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COCKFOSTERS 3 AMERSHAM TOWN 1 This was argueably our best league performance of the season to date considering our visitors were no pushover. The Amersham of old are no more and they came to Chalk Lane displaying some quality football that had us on the back foot early in the game. With Jon Moniatis sidelined through injury Dave Pigden took on the central strike role for us and his terrier like play was always going to unsettle the Amersham defence. Rob Laney soon came into the game and should have done better when clean through on goal just prior to the Maggies taking the lead. It looked ominous if only because of the way they easily carved us open at the back. Fortunately straight from the kick off a corner kick led to us drawing level when Rob Laney thumped home a cracking header. From hereon we began to control more of the game and skipper Steve Weldon got things sorted out at the back. Just when it seemed level pegging was going to the case at half time an Amersham dfender laid one on the plate for Dave Pigden to score. The second half saw us picking up another gear and in particular Rob Laney was on fire popping up on both right and left lanes giving Amersham,s defence all sorts of headaches. It was fitting that our third goal came from our wing wizard. A Dan O,Connor corner was driven in low to the near post where Rob met the ball on the half volley and in a split second Sam Beasant saw the net bulging behind him. Whether it had been father Dave or son Sam no keeper was going to stop that one. It was a move perfected by Sheringham and he would have liked to have had that goal to call his own. M.O.M. AWARDS REDBRIDGE. WELDON 8 MONIATIS 4 BEDFORD AND V. WELDON 5 CASEY 4 POUNCETT 2 LANEY 1 AMERSHAM. LANEY 8 WELDON 2 HAYCOCK 2 |
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F.A. VASE BEDFORD AND VALERIO 2 COCKFOSTERS 1 Our second trip to McMullen Park in the space of three weeks proved to be just as frustrating as the league encounter. We certainly done most of the pushing forward as stats of 17 corners to 4 tend to prove but alas the vital stats of goals for and against were not in our favour. It did not help matters that our hosts played a very physical game with a free kicks score of 18 to 7 and to put it mildly we got a bit of a roughing up on the pitch. As with the league game the B.and V. attack had a predominately left sided flow to its game and once again the lively Jason Layne gave us problems in defence. It was his cross that set up Robert Taylor for a goal against the run of play on 30 mins. We had our chances as usual and as usual we did not take them. One cast iron case of hand ball in the box sadly did not go our way and robbed us of a level half time score. We were certainly missing the Ben Penfold engine room as indeed Gary Haycock,s aerial work was being missed especially with 17 corner kicks to feed off. Mid way through the second half B. and V. were made to pay for their rough play and lost a player to a red card following a reckless tackle on Kevin Hunt. The opportunity to exploit the hosts weakness was not fully taken up by us and instead the final nail in the coffin came on 75 mins when our pushing forward led to Colin Reid finding himself in oceans of space to net for a 2 0 advantage. That goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of us and although we battled on to score an added time goal through Rob Laney the end result was a frustrating exit from the F.A. Vase. Steve Weldon was his usual collossus in defence whilst Brian Pouncett helped our skipper out with a solid supporting role. We deserved something out of this game but sadly luck was not on our side and if netball rules had not been applied a fair result would have been a replay at Chalk Lane. M.O.M. awards to follow. |
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 WELlDONe AS COCKFOSTERS K.O. REDBRIDGE. Cockfosters battled through to the Second Round of the London Senior Cup after a stirring performance against Ryman Isthian League Division One (North) earned them a well deserved 3-2 win. Starting as firm underdogs the expectations were never high, but try telling that to Daid Craigs team who took on and more than matched their higher ranked opponents. Redbridge,as expected, started the quicker and working the Cockfosters defence and midfield, the home side were unable to get on the front foot as Redbridge looked the more likely to break the deadlock. Cockfosters were guilty of too cheaply giving away possesion and with it handed the initiative to the opposition. Although Cockfosters were mostly on defensive duty, very little breached their back line which was superbly marshalled by Steve Weldon. Ian Luck for Redbridge looked the biggest threat but even he was unable to muster too many chances. Chay Morris , in the Cockfosters goal, dealt comfortably with any dangers and Redbridge had no way through. The breakthrough came a minute before half-time with a neat move that involved Dan O’Connor and Jon Moniatis. Moniatis , fed by O’Connor , worked his way in from the right before providing Nicky Steward with the chance to fire past Tony Tucker in the Redbridge goal. Allbeit against the run of play, it was just the boost Cockfosters needed and within five minutes of the Restart the lead was doubled. This time Moniatis cut in from the right and worked his way across the face of the goal before firing past Tucker. Redbridge were stunned and immediately made a double substitution designed to bring on the big guns. But for Cockfosters it just got better, Nicky Steward once more down the right, cu in before releasing Moniatis to put Cockfosters 3-0 up. Inevitably, Redbridge threw everything but the kitchen sink at Cockfosters who in Steve Weldon had the inspirational player of the evening. Weldon was superb, not only on his own defensive responsibilities, but keeping everone else at it. Chay Morris was made to pull off two magnificent saves to keep the rejuvinated visitors out. But even so there was still time for Rob Laney to fire narrowly over and for Gary Haycock to miss by inches. With the clock running down Chris Sloane got one back for Redbridge on 83 minutes and four minutes later Cockfosters were breached as Ian Luck scored from close in. Although it was Cockfosters now waiting for the final whistle, there could be no denying that the reward for a Second Round place against either Haringey Borough or Romford was well deserved. When looking for the outsrtanding player of the evening, it would be unfair to rule anyone out, but Steve Weldon marshalled his troops brilliantly with Morris, Moniatis, Steward, Pouncett and Penfold among others all doing stirring shifts. |
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COCKFOSTERS 3 ARLESEY ATH 1 Our visitors came to Dacre Field with a poor track record and left with an even poorer one. They were no match for us and had no answers to our constant raiding on goal which in turn left little or no support for their front men to operate. Needless to say we squandered our usual net full of chances in a first half that produced just one goal a thumping header from centre back Gary Haycock. It came via a Gavin Conway corner and the type of header Gary produced just does not get saved no matter whom the keeper. Over recent games our first half buzzing play has not continued into the second half and this match was no exception as we seemed to lose our creativity especially in the midfield area. It developed into scrappy stuff and a second goal was going to have to be ground out rather than fashioned from flowing play. Who better to do the grinding than the tireless terrier Dave Pigden. Only hIs style of dogged play could have produced the opening that laid one on the plate for Ben Penfold to steer a sweetly placed shot past the keeper. That goal should have been a comfortable enough cushion to see us through to the final whistle but Gary Haycock made a right cock up of a back pass to Chay and Athletic took the chance to get back in the game. If our second goal was all about Dave Pigden,s gritty play then our third was all about Jon Moniatis and his favourite party trick of getting to the by line for a pull back across the six yard box. It is a defenders nightmare of a ball to deal with and this one was no different with Mister Penfold again being on hand to smash home his second goal. One thing that is becoming more and more apparent in the squad is an infectious camaraderie spirit developing within the changing room and bar. Such an atmosphere is a vital ingredient to any team and David Craig must be well pleased to see it their in his players. It can only auger well for our vital Vase encounter with Bedford and V. Good luck lads. M.O.M. VOTES PENFOLD 7 HAYCOCK 4 MONIATIS 1 |
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 F.A. VASE. COCKFOSTERS 2 STEWARTS AND LLOYDS 0 After our nasty hiccup against Bedford and V. it was good to see the team not suffering a hangover and our Vase opponents were brushed aside without much of a fight. The early opportunities were all coming our way and our United Counties opposition rarely found time to put together any attacks as we pushed forward finding little difficulty in getting behind their backline. We were buzzing with a lot of width down both flanks namely Laney and Kessack who went bombing down the line at every available opportunity. The visitors goal suffered scare after scare but their luck finally run out when Laney was felled en route to the penalty area. Gavin Conway,s ensuing free kick drilled in hard had the S. and L. defence in all sorts of panic and amidst the confusion that busy bee Mister Penfold somehow chested the ball into the net. Our continued attacking play deserved more rewards especially when Jon Moniatis was clinically scythed down in the box without favour from the referee. In the second half we seemed to lose our shape but without any real threats on Chays well protected goal. Indeed skipper Steve Weldon was in a very mean mood allowing nothing to get past him. It was a masterful display of defending being well worthy of a convincing M.O.M. award. Their were several chances that should have secured the tie for us but agonisingly we squandered them leaving the game frustratingly delicately balanced. The introduction of sub Nicky Steward injected a bit more fizz into our play and it was his darting run across the box that set up Rob Laney who in turn had his heels clipped. This time the referee saw the injustice of it and Jon had no probs dispatching the spot kick. Having already proved we are more than a match for Bedford and V. the next round should hold no fears for us and it would be great to venture further down the Vase path. An edited version of this report can be seen in this weeks issue of Non League Football. M.O.M. Awards Bedford and V. WELDON 5 LANEY 3 PENFOLD 2 MONIATIS 1 BROOKS 1 Stewart and Lloyds WELDON 8 LANEY 2 PENFOLD 2 |
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 BEDFORD UTD AND VALERIO 2 COCKFOSTERS 1 How on earth we managed to lose this game is a mystery and certainly Jimmy Greaves got it right when he said ,its a funny old game, In a first half which had the home defence running around in circles chasing red shadows we should have had at least 4 goals in the bank. As it panned out we got just one a Ben Penfold daisy cutter that beat the keeper all ends up. Chance after chance went begging and B.and V. must have been heaven thankful that we were in such a charitable mood as to let them off the hook with just a 1. 0. half time lead. Rob Lanney was causing most of the havoc with his right wing raids but far too many of his set ups were wasted. Gavin Conways attempt to guide a shot into the net was very unlucky when the ball smacked the upright. The second half for the first 15 mins served up more of the same and then our bench came into play with Ben Penfold making way for Dan O,Connor followed by the rare sight of Jon Moniatis being replaced by Dave Pigden. From hereon however we took our foot off the gas and the home forwards were given more support which resulted in a wonder strike that beat Chay Morris all ends up. David Craig then came on for Gavin Conway in an attempt to put us back on track but the wheels came well and truly off when B.and V. could not believe their luck by netting a last gasp winner direct from a corner. Football is all about you win some and you lose some but make no bones about it this was a bad game to lose simply because we gift wrapped 3 points to a lesser team. |
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COCKFOSTERS 1 ASTON CLINTON 2 With us riding high in Div 1 holding the same points total as the league leaders and Aston Clinton floundering in the bottom half of Div 2 this game looked to be a straightforward stepping stone into the next round of the Challenge cup. Add to this the fact we held home advantage it is even more remarkable that our lowly visitors managed to pull off a mini giant killing act at our expense. Where they were up for it was in defence and our starting eleven with a few new faces had little answer to breaking our visitors down. One of these new faces Gary Haycock however did produce our best first half effort with a header cleared off rthe line. It was not in the script for us to go into the break two down but thats exactly what happened and this provoked the response to bring on the big guns sitting on the bench. Imediately our game took on a new look and Rob Laney in particular brought some much needed width to our game. Aston,s defence still managed to hold out with some very spirited defending and it was not until late in the game that they eventually succumbed to a smartly taken Dan O,Connor goal.We paid the penalty for underestimating the opposition and well and truly got caught with our pants down. Out of the disaster came some light if only for the unearthing of a fresh find in Gary Haycock who impressed so much on his debut that he walked off with a maximum M.O.M. tally. VOTES HAYCOCK 8 BARKER 2 LANEY 2. |
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 COCKFOSTERS 3 CRANFIELD 1 Considering our indifferent form in the pre season warm ups we would have settled for 12 pts from 15 prior to the season starting. What is encouraging so far is the fact that our starting eleven has yet to show any signs of being a stable unit. Each game has seen three or four fresh faces on the pitch and yet with the Rovers game as an exception we have been playing some good football right across the park. On the face of it we appear to have moulded together a squad that gels as a team no matter what combination is used.Certainly in defence their is a more determined approach to not leak silly goals and that once regular feature of our game which left the keeper in no mans land facing a ,one on one , situation has been totally absent this season. Skipper Steve Weldon has been instrumental in marshalling a very compact back line no matter who he has for company. Form suggested that United were going to be in for a tough encounter and fending off our constant raids on their goal would be a difficult job. Within 5 mins they wilted as a determined Dave Pigden wormed his way into the box only to be upended when about to pull the trigger. Without wishing to tempt providence a Jon Moniatis spot kick is a goal in the bag before the penalty is taken and this one was no exception. We continued to run rings around our visitors overworked defence and causing most of the havoc were our wide men Lee Barker and Rob Laney. On 30 mins we finally added the second that had been threatening to come and it came via a foul on Jon just outside the box. At free kicks we seem to have adopted two options, one being a Weldon bullet that gets drilled hard and true while the other a more subtle floating bender which Gavin Conway possesses in his armoury. It was the latter that put us two up as an embarassed keeper could only spectate a Beckham lookalike that squeezed just inside the upright. The second half continued in its one way traffic vein as time and time again we set up raids on the United goal. Our third goal was an absolute gem being the end product of a lightning piece of interactive play which would have sliced open a Sherman Tank and their was no answer to counteracting such a move. It all started with a Lee Barker run down the left which opened up the play to Conway, Laney and then Moniatis who applied the ,coup de grace, slotting home an angled shot into an unguarded net. Cranfield did manage a bit of a rally late in the game following a harsh penalty award given against Scott Brooks for handball but we held on comfortably for the 3 pts. Mister Penfold had a good game much to the delight of his young supporters who journeyed down from nearby East Barnet school. All in all a good solid performance from the reds and finding M.O.M. was not an easy task. VOTES LANEY 3 MONIATIS 3 BARKER 2 MORRIS 2 CONWAY 2 |
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 HARPENDEN 1 COCKFOSTERS 2 This was our third win in four games by the odd goal but these stats do not paint a true picture as to how we have dominated proceedings in these encounters. Harpenden were on the rack from the very start and they had to soak up a lot of early pressure from our penetrating raids through their backline. Taking into account the difficult windswept conditions some of our footie was quality stuff which our hosts had very little answer to. Our first real threat on the home goal however came from a fluke cross cum shot from Steve Kessack that grazed the crossbar. Within minutes we did profit from our relentless raids on goal and providing the goods was our goal machine Jon Moniatis. Superlatives describing Jons play are close to being exhausted but it has to be said his latest goal on our behalf ouzed sheer class. Picking up the ball on the edge of the box their seemed to be no apparent danger with Jon being well marshalled by a trio of defenders but in a flash an opening was created via a clever flick over his head quickly followed by a rifling drive that saw the ball burst its way across the line brushing the keeper aside on its way. Our first half efforts rightly deserved another goal and it duly came just prior to the break following a Gavin Conway corner. The over hit corner came back into the box from Steve Kessacks head straight into the path of the incoming Scott Brooks who coolly headed home. The second half saw Harpenden make a brave attempt to get back into the game and although they pulled one back within 15 mins following a rare piece of sloppy defending they never seriously looked like getting anything from the game. In truth the scoreline flattered the home team and we should have added at least another brace to our tally. One penalty appeal was laughingly turned down by the referee following a burst through on goal by Jon Moniatis.To say an octopus could not have done a better job of pulling him down is an understatement. Our finishing in general this season is not backing up the hard work that is being put in to create the openings and when the two do click some team is in for a good hiding. We had a young debutant in Rob Laney putting in an impressive showing on the right whilst Ben Penfold, Scott Brooks, Jon Moniatis and Steve Wheldon all caught the M.O.M. judges eyes. BROOKS 4 PTS PENFOLD 3 MONIATIS 2 LANEY 2 WHELDON 1 |
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 COCKFOSTERS 1 NEW BRADWELL O This game was not very old when it became abundantly clear that our visitors defence was going to be easy to slice open. Sure enough we managed to penetrate their backline at will and went about peppering the Saints goal as player after player queued up to have a go. Jon Moniatis, Nicky Steward and Jason Grostate were amongst the guilty who wasted golden opportunities to give us the lead our total domination deserved. The best of these wasted chances came from a Grostate stinging drive that was only just tipped over the bar by the heroic Bradwell keeper. Aided by some diabolical finishing from the lads in red our visitors somehow hung on in there until half time. At the start of the second half siege Grostate moved back in defence and Dave Pigden on for Kevin Hunt was given the opportunity to see if he could hit the net. Dave had his chances but luck was being dished out by the bucket load to the Saints leaky rearguard and as the game wore on it looked ominous that we were going to throw away 3 points. Gavin Conway had a hat trick of missed chances late in the game and one in particular should have been buried. Shortly afterwards it was horror movie stuff as Bradwell found a way past our back line for a ,one on one, but fortunately for us the nightmare did not transpire and Chay Morris dealt with the situation magnificently. Just when it seemed that all our hard work was going to be rewarded with a measly point up popped Ben Penfold with a despairing run into our opponents box. The tackle on Ben seemed more powder puff than maliscoius but the referee saw it differently and had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Up stepped Jon Moniatis and three points were rightfully in the bag. M.O.M. VOTES BRIMSDOWN MATCH OKEKE 7 PTS. CONWAY 2PTS, MORRIS 2PTS WELDON 1PT. NEW BRADWELL MATCH MONIATIS 6 PTS. CONWAY 6 PTS |
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 BRIMSDOWN ROVERS 4 COCKFOSTERS 0 Coming off the back of two impressive curtain raiser displays both teams were rightly justified in feeling confident of local derby success. Despite the eventual one sided scoreline it is true to say that we could so easily have gone into a two goal lead before the rout started. Firstly Steve Kessack was unlucky to find an assistants flag denying him a goal following a crisp move that sliced open the Rovers defence and then shortly afterwards Jon Moniatis got free down the right but his cross shot went narrowly wide. From hereon things went terribly pear shaped and the hosts gradually wore us down with their game that is geared up to pace and high fitness levels. In particular their wide men run our back line ragged. Goals on 25 and 40 mins for Rovers meant we were going to battle against it in the second half. Battle we did but the hosts superior play had us on the back foot far too often and we were exposed the moment we pushed forward. Rovers deservedly went further ahead on 70 and 80 mins whilst the only threats on their goal came from a Gavin Conway strike and a Bullet free kick that the keeper only just parried. Our hosts it has to be said looked a class act and their play is a guideline to what we need to achieve. The few plus factors in the game for us came with a good display from keeper Chay Morris and a battling contribution from Gavin Conway. The Brimsdown game was all about pace and to be honest we had very little answer to it. M/O/M votes to follow. |
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 COCKFOSTERS 2 BRACHE SPARTA 1 This was always going to be a testing game for us and therefore a good indicator as to how the new set up was working. Certainly things looked ominous when pre match injuries rained in thick and fast leaving Dave a limited selection to rustle up a starting line up. For the first 20 mins it was a very even game as both sides checked each other out and noticeable in this opening spell were the free roaming runs of skipper Steve Kessack especially down the left flank. Its great to see Steve given the opportunity play in a more attacking role and first impressions are he will be an inspirational leader for the Reds. Our opening goal came on 20 mins via an unusual route. Jason Grostate tried to set up Jon Moniatis but his cross the box pass was a bit heavy resulting in Jon having to retrieve the ball on the by line, Jon then laid the ball into the path Nicky Steward . Surrounded by Brache defenders Nicky displayed ball skills only he is capable of and in a flash an opening was created for him to lash home a cross shot that smacked the upright before nestling in the net. Ten mins later and against the run of play Brache were level following a howler from Dan Adams which led to a break behind our back line. Despite this setback we continued to harras the Foxes and deservedly nosed in front again on 35 mins. Jon Moniatis chasing a long through ball pass went head to head with keeper Vasquez and when they met on the edge of the box our star front man got just enough on the ball for it to roll into the path of Jason Grostate. Jason gobbled up the opportunity to sweep the loose ball into an unguarded net. The second half was filled with plenty of slick flowing footie but neither side managed to find the net and the match ended with a well deserved 3 points in the bag. Amongst the pluses from this match were a very convincing display from Jason Grostate who seems to be the ideal foil to play along side Jon. In particular he showed that he knows how to hold the ball up allied with body strength and skills to worry the best of defences. Samson Okeke(pictured) also shone with some cavalier runs that were unlucky not to lead to goals. Steve Kessack run his legs off for the team and clearly showed his fitness levels are on an amazing high. Nicky was buzzing throughout, whilst Gavin Conways solid contribution kept our midfield well on top throughout. All in all a very promising start . M.O.M. VOTES. OKEKE 4 STEWARD 4 GROSTATE 4 |
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