Bank Holiday Monday 28th August 2023
UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE – PREMIER DIVISION
COGENHOE UNITED v EYNESBURY ROVERS
Compton Park,
Brafield Rd,
Cogenhoe.
NN7 1ND
KO 3PM
The Cooks quickly return to action following their F.A Vase exploits in London on Saturday with a rare UCL Bank Holiday fixture as we entertain Eynesbury Rovers at Compton Park. Our guests also tasted Vase success on Saturday after a torrid start to the campaign, but they needed penalties to finally win their first game of the season. Home team Yaxley had taken the lead just before the break, but Rhys Thorpe equalised on 57 minutes as the game ended 1-1. Rovers edged past their UCL PDS rivals 5-4 on penalties to gain some revenge on the 0-2 defeat the Cuckoos had inflicted on them at Hall Park back at the start of the month.
Rovers currently sit bottom of the table with no points from their first five games and a goal-difference of minus fifteen, so they will be looking to take that cup form into the league starting at Compton Park on Monday. Like Bugbrooke a couple of weeks ago, the UCL fixture list hasn’t been kind to them in August and apart from the Yaxley game which they will be disappointed to have lost, they have had to face Newport Pagnell, March and Warwick who are all fancied to be a the top end of the table come next April, while promoted Rugby Borough swept them aside 4-0 on the opening day of the season. After failing to score in any of their first four league games, they travelled to Newport and shocked the Swans by going 2-0 up through Kian Coles and Owen Dixon, but the home side battled back and took the points thanks to Jack Bowen’s 80th minute winner, the second of the game for the former Cogenhoe striker.
Last season’s match here resulted in a 2-1 win for the Cooks with Paddy Cichosz opening the scoring early on with his first ever senior goal and Jessi Obeng doubled that advantage just before the hour with the Cooks looking comfortable. Owen Dunnett reduced the arrears two minutes from time and Luca Purse stupidly got himself sent off as he tried to stop an Eynesbury player from getting the ball out of the net, but his teammates battled on with ten men to ensure we took all three points.
Note for your diaries.
We will now face Winslow United at home in the next round of the F.A Vase on Saturday 23rd September following their impressive 8-0 over Burton Park Wanderers this afternoon. Louie Howarth certainly enjoyed his afternoon scoring half of them, with the evergreen King brothers, Simon and Aaron both on target along with skipper Ryan Freshwater and George Kerr. The score should have been well into double figures such was the dominance of the home side with the bar denying them as well as some wayward shooting. Spare a thought for former Cooks U16s keeper Charlie Talbot who made a few very good saves for the losers with none of the eight being directly down to him.
