What a memorable season! Apart from the “Dave Whitehead” promotion season of 1997/98, this ranks as the best in very many years. Scant consolation to the coaching staff and players though, who, right up to the end, believed that they could still win the league or at least come runners-up. That they battled right to the bitter end is to their great credit.
Back row (l to r): Kevin Cooper, Matt Barnaby, Glenn Draper, Chris Fitkin, Matt Cope, Nicky Turner, Daniel Staples, Sam Berry, Dave McEwen.
Front row - Leo Turner, John Sapsford, Louis Hill, Joel Maybury, Jason Coughlan, Curtis Johnson, Frank Compton, Phil Goss, Alan Oakes.
Manager Brian Owen had been in charge for the final games of the 2002/3 season, when the Club faced the harsh realisation that it wasn’t good enough for Div 1 North. Despite Brian introducing some exciting new players, it was all too late and we faced 2003/4 as a Division 2 club. Brian retained a few of the old squad and brought in a couple more of his former Crawley players, Phil Goss and Tony Sweet. He also brough in coaches Gary Berry and Les Picking; during the season Gary left, and Dave Pentecost, recent manager of Ware, joined us. The season got off to an inauspicious start in the Herts Charity Shield at Hemel Hempstead Town, where the home side rattled in seven goals. On the plus side, we got three!
At the eleventh hour, as a direct result of the withdrawal of Tring Town, the League decided that each team would be played three times and arbitrarily introduced the extra fixtures – it being pot luck who you got to visit twice.
All seemed right when the league action began though, as a fine 3-1 win at Wokingham Town got us off to a confident start. Few really expected more than a top six finish but Brian had other ideas! With Kevin Cooper, back from his brief spell at Ware, and ex pro Dave McEwen rattling in the goals, and Curtis Johnson weighing in with more than his fair share it looked like we were in for a fine season. A brief hiccup in the FA Cup saw us throw away a game at home to Lowestoft Town that we had bossed for the first 70 minutes, and with it the chance to earn some much needed cash.
On we marched in the League. A visit to Leighton Town in early September saw us drop our first points and lose Dave McEwen to injury. Leading until the 98th minute with a Phil Leggatt goal, we contrived to gift Leighton a goal as the referee seemed intent on playing until Leighton scored. No-one suspected at the time that Leighton would go on and win the league! Lowly Chalfont St Peter somehow held us to a draw at The Park, despite our 15 corners to their nil. Again controversial refereeing was involved as Chalfont’s goal followed a clear hand-ball. It was all put right at Dorking on a spectacular Indian Summer day in late September, when we won 3-0 in match where we could easily have recorded a much higher score. Again, few at that point would have marked Dorking down as runners-up!
We remained unbeaten until mid-October when Clapton brought us to a shuddering halt. Already with the scalps of Leighton Town and Chertsey, Clapton were clearly a force to be reckoned with. They won 2-0 at The Park despite losing their goalkeeper to a red card, and doubts began to creep in.
Now it was FA Vase time. We were exempt until the First Round Proper because of our move down from the Trophy, and entered the fray in October at United Counties side Yaxley. The first coach outing of the season was a tremendous success as the increase in support continued to snowball. In a thrilling match which went to extra time after sub Nicky Turner had grabbed a late equaliser, we won the game through an exquisite lob by another sub, Gary Norton.
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We saw off a weakened “midweek” Witham Town and made a second visit to Leighton Town. This time we “got out of gaol”, when Leo Turner scored a rare goal to earn us a fortunate point. We exited the Bryco Cup at the first attempt, when we weren’t good enough to compete with Harlow Town at the Sports Centre. Another defeat came a few days later when we were shocked when Abingdon Town, from the lower reaches of the division comprehensively beat us 3-0. The lads put this behind them though, with a fine run of results which saw the establishment of the best away record in the division. Three away wins in a row were recorded without conceding a goal, punctuated only by a 0-0 home draw against the old enemy in early November. Ware were good value for their point and really should have done better.
Late November saw us in Vase action again. This time at
Eastern Counties side Newmarket Town. We were relieved to note that they had
just sold their 25 goal centre forward to Brentford! In driving rain the boys
fought another epic battle, and after going a goal behind came out 4-2 winners
despite missing a late penalty. A heavy price was paid though, as Dave McEwen,
just back from the Leighton injury broke down again.
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Next up were Dorking, now firmly established as our main rivals. We again bossed them but could only get one goal in front. They rallied late on and equalised at the death when their central defender Will Jenkins headed a controversial late leveller moments after he had escaped a red card for an assault on Kevin Cooper. Another significant point in the season!
Then came the period which let us down. A forgettable night at Stansted in the East Anglian Cup seemed unimportant, but heralded a spell when we just could not win. We were lucky to come away from Chertsey with a point, when the referee failed to spot a Glenn Draper hand ball from two yards, couldn’t score in a surreal 100mph game at Wembley and then lost 1-0 in a dire game at Witham.
Sandwiched in between was the Third Round of the Vase. For a
change we got a home tie. With the visitors, Keynsham Town, coming 150 miles
from the Bristol area, it was a struggle to get the game on in the wet weather,
and Kevin Cooper turned his hand to forking the centre circle on the morning of
the game. Having got the game sewn up against
a young but determined Keynsham team, we managed to throw the lead away
twice, both in normal time and in extra time. We were then faced with a midweek
300 mile round trip which no-one wanted.
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To the lads’ credit they were all up for it, including ‘keeper Chris Fitkin, who made the trip knowing he would be on the bench and unlikely to play. At 2-0 up it looked a formality. Again we underestimated Keynsham, gifted them two goals, saw Phil Leggatt and Tony Sweet sent off, and eventually performed dismally in the penalty shoot out. The game didn’t finish until after 10.30pm, with home 150 miles away! This was a sure contender for lowest moment of the season!
Ware came visiting again on Boxing Day and 302 paying guests
saw us get the upper hand this time, but still only manage a draw. Rising star
John Frendo scored late on for Ware to deprive us of two much needed points. So
to Flackwell Heath with half the side suspended or injured. A very patched up
eleven, including a centre forward playing with a “dead-leg”, still managed to
hold a very physical Flackwell side, apart from the one goal, when Jason
Coughlan made a desperate lunge at a shot which Matt Cope had covered to
deflect it past the astonished ‘keeper! Centre half Nicky Turner broke his toe
in the fourth minute of the game to add insult to injury. Substitute Melvin
Thompson had a goal rubbed out for a very iffy offside, and this game represented the low of the league
season. It could only get better from here. The fixture list now threw up a run of six consecutive home
games throughout January and early February. Not much chance of playing many of
these, on our pitch! Play them we did, and won five of the six. The only points
dropped were to the weakest side! Chalfont St Peter somehow contrived to mug us
on a dreadfully wet Tuesday evening, when the game had looked won. Still, we
were back in the hunt again after these games. Because we had arranged our
“third” games earlier than anyone else, we were sitting at the top of the
league. A number of other clubs were capable of overtaking us but you never can
count absolutely on games in hand.
After a fighting win at rejuvenated Joey Beauchamp inspired Abingdon Town, we faced Leighton Town at our place. Leighton had just produced an astonishing spell of 7 consecutive wins without conceding a goal, and completely bossed the game against us. Despite our best efforts we couldn’t avoid a 1-0 defeat which we saw as putting us out of the title race (the Reds went on to complete a run of 10 wins without conceding a goal, with a remarkable 36 goals scored).
Having suffered too many drawn games in the mid part of the season, we resolved not to draw any more! Fine wins at Kingsbury, and home to Abingdon and Edgaware saw spirits raised but we went to emergent Chertsey fearing the worst. That’s what we got as the Curfews got what they considered revenge for the non-awarded penalty in the first game. Camberley Town then came to the Park and inflicted a mortal blow with a 1-0 win. From being everyone’s three pointer, the Krooners had recently been beating all comers, including champions elect Leighton Town. We won our next five league games , the best sequence of the season. Dave McEwen was playing again, but only from the bench. He did so tellingly in the Easter Monday battle at Wodson Park, when he came on late and scored the winner in added time from a free kick. The last home game was against Chertsey Town, on a day when our last hope of second place was if we won and Dorking failed to win at resurgent Wembley. Brian shocked everyone, not least Kevin Cooper and Dave Butler when he dropped them and put in Lee Roberts and Dave McEwen on the grounds that the way to beat Chertsey was with pace. In the event Dave Butler started instead of McEwen but the plan worked as Roberts ran the Curfews ragged and made the winning goal.
So to the last day. Dorking away – all season it had been
hoped by both clubs that this last game would be a joint celebration of promotion . Leighton Town spoiled the party with their exceptional exploits in the
latter part of the season, and we were left to play for pride as Dorking
celebrated alone. Three times we took the lead in a remarkable game. Each time
Dorking hit back in circumstances harsh to the battling Blues (was it really a
penalty which Mr Eager Beaver flagged?), didn’t the same Mr Beaver see the ball
go out for a goal-kick before coming back into play for their second? Still, it
didn’t really matter – except that it cost us the proud record of having
conceded the least goals of any team in the whole four divisions of the Ryman
League. Also it was the only away game of 21 in which we conceded more than a
single goal. All of this became irrelevant in the 80th minute of
this thrilling game, when Joel Maybury broke his leg in two places in a pure
accident. This was a cruel way to end such a fine season, and we all hope that
Joel is back in action next season, as soon as possible.
AWARDS
MANAGER’S PLAYER OF THE SEASON: DANIEL STAPLES
PLAYERS’ PLAYER OF THE SEASON: CURTIS JOHNSON
SUPPORTERS’ PLAYER OF THE SEASON: CURTIS JOHNSON
BOB’S MOM (SEASON): JOEL MAYBURY
GOLDEN BOOT (34 goals): KEVIN COOPER
RESERVE TEAM MANAGER’S P.O.Y.: MARTIN CHAPPELL
UNDER 18s MANAGER’S P.O.Y: MARTIN WOOD