Saturday 22nd April 2023
UHLSPORT UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE – PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH
COGENHOE UNITED v ROTHWELL CORINTHIANS
Compton Park,
Brafield Rd,
Cogenhoe,
NN7 1ND
KO 3pm
It is the final game of the season for the Cooks first team tomorrow as they entertain Rothwell Corinthians at Compton Park. It has been a tough season for our guests and whatever the result from this game, they will finish the season in the second relegation place with just Long Buckby below them. They have won just four times this season with two of them coming against Buckby and the 3-0 victory at Station Road was way back in early September, which means they have now gone 14 games without a victory on their travels. Recent form hasn’t been too bad for Jordan Henson’s team though with two draws and a win in their last five games and those two losses came against teams from the top four. 0-3 at Newport Pagnell and 1-2 at home to Rugby. Sandwiched between them came two decent points picked up against Desborough away (2-2) and Bugbrooke at home (1-1), with the 1-0 win at home to Long Buckby preceding them.
The Cooks of course will be looking to end the season on a high even if a win could only potentially lift us up one place to 11th, and that would depend on Easington losing at Bugbrooke. A defeat though could see us finish in 13th spot, but also has the scenario of G.N.G having to win their game at Long Buckby, but that game isn’t being played until next Tuesday evening. The lads may well be feeling a little down after the cup final defeat on Tuesday night as nobody enjoys a 0-6 loss, but if you look at the true perspective and the way Peterborough Sports finished the game, there really is no need for any heads to be down. Last Saturday, with the cup final in his mind, Biff changed his team around quite a lot and as a result we were edge out 0-1 at home by M.K Irish which ended a nice little three-match unbeaten run, so as a club it would be great to end things with a win.
We have already met Corinths twice this season and have won both games. The first came at Sargeants Lawn in the league where we collected out first win of Scott Carlin’s reign with a 2-0 success. Jessi Obeng gets credit for the first goal, although on reflection it may well have come off the head of Rowell defender Conor Bird, but there was no doubt about the second when some great play by Obeng saw him set up his strike partner Pharrell Anderson who finished well. Ironically we met again just seven days later, this time in the F.A Vase at Compton Park, with the Cooks running out 3-2 winners. If anything the scoreline should probably have been a bigger one in favour of the Cooks and there was more than a hint of controversy about Jurrelle Phillip’s injury time goal that pulled it back to 3-2. Conor Bird, clearly aggrieved about not being credited with an own goal the previous week, made sure he took the plaudits this time as he beat his own keeper in the second half, while Anderson again and substitute Josh Jones first goal for the first team had took the Cooks tally up to three, while Marcel Rzeszutek had netted Corinthians first of the afternoon.
The game at Compton Park last season resulted in a 2-1 for the home team. Tom Wakley opened the scoring for the Cooks, but the visitors drew level through an own goal. Archie Elmore popped up with the winning goal in the latter stages of the game to ensure the Cooks took all three points.
While Rowell still have a few players from that day in their squad still, only Paddy Cichosz remains at Compton Park. Just as a little side on that, this is the Cooks players involved that day and where they are right now. Craig Foxall (Potton United), Will Bates (Wellingborough Town), Alex Vaughan (Melton Town), Dan Mortimer (Sileby Rangers), Rico Alexander (Wellingborough Town), Jack Norman (Corby Town-on loan at Wellingborough Town), Ryan Archer (on the books of Wellingborough Town but appears to have retired from the game now), Chief Boateng (Daventry Town but on dual registration with Desborough Town), Tom Wakley (St Ives Town Reserves), Archie Elmore (Desborough Town), Archie Culley (Real Bedford where he has just won the Spartan South Midlands League Division One title and the Beds F.A Trophy), Luca Iaciofano (Moulton) and Jack Riley who I have no knowledge of where he went or if he is still playing at all.
UHLSPORT UNITED COUTIES LEAGUE – RESERVE DIVISION
WELLINGBOROUGH TOWN RESERVES v COGENHOE UNITED RESERVES
Dog & Duck Ground,
London Road,
Wellingborough,
NN8 2DP
KO 3pm
Ian Adcock takes his team just down the road to Wellingborough to face our local rivals The Doughboys on Saturday afternoon. They will be on a high after the excellent 1-0 win away at Desborough Town on Wednesday night while our hosts are not in such good mettle having lost their previous two games and conceded four goals each time. Last time out they were beaten 1-4 at Kempston Rovers with former Cooks u18 and reserve striker Ben Mason getting the consolation goal, while Mason has also been amongst the goals the previous game, but they went down 2-4 at home to Godmanchester Rovers that day with Charlie Griffith getting the Doughboys other goal. Mason is joint leading scorer at the Dog & Duck with eight goals to his name, the same total that Charlie Warren is on.
Luke Andrews was the match winner at the Waterworks Field on Wednesday night as the Cooks made it three wins from their last five games and with still four to go, they will be looking to hit their pre-season target of a top half finish. The game at Compton Park early in the season saw Doughboys manager Jake Stone get some game action into a number of his first team squad with an F.A Vase game coming up on the Saturday and despite that, the Cooks put in a very good performance despite losing 0-1. Former Cooks player Dan Porter coming off the bench to net a late winner for our rivals.
