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Friday 2nd May 2008 Potters Bar Charity Cup - Final COCKFOSTERS 3 OLD OWENS 1 Cockfoster Cruise To Cup Win (in the end).... ....
Saturday 26th April 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COCKFOSTERS 0 BEACONSFIELD SYCOB 1 Champions Ride Their Luck ....
Wednesday 23rd April 2008 Potters Bar Charity Cup - Semi-Final COCKFOSTERS 2 COLNEY HEATH 1 A Hit & A Miss For Big Dave... ....Although not the most difficult of cups to secure a final place this Potters Bar Charity semi final win against friendly adversaries Colney Heath was not to be sniffed at because both teams took the tie very seriously. We now meet Old Owens in the final hoping to erase the memory of the 3-0 drubbing they gave us at the Lane three years ago in the same competition. For this game we had the luxury of three attack minded strikers on parade in Dave Pigden , Jon Moniatis and playing a more subdued role, Ben Penfold. Of the three it was Pigden who put himself around causing most of the problems for Colney's defence and within 10 minutes he hit home a typical Big Dave strike. Okay, the effort was ruled offside but that did not stop it being a brilliant piece of strike play engineered in a flash whilst totally unaware that the lino's flag was raised. Dave went on to miss a stone bonkers sitter from no more than a couple of yards out and sods law had it he was not offside on that occasion. Moniatis conjured up our only other positive chance of a dour first half when he held the ball up on the by-line and with three defenders around him he still managed to lay the ball back for Jack Chandler to fire a screamer that had goal written all over until it met a defensive block inches away from its target. No doubt still having hamstring problems, Monnie never ventured out for the second half and 'Twinkletoes O'Connor took his place and immediately started with his devastating runs straight into Colney's bemused rearguard. Conceding headed goals has been a weak point in our defending this season and sure enough the old bogey struck in the 52nd minute when Lee Gorrell made it at least goal 39 against us from an opponents head. These statistics could be a little higher as the writer has not seen all the games this term. On 60 minutes Dave Pigden turned the game around for us with a great opportunists strike that saw him screw home a shot on goal that needed all the skills of a contortionist. Dave's attempt had done its job and was about to cross the line when O'Connor said 'Ta very much' to nick his 29th of the season. If we are a soft touch in conceding headed goals then equally so we don't knock many in with the nut. That luxury however duly came our way with the winner on 75 mins and it was powerhouse Ben Andreos who charged in to head home from a free kick. It was a goal all about sheer guts and determination coupled with brilliant execution. This week we take on the champions Beaconsfield on our patch and although they turned us over on their ground earlier this campaign, they were fortunate to take the 3 points. Our season has had its ups and downs but here is the opportunity to show the rest of the league what Cockfosters football is all about by taking the game to Beaconsfield and play them off the park. You can do it.
Saturday 19th April 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division LEVERSTOCK GREEN 4 COCKFOSTERS 0 No Complaints.... With two tasty away wins under our belt we looked for a third against a high scoring Leverstock side. It was not to be as we clearly ran out of gas puffing and panting and rarely getting anywhere over the entire 90 mins. The first half was littered with route one belts up the field and our midfield could only wave good bye to the ball as it repeatedly soared over their heads from deep. Leverstock's lively attack showed early promise when a break down the right forced Chay Morris into making a great save with his legs. Midway through the half their was a bizarre incident when a stone bonkers deliberate hand ball in the box by an opposing defender was met with unbelievable mute response by our players and the crime went unpunished. Predictably Dan O'Connor with Monnies number 9 on his back made our first real threat on goal when he broke through the middle to test the keeper with swerving drive that the keeper could only partially deal with. The ball broke to Jamie Brandon on the right by line and with very little options available to him he floated the ball over the keepers head but just as the clever flick looked to have done its job a brilliant on line defenders header cleared the danger. Having contained our hosts for 45 mins we went in at half time confident that their was something in the game for us especially with slope and wind advantage now to our advantage. That advantage unfortunately accounted for nothing as we caved in to some punishing attack play from Leverstock's 80 goal attack so much so that it was soon 84 with well taken strikes in the 55th, 70th, 75th and 79th mins. Our threats on their goal were very few with the best a great angled shot from O'Connor bringing the best out of the keeper. No complaints because we did not perform on the day in conditions more suited to the wastes of Siberia. M.O.M. CONWAY 5 EWING 3 O'CONNOR 2 ANDREOS 2. AYLESBURY HUNT 7 BRANDON 2 CONWAY 2 O'CONNOR 1 POTTON UTD O'CONNOR 8 MONIATIS 2 HUNT 2 Tuesday 15th April 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division AYLESBURY VALE 1 COCKFOSTERS 2 Last Man Standing ....If only........ our record at Chalk Lane could match the away form, then the need to look over our shoulders would have disappeared some while ago. The away win at Harefield was followed up by another three points on the road at Aylesbury which accounts for nine of our eleven wins. With the squad already down to the bare bones, the last thing that we wanted was to see Jon Moniatis limp out of the game and the season early in the proceedings. Moniatis was replaced by a barely fit Nicky Page but the patched up team produced some great football. On a rain soaked evening, Cockfosters moved the ball around with pace and accuracy. Jamie Brandon had a first team recall and produced the kind of sparkling performance that we know he is well capable of. With Dan O'Connor playing up front the two combined to terrorise the Aylesbury rearguard. Moments before his early departure, Moniatis picked up the ball on half-way, wide on the right. A slide rule pass up the line found Jamie Brandon and despite the attention of two Vale defenders, Brandon created the opening for a cross that was swept home by Dan O'Connor to give Cockfosters the lead after fifteen minutes. Ten minutes later and it was the same pairing that doubled the lead but this time O'Connor was the provider. A quick counter attack found only two Aylesbury defenders at home and when it comes to a race the smart money would go on O'Connor winning it. With O'Connor outstripping the defence his low cross was tucked away by Brandon. Although Aylesbury had there fair share of possession they rarely looked like breaking through and Chay Morris had little to do other than straight forward goalkeeping housekeeping. The second half began with the hosts urgently seeking a way back into the game and within four minute of the restart it was game on. For probaly the only time in the evening the Cockfosters central defence opened the door and galloping through it came Luke Mellisi, Aylesbury's leading marksman. Chay Morris, faced with Mellisi, forced the Aylesbury man wide but Mellisi was still able to find the target as Morris could only help the goalbound shot in. Rather than press home the psychological advantage, Aylesbury were given precious few sights of goal as Cockfosters headed home with the points. It's usual for the goalscorers to grab the headlines, but this was a tremendous team performance and to single out individuals would be an injustice to those not named. MOM to follow.....Saturday 12th April 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division HAREFIELD UNITED 1 COCKFOSTERS 2 A Great Result.... In complete contrast to the London Tigers game this one had the lot with pulsating lively action right up to the final whistle. With less than a minute gone Jon Moniatis was through on goal and brought out a desperate save from the Hares keeper. Later Jon conjured up our best chance of the first half when he struck down the left to puill back a gem of a pass to Dave Pigden whose first tme effort saw the ball achieve unbelievable elevation in order to find the crossbar. Prior to the game starting our hopes were not too high as David Craig had the bare bones of a squad to pick from and yet as the game progressed we grew in confidence especially at the back where Steve Scripps , Ben Andreos, Gavin Conway and in particular Kevin Hunt were playing out of their skin holding a very fast Hares front line. We in turn managed to keep the home defence fully occupied and as a last resort to stop our frequent raids they all too often resorted to being shameful shirt lifters rather than tacklers in their efforts to retrieve the ball. The second half was only 7 mins old when we struck gold with a classic strike from Aaron Ewing. Reade pumped in a daisy cutter from the right and when the ball was teed up by Pigden it fell to Ewing to apply the lethal coupe de gras. From just outside the box Aaron clipped home a right fizzer that had so much speed and bend on it the keeper did not move a muscle even though he had his left hand upright well covered. We had good chances to go two up when three one on ones were wasted by us in quick succession. Ewing , O'Connor and Brandon all to a man shot straight into the keepers arms when clean through on goal. These misses looked to be costly when Jamie Houliston struck to put a lucky Harefield level on 70 mins. Justice however was soon restored when ten mins later Ewing laid on a chance for Jon Moniatis to come out best in a defender and keeper mix up that allowed him to cleverly slip a slow motion ball across the line. It may not have looked to be a very pretty goal but it was a gem that won us the game and in its execution Jon showed us just how versatile his striking game really is. M.O.M. CONWAY 4 HUNT 4 ANDREOS 2 SCRIPPS 1 MONIATIS 1. Thursday 10th April 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COCKFOSTERS 0 KINGSBURY LONDON TIGERS 0 Tigers Tame Our Play....
Our visitors had obviously done their
homework on our play and thoughts of us carrying out a repeat of the mauling
we gave them earlier in the season were soon dispelled. Rarely were we
allowed to put even the most basic of moves together to threaten their
number one. The one squeak of a chance we had in the first half fell to Dan
O'Connor who bustled his way into the box but our pitch came to the visitors
aid when a nasty bobble of the ball led to O'Connor losing control and the
chance was lost. The Kingsbury side played to their name by tigerishly
snarling and snapping at us whenever we were on the ball and these tactics
succeeded in unsettling us throughout the 90 mins. Likewise our defence kept
a tight control of things at the back although Lee Walker must have been
pleased to see his defenders get him out of trouble following a poor pass
out of his area...Second half started promising, with Cockfosters dominating
possession but unable to cause any real problems in the Tigers back four
where Sirak Beyene mopped up anything that threatened to break through.
Kevin Reade, who had replaced Rob Laney, looked the most likely, but even
though he got behind on two or three occasions, nothing came from his supply
line. Midway through the half, Kingsbury upped the tempo and began to
threaten but the revamped rearguard coped with everything thrown at them.
Gavin Conway along with Kevin Hunt and Dan Hurrell (not played for seven
months) were outstanding. Although we could not boast a shot on target for
all of the second half, the Tigers rarely bared their teeth either. Lee
Walker did well to palm a corner over the top when under pressure but not
until added time did the Tigers look likely to score when Denilson Vicente
had a clear headed chance but fortunately for Cockfosters he fired it
straight at Walker. Another fine performance from Aaron Ewing who always
tried to pick his pass. The fixture list began to take its toll as tiredness
and a couple of knocks did little for our cause. A battling performance -
not very pretty - but a point each was about right. ...M.O.M.
CONWAY 6 EWING 3 HUNT 2 O'CONNOR 1
Tuesday 8th April 2008 South Midlands Floodlight Cup - Semi-Final COCKFOSTERS 3 POTTON UNITED 2 Dan The Man...... Those people visiting Chalk Lane for this encounter had two options on offer, one the game being played out on the pitch and the other the plastic version being screened on television from Anfield in the warmth of the bar. The 'Gooner' brigade it has to be said got it all wrong because the the real football stuff was being dished out on our pitch. It was argueably our best performance of the season and our guaranteed place in the final richly deserved. No matter who the opposition are we always seem to get our attack gear immediately into overdrive and this game was no exception with 'Red Boots' joining 'White Boots' for a late season reunion the scene was set for a lot of action up front. Kevin Reade was there to supply the ammo from the right and things looked really promising from the off when with two close markers on him Reade still managed to deliver a cross that narrowly avoided the head of the incoming Jon Moniatis. Dan O'Connor immediately followed this up with a good chance in front of goal but his effort went straight into the keepers arms. Our dominance in Potton's defensive half of the pitch was so obvious that we notched up an astonishing 17 corner kicks in the first half and yet surprisingly from this set play feast only a good firm Rob Laney header across goal produced any real threat. Failing to deal with set piece's has cost us a lot of goals this season and the hoodoo again struck 13 mins into the game when a free kick into our box was headed across goal allowing John Mullholland to finish with ease. Despite all our attack minded play our opening goal on 40 mins came not by creativity but by a weak clearance from Potton keeper Purcell that fell invitingly for Dan O'Connor who then seized on the opportunity of lobbing the ball into an empty net. Things were looking tidy at the back and Jon Moniatis should have made it 2- 1. when he sprang the off side trap only for him to miss out with an effort that sailed over the bar. The early set back however did not knock us out of our stride and although we went in at half time only level the game was clearly ours for the taking. The second half certainly saw us continue where we left off and when Laney burst into the visitors box to unleash a wicked ball across goal the signs looked good for more of the same. In the meantime Aaron Ewing was carrying out his usual Pit Bull role in midfield with great effect. Fifteen mins into the half one such piece of battling Ewing play out on the left set up Dan O'Connor for a dribbling run across the penalty area which is bad news for any defence and for Potton it was curtains the moment Dan conjured up enough space to fire home amidst a sea of defenders legs Unfortunately for us the set piece thing again came to haunt us 10 mins later when a Potton corner kick led to a Mulholland header smacking the crossbar and Carl Simm was on hand to hit the ball home. It was yet again O'Connor who came to our rescue ten mins from time with a winner coming from the unusual source that of a drop ball play. Dan received the ball on the edge of the penalty area and when he got his sights on goal he unleashed a screamer that beat a very good keeper all ends up. A brilliant hat trick from a man in top form. Dan will undoubtedly be our player of the year with a 27 goal haul and had neutrals been around to see his play throughout the season that honour could so easily be applied to the Premier League as well. As for the team performance this was a 10 out of 10 showing beating anything the television in the bar had to offer. MOM to follow....
Saturday 5th April 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COCKFOSTERS 2 HOLMER GREEN 2 A Touch Of Class In Reserve......
Tuesday 1st April 2008 Potters Bar Charity Cup - First Round COCKFOSTERS 4 NORTH MYMMS 2 Moniatis Spares The Blushes......
Within eight minutes of this much delayed fixture getting underway, it seemed that 'form book' may well have indicated an easy ride for Cockfosters - moral (Never trust the form book). Francis Otari had caused mayhem for the Mymms defence from Cockfosters first corner of the night and within seconds , the second was even more damaging as Otari soared above his markers to head Cockfosters in front. When Dave Pigden calmly slotted the second, the writing was surely on the wall for Mymms. After 38 minutes Lee Edwards instinctively thrust up an arm to keep Pigden's goalbound shot out and North Mymms were down to ten with the penalty to come. However, this turned out to be a pivotal moment of the evening as Pigden's well struck kick was brilliantly saved by Tommy Duke, diving to his right. Immediately, this set Mymms up for a battle royal and with goals either side of the break from Stewart Street and Matt Monte-Colombo, the Herts Senior team were level and looking good. Suddenly it was roll your sleeves up time as Cockfosters were denied the luxury of time and space as Mymms battled for every ball. Even so, the challenge looked doomed and with the introduction of Jon Moniatis at half-time, Cockfosters had the right tool in the box to unhinge the gallant Mymms ten. Moniatis cut along the goal-line from the right to set up Dave Pigden for a tap-in, unfortunately our number 9 tapped it into the cricket field next door. Undaunted Moniatis battled to make an impression and soon put Cockfosters ahead when he forced the ball home from close-in. But the best was saved until last when Moniatis stormed up the left and after cutting in fired past the startled Duke from a narrow angle to clinch the win that earns Cockfosters a semi-final tie against Colney Heath. MOM to follow..... Wednesday 25th March 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division HANWELL TOWN 2 COCKFOSTERS 1 Cockfosters Come Up Short......
With Chay Morris picking the ball out of the net before most
spectators had taken their seats you would have thought it
was going
Tuesday 18th March 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COCKFOSTERS 2 LONDON COLNEY 2 Another Jekyll & Hyde Performance......
Saturday 15th March 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COCKFOSTERS 0 BRIMSDOWN ROVERS 1 Strikers On Strike....
Saturday 8th March 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COLNEY HEATH 0 COCKFOSTERS 0 Magpies Lucky To Share The Spoils......
Wednesday 5th March 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division BIGGLESWADE TOWN 2 COCKFOSTERS 1 Not Pretty But What Muggings Are?...... After failing to enthuse in our last outing at
the weekend, the long haul out to Bedford to take on high-flying Biggleswade
Town turned out to be far more uplifting experience; and for the second time
this season we can justifiably claimed to have been mugged. On this occasion we
could not honestly claim to have been the better team, but had someone upstairs
been smiling more kindly then we should have shared the spoils. Four penalty
shouts, three of which were nailed on, would normally have led
Saturday 1st March 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COCKFOSTERS 1 OXHEY JETS 1 Reds And Jets In Snooze Control......
Most low scoring draws normally
turn out to be boring affairs and although this game
certainly wasn't quite that it did lack a lot of passion
from both sides. Manager David Craig as always had his pre
match headache of trying to put an eleven out due to all
manner of reasons and injuries to players was, it has to be
said, not the primary cause. Our win at the Jets ground
earlier this season was one of our most comfortable wins to
date, so we took them on with confidence hoping to soon
erase the Holmer Green blip. It looked good when we scored
after 10 mins with our first real threat on the Oxhey goal.
A long Rob Laney throw in
Tuesday 26th February 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division HOLMER GREEN 2 COCKFOSTERS 1 Whipped By The Whipping Boys...... Coming off the back of a great win against Biggleswade United on their own patch we must have thought that at trip to one of the leagues whipping boys Holmer Green would be 3 points in the bag. Footie however is not like that and we came away from the 'Greens' patch with our tails betwween our legs after being beaten by a better side on the night. Before a ball was kicked in the match the noise coming from the home dressing room could be loudly heard in the adjoining bar. The manager was clearly giving his charges a kick up the backside for a long run of rubbish performances. What was said clearly worked because Holmer Green came out on to the pitch very much up for a scrap and we were knocked out of our stride right from the off never once being allowed to spray our pretty stuff around. It soon became apparent that if the battling 'Greens were to take the lead we would be hard put to get back in the game. That goal duly came fromTom Alabaster in the 25th min when we conceded our 27th goal of the season from a corner kick situation. We had our inevitable chances to draw level but with a sniff of a welcome win in their nostrils the home side dug in and defended like tigers snapping and hustling our players whenever they took possesion of the ball. Mid way through the second half it got even better for the home team when they got present from us in the form of a sloppy Steve Weldon back pass to Lee Walker. Simon Williams nipped in to walk the ball into an empty net. Holmer Green at this stage were getting a nose bleed with a massive 2. 0. lead against us. Late in the game Jon Moniatis put in some great work in order to set Kevin Reade up for a smartly taken goal but it proved not enough and at the end of it all it has to be said we were beaten by the right tactics on the night. Too many times we had to resort to desperation stuff because our passing game was being wrecked by closing down. Reade, Barker and Page were the best of a very average bunch on the night. M.O.M. votes to follow. Saturday 23rd February 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division BIGGLESWADE UNITED 0 COCKFOSTERS 4 Hail The New Maradonna......
We picked up our 7th away scalp
of rhe season with an embarrassingly easy win against a
United side that did not turn up for the game and might as
well have stayed in the dressing room. To be honest though
we never made things easy for our hosts as we tore into them
right from the off with all guns blazing never once taking
our foot off the gas for the entire 90 minutes. This was as
near vintage 'Reds' as one will ever get and few if any
teams in the league could have lived with us on this fine
all round display. To make matters worse for United the club
chose this game to go worldwide on the internet with a first
ever step 5 game going out broadcast live via www. MYBUFC.
com Our early raids were predictably down our right flank
where the Lee Barker, Nick Martin and Kevin Reade
combination ripped open the Biggleswade defence at will and
it came as no surprise when the inevitable opener for us on
18 mins came about due to work from this trio. Needless to
say it was the on fire Reade who provided the final icing on
the cake with a cross begging for the ball to be buried and
this was duly achieved by Jon Moniatis whose looping header
beat the
Tuesday 19th February 2008 South Midlands Floodlight Cup - Senior Section COCKFOSTERS 2 EYNESBURY ROVERS 1 a.e.t. Beauty And The Beast......
Our opponents for this tie were a bit of an unknown quantity and we had to wait for the game to be set in motion before we knew what to really expect. It did not take too long to realise that our Northants rivals were nigh totally devoid of the pretty stuff with plenty of hefty lumps protecting their keeper and all in all their general play seemed to rely on all round intimidation. As is always the case with the 'Reds' when they are on top form they go straight for the jugular of opposing defences and although they had a heavyweight back line barrier that tended to kick out at anything which moved our exciting attack play frequently found a way through. Of course nothing can be done by the easy route of putting the ball across the goal line and we had our usual crop of squandered chances although to be fair keeper Danny Workman was just that and worked heroics protecting his net. The off side rule in soccer has always produced some weird interpretations of its true meaning by linos and the one concocted up to deny Dave Pigden with our opening goal came straight out of the fantasy world. The penalty award is another that seems to forever court controversy and if the decision that robbed us of a free pop at goal following Dan O'Connor's crude penalty box take out is anything to go by such controversy will go on until doomsday. The following is not a quote from the author but from the visiting keeper and it reads 'How on earth did the referee not see that as a penalty'. Going down to a goal from Eynesbury seemed inconceivable but somehow we managed do achieve the impossible and let them in for a goal full of basic errors when Chay's clearance was charged down by Sam Kingston. Michael Casey did his best to retrieve the situation but Kingston's shot got carried over the line in the effort to clear the danger. The second half looked to be taking the shape of a pear with plenty of openings producing no goals so the bench came into play. Almost instantly Tony Nielson looked the part with some lovely weighted balls that carved open gaping holes in the Rovers bully boy defence. One lay off was criminally wasted by O'Connor but he in turn got our break through 15 mins from time when he again got hacked down by the heavy brigade. This time justice was seen to be done and Jon Moniatis blasted the spot kick home. Extra time and the battle between beauty and the beast continued with beauty emerging as the eventual winners, but not before Cockfosters had survived a couple of scares with Chay Morris twice making telling stops. Cometh the hour, cometh the man and when Captain Marvel Steve Weldon popped up in the Eynesbury penalty area to put the finishing touches to some good Moniatis work after 117 minutes, the prospect of a penalty shoot-out was gone and the warmth of the clubhouse was only moments away. Manager David Craig came on during a crisis point during the second half and his on pitch coaching certainly paid dividends as we went on to win a game that could so easily have been lost. M. O. M. VOTING ............
Saturday 16th February 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COCKFOSTERS 3 WELWYN GARDEN CITY 3 Six Goals With Six Star Entertainment......
This was our fourth encounter
with the 'Citizens' this season and as yet for us they
remain unbeaten opposition. With memories of a very
fortunate league win against us in October we had a right to
be more than confident that our visitors would have matters
reversed on Dacre Field. As an attacking force their are few
teams in the league that can match us for flair and thrust
but it is also true to say we have fallen down badly on the
clinical finishing front. Our opening attacking play in
most games always look good right from the kick off with
this one being no exception and it seemed encouraging when
Page and Laney linked up well on the left to open up
Welwyn's defence but sadly Laney's eventual lethal cross
ended up in no mans land for a throw in. If our opening
attacking play is always encouraging then it also has to be
said that our defensive lapses also appear early in a game.
Tuesday 12th February 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COCKFOSTERS 4 COLNEY HEATH 3 Magpies Rocked By Reds Revival......
Having battled so well at the weekend against Hertford
Town, David Craig pinned his faith in the same starting
eleven and whilst the approach against Hertford was more
defensively biased it could not be argued that tonight's
tactics were similar. More hinged on this game than
local bragging rights and from the start it was
Cockfosters totally on the front foot. Up front, Jon
Moniatis and Dan O'Connor really stretched the Magpies
defence with Tom Blackman in the Heath goal doing well
to smother a low drive from the Reds No.9. With Rob
Laney and Nicky Page prominent in much of Cockfosters
early sorties, the visiting keeper was by far the
busier. On 18 minutes Cockfosters took a deserved lead
when Colney Heath were all at sea as Moniatis and
O'Connor battled to force the ball home, eventually
Nicky Page took up the challenge to smash the ball
beyond Blackman. Minutes later Moniatis teed up a
chance for O'Connor but the volley flew wide. At this
stage Heath had little to offer and when they did
approach Cockfosters last third the uncompromising
defence was at its meanest. As is often the case,
supremacy needs to be fruitful and in not ramming home
the advantage, Cockfosters were suddenly rocked by an
unexpected equaliser. Thirty-seven minutes of total
dominance had passed before Colney Heath's first threat
on goal. Martin Standen found space on the right to
stand up a cross to the far post which was not
adequately dealt with ; the ball finding itself at the
feet of Greg Deacon who made no mistake from ten yards.
That was a pivotal moment as the confidence drained from
Cockfosters with the visitors now in the driving seat -
but no further damage was done before the break. That
was saved unit just after.!!! Three minutes after the
restart and Neil Jordan delivered a freekick from wide
on the left and the tallest man on the pitch, Ashley
Armakhu was higher than all others to head past Chay
Morris to put Heath 2-1 up. Before the P.A. announcer
had finished, Martin Standen had unleashed a ferocious
volley from an acute angle for a spectacular third. With
the Chalk Lane faithful reliving nightmares of Langford,
the De Ja Vue thought could well be excused. As the half
wore on Gavin Conway rattled the crossbar and Moniatis
was denied by a brave save from Blackman but it seemed
that a comeback was not part of the script. Oh ye of
little faith! With nineteen minutes to go Nicky Page was
full of hope as he scampered to retrieve the ball for a
corner - the delivery was tailor made for Michael Casey
to head Cockfosters back in contention. Cockfosters were
by now beginning to build a head of steam and an equaliser
looked a possibility as the visitors tried all means
legally possible to run down the clock. That wasn't the only thing that was run down as Kevin Reade and Dan
O'Connor were clattered whenever they threatened. By now
Craigie had sacrificed the defensive contributions of
Gavin Conway, Steve Kessack and Nicky Martin, who had
played a full part, for an even more attacking final assault.
With just five minutes left Colney Heath conceded
another free kick beyond the corner of the area and Dan
O'Connor drove the kick low through a crowded goalmouth
without anyone getting a touch to level at 3-3. Within a
minute the comeback was complete when an attempted
backpass by Lee Gorrell was short on power and Dave
Pigden latched on to cleverly beat Blackman for the
winner. Yes, the result was brilliant for us but it was
great to hear people in the clubhouse afterwards saying
how much they had enjoyed the game. Again very difficult
to pick M.o.M. but the nod went to Casey 6, Page 2,
Weldon 2, Moniatis 1, Laney 1
Saturday 9th February 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division HERTFORD TOWN 2 COCKFOSTERS 0 Hertford Flattered......
 Following on in the wake of
that freakish Langford result we more than got our act
back together in this tough encounter against one of the
leagues big boys. Forget the result this was us
performing well and a precious away point was only
denied us when a refereeing decision late in the game
landed Hertford a gift Kevin Cooper goal from the
spot.Clearly only the ball felt the force of a Ben
Andreos tackle on drama queen diver Ryan Redford but the
oscar winning act that followed convinced the ref that
foul play had occurred. Prior to these dramatics we were
doing a great job of containing our hosts free scoring
attack. Indeed in the first half we could so easily have
gone in at half time one to the good had it not been for
a glaring miss from our hot form man Dan O'Connor. With
ex world cup star Ossie Ardilles present as a spectator
the Cockfosters red shirt and those wearing it did us
proud as we continually snuffed out Hertford's strong
attacking threat. Ex 'Red' Ian Cooper was one such
threat who throughout his time on the pitch had little
joy trying to escape from Ben Andreos's 'Y' fronts. It
cannot be denied that our present game relies heavily on
the O'Connor lad as our number one safe cracker
unlocking defences. The ease with which he can waltz
past as many as three defenders at a time was clearly
evident in this game and some of those wicked by-line
crosses he produced should have had better endings to
them. On the whole however this was a great team
performance with the added time goal from Kevin Cooper a
flattery bonus to a Hertford side who knew they had got
out of jail by the decision of a sympathetic referee. To
add insult to injury our powerhouse android got his
marching orders at the time of the penalty incident.
Nicky Page had a good game in his free role of popping
up all over the pitch and there was not much grass that
did not find his boots stud marks. Backing Page up was
Gavin Conway with another tireless driving act pushing
and probing right across the park. Michael Casey put in
one of his dynamic steam engine performances as a centre
back to win man of the match but this was yet another
game where we performed so well as an outfit that votes
could have really gone to anyone. We are now on the run
in to the season's closure and if there is one major
factor about our general game in the Premier league it
is that repeatedly we are producing performances that
warrant points but getting nothing from the game. In
short we are not as bad as our league placing suggests
and no one know that better than Hertford Town. M.O.M.
CASEY 5 CONWAY 3 PAGE 3 WELDON 1
Saturday 2nd February 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COCKFOSTERS 3 LANGFORD 7 A Jekyll & Hyde Nightmare......
Football they say is a game of two halves and that old adage surely applied to this game. The first half was all red as we slipped into our familiar attacking mode right from the kick off. Debutant Phil Turner in particular looked sharp up front with plenty of pace. His shooting boots however were it seems left in the dressing room and a first half hat trick of good chances were wasted through poor finishing. Our opening goal on seven mins came about via a piece of dogged play by the marauding Ben Andreos who whipped over a corner flag cross for Dan O'Connor to head the ball home at the far post. In defence their was an air of confidence with clean tidying up whenever Langford's 60 goal attack tried to get through. All in all an extremely good first half with high hopes back to back home wins. Right from the start of the second half Langford pinged the ball around as if they were determined to make this their blue half. What happened to our defence in the opening 12 mins of the half beggars belief as Langford rammed home four goals in quickfire fashion. Our main tormenter was wingman Robert Groves who must have been puzzled by the ease in which he bagged a hat trick. Wes Byrne also got into the scoring act as we invited Langford to pepper our goal with unchallenged raids coming from all angles. At one stage tucked in between this defensive nightmare Dan O'Connor had pulled the scores level at 2. 2. when he again put the finishing touch to an Andreos cross. O'Connor marred another great display by later getting a needless red for excessive verbal in the direction of the referee. Wes Byrne hit a fifth for the visitors as we continued to let Langford behind us with embarrassing ease. Dave Pigden still cold from the bench got one back for us with a typical poached goal but that was merely the cue for us to immediately gift Groves wih a fourth from the spot and our total humiliation was complete when Marc Barnes raced through virtually unchallenged to grab a goal in the dying seconds to leave us smarting from a bizarre 7- 3. defeat. The 10 man thing is hardly any excuse for the way we capitulated in this game. M.O.M. VOTES O'CONNOR 6 ANDREOS 3 MARTIN 2 WELDON 1Fo
Saturday 26th January 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COCKFOSTERS 3 TRING ATHLETIC 1 Tring Taught A Lesson......
Saturday 5th January 2008 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division BROXBOURNE BOROUGH V & E 0 COCKFOSTERS 1 A Game Of Two Dans....
This game produced our first clean sheet defensively since the Tigers game way back in August. It also produced some quality football all across the park it being one of those rare games where no player deserved to be ignored for M.O.M. voting. Boro were having a solid run of form and must have been taken aback by the way we tore into them right from the off of this game. Reade was the first to show how easy it could be to get behind the hosts back line when he set O'Connor up for a straight forward heading chance which was wasted with the goal at his mercy. Moniatis too had an early chance which went begging and that was followed by another when he just failed to profit from a keeper's spill to a fierce O'Connor drive. The Boro defence had no answer to O'Connors free running play and he deservedly got our opener on 35 minutes. The Boro players although well beyond the nappie stage were sold dummie after dummie as Dan wriggled his way into the box and it all ended with a great strike that beat the keeper all ends up. Ben Andreos was pushing forward whenever he could with one foray resulting in a bullet drive that the keeper just found enough finger tip to send it over the bar. Meanwhile at the back we looked well organised with Otira having one of his best games in a red shirt. At the break the Boro committee to a man were drooling over the O'Connor display and especially the goal so much so that Graham was offered a bag of dolly mixtures to take Dan off our hands. The second half belonged to Boro but we did have our chances to increase our lead. One O'Connor run on to a beautifully weighted Reade through ball should have led to a penalty yet somehow the referee saw it differently. Monnie failed to capitalise from a sloppy goal kick that went straight to his feet but thanks to some brilliant keeping from Curbelo we secured victory with that single magic goal. Right across the pitch this was the old Cockfosters battling for ther pride just two games away from the St Margaretsbury nightmare. M.O.M. voting could have gone to all and sundry but the Curbello show won the day in the end. Nice to see David Craig back in the dugout even though Tony Faulkner must have wished motormouth had'nt turned up. M.O.M. CURBELO 7 O'CONNOR 2 ANDREOS 2 WELDON 1 Saturday 29th December 2007 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COCKFOSTERS 2 CHALFONT St. PETER 2 'White Boots' Is Back....
Following on from a
disappointing display against St Margaretsbury where the
wheels well and truly came off our tracks we bounced back in
fine style against title challenging Chalfont St Peter.
Right from the off our attitude looked so different with Rob
Saturday 22nd December 2007 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division St. MARGARETSBURY 4 COCKFOSTERS 0 The Bury's Bury Us....
This was without doubt our worse performance of the season. We were all round bad and if their are excuses to be found it has to be that Stan had a pre match nightmare trying to find eleven fit bodies to put out on the pitch. With just a bare eleven and an empty subs bench those on parade were going to be severely tested for fitness. Some of those eleven were glaringly lacking in match fitness and certainly not 90 minuters. So those are the just excuses out of the way but from hereon it reads bad with a 3 goal blast from Bury's Matt Maskell killing the game stone dead between the 30th and 37the minutes. Without O'Connor providing us with our usual midfield thrust we as an attacking unit were toothless. Andreos had our best chance of getting us back in the game right from the second half kick off but his free header on goal went wide. Add to that a squeak of a Moniatis chance coupled with a Lee Barker go it alone raid into Bury's box and that was just about our total attack contribution throughout the entire game. Any sniff of a chance to get something from the game died when Kaine Lovett lobbed an embarassed Lee Walker to make it 4. 0. five mins into the second half. M.O.M. VOTES TO FOLLOW BUT THEY WILL BE DIFFICULT TO FIND.
Saturday 15th December 2007 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COCKFOSTERS 2 BIGGLESWADE UNITED 4 Same Old Story....
And so it goes on with yet another game we could so easily have won ending up in defeat. It is difficult to apportion blame on either defence or attack as both departments are equally to blame for the way we continue to let lesser teams nick 3 points off us. The real truth is that this game had the chances in it for us to have won 6 - 4. With Danny Curbelo up front we had the rare luxury of having some aerial power in attack but the first chance that fell to Danny's head was wasted with an unusually tame strike that went straight to the keepers hands. On 14 mins we dished out an early Christmas present to our grateful visitors with an opening Jake Goodship goal that was laughingly defended in true Sunday Park footie fashion, it was that bad and far too painful to elaborate on. To our credit we never let this set back interfere with our pushing forward with plenty of drive and as is generally the case of late in our games it was the O'Connor lad who created most of the chances for us. Dan is our top scorer this season from mid field with 14 goals but it has to be said that total could have been doubled with more consistent finishing. One angled cross shot from O'Connor should have led to us drawing level instead of going well wide of the far post. Ben Andreos came forward at every opportunity in his characteristic never say die battling style and but for some brilliant shot stopping by keeper Adams a vicious swerving 30 yarder would have given us that deserved leveller. Their were chances for United to go further ahead and on one break Francia Otira saved the situation with a classic penalty box challenge. Shortly afterwards Chay came good with a brave block when left in no mans land by his fellow defenders. Reade was always on hand causing trouble down the right with one set up for Page ending up going agonisingly wide. Just when it looked as though we would go in at the break one down a long hoick from out of our defence found O'Connor bursting through for a finish that saw the ball being lobbed over the keepers head. At this stage we were playing good stuff and yet within 5 mins of the second half we committed hari kari when Simon Catmur was allowed so much time to blast the ball home following an uncleared corner kick. It did not help our cause when 10 mins later Lee Barker saw red and got a red for a bit of handbag stuff played out right in front of the referee. Again it was O'Connor who done his best to get us back in the game with a determined run terminating with a clumsy United challenge in the box. Ben Andreos took the spot kick and although hit powerfully strong and true keeper Chris Adams met the challenge with a pair of strong hands to keep his net safe. Those well known white boots of Jon Moniatis made a much welcome appearance on the pitch with 20 mins to go and it was not long before they went into action sending one screamer towards goal but once again hero Adams matched the strike with a great save. It was now time for us to give out another present on 75 mins when a United break down the right led to Craig Rydeheard breezing through our static defence for a simple goal. With ten to go Dan O'Connor inspired us to fight back again with a well placed cross shot that seemed to deceive the keeper and make Adams look human after all. When O'Connor followed up with a peach of a through ball for Curbelo to finish the equaliser looked to be in the bag and yet somehow that amazing elevation a ball can find from so close in led to it sailing over the bar. Biggleswade's fourth goal from Dan Gaskin finally killed us off and Chay l know will want to forget about that one. Sad to learn that Penners has left our ranks he was a good all round front man and he will be hard to replace. M.O.M. O'CONNOR 7 WELDON 3 OTIRA 1 ANDREOS 1 Saturday 1st December 2007 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COCKFOSTERS 2 BIGGLESWADE TOWN 4 Five Minutes Of Madness..... It is becoming increasingly more
difficult to have to report that we should have got something
out of a game which we got nothing from in the way of league
points. Sadly this match was no different and league leaders or
not Biggleswade Town were made to look so very ordinary
especially in a second half where we pegged them back in their
half for practically the entire 45 minutes. At the end of it all
however Town found our net on four occasions whilst we only
profited with two goals from our lions share of the 90 mins..
This game was certainly lost in the latter stages of a first
half which initially saw us take the game to our visitors with a
goal on 22 mins scored by league debutant Nick Nicou. The
combined threat of O'Connor and Nicou bearing down on the Town
goal led to panic stations for keeper Aaron Springham and his
mishandling of the situation led to a runaway ball finding Nicou
in the six yard box for a simple tap in. Before the commencement
of our defensive
Tuesday 27th November 2007 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division COCKFOSTERS 2 RUISLIP MANOR 2 A Spot Of Luck In Injury Time..... During the lead up to this game
the word around the manor was that Ruislip were in some
disarray with a new bunch of players being drafted in to halt
the slide. Because of this we had little idea what kind
of Ruislip team were going to take the field against us. As a
team no matter what the opposition we always appear to kick off
in the right frame of mind and this game was no exception with
some bright moves strung together as we pushed forward in our
usual gung ho style. Of late our general play relies heavily on
a right sided attack and that is how we played it for the
opening period with Reade as usual seeing plenty of the ball.
Allied with the fact that Gary Haycock was a starter for this
game it meant that crosses were not necessarily going to be
bread and butter for opposition defenders to gobble up. It is
amazing how Haycock manages to find the ball from all the
crosses that rain over and it is almost as if there is some
magnetic force involved. It was a fierce goalbound header from
Gary which led to our opener on 8 minutes. Their seemed little
danger of the ball finding the net with plenty of defenders on
guard patrolling the line but an alert Dave Pigden standing back
to goal somehow delivered a clever side flick on the ball to
create a goal from nothing. Straight from the restart our flat
footed defence got caught stone cold as Ruislip got behind us to
level. Haycock continued to be our main threat of attack with
plenty of good old fashioned aerial power causing Ruislip
problems whenever he wandered into the box in search of a
flying ball. Ben Penfold too was as industrious as ever and one
piece of typical determined running opened up a chance for
Pigden but this time Dave's impersonation of a Thiery Henry six
yard box spin did not come off. A share of the spoils at the
interval told us that Ruislip were not going to be the whipping
boys that their lowly league placing suggested. Indeed within 5
minutes of the second half they took the lead when Chay sliced a
pass back clearance straight into the path of a Ruislip's Jordan
Moore who finished with embarrassing ease. From hereon we
battled hard without any luck until the 80th minute when a
fortunate handball decision gave us the opportunity of levelling
from the spot. Steve Weldon known for his no nonsense blasting
of the ball
Saturday 24th November 2007 Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division BEACONSFIELD SYCOB 1 COCKFOSTERS 0 No Luck, No Goals, No Points..... At risk of coming over as boring with too much of the same thing it has to be truthfully reported that we deserved to get something from this game. Alas that killer instinct in front of goal still plagues our general play and over the season it has for sure cost us a lot of points. At least a share of the spoils was ours for the taking against a Beaconsfield side who can consider themselves lucky to nick all three points. We were certainly the team to make most of the early attacking threats and here again with risk of coming over as boring the truth is that Kevin Reade and Dan O'Connor provided most of the thrust for us. It was a Reade run that gave us our first chance on 5 mins with a whipping cross which found O'Connor for a strike that grazed the upright. Beaconsfield broke clear immediately afterwards and only a timely Hutch tackle prevented the speedy Steve Jones from homing in on our goal. Another Reade cross found Dave Pigden at the near post for a difficult snap chance It was then the turn of Steve Weldon to save us with a great challenge that denied the troublesome Jones from getting behind us. A long individual O'Connor bursting run had reached the trigger pulling stage when he was hauled down just outside the box but justice was not done when Conway's free kick was dealt with comfortably by keeper Hart. Hutchings had one good effort saved from yet another Reade right wing opening whilst Nicky Page performed a slick piece of trickery by the corner flag and we were unlucky not to make something of his cross. The first half was definitely ours and yet we came out for the second half allowing Beaconsfield to come at us and we paid for it on 67 mins. Casey conceded a free kick just outside our box and the resulting set piece led to Chay making a great effort to hold a stinging low drive but the ball broke free to Sonny Seaton who made no mistake from close in. Reade was still sending over plenty of ammunition from the right and Page was unlucky not to convert a half chance at the far post. Our best chance of the 90 mins came when O'Connor slipped in a beauty for Dave Pigden to latch on to but Dave's firm strike found too much altitude and the ball cleared the bar. Chay Morris done enough to deservedly take the M.O.M. accolades. MORRIS 6 O'CONNOR 2 WELDON 1 READE 1 OKEKE 1 CASEY 1 Saturday 17th November 2007 F.A. Carlsberg Vase - Second Round ROMFORD 3 COCKFOSTERS 1 Romford's Revenge......
With the Tring hangover barely out of the players system it did us no favours when we conceded a goal from set piece play after just 13 mins. If our defending has been exposed of late with 14 in our net from 3 games then our weakness at coping with set piece play is even more worrying. Paul White was the Romford player grateful of planting an unchallenged header into our net direct from a corner. Once again it has to be said that Dan O'Connor was our main threat up front with a good runs from midfield. One bursting run to the right by line should have led to an equaliser but none of our players in the box could get a shot away. Penfold too caused problems for the Romford defence with energetic runs down both flanks. A second goal conceded was always going to be bad news for us especially with morale being at such a low ebb. Sadly it did however come in the 36th minute when Ben Turner nipped in between our hapless back line to tuck away a simple header beyond Chay. It was O'Connor again who did his best to lift us with a deep run from the back that was checked crudely just outside the box. Steve Weldon struck the resulting free kick with typical venom but keeper Martin matched it with a great save. Close to half time when we were chasing a goal to take us into the changing room a little happier we committed hari kari when Romford's aerial dominance exposed us once again. A simple nod down opened us up and Brad Jones stuck away an easy chance to virtually settle the tie before the break. During the second half we put up a spirited display without seriously threatening our hosts defence. Chay was also called upon to save us at times when we went for broke leaving gaps at the back. Chances to Hutchings, Laney, and a Barker special all failed to count as we pushed forward more and more. A well deserved consolation goal did eventually arrive on 88 minutes when a wicked Nick Page corner caused enough Romford panic to allow O'Connor to stab home from close range. Before the game our manager David Craig decided to call it a day. It goes without saying that the very fact that we are now a Premier league club is due mainly to Dave's boundless enthusiasm and commitment to the job in hand and for that we will always be grateful. As I personally see matters one of the biggest problems about Premier league management is the quickfire games coming up one after the other with more often than not two games a week over prolonged periods. Constantly having to find teams to put out on the pitch therefore becomes a major headache for a part time manager. We at Cockfosters wish Mark Standen well as he steps up to take full control of our first team. M.O.M. VOTES TO FOLLOW.
|
Although the champions have taken a maximum 6
points from us this season we gave them a good game on each occasion and should
have got something in return but lady luck was never on our side. We were just
five mins away from holding out the champions 101 goal attack when a long
hopeful punt upfield into our half caught us napping and Anthony Wright punished
us with his late winner. Chances on goal in this game were limited with our sole
contribution in the first half being a Jack Chandler header that only just
missed its target. In defence our backline worked wonders to contain a lively
Beaconsfield attack that kept on coming forward with purpose throwing everything
they could at us. Ben Andreos in particular played his heart out ably supported
by captain Gavin Conway, Steve Kessack and the ever reliable Kevin Hunt. In the
second half we tried valiantly to take the game to our visitors and succeeded in
giving them scares in front of goal but not enough to seriously test
their keeper. One marauding Lee Barker run down the right ended up with a cross
that saw Dave Pigden burying the ball into the net with a bullet header. Sadly
for us Beaconsfield got the result they wanted when the linos flag came to their
rescue for a very suspect off side decision. Dave went
close later in the game
with a shot that smacked the crossbar and but for a sweetly taken Conway guided
missile free kick which just failed in its mission that was about it as far as
chances went for us. Compliments from one Beaconsfield official said it all. '
We were fortunate to have beaten you at our place and the same can be said of
today's game'. Those comments just about summed up this game in as much that we
gave it our all against the best in the league but that little bit of luck
needed sometimes was not around. M.O.M. COLNEY HTH. PIGDEN 5 KESSACK 4
O'CONNOR 2 ANDREOS I BEACONSFIELD ANDREOS 8 CONWAY 4
This
game followed an all too familiar pattern of late in
revealing our Achilles Heel problem of letting teams off the
hook after appearing to have them on the rack. The start had
all the same ingredients of a typical home game played out
on Dacre Field with us waltzing through our opponents
rearguard with embarrassing ease giving first impressions of
a goal feast there for the taking. David Craig decided to do
his prompting from the field of play and all seemed well
after just six mins when Nicky Page released Dan O'Connor on
a goal run that ended up with the 'Greens' keeper getting
tangled up with his centre back and so allowing Dan the
opportunity of planting the ball home into an open net.
There then followed our usual glut of missed chances with
one
O'Connor burst to the by line ending up with a pull back
that went agonisingly behind a Jon Moniatis run into the six
yard box. Jon then followed this up with a run to the line
himself and when he was allowed to drift across the penalty
area it looked curtains for Holmer but his eventual strike
went narrowly wide. In the meantime the visitors looked a
shadow of the team that beat us on their patch a few weeks
back and our defence was rarely troubled with their powder
puff approach to attack. Cometh the second half and somehow
magically a different lot of players appear to parade the
pitch for us with little or no signs of us picking up on our
first half play. Holmer Green were allowed to grow in
confidence but fortunately they were still showing little
bite up front and it seemed only an absolute gift on our
part would allow them to score. This we presented to them
when Chay Morris fed David Craig with a pass out of defence
that took our manager by surprise and as the ball ran loose
it was now the turn of Danny Craggs to have the luxury of
putting the ball away into an empty net. What followed was
now very scrappy stuff from us and if we were going to get
back into the game it needed to be something very special
from someone with a bit of class. That someone proved to be
our Star ressie Aaron Ewing who clinically finished off a
determined right side raid with a crisp low drive past
keeper Clark. Watching Aaron play
is
like breath of fresh air and it seems criminal that his
talents are not displayed for us at an higher level more
often than it is. His receiving of the ball coupled with a
flowing movement that sees him drift off and away from his
marker is a talent to savour for any spectator. Having
seemed to have got out of jail we immediately went trigger
happy in defence conceding two penalties in less that five
mins. Fortunately for us Chay came good with an improvised
leg save to keep out the first kick but the second with
fresh taker Alvin Rajumin over the ball found its goal. At
the end of it all no complaints because the much revitalised
'Greens' were well worth their point whereas we are going to
have to find that 90 minute rhythm again which not so long
ago saw pull Biggleswade United apart in their own
backyard. M.O.M. EWING 4 ANDREOS 2 CONWAY 2 HUNT 2 CRAIG
1 MONIATIS 1. HANWELL AND N. MYMMS GAMES. CONWAY 7
OTARI 6 BARKER 4 MONIATIS 4 PAGE 2 MARTIN 1 
to
be a long night ahead for Cockfosters. Fortunately for
the Cockfosters faithful, Mr Morris, no relation to our No
1, but the referee, had spotted a push and the slate
was still clean. Hanwell came at Cockfosters like a train
and for the opening fifteen minutes it was the visitors who
were doing most of the defending. When the breakthrough was
not forthcoming, Hanwell were forced to do some defending of
their own and Mr Morris this time rescued Hanwell as Jon
Moniatis fired home from the edge of the box only to be
adjudged offside. Playing just
down the road from the Polish War memorial, it was apt that
a native of that land was to play a key part in the first
half telling moments. In Jakub Machlowski, Hanwell had a
custodian that was to make fine saves from free kicks from
Steve Weldon(right) and Dan O'Connor(above). On each
occasion hurling himself to his right to deny Cockfosters a
goal. After the early pressure, Cockosters piled forward
with Danny Hutchings and Nicky Page prominent. Kevin Reade
was enjoying some success down the right and Jon Moniatis
and Dan O'Connor never let the Hanwell rearguard rest. just
when it seemed that Cockfosters were the more likely to make
the breakthrough it was Hanwell who didn't read the script.
After 28 minutes,Hanwell's Victor Osobu broke down trhe left
and tormented Reade before delivering a cross that was
firmly headed home by Mark Gallagher. Cockfosters bounced
back and within
ten
minutes were level. Lee Barker took a corner on the left;
the ball found its way back to Barker who from the corner of
the penalty area, beat Machlowski's dive with the ball
creeping inside the post. The pointers to the second half
were promising and when Dan O'Connor was off target early
on, the doubts began to set in. With an hour on the clock
Darren O'Callaghan put Hanwell back in front and the omens
were suddenly not so bright. It's true to say that
Cockfosters enjoyed much of the possession but seldom did it
seem the Reds would get anything for the rest of the night.
MOM to follow....
Not for the first time this
season we went in at half time full of confidence having
destroyed the opposition with our continual driving forward
for goal style. The opening half saw us bag two goals and
the game from hereon looked to be a formality with thoughts
of just how many more goals our weak visitors would concede.
Just 8 points from 34 starts and a leaky defence letting in
99 goals the signs were that we were going to push the poor
Blues into the century mark. Unfortunately for us that was
not to be because the second half deservedly went the way of
our visitors who came at us right from the off showing signs
that they were not going to take defeat lying down. The
initial start of the game went so predictably well for us
when a Kevin Reade gallop down the right led to a cross that
rattled the woodwork leaving Dan O'Connor to pick up the
scraps and help himself to goal 22 of the season. As the
game progressed we inevitably let opportunities go by to
pile on the goals that our destroying front play deserved.
Dave Pigden missed a good chance when O'Connor put him
through for a 'one on one' and Lee Barker only just went
wide with a snap header on goal. Nicky Page also went close
with a drilled shot that grazed the upright Everything
however was going according to plan on 20 mins when Pigden
was fouled by the blues keeper int the box and O'Connor
notched up his 23rd with an emphatic strike from the spot.
Everyone was on song for us especially Page, Reade and it
goes without saying the O'Connor lad too. A completed job in
the second half would surely take us on to 5 or six goal win
as it looked so damn easy. The half was only a few seconds
old when
London Colney hit us with a goal from Sam Mitchell,
that took us by complete surprise. That goal ignited our
visitors to dig in and fight and they did so to their credit
throughout the entire second half. Our game on the other
hand went to pot with the rhythm of the first half
completely disappearing off the park. A Francis Otari strike
could so easily have been given as a goal but amidst the
sheer speed of the action the lino decided that the ball
never crossed the line. The nightmare thought of a strike
force that has only hit the net 18 times all season getting
two against us in one game looked to be an ominous
possibility as the half progressed. The embarrassment of it
all duly arrived late in the game when Dan Fitzgerald
fired the Blues level for their deserved equaliser. We let
ourselves down badly in this game simply because we got a
bit too cocky thinking that turning up for the second half
was all that was required and we got our just deserts. Full
credit to our visitors for turning up on the pitch to make a
game of it in the second even though all seemed lost for
them. M.O.M. VOTES TO FOLLOW
Our
local lower level equivilent of a Spurs v Gunners clash
turned out to be a big let down with little or nothing to
wet one's pants over. It was very much a defenders game
where both sides produced some solid barriers in front of
their respective number one shirts. Sadly for us we did have
just one defensive lapse which presented Jimmie Martin with
a 75th minute winning strike for our visitors. Rovers
started the season off like an express season and have hit
the buffers of late and by this showing it is easy to see
the reason why. Like us they were weak on the penetration
front on the day and lack the flair to be serious title
contenders. Their can be no excuses for our own powder puff
display in front of goal with far too many players leaving
their hearts in the changing room. Rovers keeper Ashley
Harris could it has to be said would not have been missed if
he had stayed in the visitors changing room because he never
had a goal bound shot to save during the 90 mins. Everything
we tried to manufacture up front broke down early in the
move with that final piece in the jig saw never
materialising. A strong feature of our attacking play has
always been centred around our ability to hit the by line
but the Rovers defence with ex red Alan Oakes looking good
snuffed out this part of our game. The one promising feature
about this match for us was the fact that defensively we are
looking a lot better than the 79 against statistics suggest.
On this front it is of note that the return of Kevin Hunt
has coincided with this improvement. The one attack of real
threat by us was stopped dead in its tracks when Dan
O'Connor got floored on the penalty area line and whereas
most referees would have given the benefit of the doubt to
an attacking player the resulting free kick decision went
Rovers way. It is not often one of these reports is starved
of describing our usual exciting front play but this one is
different because their was none. Reade did his best to
liven up the right side to give Oakes some headaches but our
old foes held out for a win. M.O.M. OVER PAST 3 GAMES
HUNT 9 MORRIS 8 WELDON 4 LANEY 4 CASEY 4 HUTCHINGS 4
CONWAY 2 O'CONNOR 1
The blustery wind made certain that this game
would be something of a lottery with ball play very difficult to put into
exercise. According to what end a team was playing out of passing had to be one
of two things either the slightest of touches of foot on ball or plenty of
wellie in order to get the ball to its target. Colney Heath had the wind up
their backsides in the first half and surprisingly made very little use of
it. As a match it was a slow starter with the first attack on either goal not
arriving until half hour when Nicky Page fired one in from just outside the box.
Kevin Reade followed that up with a looping cross that just missed its goal the
far top corner of the net. We had luck on our side in the second half when the
wind picked up more strength. A long clearance from Chay Morris put us straight
into the attack but with the goal at his mercy Dan O'Connor slipped his shot
wide of the goal. Page running here there and everywhere as usual found himself
free on the left and again tested keeper Blackman with a stinging drive on goal.
Reade then set up Jon Moniatis with a beautifully released ball but Blackman
came to the magpies rescue when he saved at Monnies feet before he could get a
shot away. O'Connor too had a run through clear on goal only to lay off the ball
when a shot was clearly on. There is no doubt that this was a game we should
have won comfortably and Colney must have felt happy about picking up a point
whereas we were kicking ourselves not to have bagged all three. Chay had a good
game dealing comfortably with everything that came his way whilst Weldon Casey
and Conway did their best in very awkward conditions. Penalty shouts didn't go
our way with one blatant handball offence looking like a spot of basketball
play. M.O.M. VOTES TO FOLLOW.
to
some positive outcome - but not tonight. The game started in bizarre fashion -
Cockfosters win a corner after 45 seconds - the the officials having checked the
nets before-hand - counted the players on each side and all of the other
pre-kick-off admin suddenly realise that the corner flags were missing. A three
minute delay ensues before we are underway once more. The first shooting chance
fell to Dan O'Connor whose strike from the corner of the area looked likely to
surprise 'keeoer Aaron Springham but his handling was good enough. Chay Morris
had to react quickly to cover the threat of Scott Field bursting into the area
with the Waders first threat on Cockfosters goal after 14 minutes. Already the
pattern of play was becoming clear - Town playing through the midfield and
feeding Jack Weeden and Dan Heron while Cockfosters play was more resolute with
some no nonsense defending from Steve Weldon, Michael Casey and Kevin Hunt. Both
teams could point to key absentees - but those on duty produced a full bloodied
performance for the paying customers. Having settled down, Cockfosters penned
Biggleswade into their own half for several minutes producing a string of
five consecutive corners during which the home team survived two confident
appeals for handball. With Cockfosters on the front foot somebody left the back
door open for Weeden to sprint clear and only the close attention of Kevin Hunt
and the advancing Chay Morris made Weeden roll the ball past the wrong side of
the post. Biggleswade edged in front after 20 minutes when Weeden managed to
loop a header beyond the stranded Chay. Dan O'Connor and Jon Moniatis were
providing the main threat ably prompted by Danny Hutchings and the wide play of
Kevin Reade. With half-time approaching, Biggleswade against the run of the
play, doubled their lead. There were plenty of red shirts in the penalty area as
Jack Weeden twisted clear of Kevin Reade to cross to the far post for
Biggleswade's predator-in chief, Dan Heron to head home unchallenged. Seven red
arms, something like the old Arsenal defence, pointed into the night sky
claiming offside - but the goal stood. The second half started brightly for
Cockfosters and after Jon Moniatis had been upended - Reade curled in the
free-kick which was headed back across the goal for Rob Laney to hook home from
twelve yards.
For
several minutes an equaliser looked on the cards and when Dan O'Connor was
tagged as he burst into the area - the fact that he stumbled but did not go down
was to cost Cockfosters dear. These were dodgy times for Biggleswade but the
Waders managed to repel the surges of O'Connor and Moniatis. Midway through the
half and Biggleswade really took control having by far their best spell of the
game and although Chay Morris did not have a save of note to make, the home side
were unfortunate to have a shot cleared off the line and were creating some
dangerous situations as Cockfosters wilted. Just as it seemed the home side
would be the next to score, Cockfosters drew breath for one last onslaught. With
88 minutes played Kevin Reade spun and lashed a shot inches wide of the post
with all in attendance waiting for the net to bulge. With the clock showing 90
minutes, Dan O'Connor unleashed a fierce drive that had the frame of the goal
rattling as he hit the post. There was still time for more pressure as
Cockfosters piled forward - even Chay Morris raced the length of the pitch for a
couple of corners in the dying seconds but the Waders managed to hold out to
move into second place in the league. Not the prettiest game you will ever see
but you would need to go some way to find a more battling performance. A credit
to everyone in a red shirt. To single out individuals would be unfair but a
special mention to Morris, Reade, Laney,Weldon, Hunt, Casey, Conway, Hutchings,
Moniatis, O'Connor, Martin, Pigden and Chandler and not forgetting "The Voice"
....... M.o.M. to follow.... 
from
the left found the visitors defence in a panic leaving
enough space for Danny Hutchings to fire in a shot which was
dealt with by a block. The loose running ball turned up at
the feet of a grateful Jon Moniatis who lashed
home
from close in. We continued to attack and would surely have
added to our tally but for some outrageous offside calls.
Steve Weldon came very close with one of his free kick
missiles whilst Nicky Page could have done better when an
inviting Dave Pigden angled pass landed at his feet.
Defensively we looked sound although much of the work was
being done by our last line man Chay Morris. Early into the
second half Page was the one doing most of the tormenting
giving his marker a torrid time. He had four quickfire bursting
runs on goal all of which were fruitless with the best
chance getting blazed wildly over the bar. Rob Laney also
had a couple of pearlers that
tested the keeper to the full but Jack Chandler missed the
best opportunity to seal the game for us when he drove
straight at the very impressive Ross Channer from six yards.
Oxhey in the meantime were getting plenty of the ball and
one break on 70 mins down the left exposed our back line
leaving Tim O'Mara a free run on goal for a fortuitous shot
that
had just enough gas in its tank to hit the upright before
dribbling over the line. Kevin Reade had a snap chance to
win it for us late in the game and Oxhey too it could be
said were denied a winner when a Wayne Gladdy strike saw the
ball hit our crossbar. A fairly ordinary game with a fairly
ordinary result. M.O.M. VOTES MARTIN 3 PAGE 3 WELDON 2
MONIATIIS 2 MORRIS 1 HUTCHINGS 1 HOLMER GN, READE
6 PAGE 3 BARKER 2 OTIRA 1.
oncoming
challenge of keeper Adam Lawrence. At this stage United were
showing distinct signs of having no answer to checking our
attacking play and this in turn led to their own attack
taking on powder puff proportions. Nicky Page of late has
been producing an energetic work rate that allies itself to
having 12 players on the pitch. Just before the half hour
his fetching and carrying role of picking up any scraps on
offer saw him popping up 30 yards from goal with an inviting
dig their for the taking. The subsequent attempt on goal had
everything going right for it the moment the ball left
Nick's boot and thus left an embarrassed
keeper
the task of clearing the unwanted debris from his net. A two
nil half time lead was in no way a true reflection on how we
totally dominated the half. The general half time chatter
centred around the fact that we did have wind advantage and
the second half could be a different story. It was not so
and if anything we played even better. Nicky Page should
have made it 3. 0. with less than a minute into the half.
Dave Pigden was proving very lively up front and was unlucky
not to get on the score sheet with some bursting runs into
the box. It was Page again who set up Reade with a snap
twist and turn chance that skimmed the crossbar. We were
still coasting through the game when Moniatis made way for
the unleashing of the 'Reds' answer to Maradonna and that
flattering comparison is purely down to the pocket
battleship build Ben Andreos has in liking with the stocky
Argentinian. Ben up front is a frightening sight for any
defence and the two goals he blasted home in the 79the and
90th mins were all about power play which is in truth
another great asset Diego possessed. Our back line did have
a bit more to do in the second half but what threats did
come the way of Steve Weldon's well drilled back line were
comfortably snuffed out due mainly to a superb Francis Otira
performance. M.O.M/ OTIRA 4 READE 4 WELDON 3 MARTIN 1.
EYNESBURY MATCH . CONWAY 5 CASEY 3 O'CONNOR 2 WELDON 1
MONIATIS 1 
On ten minutes we went down as a result of a typical
Cockfosters cock up when Craig Tomkins was allowed to nip in
between our back line and Chay for a simple lobbed ball into
an open net. Our response to this setback should have been
swift when O'Connor blazed a splendid chance wildly over the
bar so much so a 40 foot high net would not have collected
the ball. We did however manage to pull level on 40 mins
following a free kick from the left which Welwyn defended
badly by producing a bungled clearance which had the makings
of an own goal written all over it until Weldon put the
final finishing touch to claim the honours. Charitable to
the extreme as always we let Welwyn in for the lead again
just before the break. An innocent looking corner kick led
to a penalty decision against us when Chay was judged to
have pushed a defender in the back as the ball came across.
Neil Richardson accepted the grateful gift from the
spot. The second half produced our usual catalogue of
spurned chances with Casey, Hutchings and a Monnie howler
all denying us the chance to seek our revenge on the Welwyn
bogey.. A classic Nielson through ball to the galloping Dan
O'Connor did however produce that deserved leveller after 58
mins. Dan as cool as you like took time to check out the
'lino' to make sure his run was timed right before planting
his 21st goal of the season away. Defending corner kicks is
not one of our specialities over this season and on 65 mins
we showed again just how awful we are in this department.
Over comes the cross, a free header for Richard Morton
and 'bob,s your uncle' it looks so damn easy as the ball
hits the back of the net. Kevin Reade who had produced some
dazzling wing play for us as a second half sub went straight
down the line from the restart and sent over a teasing cross
that completely screwed up keeper Bartley leaving him a
spectator to a ball that drifted over his head into the net.
A fairly even game with us just about being justified in
saying it was two points lost rather than one gained.
Without being too optimistic it does appear that our 11
points from the last available 21 has secured us another
season in the premier league. M.O.M. O'CONNOR 3
MONIATIS 3 WELDON 2 PAGE 2 READE 2
For
a brief opening 5 minute spell our visitors looked the
business and containing them for the full 90 mins looked to
be a tall order. That however was it and for the rest of the
game we took complete control with typical 'Reds' gung ho
football. The Tring defence took a mauling as we pushed
forward attacking from all angles Kevin Reade especially was
clearly up for it with some great wing play down the right
but we were not quite getting the rub of the green to
capitalise on the openings created, Dan O'Connor had the
best of the chances up for grabs in our early raids but our
pitch did us no favours when a wicked bobbling ball denied
our 18 goal man the opportunity to make it 19. A wild Steve
Weldon clearance turned out to be a brilliant defence
splitting pass that sent Jon Moniatis free on a goal gallop
only for him to be denied by a keepers despairing leg save.
A cleverly worked Nicky Page frree kick routine with Monnie
set the latter up for another strike which blazed across the
face of the goal. Reade clean through on goal also found the
bobble gremlins in the box to stop us taking the lead. Page
then went close with one of his trade mark far post drifters
that narrowly missed its top angle target. Our well deserved
break through came on 24 mins when a Reade corner kick found
Weldon getting just enough head on the ball to cause panic
in the Tring box. Amidst the confusion that followed Michael
Casey stabbed the ball home from close in. Although being
totally outplayed Tring got a present of an equaliser when
some sloppy defending allowed Humphrey's the opportunity to
smash the ball home from close range on 40 mins. The second
half opened up with us still very much in the driving seat
and Tring's back line could only respond to it by constantly
whining for 'lino' flag calls. Danny Hutchings guided a
beauty towards goal that was bettered only by the keeping
that kept the ball out of the net. Moniatis then smacked a
fierce volley that only just failed to burst the net.. It
was O'Connor who eventually put us back in front after 52
mins when he jinked his way into the box and sold enough
dummies to find the space for a shot that crept across the
line via the upright. If Dan has an Achilles heel then it is
in his head not his feet and it showed up when Reade sent
over a cross that demanded a goal from it but somehow Dan
missed the chance to get into the twenties by sending the
gift over the bar.
Hutch had another terrific dig on goal(pictured) that found
the keeper denying him once again and one Monnie drifting
run across the box led to a pass to Reade which should have
been buried. With five to go our long sought after comfort
goal came when a free kick by Weldon was arrowed home so
viciously the keeper never moved a muscle as the ball
flashed past him.. A well deserved win and in truth Tring
were taught a footballing lesson and played off the park. In
defence we had a good day except for the gifted equaliser.
Francis Otira gets better with every game whilst Nick Martin
is doing the same. For the second game running M.O.M. votes
were not easy to give out simply because from one to eleven
the team played good football WELDON 5 HUTCHINGS 3 READE 2
OTIRA 2
Laney
desperately unlucky not to score in the opening minute when
he galloped past a statuesque Chalfont defence. This was
quickly followed up by a Kevin Reade raid down the right
which produced a cross for Jon Moniatis to test the keeper
out with a firm header. Throughout the first half Laney and
Reade were constantly switching their touchline patrols and
these tactics clearly upset the visitors defence. A Dan
O'Connor free kick only just failed to produce the goods
when Laney again brought the best out of the keeper with a
bullet header that was finger tipped over the bar. Our
goalkeeping problems before the game meant that the all
action man Danny Curbelo was called upon to put his
versatile talents to use guarding our net. Thankfully our
Dan knows only one way to play the game no matter what
position he plays and he was doing a great job at imitating
a keeper so that we went in at the break with a well
deserved share of the spoils. Things got even better 5 mins
into the restart when Rob Laney created havoc with a gutsy
never say die run down the left. Amidst the mayhem that
followed the Chalfont defence was breached when those
famous white boots latched on to a loose ball inside the box
and their owner finished in style with a cleverly planted
shot across the keeper. Jon Moniatis made that goal look so
very easy but in truth it was quality through and through.
Even better things were
soon
to come when 4 mins later O'Connor and keeper Power
Simpson both chased for a rogue fifty, fifty ball. As the
determined
pair met at the edge of the box their scrap for the ball
sent it on a path behind the keeper into an empty net for
Dan's 15th of the season. Unfortunately Chalfont were soon
let back in the game 3 mins later when our worrying
inability to consistently deal with corner kick situations
led to Charlie Strutton crashing the ball home from close
range. Super sub Strutton came to his sides rescue with
another goal before the final whistle. The closing stages
saw Chalfont power forward in search of a winning goal but
the Cockfosters rearguard superbly marshalled by Steve
Weldon ensured that justice was seen to be done. This was a
very encouraging performance against good opponents and
Chalfont must have left Chalk Lane puzzled as to why we are
are so lowly placed in the league. Its been a long time
coming but how pleasing it is to see Rob Laney back on song
after injury. M.O.M. votes.....Dan O'Connor 5, Danny Curbelo
3, Danny Hutchings 3, Steve Weldon 1
nightmares
which presented our visitors with 3 late first half goals we
should have added to our opening goal Firstly O'Connor made a
mess of a one on one where he clearly checked his run waiting
for an off side flag that never came and it all ended up with
him fluffing a simple chance. Ben Andreos then went narrowly
wide with a wicked swerving 30 yarder that only just had too
much bend on it at the end of its flight on goal. Ben then
followed this up with a disappointing unchallenged tame header
on goal that lacked both venom and direction. Our nigh total
capitulation in defence that turned the game on its head 5
minutes before the break produced goals for Biggleswade's Dan
Heron (two) and Jamie Steele. It was a freak half time
scoreline brought about by a calamitous mini spell of charitable
defending on our part. The second half opened up perfectly for
us when a skidding free kick from O'Connor slipped under
Springham's body and we were back in the game
with
a
goal just 5 mins into the second period. As much as we tried we
could not produce the leveller that we richly deserved and as
what nearly always happens when an all out attacking ploy is put
into practice the breakaway goal is always a threat. This
predictably was conceded late in the game when Dan Heron
completed his hat trick with a goal that really should have been
ruled off side. Before this goal the opportunities were their
for us to notch that elusive equaliser but those wasted chances
in front of goal that forever plague our game still continue to
haunt us. O'Connor missed the best of these with a simple chance
to score with a close in header. Dan however was our main
attacking threat throughout and should have bagged a penalty
with one brilliant run on goal. Nick Nicou worked hard up front
and his holding up of the ball was a joy to watch in what was a
solid all round display. M.O.M. NICOU 5 ANDREOS 3 READE 2
O'CONNOR 2. RUISLIP MATCH READE 5 ANDREOS 2 OKEKE 2 PAGE
1 WELDON 1 PENFOLD 1
decided to go for placing the ball into the net and
unfortunately for our skipper the keeper guessed right and saved
to is right. Deep into injury time Kevin Reade set up Samson
Okeke for a run on goal and it all ended up with a clinical chop
down challenge inside the box We all waited to see if Ben
Andreos could notch up what would be only our second home point
of the season with an equalising strike from the spot. That
second home point of the season was duly secured with a penalty
that had so much power in it the keeper would have ended up in
Cockfosters cricket ground had he got in the way of the ball.
m.o.m. votes to follow. M.O.M. ROMFORD GAME OKEKE 5
HUTCHINGS 3 WELDON 2 READE 2