Tuesday 15th August 2023
UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE – PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH
COGENHOE UNITED v BUGBROOKE ST MICHAELS
Compton Park,
Brafield Rd,
Cogenhoe.
NN7 1ND
KO 7-45 pm
The Cooks return home on Tuesday night when they entertain local friends and rivals Bugbrooke St Michaels in the Premier Division South. The Cooks remain unbeaten in the league this season but lost their 100% record when they were held to a goalless draw at Desborough Town on Saturday, while The Badgers have lost all four games they have played so far, but I must point out that they have been given a start that is probably as difficult as it could possibly get in truth.
Starting away to hotly fancied (and still 100% in the league) St Neots Town, they succumbed 3-0 on the opening day, before a home game with another of the favourites in Racing Club Warwick ended in a 0-2 defeat. The F.A Cup gave them a home draw against higher grade Hinckley LRFC where they narrowly lost 3-2 (former Cooks player Shad Reza with one of the goals), whilst their return to league action on Saturday saw them host another of the teams fancied to be in with a shot for the title in Aylestone Park, with the Leicester club running out 5-2 winners at the Sett. Maurice Alhassan and Joel Powell were on the scoresheet for the Badgers, but a hat-trick from former Lutterworth Town man Louie Samuels backed up by a double form ex-Rugby Town player Ryan Seal left the home side still looking to avoid defeat for the first time this season.
Last season’s game between the two sides at Compton Park was just over a year ago and on that occasion the visitors edged a 1-0 win thanks to a goal from Kevin Shehi on 66 minutes, six minutes after the Cooks had been reduced to ten men following Brad Marshall’s second yellow card of the game. Ironically only one Cooks player from that day remains at Compton Park (Alex Parkes), while two of the Bugbrooke players that day in Dalton Leon and Manny Mpambi are now Cooks players. Bailey Weatherly, Ben Dimond and Jamie Hall are also likely to feature against their former club in this game, while former Cooks Dan Porter, Joe Malkin and Matt Bazeley could well join Reza and feature for the visitors
