3 behind at the break who would have put there money on a comeback especially after our first half performance, but comeback somehow we did so credit to the boys for that.
It has to be said though from our perspective the first 45 minutes was awful, in truth nothing we done was creditable, and Hoddeson could have and probably should have had more than the 3-0 lead.
Only 2 minutes on the clock and we were a goal behind, a long ball into the box was not dealt with and as a result we were punished.
We never picked up from this early setback and on 11 minutes it was 2, their no.8 driving a cracking shot in from a full 25 yards, but in truth as good as the strike was he had time to pick his spot, five minutes after this it was nearly 3 when from just yards out their forward missed a simple header.
On the half hour mark number 3 did arrive, we only half cleared a corner and who was stood there all alone again from 25 yards, yep their no.8, same kind of strike, same result.
What Tucks and Glyn said at the interval only the players will know, but we needed a response second period even if it was just to restore some pride.
The lifeline needed arrived on 59 minutes, Leo Marsella crossed into the box to where Lea Coulter won the challenge and was able to direct his effort past their keeper.
Pushing bodies forward as we were now doing would obviously leave us open to the counter attack from Hoddeson but at 1-3 we were in with a shout, on 70 minutes we nearly got in again, Coults made an excellent run down the left and cut in, his ball in from the bye line though was just missed by Ed Wheatley, it seemed as though as hard as we were trying time would be against us.
A couple of minutes later this was further evident when Gary Flinn sent in a free kick, Coults controlled and with his back to goal tried a spectacular overhead kick but agonisingly it just cleared the crossbar.
With just 6 minutes remaining we were back to 2-3, Coults involved again beat the offside trap but his shot hit the post, however sub Mark Boland was on hand to smash in the rebound, game on.
A minute later and we thought we had it, Wheaters hit a shot from just outside the box which had goal written all over it but somehow it just missed the upright, a few minutes after even more agony when Castagnetti's throw found Boland, this time on his right foot, though luck deserted him as his effort flew across the goal.
That looked to be it, we needed more time but at least we had restored some pride, however in the 4th minute of added time Flinny floated in a cross, the Hoddie defence for once stood static and another sub Craig Townsend rose unchallenged to guide his header into the corner of the net, 3-3, unbelievable.
In summary two points dropped or a point gained?, it has to be the latter because at half time we certainly would have settled for a point, at least though in the second period we showed a lot of character but with tough games ahead we can't have another repeat of the first half performance.

Squad:- B.Donaldson, L.Marsella (M.Boland 75), J.Mulholland, M.Patel, E.Wheatley, B.Hill (D.Holloway 80), G.Flinn, L.Coulter, A.Castagnetti, G.Tite, J.Acheampong (C.Townsend 64).
Subs not used:- K.Lampard, W.Smith.

Booked:- J.Mulholland, G.Flinn, A.Castagnetti, C.Townsend.

Goalscorers:- L.Coulter (59), M.Boland (84), C.Townsend (94).

Saturday 10th October 2009 -New Bradwell St Peter 3 London Colney 1

Another important win against strong opposition who will be considered promotion contenders and had already faired well in this seasons FA Cup against higher standard opposition and are still competing in the FA Vase.
We got off to the perfect start when we were a goal up within the first minute, having won a free kick the Colney defence failed to clear their lines, the loose ball was picked up wide by Ed Wheatley and his cross was converted by John Mulholland.
The lead was almost doubled immediately, again awful defending by Colney saw us win an indirect free kick after their keeper had handled an attempted back pass, the ball was laid into the path of Adam Castagnetti who drilled a superb left foot shot around their wall only to see it cannon off of the post.
Colney then upped their game and created a few half chances themselves, technically they had some good individuals that showed good touches on the ball but our boys today were alert and done their best to deny them space.
Playing a 4-5-1 Gary Flinn and Ben Hill showed great experience and strength in the midfield to keep the opposition at bay, at this point though both Adam and Ed in wide positions were being forced back which in turn invited Colney on to us, however any threat was well dealt with by Leo, Mooney, Fritz and Giggsy in defence.
This allowed Lea Coulter to adopt his free reign in midfield and it was on 15 minutes that Lea ran the length of the Colney half avoiding 3 challenges, he then cut the ball back onto his right foot but his shot from the edge of the area was straight at their keeper.
However we were pegged back on the half hour mark, a cross field ball was picked up by a Colney forward, we stood off and allowed him time to turn and shoot, the ball going in off of the far post.
Fair play to the Bradwell boys though who stepped up their game, and not long after this set back Coults set up Ben Hill whose 25 yarder was tipped over by their keeper, though the ref awarded a goal kick as he stated he was a little hard of hearing!!!....comments on a postcard please.
On 38 minutes though it was 2-1, Giggsy who was the guilty party for their equaliser and with Tucks anger still ringing in his ears brilliantly shut down an attack and fed the ball forward, Joey then done likewise winning a ball that had the Colney defenders name written all over it, he then was able to run through on goal and place his shot wide of their keeper, a goal really out of nothing but a much needed advantage going into the break.
The second period for the first 20 minutes just saw each side cancel each other out, important challenges were put in by both sides and this meant that there wasn't any real flow to the game, however the game was 'won' for us in a 7 minute spell on from there when Ben Donaldson made 3 excellent saves to keep our lead intact.
On 88 minutes we made the game safe when Coults fed Adam and his left foot shot went in off of the near post, the 2 goal cushion had been a long time in coming and not without one or two scares at the back, but it allowed us to relax a bit, so much so that within a minute of our third Joey made an excellent block, the ball ran to Coults and his lob from 45 yards (party time) went just wide much to the relief of their keeper.
It was a great win today by the boys against very good opposition, given the fact we have tough games ahead and a return against Colney in just over a week in the Challenge Trophy then hopefully we can keep this good run going.

Squad:- B.Donaldson, L.Marsella, J.Mullholland, R.Mooney, M.Patel (W.Smith 86), E.Wheatley, B.Hill (G.Tite 74), G.Flinn, A.Castagnetti (D.Holloway 92), L.Coulter, J.Acheampong.
Subs not used:- D.Robb, C.Townsend.

Booked:- L.Coulter, G.Flinn.

Goalscorers:- J.Mullholland (1), J.Acheampong (38), A.Castagnetti (88).

Saturday 03rd October 2009 -New Bradwell St Peter 2 Stony Stratford 2

This was our second meeting in just over two weeks against our local rivals, the incentive for the boys was to over turn the cup defeat from that first meeting and to hopefully carry on from the midweek game at BT Reserves when we had played so well.
With Stony conceding 13 goals in their previous two games and with the cup defeat still fresh in our minds it was the perfect opportunity for the boys to set the record straight, however like the first meeting the strong wind would put paid to an entertaining classic.
With the wind against us and the sun in our faces the first period could prove difficult for Bradwell and as it was we struggled to get anything going early doors.
On 10 minutes the first chance fell to our opponents, McKenzie broke clear of our defence and with his pace he found himself one on one with Tom kennard, his well struck right foot shot though equaled by a good save from the Bradwell keeper.
It was important we learnt from this, but Wheatley, Robb, Flinn and Castagnetti found the going tough in midfield with the conditions while Tite and Acheampong up front as a result had been starved of any service.
On 15 minutes Stony struck the first blow, we lost possession just in their half and the ball forward assisted by the wind allowed Carr to race clear of our defence and bury his shot past the exposed Kennard, a goal down, not even in the contest yet, a real test for the Bradwell boys.
Even trying to keep the ball just to take the sting out of the game was proving difficult as the wind was acting like a 12th man for our opponents, however on 24 minutes and with our first real attack we were level, Will Smith found space on the right and his pin point cross was well met by Castagnetti who planted his header into the roof of the net.
This spurred on the lads and 10 minutes later we nearly took the lead, Ed fed Titey wide, his cross was perfect for Joey but unfortunately he couldn't keep his header down.
This was short lived as a minute later we had the lead, Tom rolled the ball out to Fritz, he squared it to Coulter, his long ball forward was held back in the wind and allowed Dean Robb to get beyond their defence, Dean was then able to get into the box before squaring his pass into the path of Adam who claimed his second of the game.
This was a real purple patch now for Bradwell and if we could hold the lead until half time then surely we would be in the driving seat.
However on 42 minutes after a scramble in our box the resulting shot was brilliantly saved by Tom, however as he landed he felt his shoulder go, and not the one that he has suffered with twice before, although he managed to carry on until the break it was felt his shoulder had popped out and then back in and he was in no fit state to continue.
Rob Mooney replaced Kennard at the break then tucking into the centre of defence with Fritz taking up the position in goal.
However 2-1 to the good, the wind now in our favour, hopefully we could build on this.
Unfortunately we couldn't, 10 minutes after the restart Stony were level, Foster prodding the ball home when it did look as though Fritz had two hands on the ball.
We did try to beef things up when we introduced Dave Cole and Ben Hill, and on 70 minutes it looked as though we 'd got our noses in front again, Joey played in Titey but his lob was well tipped to safety by their keeper.
Stony then put Carr back in defence to stop the threat of us getting behind them and in truth they probably finished the game looking the more dangerous, our only other notable effort in the last quarter summed up how the weather affected the game, a ball forward skimmed off of the head of Fraser some 30 yards out, the wind carried the ball, it bounced once and nearly eluded their keeper who just managed to tip it over.
Stony were the happier of the two teams at the end with the result but loosing Kennard at the break appeared to upset the initiative we had gained in the first period, it was though a plucky effort in difficult conditions from both sides so a draw in the end probably a fair reflection on the game.

Squad:- T.Kennard (R.Mooney 46), W.Smith, J.Mullholland, L.Coulter, M.Patel, E.Wheatley, D.Robb (D.Cole 64), G.Flinn (B.Hill 64), A.Castagnetti, G.Tite, J.Acheampong.
Subs not used:- M.Clinch, M.Boland.

Goalscorer:- A.Castagnetti (24, 35)

Wednesday 30th September 2009 -Bedford Town Reserves 1 New Bradwell St Peter 1

We went into this top of the table clash in third place, one place below our hosts but only on goal difference, the draw probably a fair reflection in the end as both teams served up a really competitive, but entertaining game.
The only disadvantage maybe playing them midweek is that they were able to call upon a couple of first team players, for ourselves we were without the injured pair of Craig Townsend and Rob Mooney, though the latter was a named substitute, and without the services of Dave Holloway, Ben Hill and Mark Boland.
As a result we were forced also to play with top goalscorer Lea Coulter at centre back, but given maybe the disadvantages the boys from start to finish probably put in one of their best performances of the season.
Although not the busier of the two keepers Ben still made a couple of excellent saves at important times to keep us in the game, Leo, Fritz, Coults and Giggsy were solid throughout at the back, Flinny used all of his experience to hold the midfield, supported well by Deano, Ed and Ad's while Titey and Joey again up front worked hard throughout for the teams cause.
In the first period we did shave goalscoring opportunities, Bedford missing a simple chance when put through with only Ben to beat, this after Titey had headed wide Ed's cross, on 10 minutes, Ben's kick was played on by Titey which Joey latched onto but his well struck left foot shot was just wide.
On the quarter of an hour mark Adam forced a good save from their keeper, a minute later though Ben was equal to an effort from a Bedford forward.
The next real notable effort arrived for us on 35 minutes, again Ed was the supplier with his cross which was bread and butter for their keeper, amazingly though the ball slipped through his hands to the back post only for Adam to blaze over, probably a case of 'he hit it too well' syndrome
Just before the break it looked like we had taken the lead but Joey's goalbound effort was cleared off of the line, so an entertaining first period but honours even at 0-0.
The start of the second half the boys were really firing on all cylinders, we were winning the lion's share of 50/50's, we had pace, urgency, the football was neat and tidy and had the better again of the chances, Titey, Ad's and Dean Robb all coming close, however Bedford still looked dangerous, and on 69 minutes they took the lead, not something that the boys deserved given their performance up until that time.
There was then a two minute delay while their keeper received treatment, but just a minute after the restart we were level, a long ball out of defence was chased by Joey though he was a yard behind the covering defender, but through sheer determination he made up the ground, got goal side and was able to lob the advancing keeper from just outside the box, what a response, COME ON!!!!!
Ten minutes from time we had Ben again to thank when a Bedford forward got through one-on-one but his shot was well saved, all in all though a very creditable performance from the Bradwell boys, we do have some tough games coming up but if we perform like we did tonight then there's no reason why we shouldn't come out of them unscathed.

Squad:- B.Donaldson, L.Marsella, J.Mullholland, L.Coulter, M.Patel, E.Wheatley, G.Flinn, D.Robb, A.Castagnetti (D.Cole 83), J.Acheampong, G.Tite (W.Smith 90).
Subs not used:- T.Kennard, R.Mooney, M.Clinch.

Booked:- G.Tite.

Goalscorer:- J.Acheampong (72).

Saturday 26th September 2009 - New Bradwell St Peter 6 AC Marlow 1

Berks & Bucks County Cup, Round 1.

This was our first game in the competition since our controversial exit last season, given our good form in the league a good cup run too is also good for moral and maybe this time around this competition may be the one.
Against a side who won the Wycombe & District Senior League last season and are currently top again this season it was obvious from the outset that we were a class above, but obviously there would be no room for complacency.
From the kick off we looked good, defensively and in midfield we looked strong and competitive, so could we turn the good work into goals?
On 3 minutes Joey Acheampong squared the ball to Greg Tite but the ball took a nasty bounce as he set up to shoot and alas Titey unfortunately blazed his effort over the bar.
A few minutes later Lea Coulters cross was headed just over by John Mulholland, a good start from the boys, but a goal required just to settle things.
This did arrive for us though on 13 minutes, Dean Robb's corner was headed back by Fritz into the path of, well was it Mooney or Joey....the goal credited to Joey.
On the 20 minute mark it looked as though we had doubled our lead, Coults fed Adam Castagnetti on the right, his pin point cross was headed in by Joey but ruled out for, well even the Ref couldn't offer a valid explanation so make your own assumptions.
Two minutes later Marlow nearly leveled with their first notable attack, when a long throw we didn't deal with well enough made it's way to the far post, fortunately their advancing player put the ball wide.
Despite this we still looked much the better of the two teams, and on 29 minutes we proved that in doubling our lead, Tom rolled the ball out to Coults just outside our area, he drove forward and played the ball into Titey, Coults kept running and picked up the return ball from Titey, got beyond their defence and tucked it past their keeper, the run from Coults from start to finish had to cover at least 70 yards.
The rest of the half was all Bradwell in every department, Marlow's only notable effort though from a cross which was well saved by Tom, however we went into the break, 2-0 to the good but the important thing was all the boys as a team were playing really well.
We made 2 changes at the break, Matt Clinch and Ed Wheatley now being given an opportunity, and it was Ed's pin point pass into Titey just after the restart that saw Titey lob the keeper but his effort just wide.
On 52 minutes though it was 3, Fritz heading into the path of Joey who curled his effort in after having twisted and turned their defence initially.
Not content though we kept coming for more, Titey was just over with a free kick after the impressive Coults had gone on one of his solo runs but was brought down just outside the box, however though, 63 minutes, goal of the game, Fritz and Titey played the ball into Joey, he played a one-two with Ed and blasted his shot in for a fully deserved, but well dodgy hat-trick, (aka the first goal)
On 70 minutes Marlow did pull a goal back, as a team we had just taken our foot off of the pedal since the fourth goal and as a result we were punished.
This was though just a temporary lapse and on 76 minutes we hit our fifth with a goal that just had unselfish written all over it, Ed played Joey through and in a one on one with their keeper Joey won the ball, now through on goal with an empty net looming he allowed Titey to follow up and deservedly claim his first of the game.
We wrapped up the scoring in injury time, Titey this time went through on a one on one and was brought down by their keeper, the penalty was awarded and Titey picked himself up and put away the kick, the only shameful aspect being that with the game obviously won their keeper received his marching orders.
All in all it was a game we could've won by more, but it has to be said that on the day every member of the team played well, Leo, Fritzy, Giggsy Mooney and then Matty were solid in defence, the midfield were strong and used the ball well when in possession, Titey and Joey though up front didn't give their defenders a moments peace and hopefully they can now carry this forward into what will be harder games that lie ahead.

Squad:- T.Kennard, L.Marsella, R.Mooney (M.Clinch 46), J.Mullholland, M.Patel, D.Robb, G.Flinn (C.Townsend 55), L.Coulter, A.Castagnetti (E.Wheatley 46), G.Tite, J.Acheampong.
Subs not used:- D.Cole, B.Hill.

Goalscorers:- J.Acheampong (13, 52, 63) L.Coulter (29) G.Tite (76, 90)

After the midweek disappointment of our cup defeat today we were back in League action, with the league placings still so very tight it was important we got back into the winning habit.
With changes made in personnel we got off to a great start when with only 4 minutes on the clock we took the lead, Joey Acheampong was fouled out on the left touchline, from the resulting free kick Castagnetti's cross into the box proved a touch too high for Mulholland, however his touch ran to Will Smith whose cross was hammered home by Coulter.
Ten minutes later we nearly doubled our lead when Joey again was fouled on the opposite flank, this time Ad's whipped the kick in with pace which their keeper was just able to tip away for a corner.
It was a bright start by the lads, defensively we looked very strong and were in control of the midfield, we looked hungry, and that hunger paid off on 18 minutes.
Again Joey was fouled, Ad's free kick on this occasion was bread and butter for their keeper, however under pressure from Greg Tite he spilled the ball in, Titey won the loose ball and although his initial attempt was blocked Coults was on hand to put away the rebound.
The rest of the half we were in comfort zone without creating much, but to our credit Langley were offering no threat, obviously a third goal for us would put the game to bed.
The second period started similar to how the first had ended, Langley seemed void of ideas of how to break us down but as in games like this it always appears that the next goal could have a significant outcome on the game.
On 70 minutes it arrived and went Langley's way, not having dealt with the danger around our box and failing in the process to clear our lines a cross came in and a free header was planted wide of Ben, 2-1, different ball game.
For the next 15 minutes it has to be said we could so easily have squandered our lead and was easily a purple patch for the visitors, however the controversy came a minute after their goal, when they had a goal ruled out for offside, it has to be said that for once the officials in our favour got it wrong as the player in the offside position had not interfered with play.
10 minutes after this we had John Mulholland to thank when he cleared an effort off the line and 2 minutes after this a throw of theirs was flicked on and at the near post their oncoming player was just wide, from a game that had looked so comfortable we were now hanging on.
However credit to the boys for overcoming this spell and finishing the much stronger, on 86 minutes a clever ball into the box found Joey but their keeper denied him with an excellent save, 4 minutes later he looked to have done the same again, Gary Flinn's cross found Ad's unmarked at the far post and although he saved Ad's first effort well as the ball looped up Adam was able to guide his header into the far corner.
In the 92nd minute it was 4, Flinny and Joe were involved in the build up which saw Coulters shot deflected in, although the shot was heading up the A5 no one could deny Lea his second hat trick of the season and his 12th goal in 11 starts.
The result now puts us back at the top of the pile courtesy of Hadley's cup commitments and Holmer Green drawing, the crucial factor being though that with the League so tight it's important we keep bagging the three points, there's still a long way to go but 22 points out of a possible 27 is the best start Bradwell have made to a campaign for many seasons.

Squad:- B.Donaldson, L.Marsella (E.Wheatley 80), R.Mooney, J.Mulholland, M.Patel, W.Smith (D.Holloway 72), G.Flinn, L.Coulter, A.Castagnetti, G.Tite (C.Townsend 72), J.Acheampong.
Subs not used:- T.Kennard, M.Clinch.

Booked:- G.Tite

Goalscorers:- L.Coulter (4, 18, 92), A.Castegnetti (90).