Esperance Sportive de Tunis 1-0 Stade Tunisien ( att : 25,000 ) – 2024/25 Tunisian Super Cup

August 3, 2025

Fatbear made his first foray into football in Tunisia with the final of the 2024/25 Super Cup, the curtain raiser to the new season.

As Esperance won both the league and cup titles in 2024/25 there didn’t appear to be an obvious opponent for them to play in the Super Cup. However, the Tunisian FA decided that the league runner-up, US Monastir, and cup runner-up, Stade Tunisien, would have a play-off match for the right to play Esperance. In a match played on neutral territory in Sfax, Stade Tunisien ran out 2-0 winners, thanks to a penalty from Rwandan midfielder Bonheur Mugisha ( 7 caps ) and a sweeping left footed finish from 20 year-old Under 20 forward Khalil Ayari, both in the first half.

Today’s match was being held at the 60,000 capacity Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, which is home to the National Team, as well as Esperance and fellow Tunis based side Club Africain. The stadium is situated in the southern suburb of Rades, and is also known as the Rades Olympic Stadium.

These two sides also met in the 2023/24 Super Cup, when Esperance ran out 2-0 winners, with the goals being scored by South African winger Elias Mokwana ( 9 caps ) and ex-Brest and Ajaccio Algerian winger Youcef Belaili ( 57 caps )

Tunisia National Team

Tunisia are currently 49^th in the FIFA World Rankings, having achieved a high of 14^th in 2017.

They have qualified on 6 occasions for the World Cup Finals, in 1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018 and 2022 but are yet to get past the group stages.

In 1978, Mexico were beaten 3-1 in their opening match but a 0-1 loss to Poland left Tunisia needing to beat West Germany in the final group game, but a 0-0 draw saw them eliminated in third place.

In each of the three tournaments between 1998 and 2006 Tunisia were only able to obtain one draw each time. Fatbear was present in Marseille in 1998 as goals from Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes gave England a 2-0 victory, and Tunisia’s 1-1 draw with Romania came after the Tunisians had already been eliminated, having lost 0-1 to Colombia in their second game.

 

In 2002, Tunisia managed a 1-1 draw with Belgium but 0-2 losses to Russia and host nation Japan saw them return home early, whilst in 2006 an opening 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia was followed by defeats to Spain ( 1-3 ) and Ukraine ( 0-1 ).

Tunisia again faced England in 2018 and looked to be holding on for a 1-1 draw in Volvograd until Harry Kane grabbed in his second goal of the game, in the 91^st minute, to give Gareth Southgate’s side a narrow win. Tunisia were then thrashed 2-5 by Belgium, before a consolation 2-1 victory over Panama.

Tunisia began their 2022 campaign with a creditable 0-0 draw with Denmark but a 0-1 reverse to Australia was to prove fatal. Despite a surprise 1-0 win over France, where ex-Sunderland attacking midfielder Wahbi Khazri ( 74 caps ) scored the only goal, Tunisia again finished third in their group.

Tunisia look to be on course to reach the 2026 finals, currently leading their qualification group with a 5-1-0 record to be 4 points clear of Namibia with four more games to be played. The group winners automatically qualify, whilst the runner-up might go into the complicated play-offs. Victories had been registered at home against Equatorial Guinea ( 1-0 ), Malawi ( 2-0 ) and Sao Tome and Principe ( 4-0 ) and away in Liberia ( 1-0 ) and Malawi ( 1-0 ). The only dropped points came in 0-0 against their nearest rivals Namibia, and Tunisia were yet to concede a goal in the group.

Tunisia have been regulars in the Africa Cup of Nations Finals, but their only triumph came in 2004 when they were the host nation. They were runners-up in 1965, when again they were the hosts, and finished third in 1963. Three fourth place finishes had been achieved, the most recent in 2019.

In addition to Khazri, other notable Tunisians to have played in England include ex-Manchester City right-back Hatem Trabelsi ( 66 caps ), ex-Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham City and Southampton centre-back Radhi Jaïdi ( record cap holder with 105 caps ) , ex-Leicester City and Nottingham Forest centre-back Yohan Benalouane ( 5 caps ) and Sheffield Wednesday and ex-Southampton right-back Yan Valery ( 10 caps ).  

Midfielder Anis Ben Slimane ( 34 caps ) is currently with Norwich City, having previously played for Sheffield United, whilst forward Manchester United starlet Hannibal Mejbri ( 33 caps ) is now with Burnley after loan spells with Birmingham City and Sevilla.

Tunisian League

The Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 currently consists of 16 teams who play each other twice for a 30-game season. The new season with be 100^th of top tier football in Tunisia with Esperance the record winners with 34 titles. including 8 of the last 9.

Club Africain are next with 13 titles, followed by Etoile du Sahel with 11, including the 2022/23 title. 18 sides in total have won the Tunisian league although 9 of them are now defunct. Stade Tunisien have four titles to their name, the last of which was in 1964/65.

Tunisia are the 5^th best ranked country in the CAF rankings for club football, which entitles two sides to play in the CAF Champions League and two sides in the CAF Confederations Cup. Esperance and US Monastir will play in this season’s CAF CL, whilst third placed Etoile du Sahel and cup runners-up Stade Tunisien will play in the Confederations Cup.

Esperance Sportive de Tunis

Esperance were found in 1919 and were an exclusively Muslim club, when other sides at the time included French, Italian or Jewish players. In addition to their 34 titles, they have also won the Tunisian Cup 16 times. They are ranked the 3^rd best side in Africa and have won the CAF Champions League on 4 occasions, the last of which was in 2019. They were runners up in 2024 and reached the quarter finals in the 2025 edition of the competition.

Esperance have participated four times in the FIFA Club World Cup, including this year’s expanded version, where they lost 0-3 to Flamingo, beat Los Angeles FC 1-0 and lost 0-3 to Chelsea.

As mentioned, home is currently the 60,000 capacity Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, although Esperance previously played at the 45,000 Stade El Manzah, which is in need of renovation. Their usual colours are red and yellow strips with black shorts and they apparently have a number of nicknames, including Taraji, The Beast of Africa, The Elder of Tunisian Clubs, The Red and Yellow, and The Blood and Gold.

Esperance Squad

In addition to Mokwana and Belaili, other foreigners in the Esperance squad included Algerian centre-back Mohamad Tougai ( 22 caps ), Brazilian attacking midfielder Yan Sasse, who had previously played for Wellington Phoenix and Turkish side Caykur Rizespor, Nigerian midfielder Onuche Ogbelu, and Ivorian midfielder Abdramane Konate. Brazilian striker Rodrigo Rodrigues was the joint leading scorer in the league in 2023/24 whilst Mauritania defender Ibrahima Keita ( 25 caps ) had just joined from Congo side TP Mazembe. Forward Aboubacar Diakite was from Mali.

Esperance had a number of players who had represented the national side. Keeper Bechir Ben Said had 21 caps, captain and centre-back Yassine Meriah ( 85 caps ) had played for Olympiakos, Caykur Rizespor and UAE side Al Ain, defender Mohamad Ben Hamida ( 6 caps ) and midfielder Houssem Tka ( 1 cap ).

London born left-back Ayman Ben Mohamad ( 14 caps ), who played in the League of Ireland for UCD, Longford Town and Bohemians left Esperance following the World Club Championship.

Stade Tunisien

Stade Tunisien were founded in 1948 and play at the 11,000 capacity Hedi Enneifer Stadium in the western suburb of Tunis of Le Bardo. In addition to the 4 league titles, Stade have won the Tunisian Cup on 7 occasions, most recently in 2023/24, and were runners-up last season.

Stade’s normal kit is green and red striped shirts with green shorts and red socks, and their nickname is either Baklawa or The Bey Team. The later is a legacy of the patronage of Lamine Bey, the last Bey of Tunis and the only King of Tunisia.

Last season, Stade Tunisien finished 6^th in the table, 17 points behind champions Esperance and scored only 29 goals in 30 league matches. They had actually led the table after round 16, having lost just twice, but their form disintegrated with just 3 victories in the final 14 games.

Stade reached the final of the Tunisian Cup but were defeated 0-1 by Esperance in June. In the two league meetings between the two clubs, Stade let slip a 2-0 lead at half-time to draw 2-2 at Esperance early in the season, but slumped to a 0-1 loss in the return home fixture.

Stade Tunisien Squad

The captain of Stade Tunisien is centre-back Marouane Sahraoui, who was called up to the most recent national squad but is yet to make his international debut, which was also the case for goalkeeper Nourrad Farhati and forward Ayari.

The overseas players in the squad, in addition to Mugisha, were Senegalese midfielder Amath Ndaw and Ivorian defensive midfielder Toure, who had played in Georgia for Samgurali

Matchday Information

The weather at the 18.15 local time kick-off was sunny with a moderate breeze, and 29 degrees.

Bet365 made Esperance 4/5 favourites, with Stade Tunisien at 4/1 and the draw at 9/5.

The match was streamed live on the rtfofficelle YouTube Channel, the official channel of the Tunisian Football Federation.

Esperance made five changes to the side that started their last match against Chelsea. Ammanallah Memmiche ( 2 caps ) replaced Ben Said in goal, Keita was in at right-back for Ben Ali, who dropped to the bench, whilst Mohamed Derbali ( 1 cap ), Younes Rached and Belaili came in for Yan Sasse, Ogbelu and Mokwana.

Stade Tunisien made one change for the side that started against US Monastir, as Hedi Khalfa replaced Wael Ouerghemmi at right-back

Esperance were in their usual red and yellow shirts, but Stade Tunisien were in a change kit of all white but their gold numbers were not easy to make out.

Match Report

Stade Tunisien kicked off and quickly played a long ball forward, but conceded a foul on the edge of the Esperance area.

Derbali was then chopped down by Mohamed Khemissi near the Stade corner flag. Meriah met the free-kick beyond far post but his header looped up for an easy save for the Stade keeper, who took a quick throw, but Stade were caught offside as they counterattacked.

In the third minute Sahraoui made a good sliding tackle to deny Keita and to give the first corner of the game to Esperance.

It was a fast start to the game, and the fouls were clocking up as the tackles flew in. Konate made a strong run at the Stade Tunisien defence before laying off to Achref Jabri, but his left footed shot was blocked and ball rolled through to the keeper.

With 10 minutes played Keita was chopped down midway inside the Stade half. Belaili took a quick free-kick for Jabri to run onto and the Esperance forward hit the deck after a slight shirt pull by Stade centre-back Adem Arous. However, Jabri had gone down far too easily and the referee ignore the appeals for a penalty.

Esperance really ought to have opened the scoring a minute later. Jabri played a dangerous ball from the right-hand byline, but Arous was able to get a touch to divert the ball away from Derbali. However, the on-rushing Konate should have buried the chance from 6 yards but somehow managed to put the ball wide of the far post.

Play was held up for a few minutes as Sahraoui needed treatment after a foul by Khalil Guenichi and when play resumed Stade’s Mohamed Smaali made a good run into the Esperance and a clever back-heel created space for Amir Jaouadi, but the left-back could only shoot wide under pressure. This was followed up shortly after with another nice move for Stade but Jaouadi could only shoot weakly straight at the Esperance keeper

In the 27^th minute Jabri made a break down the right wing, but his low ball was smartly put out for corner by Arous.

The visitors best chance of the game to date came on the half hour mark. Khalfa went on the overlap and played a pull-back into the Esperance area where Mugisha dummied to set-up Toure, but with plenty of time to pick his slot, the Ivorian could only shoot over the bar from edge of area.

Smaali then played a lovely cross field ball to Ayari, who showed good trickery to make half a yard inside the Esperance area, but no foul was awarded as he went to ground after being challenged.

The pivotal moment of the game arrived in the 36^th minute. Stade keeper Farhati carelessly passed straight to Belaili, who shot from the edge of the area past the keeper, but Sahraoui was covering on the line and make a block. Unfortunately for the Stade captain the ball rebounded onto his arm after which the clearance was made, but the referee immediately awarded a penalty for the handball.

Under the instructions given to referees in England for the new season, instances of the ball hitting the arm after a player had played the ball are not to considered as handball. Either today’s referee had not received a similar memo, or referees in Tunisia are playing to different interpretations to referees in England this season.

The unlucky Sahraoui was shown the yellow card, and Belaili stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way from the spot, to make it 1-0 with 38 minutes on the clock.

With half-time approaching, Jabri again got to the byline but his pull back was well saved by the diving keeper. The last action of the half was a yellow card to Guenichi for a shirt-pull on Ayari.

Stade Tunisien started the second period strongly, and almost immediately, Keita brought down Jaouadi just outside the Esperance area. The free-kick was played across the 18-yard line but a left footed shot blocked by the Esperance defence.

Stade were enjoying most of the possession but were struggling to make any impression. A corner was won in the 54^th minute and after it was headed away, Stade put the ball back into the Esperance area, where two shots were blocked by defenders.

In an Esperance counterattack, Belaili went down inside the Stade area after a challenge from Khemissi, but the linesman’s flag was raised for offside to end the danger.

Stade’s Toure entered the referee’s notebook after pulling back Konate, but then in the 64^th minute Jaouadi went down inside the Esperance area after a clumsy challenge by Haythem Dhaou. It looked a penalty, but the referee wasn’t convinced, and play continued.

Esperance’s Ben Hamida was the next to see yellow after a foul on Ayari near the byline. Ayari took the free-kick, which was cleared by the Esperance defence at the second attempt.

Esperance should have doubled their lead with 11 minutes remaining. After Stade had given away possession near to the half-way line, Belaili did well to tee up Tka, but with just the keeper to beat from 10 yards, his shot was saved by Farhati’s outstretched foot.

Three minutes late a nice flowing Esperance move saw Dhaou release Ben Hamida close to the left-hand and a floated cross to the far post was met by Diakite, who somehow managed to head over the bar from close range.

In the 83^rd minute the referee wasn’t fooled by Keita’s obvious dive inside the area to win a penalty, but the referee took play back for an earlier foul. Belaili took the free-kick but tamely put it a few feet wide of the near post.

When Stade played a hopeful long-ball forward Meriah was all over Ayari, but the referee gave a free-kick to Esperance after the ball struck the arm of the Stade forward.

Stade’s last chance came in the 88^th minute but after a pull-back from the left a Stade player slid into the area, but the contact was poor and Esperance were able to clear.

As the came moved in 5 minutes of added time, Belaili got to the byline but his floated cross was bravely headed away by one of the Stade centre-backs and a free-kick was given. There was still time for Stade substitute Nacef Atoui to be shown the last yellow card of the match after a late tackle on Meriah.

Esperance comfortably saw out the closing stages of the game to retain the Super Cup. It looked like Stade Tunisien’s goalscoring problems from last season still remained. They played lots of nice football, had 53% of the possession, but lacked a cutting edge.

Although the winning penalty was dubious, Esperance looked far more dangerous when they attacked, and squandered two gilt edged chances to have won the game more comfortably.

Esperance Sportive de Tunis : Memmiche – Keita, Meriah, Tougai, Ben Hamida – Derbali ( Bouassida ), Guenichi, Konate ( Tka ) – Rached ( Dhaou ), Jabri ( Diakite ), Belaili ( Laifi )

Stade Tunisien : Farhati – Khalfa ( Atoui ), Arous, Sahraoui, Jaouadi ( Hanchi ) – Khemissi,  Ndaw ( Guezmir ), Mugisha, Toure, Smaali ( Ouerghemmi  )– Ayari

   

Risborough Rangers 1-1 Biggleswade United ( att : 126 ) – 2025/26 Spartan South Midlands Premier Division

July 26, 2025

The new non-league season started today, with the step 5 Spartan South Midlands Premier Division being one of the few leagues playing this weekend, ahead of most of the leagues, who recommence one or two weeks later. This gave the opportunity to make a fifth visit to Risborough Rangers, who were hosting Biggleswade United.

Risborough Rangers Update

These diaries’ last visit to Risborough Rangers was in March 2024, when they beat Milton United 4-0 and were looking at potentially making a late run towards the promotion play-offs of the Combined Counties Premier Division North, but the season fizzled out and Rangers finished in 10^th place.

Manager Mark West and a number of players left in the following close season, leaving new manager Mark Jones, who had previously been in charge of Banbury United, Hemel Hempstead and Oxford City, to build a totally new squad. Unsurprisingly results were poor and Jones left the club in December 2024 to be replaced by ex-FC Romania coach Kevin Christou, and Rangers ended the season avoiding relegation only on goal difference.

Christou left the club at the end of the season and in May Rangers announced that Sam Pateman, formerly assistant manager at Leighton Town and Bedford Town had been appointed as the new manager. However, without a game being played, an announcement was made that due to unforeseen circumstances, Pateman would be unable to continue as first team manager, and instead ex-Beaconsfield Town, Northwood Town and Rayners Lane manager Gary Meakin would be taking over.

For this season, Risborough were level transferred from the Combined Counties to the Spartan South Midlands, returning to the league they played in during the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons.

Risborough Rangers Pre-season

News of Risborough Rangers’ pre-season fixtures had been scant, with just the result being notified, losing 0-1 at step 6 Buckingham FC, winning 2-1 at step 4 Thame United, losing 1-4 at step 4 AFC Dunstable then drawing 1-1 at home to step 5 Harefield United.

Risborough Rangers Squad

Details of this season’s squad were slowly being released on Risborough Rangers’ social media outlets.

The first to be announced was 35 year old striker Elliott Buchanon, who was a substitute in the 2011/12 FA Trophy Final at Wembley for Newport County as they lost 0-2 to York City. More recently he had been playing for Rayners Lane and Beaconsfield Town, so would be familiar to coach Meakin.

Ex-Rangers defender Jordan Ajanlekoko was the second announcement, returning after playing for Rayners Lane, Beaconsfield, Northwood, and Ascot United, with whom he won the FA Vase at Wembley in May 2023 in a 1-0 victory over Newport Pagnell Town.

Striker Alex Cathline, who appeared in these diaries playing for Hertford Town in 2022, was also announced as signing, having played most recently for, yes you guessed it, Northwood Town and Beaconsfield.

Pen pictures had been posted on the Risborough Rangers website, which revealed young defender Scott Walsh was the only player to have played for Rangers last season. Two more players who had previously appeared for Rangers had returned to the club, defender Fabien Etienne, who had recently played for Marlow and Holyport, and 43 year old Sierra Leone striker Manny Williams ( 1 cap ), who had enjoyed his most prolific spells with Maidenhead United, Basingstoke and Slough.

Six more of the new signings had either played for Raynes Lane, Beaconsfield or Northwood Town, defenders Oliver Sprague and Keano Robinson, midfielders Aaron Minhas and Stefan Powell, winger Mihai-Andrei Chiriac, and forward Hassan Jalloh.

Keeper Ben Bridle-Card had joined from Chatham Town and numbered Maidstone United and Sittingbourne amongst his former clubs, and midfielder Harry Stratton was ex-Aylesbury United.

Biggleswade United

This is the first appearance of Biggleswade United in these diaries. Biggleswade FC were covered in November 2022 at Thame United leading to the below comment, which is still applicable :

“The Bedfordshire market town of Biggleswade, population just over 20,000, must hold some kind of record in being the smallest town to host three football sides at Step 5 or higher, with FC and Town at Step 4 in the Southern League Division One Central, and United in the higher echelons of the Step 5 Spartan South Midlands League. All three have average crowds of at least 130. The only other town I can think of with a comparable number of clubs at this level is Eastbourne ( Borough, United and Town ), which has a population of nearly 100,000 !”

Home for Biggleswade United is Second Meadow, which is now named Verdant Stadium, which has 260 seats and a 2,000 capacity. The club were reformed in 1959 and have been playing at step 6 or higher since 1995, and have a nickname of The Commoners. Spanish journalist Guillem Balague, a regular on Sky Sports or whoever is showing a Spanish side on TV, has been chairman since 2014.

Iin 2022/23 United had their best ever run in the FA Vase, winning 5 games to get to the 4^th Round Proper. Last Season United finished 8^th in the Spartan South Midlands Premier Division, Striker Liam Smyth scored 21 goals, whilst Scott Metcalfe scored 14 times and Kit Brown, who has been name checked in these diaries for Barton Rovers and Hertford Town, scored 12 goals. Their average attendance was 138, with the highest of 288 being for the last game of season vs Potton United.

Biggleswade United Squad

Biggleswade United had been active on social media in June and July in announcing their retained list and new signings. In addition to Smyth, Metcalfe and Brown, 12 further retentions were announced including captain Jaiden Irish, midfield/winger Mekhi Angol, last year’s player of the season centre-back Freddie Laraman, and keeper Josh Mollison

The new signings were the return to the club of Joe Hankins after spells with Crawley Green and Dunstable Town, ex-Berkhamsted and Harrow Borough midfielder Jeremiah Luwero who was most recently with Risborough Rangers, whilst brothers Blue Joy and Will McNeill had been dual registered from Hitchin. There were two other signings, Faris Angol, brother of Mekhi and young full back/midfielder Harry Chetwood.

Biggleswade United Pre-Season

Biggleswade had been very active in pre-season, playing seven matches. They began with an underwhelming 2-3 defeat at step 6 Stotfold Development, who had been playing at step 7 last season, but responded with an 8-1 victory at Peterborough FC, another step 6 side. A 3-3 draw was played out with step 5 Moulton from the United Counties League Premier Division, who are Risborough Rangers first opponents in the FA Vase, and this was followed with a 0-0 draw at step 6 Ampthill Town.

Biggleswade United completed their pre-season preparations with three wins, a 2-1 victory at step 6 Letchworth Garden City Eagles, a 5-1 win at step 5 Yaxley United of the United Counties Premier South, and a 2-1 win over step 5 Saffron Walden Town from the Essex Senior League.

Matchday Information

The journey from Biggleswade for Princes Risborough is 60 miles and should normally take 1 hour 20 minutes down the A1M and the A 41.

The weather at the 15.00 kick was dry and overcast with some threatening rain clouds overhead. Fortunately, the rain stayed away and the game was played in pleasant conditions with a temperature of 21 degrees.

Admission was £8 for adults and £5 for concessions, and an online programme was produced for the game. A cup of tea was £1, whilst cans/bottles of beer and lager were advertised at £3.50 and a small bottle of wine £4. Hot dogs were £4 and burgers were £5.

Parking inside the ground was full, forcing Fatbear to park in the lane to the Kamtech Stadium close to the next-door cricket ground, where a game was in progress. Space in the car park had been reduced, as the tennis club had built two extra tennis courts on part of the parking lot since my last visit !

Risborough Rangers were playing in their usual all red kit, whilst Biggleswade United where in blue shirts with white sleeves, with blue shorts and socks.

Biggleswade United live streamed the match on their Facebook page.

Matchday Report

Biggleswade kicked off down the slope and immediately launched a long ball towards the Risborough left-back position. After picking up the loose ball, Metcalfe crossed towards the near post, where the ball was scrambled away for a corner. The set-piece was delivered beyond the far post where Laraman was only able to head high into the air and the ball was punched away by keeper Brindle-Card.

There was no obvious pattern to the play in the early stages as both sides struggled to make an impact.

Risborough’s first attack occurred in the 8^th minute when Manny Williams got past Chetwood on the left-hand touchline and then Chiriac showed skill to get past his marker and release Etienne to the byline. Bizarrely, the bouncing cross towards the near post was headed off for a corner by keeper Mollison rather than using his hands ! The corner was played short and wasted.

The home side had a great chance to open the scoring four minutes later. A long ball was played in the direction of Cathline, who under pressure from Laraman, played a dummy, and Chiriac was able to run free onto the ball and had only the keeper to beat. Unfortunately for the home supporters, the ex-Beaconsfield winger screwed his left-footed shot horribly wide of the far post and a glorious opportunity was spurned.

Rangers were getting on top and Williams did well to bring a long ball under control and played an inside pass to Chiriac, but the shot from 25 yards was easily saved. A cross from Exauce Kifwasima was then a fraction too high for Jalloh and the ball rolled off harmlessly for a goal-kick to Biggleswade.

For a brief moment it looked like the visitors had created a good chance, but although Metcalfe flicked the ball past Risborough centre-back Sprague, the touch was a little heavy and the ball went through to the keeper before Metcalfe could latch onto it.

The referee, Joanne Harwood, was allowing a few challenges from both sides to go unpunished so there was now a nice tempo to the match, although one or two players were prone to going to ground a little too easily and squealing for free-kicks.

United captain Irish produced a cultured pass to release Metcalfe on the right but the cross from the byline was at the first defender and cleared.

A drinks break was taken on the half-hour with Risborough at this point looking the more dangerous side, and Biggleswade were yet to create a decent chance.

Stratton then tried his luck from long range but his effort sailed a couple of feet over the bar before United finally had a shot on target. Smyth took a free-kick from around a distance of 30 yards, and sent it over the defensive wall, but keeper Brindle-Card dived to push the ball away, although frankly, it was a save he should have been expected to make.  

Chetwood won another corner for United from which Carney’s header was cleared off the line. When Biggleswade reworked possession a scramble ensued inside the Rangers’ six-yard box but the home side eventually cleared. A long cross-field ball was intended for Metcalfe but Brindle-Card was alert to punch away for a throw-in.

With 5 minutes to play before the interval, Risborough had a free-kick on the left-hand side 20 yards from goal but Stretton hammered the ball into the defence wall. Biggleswade looked to break but Sam Day was outmuscled by Chiriac, who headed into the United penalty area whilst one or two Biggleswade players appealed for a free-kick. Chiriac’s shot was blocked but the rebound fell to Cathline who smashed the bouncing ball left-footed past Mollison from around 12 yards. 1-0 after 41 minutes.

The visitors forced two corners as they sought an equaliser before the break, the second after Luwero ran from close to the half-way line and played in Will McNeil, whose low driven cross was put out at the near post.

It remained 1-0 to Risborough Rangers at half-time which on the balance of play was a fair score, but Biggleswade United had got more into the game in the last 15 minutes of the half.

The home side nearly doubled their lead four minutes into the second period. Jalloh skipped past Chetwood on the left and played a ball across the goalmouth from close to the byline but the ball wouldn’t fall kindly for Cathline, who was crowded out.

A quick Biggleswade break led to a foul a couple of yards outside the Risborough 18 yard line. Smyth stepped up to side-foot but whilst he was able to curl the ball around the defensive wall, it also curled a couple of feet wide of the post.

A minute later Stratton was put clear on the United goal, but Mollison made a close-range block although a raised linesman’s flag made the save irrelevant.

The lively Chiriac went on another good run but after passing to Stretton, Laraman read the return pass and was able to clear for a throw-in to the home side.

With 54 minutes on the clock Metcalfe was well tackled by Etienne close to the corner flag. The Biggleswade made appealed in vain for a free-kick.

Three minutes late it was the visitors’ turn to waste a great chance. A flowing passing moving involving Luwero, Metcalfe and Chetwood saw a cross to beyond the far post where Day played the ball back across the goalmouth, but Smyth could only blaze over the bar from around 10 yards.

A good press from United then forced a turnover of possession deep inside the Risborough half but Irish shot over the bar from 20 yards.

Biggleswade were getting on top but a drinks break on the hour mark might have slowed their momentum. However, they were back on level terms almost right from the resumption of play. Metcalfe crossed deep from the right wing, McNeil turned the bouncing ball back across the goalmouth, but this time the ball found Day, who slammed the ball into the roof of the net from 10 yards. 1-1 with 61 minutes on the clock.

The game was now very open and Irish well to win possession and regain it back again after being dispossessed, to release Metcalfe, but the dangerous looking cross was cleared. Biggleswade then got the ball into the Rangers net as Metcalfe played a pass to Chetwood, whose low ball was turned in by Smyth, but the linesman flagged for offside against Chetwood.

The only yellow card of the game arrived in the 67^th minute after Day pulled back Etienne after the Risborough left-back looked to run past him. Etienne had then attempted to kick-out at Day after being fouled, but escaped sanction for this.

Biggleswade United continued to be on top, perhaps their extra pre-season games had made them fitter at this point of the season. That said, the next good chance went to the home side as substitute Caleb Bolton weaved past Chetwood and played an inviting pass across the 6-yard line. Jalloh slid in but didn’t make a decent enough contact and could only steer the ball wide of the far post.

A long ball from Biggleswade centre-back Newman Carney promised to put Metcalfe clear but Brindle-Card came out of his area and attempted to make a clearance. His contact was poor but did enough to confuse Metcalfe, and the keeper was able to take possession and walk the ball back into his area and dive on the ball.

Day then shot wide from the edge of the Rangers area after Metcalfe did well to prevent the ball from going out of play.

 The home side appeared to get a second wind as the game entered the final 15 minutes. Chiriac sent a 30-yard free-kick well over the bar. Kifwasima then went on a good run on the left and found Chiriac, who played in Stratton, but the finish from a good position went wide of the far post.

Debutant Chetwood then had to leave the field after a short delay due to a cut above his eye, following which Stratton sent a first time 25 yarder well wide.

With 6 minutes of normal time remaining, Rangers’ keeper Brindle-Card came out of his area to deal with a long ball out of the Biggleswade defender, but his clearance was mishit straight to Smyth 35 yards from goal. With an empty net in front of him, the Biggleswade marksman could only slice the bouncing ball over the bar.

Back at the other end, Carney’s poor clearance went straight to Chiriac, but the long-range attempt was partially blocked and Mollison made a regulation save.

The visitors thought they had snatched a dramatic late winner. Substitute Angol’s shot from the edge of the area bobbled slowly goalwards with the keeper wrong footed, but the ball struck the post, and Brindle-Card dived on the ball before it could cross the line.

Seven added minutes were signalled but despite strenuous efforts neither side looked like grabbing the winner. For Risborough, Kifwasima crossed straight to the keeper after a nice pass from Walsh and Bolton sent a 25-yard effort straight at the keeper who easily saved. For Biggleswade, Angol made a pathetic dive to try and win a free-kick near the corner flag, and was rightly ignored by the referee.

Honours were even at the final whistle, and a draw was a fair result at the end of an entertaining game. Risborough had looked the better side in the first period, but Biggleswade had edged the second half :

Online Programme : https://www.risboroughrangersfc.co.uk/news/biggleswade-united-programme-26725-2929774.html

Risborough Rangers : Brindle-Card – Kifwasima, Robinson, Sprague, Etienne – Chiriac, Jalloh ( Walsh ), Ajanlekoko, Stratton – Cathline ( Bolton ), Manny Williams ( Chukwama )

Biggleswade United : Mollison – Chetwood ( L. Williams ), Laraman, Carney, Baker – W. McNeil ( Angol ), Day ( Hankin ), Irish, Luwero – Smyth, Metcalfe ( Owusu )