Saturday 5th April 2024
UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE – PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH
AYLESTONE PARK v COGENHOE UNITED
Linwood Playing Field,
Saffron Lane,
Leicester.
LE2 6TG
KO 3-pm
The Cooks head to Leicester for their penultimate game of the season with a tough challenge expected against an Aylestone Park team who still need a few points to ensure a home tie in the play-offs and knowing that two wins from their last two games will give them the runners-up spot behind already crowned champions Wellingborough Town. This will be the Cooks first trip to Aylestone Park’s excellent facility which is still relatively new and seems to be improved every time I go there. My last visit there saw them lose 0-3 to Loughborough Students in the F.A Cup with my first being a 2-5 defeat to Desborough Town in the Vase in what I believe was their first season at the ground. They were in the Leicestershire Senior League back then and they have progressed well through the pyramid and in their first season as a step five side, they have already secured a place in the play-offs with a chance of step four a very real possibility. Last season was a phenomenal one for the club as they swept to the Division One championship, winning the title by six points and scoring an amazing 153 goals along the way.
They have currently scored 97 league goals this season, nine more than the champions with two games left, with four of those coming at Compton Park earlier this year, although the Cooks actually played pretty well that evening despite the 4-1 scoreline. Adam Bessadi gave the visitors the lead just before the break and Sam Preston doubled their lead with a close-range header two minutes after the hour. The Cooks were back in it within 60-seconds as Jack Connor set up Sonny Knights who finished well, but an unfortunate own goal on 77 and a heavy deflection on Dom Watts shot six minutes later made sure that the points travelled back up the M1 to Leicester. It was an eventful night in the village with a power failure in the first half leaving us in the dark for fifteen minutes, all after the game nearly didn’t even start as the referee failed to show without letting anybody know. As well as the three defeats for them in my three visits to their current ground, they also lost both times I visited Dorset Avenue in their Aylestone Park Old Boys days, so maybe my jinx on them will see the Cooks pull off a surprise win tomorrow afternoon.
Home form has been very good for our hosts with just two defeats at Linwood Playing Fields so far, the first an entertaining 3-4 reverse to Yaxley back in September, while far more recently their title hopes were all but ended when they lost 0-3 to Wellingborough. They have won their last two games after a surprise 3-2 defeat at Histon and after a great 2-1 win at play-off rivals St Neots Town, they won 2-0 at home to county rivals Lutterworth Town on Easter Monday with Sam Hollis and Maradoche Mipro on target. Lee Barrett and Matt Langham were their scorers at St Neots.
Sorry, no squad news today.
Jack Kuspert celebrated his first goal in his first start in our 1-0 victory over Newport Pagnell Town on Easter Monday.
Sonny Knights scored the Cooks goal when Aylestone Park beat us earlier this year.
The impressive new stand at the Linwood Playing Field. Their ground is certainly ready for step four. (photo credit to Aylestone Park F.C website). Will it be in the right place to shelter the crowd from the predicted 45 mph winds though?.
