Oxford City 1-5 Radcliffe FC ( att : 456 ) - 2024/25 National League North

August 30, 2025

Today’s entertainment from national League North saw an encounter between the sides in 20^th and 15^th places as Oxford City hosted Radcliffe FC. A lower than average crowd was expected due to a combination of the likely poor weather, Oxford United playing at home, and relatively unknown opposition.

Oxford City Update

Following The Hoops slightly unfortunate 1-2 home loss to Spennymoor Town covered in these diaries last weekend, Oxford City played Chester City on the Bank Holiday Monday and again were on the rough end of the stick as they slid to another 1-2 defeat. Alfie Potter was the recipient of what looked to be a harsh first half red card after making a sliding tackle but The Hoops were unable to hold out for a point after Isaac Westendorf had notched his first goal for the club.

However, in some respects Oxford City had only themselves to blame as for both Chester goals the defenders were too slow to react in the 6-yard box, and the Chester attackers took advantage to prod home the loose balls.

Radcliffe FC

Radcliffe are located in the market town of Radcliffe in Greater Manchester, just north of the centre of Manchester.

Its football club were founded in 1949 as Radcliffe Borough, but the name was changed in 2018 to just Radcliffe FC.

Home is the 3,500 capacity Stainton Park and the club unsurprisingly have a nickname of The Boro. Their traditional kit is all blue with yellow trimming.

Radcliffe won the Northern Premier League Premier Division in 2023/24 to earn promotion to step 2 for the first time in their history.  Last season they finished in 20^th place in National League North, one place up the relegation zone, but 12 points ahead of Needham Market. They had an average league attendance of 1,018.

Radcliffe Squad

The most notable name in the Radcliffe squad was veteran forward David Ball, who played for 6 years in the A-League for Wellington Phoenix before returning to the UK and signing for Radcliffe in the summer. Earlier in his career he had been a prolific scorer for Fleetwood Town, and had also played for Swindon, Peterborough, Rochdale, Rotherham and Bradford City.

Experienced wing-back Callum McFadzean had Football League experience with Sheffield United, Sunderland, Plymouth Argyle, Bury, Burton Albion, Stevenage, Chesterfield and Crewe Alexandra, in addition to playing for Wrexham in the National League and Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership.

Striker Hallam Hope ( 6 caps for Barbados ) joined Boro after leaving Morecombe in the summer following their financial problems, and was previously with Oldham Athletic, Swindon, Carlisle, Bury and Sheffield Wednesday. He had played over 300 matches in the Football League.

Polish born keeper Mateusz Hewelt was at Everton as a youth before playing for Tranmere Rovers in League Two, whilst centre-back Olly Thornley was previously with Curzon Ashton, defender Brad Roscoe was ex-Hyde United and Rick Smith was previously with Warrington Rylands

Wing-back Brad Jackson had played for Chester City, winger Michael Afuye was ex-Rochdale and Curzon Ashton, forward Rio Clegg joined in the summer from Trafford and centre-forward Jordan Hulme ex-AFC Fylde, Salford City and Altrincham.

Radcliffe This Season

Radcliffe came into today’s game with a 2-0-3 record. They started the season with two defeats, going down 1-2 at Buxton and then 0-2 at home to Spennymoor. The first points of the season were obtained with a 2-1 home win over Worksop Town but a 1-2 loss at Leamington followed. On Bank Holiday Monday, Hereford were overcome 1-0 at home to take Radcliffe up to 15^th in the table.

The average attendance for their three home games was 936, with the highest being 1,067 for the game against Hereford.

Radcliffe had scored 5 league goals but like Oxford City, all had been scored by different players.

Previous Meetings

Last season was the first time the two sides had met and Oxford City did the double over Radcliffe, winning 1-0 at home in late March thanks to a goal from Zac McEachran in front of a crowd of 558, and 3-1 away in October after falling 0-1 behind.

Matchday Information

According to AA Route Planner, the journey from Radcliffe to Marsh Lane is 236 miles and should normally take 3 hours down the M6, M42 and M40. It looked like around 25-30 away fans had made the journey.

Tickets for today’s game were £13 for adults online and £16 at the turnstile. This represented a reduction from £15 online and £17 at the turnstile last season. There were a whole range of reductions depending on ages, from seniors to children. Hospitality was £40. An online programme was available.

Heavy rain was falling from the dark overhead clouds at the 15.00 kick-off and there was a stiff breeze. The temperature was around 20 degrees.

Bet365 made Oxford City 5/4 favourites, with Radcliffe at 6/4 and the draw 11/4.

Radcliffe were playing in a kit of an unusual kit of blue and yellow chevrons, with white shorts and socks. Oxford City were in their traditional blue and white hoops.

Radcliffe made three changes from the side that started the 1-0 victory over Hereford, with George Glendon, Danny Greenfield and Ball returning to starting XI. Oxford City made three changes to the side that lost at Chester with Byron Wilson making his first start of the season, whilst Zac McEachran and Tom Scott returned. Highly rated teenage centre-back Aaron Lacey had signed on loan earlier on in the week from Oxford United and was included amongst the substitutes

Matchday Report

At the risk of mixing metaphors, Radcliffe came out of the traps like a proverbial train. After barely 45 seconds Afuye went down in the penalty area under a challenge from Jacob Roddy, but the referee waved for play to continue.

The visitors had all the early possession, and a long-range effort from Greenfield was blocked. Against the run of play McEachran won the first corner of the match for The Hoops after a quick throw-in was taken by Alfie Potter. The set piece was delivered to the back post where George Burroughs got his head to the ball, but his effort hit a defender and went off for another corner, but from the other side of the pitch.

This time the corner was partially cleared by the Boro defence but only as far as Josh Ashby just outside the area, who headed back into the danger zone. Josh Parker made a cushioned header back to Burroughs, who fired into the roof of the net from just inside the 18- yard line. It was 1-0 after 5 minutes.

Radcliffe’s early confident start evaporated, and Oxford City poured forward in search of a second goal. Ashby made an interception deep inside The Hoops half and a flowing move involving Westendorf, McEachran and Westendorf again ended when Thornley cut-out a cross-field pass intended for Potter.

Another sweeping move featuring Ashby, Scott, Potter, Ashby and McEachran resulted in McEachran having consecutive shots blocked by the Radcliffe defence.

Afuye then whipped a left-footed cross from the right wing for Radcliffe that bounced inside the goalmouth but into the arms of keeper Lewis. However, this was just a temporary break from pressure from the home side and Westendorf was immediately released down the left-hand channel, but after cutting inside his goal-bound effort was blocked by Smith. Scott then received a pass from McEachran, turned, but his 25 yard was straight at Hewelt, who made a comfortable save.

Ball then saw a long range shot for Radcliffe blocked by Wiggett and Oxford City counter-attacked, and Potter cross to Parker, whose shot went into the side netting, but handball against Parker was given.

With 18 minutes played it looked like Radcliffe must score. The impressive Afuye again delivered a left footed cross from the right wing but Smith, unmarked 6 yard out, couldn’t make a decent enough contact and Lewis managed to half block. City hoofed clear.

This was to be cue for Radcliffe to dominate the rest of the half. Ball and Clegg ran across the Oxford City 18-yard line but both were crowded out by the home defence, before Afuye sent an optimistic effort over the clubhouse.

In the 27^th minute Clegg fended off Roddy to have just the keeper to beat, but his shot from 8 yards struck the keeper’s body as he spread himself, and the ball deflected over the bar for a corner. The set-piece was cleared but Afuye picked up the loose ball and crossed to beyond the far post where the unmarked Clegg could only head meekly well wide.

Afuye was giving Roddy a torrid time and after twisting and turning past The Hoops left-back to get to the by-line, an important headed touch took his cross away from a Radcliffe attacker who was shaping to take a volley.

It was then Greenfield’s turn to send a long-range effort over the home clubhouse, after which Hulme gathered a long-kick from his goal-keeper only to have his shirt pulled by Burroughs for a free-kick and a yellow card. For the second week running Oxford City’s defensive wall was found wanting, this time as Greenfield fired a low free-kick, the wall jumped over it. Fortunately for The Hoops the ball went narrowly wide with the keeper beaten.

Jackson made a strong run to get to the home byline and then ran towards the goal, but his cross went harmlessly wide and off for a goal-kick. Jackson was involved again shortly after but his shot was blocked by Wilson for a corner to Radcliffe. Clegg then made two pathetic attempts to try and con the referee to win a penalty, going to ground in off the ball incidents, but was rightly unsuccessful.

Afuye was then the recipient of a short corner and his ball into the goalmouth was tipped over by Lewis for another corner. Afuye then produce a dangerous delivery which Lewis could only push away from under his crossbar for another corner. The third attempt was sent low towards the near post and was met with a glancing diving header from Ball, but Lewis was again up to the challenge and made a smart save at his near post to concede a fourth corner in a row. This time the ball was overhit and Parker shepherded the ball off for a goal-kick.

On the stroke of half-time Clegg tried to win another penalty, this time throwing himself to the ground as he ran between Roddy and Wiggett but again the referee was having none of it.

As the game moved into the third minute of first half added time, Jackson again did well close to the Oxford City by-line and when his cross deflected towards the 18-yard line, Thornley was in position to volley into the far corner for a smartly taken goal to level the scores. 1-1 after 45+3 minutes.

The was scarcely time to restart before the referee’s whistle blew for half-time and Radcliffe fully deserved to go into the break on level terms after all their pressure in the last 20 to 25 minutes of the half but Clegg’s attempts to con the referee wouldn’t endear him to the non-Boro spectators.

Radcliffe continued from where they left off in the first half and Jackson again crossed from the left by-line and found Ball 6 yards out, but the header was weak and Lewis was able to stop with an outstretched hand and then catch the ball. Seconds later Clegg ran into the Oxford City area but his fierce shot was blocked by the over-worked Lewis for another corner to the visitors.

The turning point of the match occurred a few minutes later. Afuye worked his way into a dangerous position and his ball across goal was deflected and Lewis made a fine reaction save to tip the ball on to the crossbar. Ball was following up and his close-range effort was remarkably cleared off the line by Wilson. Play continued for a few second before the referee decided Wilson had blocked the ball with his hands, and a penalty and a red card was awarded. The Hoops suffered a double jeopardy when Clegg stepped up to send Lewis the wrong way from the spot. It was now 1-2 with 54 minutes on the clock and Oxford City were a man down.

Having lost a defender with the red card, Oxford City understandably needed to bring on a defender, and Lacey appeared for his debut. However, inexplicably the player he replaced was Westendorf, who with his pace and power had been able to conjure up and equaliser when City had been reduced to 10 men at Chester on Monday. There were three or four players whose performances had been poor and so should have been candidates for the hook in place of Westendorf, and without any pace up front Oxford City never looked like getting back into the match.

Greenfield was shown a yellow card for a nasty looking stamp on the foot of McEachran but it was Oxford City who shot themselves in the foot a few minutes later. Wiggett tried to shield a long ball out of the Radcliffe defence to allow Lewis to collect, but the Hoops keeper failed to advance off his line. Wiggett panicked and instead played the ball straight to Jackson, who gleefully placed the ball into the empty goal. 1-3 after 65 minutes.

Radcliffe were shown another yellow card four minutes later after a foul on Potter but it wasn’t clear who was the recipient was, as there was no player near to the referee when the card was brandished !

The home side briefly threatened when Parker chest controlled and laid off to Potter, but Roscoe was stronger in the tackle and won the ball.

It got worse for Oxford City when a stray pass went to Clegg, who ran past Wiggett to have just the keeper to beat, and although his shot was mis-hit it was strong enough to sneak past the keeper and inside the near post. 1-4 after 74 minutes.

At this points the heavens opened again but Radcliffe were not easing up. A good move ended with Hope’s shot being deflected for a corner, then Jackson shot into the advertising hoardings after a right-wing cross had been palmed away by Lewis.

Oxford City substitute DJ Campton-Sturridge looked lively, charging down an attempted clearance and running into the Radcliffe area, but after being forced wide, his shot from a tight angle was saved by Hewelt down at his near post.

Surprisingly seven extra minutes were announced, and Radcliffe took advantage when The Hoops defence allowed a long ball to bounce for Clegg to control, make space and then hammer into the roof of the net to seal an emphatic victory. 1-5 with 92 minutes on the clock.

Radcliffe fully deserved their win. Although the scores had been level at time of the red card to Wilson, they had dominated the game after the opening 20 minutes or so and were looking increasingly the likely winners. In Afuye, Clegg and Ball they had three forwards who caused no end of trouble to the home defence. Radcliffe’s victory was their biggest winning margin in National League North.

 For Oxford City it was a rude eye-opening, being well beaten by a side likely to at best be mid-table. and too many players had an off-day. It would be easy to hide behind the red card, but the truth was they were by some distance second best on the day. They had now slipped to third from bottom in the table.

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1nOdqfN4TY 

Oxford City : Lewis – Wilson, Burroughs, Wiggett, Roddy ( Daniel ) – Ashby, Scott ( Humphries-Ewers ), McEachran– Potter ( Campton-Sturridge ), Westendorf ( Lacey ), Parker

Radcliffe FC :  Hewelt – Roscoe ( Park ), Smith, Thornley – Afuye, Greenfield ( Gardner ), Glendon, Jackson – Ball ( Hope ), Clegg, Hulme ( Dudley )

 

 

Oxford City 1-2 Spennymoor Town ( att : 620 ) - 2024/25 National League North

August 23, 2025

Today saw a meeting of 11^th vs 8^th in round 4 of National League North, with both sides in search of a victory that would put them up into the promotion play-off positions at this early stage of the season.

Oxford City Update

After these diaries reported on the 5-2 pre-season victory over a Charlton Athletic XI, Oxford City had a pretty ordinary rest of their pre-season, drawing 1-1 at Gloucester City, and losing 0-1 at Chesham United, and by the same score at home to Maidenhead United.

Since that game, winger Jaydon Carbon had signed for Middlesborough for an undisclosed fee, and teenage centre-back Lewis Croker had joined Crewe Alexandra. The departure of Andre Burley had also been confirmed, joining Dagenham and Redbridge.

Trialists made up three of the back four and the goalkeeper in the Charlton match, and The Hoops had subsequently signed Sam Lewis on a season long loan from Aston Villa to be the number 1 keeper. The defence had been strengthened with the signings of centre-back Charlie Wiggett, who had last been seen playing for Sligo Rovers in the League of Ireland, ex-Hibernian, Wigan, AFC Wimbledon and Forest Green Rovers centre-back Darnell Johnson, and right-back George Burroughs, who most recently had played for Redditch, AFC Telford and Altrincham.

City had also signed German born striker Isaac Westendorf, who had played in Northern Ireland for Larne and Ballymena United, and last season played in Malta for Balzan. The Oxford City squad though still looked light on numbers and so more signings could be expected, either permanently or on loan, especially when injuries start to mount up.

Oxford City started the season with a 2-3 defeat at AFC Fylde, after having led 2-0 early in the second half, but followed up with a 2-1 home victory over much fancied Macclesfield Town. In mid-week City travelled to another of the teams expected to be challenging for promotion, and came away with a 1-1 draw at Kidderminster Harriers. Five goals had been scored, by five different players.

Spennymoor Town

Spennymoor are located in County Durham, seven miles south of Durham, with an estimated population of around 20,000. The club are a descendent of Spennymoor United, who reached the semi-final of the FA Trophy in 1977/78, before a merger of the clubs in 2005.

Home is the 4,300 capacity Brewery Field and the club have a nickname of The Moors. Their traditional kit is black and white stripes with black shorts and socks.

The Moors were winners of the FA Vase in 2012/13, beating Tunbridge Wells 2-1 in the final, after beating Guernsey 4-1 on aggregate in the semi-final.

Against all odds, Spennymoor reached the 2024/25 FA Trophy final as a National League North side, but lost 0-3 at Wembley to Aldershot. They had previously eliminated National League sides Rochdale, Sutton United, Boston United, as well as Hampton and Richmond Borough, Alfreton Town and South Shields in the early rounds of the competition.

Spennymoor have played in National League North since 2017/18, with a best placed finish of 4^th in 2018/19, when they lost on penalties in the play-off final to Chorley. Last season they finished in 9^th place and had an average league attendance of 1,278.

Spennymoor Town Squad

The obvious star player in the Spennymoor squad is veteran forward Glen Taylor, who as at the end of last season had scored 210 goals in 394 appearances for the club, and had been their leading goal scorer in eight of the past nine seasons.

As a Crawley Town supporter, it was interesting to see that ex-Reds left-back Mitch Hancox was now playing for Spennymoor. Hancox had played 15 games on loan in 2015/16 on loan from Birmingham City, and had gone on to play for Macclesfield, Solihull Moors, York City and Chester amongst others.

Another familiar name to these diaries was ex-Morton, Clyde and Ayr United midfielder Cameron Salkeld who played for Darlington against Oxford City last August.

Centre-forward Austin Samuels signed this week after playing for Rushall Olympic last season, having previously been with Bradford City, Aberdeen, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Greenock Morton, and was an England Under 16 international when at Wolves.

Defensive midfielder/centre-back Dan Rowe played in the Football League for Wycombe Wanderers, defender Ben Pollock was ex-Hereford, Boston and Chester, whilst keeper Brad James was at Middlesborough as a youngster and had a loan spell at Hartlepool before being released and joining Spennymoor. Defender Ben Beals also joined Spennymoor after being released by Middlesborough.

Midfielder Rob Ramshaw had made over 300 appearances for The Moors, and prior to joining Spennymoor played nearly 100 games for Gateshead, whilst Michael Dolan had played over 200 matches for Newport County in League Two as well as playing in the EFL for Yeovil, Hartlepool, and Bradford City. Left -back Dan Jones was with Port Vale last season, and had also played for Hartlepool, Barrow and Harrogate.

Ex-Greenock Morton and Queen Of The South centre-back Michael Ledger is hopefully known as “General”, winger Junior Mondal is one letter away from being a world star and ex-York Coty defender Olly Dyson can be expected to hoover everything up at the back !

Spennymoor This Season

Spennymoor started the season with an impressive 2-0 victory at home to Hereford United, and then went to Radcliffe Borough and returned home with another 2-0 win. Taylor had scored three of The Moors four goals, with Rowe the other scorer.

However, the wheels feel off the wagon during the week with a disastrous 0-5 home loss at the hands of Kings Lynn. The Moors then had another set-back this week with the news that striker Gary Madine, ex-Cardiff City, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Coventry City and Blackpool amongst others had announced his retirement. Madine had signed in the summer and started in the opening two fixtures.

Previous Meetings

Last season was the first time the two sides had met. Oxford City won 3-0 at home in December in front of a crowd of 1,082 but lost 0-1 away on the last day of the season, where Corey McKeown was on target for The Moors.

Matchday Information

According to AA Route Planner, the journey from Spennymoor to Marsh Lane is 236 miles and should normally take 4 hours 25 minutes. The Spennymoor supporters coach had a 07.45 departure time and it looked like around 30-40 fans had made the journey.

Tickets for today’s game were £13 for adults online and £16 at the turnstile. This represented a reduction from £15 online and £17 at the turnstile last season. There were a whole range of reductions depending on ages, from seniors to children. Hospitality was £40.

A special promotion for the game was draught pints being reduced to £4.

The weather at the 15.00 kick-off was overcast but dry with the temperature around 21 degrees..

Bet365 made Spennymoor 11/8 favourites, with Oxford City at 29/20 and the draw 13/5.

Spennymoor were playing in a change kit of all red whilst Oxford City were in their traditional blue and white hoops.

Spennymoor made two changes from the side that started the 0-5 defeat at home to King’s Lynn, with Jones and Mondal replacing Beals and Doherty. Oxford City also made two changes to the side that started at Kidderminster, with DJ Campton-Surridge and Alfie Potter coming in the line-up with Josh Parker dropping to the bench and Jack Bearne missing out with a shoulder injury, who is likely to keep him out for some time.

Programme

An online programme was available on the new Oxford City App, with paper programmes now discontinued as they were apparently now financially unviable. The online programme is similar to those produced by several rugby clubs with links to both sides’ websites.

Personally, I feel that if City are going down the online programmes route, they should follow the example of many local non-league clubs eg Thame United or Risborough Rangers, where it is a pdf of what would have been the paper programme. Also, unlike most clubs, the online programme isn’t yet available via City’s website nor does there appear to be any archive.

Team-sheets used to be handed out free of charge inside the ground, but now cost £1.

https://oxfordcity.shorthandstories.com/oxford-city-v-spennymoor/ 

Matchday Report

Oxford City nearly opened the scoring in the first 30 seconds. Westendorf spun away from Rowe and ran clear with just the keeper to beat, but his low shot was too close to James, who made the save and held on to the ball. It was a great chance.

The home side had started strongly and were winning all the loose balls before Spennymoor got into the game. McKeown released Ramshaw inside the left-hand side of the penalty area, but from a tight angle his shot was blocked by keeper Lewis. The roles were reversed in the 8^th minute as Ramshaw released McKeown but Lewis was able to come of his line to challenge the Moors midfielder, and the ball ricocheted off for a goal-kick.

A minute later McKeown was teed up to shoot from just outside the 18-yard line, but his right-footed curling shot was pushed away by the diving Lewis. A left-footed cross from the right-wing by Dyson then bounced across the goalmouth and off for a goal-kick. The Moors were starting to play !

The response from Oxford City was to send a long ball down the left-hand channel for Jacob Roddy to chase, and when Spennymoor partially cleared, Zac McEachran hit the bouncing ball harmlessly wide.

After 13 minutes Ramshaw did well to prevent an overhit pass from going off for a goal-kick and his flick reached Taylor beyond the far post, who headed back across goal. Josh Ashby could only half clear as far as Dolan, whose 25 yard effort was superbly saved by Lewis.

In an end-to-end game, Campton-Surridge skipped past Jones, who resorted to hauling the City winger to the floor, and Jones was shown the first yellow card of the match. The free-kick was cleared at the third attempt.

Westendorf then robbed Dyson of possession and again ran clear, but with three defenders bearing down on him, the centre-forward could only shoot straight at James, who made a regulation save.

Westendorf was looking fast, strong and powerful and was a handful for the Moors defenders, but his finishing was letting him down.

Out of the blue, the game’s first goal arrived. MacKenzie Heaney floated a cross from the right which sailed over the head of Wiggett, and Ramshaw was on hand to sweep home on the half volley from close range. 0-1 with 23 minutes played.

Almost immediately after, Westendorf ran onto a long ball from Wiggett, getting to it ahead of James, but his lob over the keeper was cleared for a corner by Rowe. Johnson saw his effort from the corner blocked at the far post.

Wiggett’s attempted pass to Scott was intercepted by McKeown, who ran to the edge of the Hoops area, but his shot was weak and easily saved.

Westendorf again made his presence felt by winning possession close to the half-way line and then passed forward to McEachran who weaved his way into the Spennymoor area, but with three defenders closing him down, McEachran’s toe poke took a slight deflection and ended in the far corner, past the despairing dive of James. 1-1 after 32 minutes.

When Jones sent a huge long through into the centre of the Oxford City 6-yard box, Taylor could only head high and over the bar. At the other end, Burroughs won a corner after being put into space by Wiggett, and when Roddy took the set-piece, Wiggett’s flying header went a couple of feet over the bar.

Westendorf and Scott then combined to put Potter clear, but the danger was ended by the linesman’s raised flag. This was followed by Dyson getting past Roddy, but his cross into the Oxford City area was headed away by Johnson.

With half-time approaching, more good work from Westendorf resulted in McEachran being fouled just outside the Moors penalty area, but Ashby’s free-kick crashed into the defensive wall, being stopped by the head of Heaney, who crashed to the floor and play was halted.

The last action of the first-half saw Mondal force Roddy into conceding a corner for The Moors. When Spennymoor played the ball back into the danger zone after it had been headed away, Wiggett got an important foot to the ball, but the linesman had flagged for offside.

The scores remained level at the end of a hectic first half, full of good football which was an entertaining watch. Spennymoor had looked very good going forward, but shaky at the back against the rampaging Westendorf.

The second half was not of the same quality, with both sides being regularly guilty of losing possession through stray passes.

The first chance of the second period saw McEachran play a clever flick to give Westendorf some space but the shot was blocked for a corner, which was headed away by Pollock.

Another Jones long-throw caused confusion in the home defence and Taylor had a short blocked at the far post. Shortly after, Mondal set-up Ramshaw, but the 20-yard effort went a few feet over the bar.

The visitors came close to regaining the lead in the 55^th minute. Mondal’s left footed cross from the right went beyond the far post where Ramshaw headed back across goal for Taylor to head over the bar from 6 yards.

Westendorf then made a surging run past Rowe’s lunge, but the move ended when Parker was crowded out.

On the hour mark, Jones played a terrible pass straight to Hoops substitute Parker. City worked the ball patiently until Ashby’s piledriver was well saved by James. Another flowing move from the home side involving Wiggett and McEachran came to an end when Roddy was judged to have fouled Rowe whilst attempting to make a header to a floated cross.

Another passing move from The Hoops resulted in Scott volleying over the clubhouse after a pull-back from McEachran.

With 16 minutes left on the clock, Westendorf did well to rob Pollock and was then hauled down close to the byline and corner flag. Pollock was shown the second yellow card of the game. The free-kick from Ashby was cleared as far as Roddy, whose long range effort was also blocked by the Moors defence.

Spennymoor then enjoyed a good spell as the game enter the last ten minutes. A Dolan free-kick was headed high into the air by Pollock, enabling Lewis to make an easy catch. Dolan then tried his luck from 25 yards, and his left-footed strike was pushed away by the diving Lewis. Substitute Sankeld tapped home the rebound but he was a couple of yards off-side so the goal was chalked off.

Oxford City then nearly took the lead as Parker head back across goal for Westendorf but a Moors defender managed to get there first. However, he could only head as far as Roddy, who headed narrowly over from around 14 yards.

Play went back into the Oxford City half and Taylor went down very easily when challenged on the edge of the 18- yard line. The referee awarded a rather soft free-kick, but Taylor got up to take and his drive took a deflection off the defensive wall, wrong footing Lewis and nestled in the opposite corner. 1-2 after 84 minutes.

The goal appeared to take the wind out of Oxford City, who rarely looked like getting back on level terms. Brayden Daniel did well on the left wing, but Westendorf was pinged for fouling Pollock in his efforts to win a header, but Spennymoor comfortably saw out the 5 added minutes to take the three points and move up to 6^th in the table

Defeat was harsh on Oxford City who probably deserved a draw from a closely fought encounter but slipped down to 16^th . 

Highlights :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHaMXtAdIu4

Oxford City : Lewis – Burroughs ( Wilson ), Wiggett, Johnson, Roddy ( Daniel ) – Campton-Surridge ( Parker ), Scott ( Bampoh ) , Ashby, McEachran – Westendorf, Potter

Spennymoor Town :  James - Dyson, Rowe, Pollock, Jones ( Hill ) – Mondal ( Doherty ), Heaney ( Beals ), Dolan, McKeown ( Salkeld ) - Ramshaw, Taylor

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 )