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It certainly wasn’t easy, but Cogenhoe made it three on the trot as they triumphed 4-1 over bottom club Biggleswade United.

Saturday 25th September 2021

 

UHLSPORT UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE-PREMIER DIVISION

COGENHOE UNITED (3) 4 BIGGLESWADE UNITED (0) 1

Cooks;

Alexander 13

Wakley 14, 42

Wilson 71

Biggleswade;

Ajong 86

 

Att; 42

 

With two successive away wins under their belts, the Cooks returned to Compton Park with a home game against bottom club Biggleswade United. Darren Long was without his captain Jamie Mastropierro today who was out celebrating his birthday, so Rico Alexander took the armband, Paddy Cichosz came in to the midfield with Will Bates moving to right wingback and Jordan Orosz dropping down to the bench. Biggleswade had former Cooks reserve team coach Tom Ash there as part of their coaching team, whilst on the pitch they had former QPR player Stefan Bailey (now a bit larger than his midfield dynamo days) and Braima Fati whose brother Ansu plays for Barcelona!

 

The match didn’t exactly burst into life from the start with little of interest in the opening minutes with the game being scrapped out in midfield. Adams in-swinging corner hit the bar, but a foul was given for a push in the box, then Bates was brought down as he tried to get past his man to give the Cooks a free-kick wide on the right. Adams swung it in towards the near post and Alexander nipped in first to flick the ball past the keeper to give Cogenhoe the lead on 13 minutes. A true striker’s goal from the centre-back. A minute later it was 2-0 as keeper Arun Khan lost Adams’ left wing cross and Tom Wakley fired the loose ball into the net from the edge of the 6-yard box. From not a lot happening, we found ourselves two goals up in the space of sixty-seconds.

Cichosz played the ball in from the right and although it didn’t reach Dylan Wilson how he would have liked it, he still managed to steer it goalwards, but it went over the bar. Fraelias Mienambolo broke into the Cooks box on the right and placed his shot across Craig Foxall, but the keeper saved his goal-bound shot with his feet after making himself big, whilst Archie Culley played a lovely ball right that fell perfectly into Bates’ run down the flank, but his cross was cut out in the middle. Fati lofted a free-kick into the box only for everyone to miss it and Foxall took it comfortably, then the lively Mienambolo robbed Cichosz and broke into the box, but Mortimer defended the situation really well.

Foxall made a very brave save as he dived at the feet of Ivan Otono as he cut inside and went for goal after beating his man just before a Wakley shot was blocked on the edge of the box down the clubhouse end. A great ball from Bailey saw Mienambolo beat his man to get into the box and he teed up Martin Ofoso in the centre who middled his first time shot, but it smacked against the far post on what would have been a great goal had it been an inch further inside.

With 42 minutes played the Cooks made it 3-0 and it must be said against the run of play, but it was still a very good goal. Wilson got past his marker just outside the box on the right and played in an excellent ball that Boateng headed back to Wakley in the centre and he hooked the ball past Khan for his second goal of the game. We had a great opportunity to make it four a couple minutes from the break when Wilson did Gabriel Adewold for pace and the defender tripped him just inside the box. Wilson took it himself and tried to place it low to Khan’s left, but the keeper went the right way to save the penalty, then did even better as Wilson ran in on the rebound and smashed it goalwards but again he couldn’t get it past Khan. Wakley caught his man late on the half-way line to pick up a booking in first-half stoppage time and the whistle soon went and we headed in for the break three goals to the good.

 

HT; COOKS 3 BIGGLESWADE 0

 

One change for the Cooks before the restart as Cichosz made way for Jordan Orosz with the sub going to the right and Bates moving into the central role he had excelled at in recent matches. The visitors made two changes with Ayoola Abe and Lawrence Ajong replacing Lewis Croucher and Ofoso.

Orosz made a good run down the right and cut into the box, but couldn’t get the ball across, then we ended up playing with ten men for ten minutes due mainly to a refereeing error. Biggleswade skipper Adewold went off the pitch injured and when the ball went dead he dragged himself back onto the field. Instead of playing by the rules and making him go back off, he allowed him to have treatment on the pitch instead. Wilson pointed this out and was shown the yellow card and sent into the sin-bin with 51 minutes played. Ok, perhaps Dylan would have been better off keeping quiet, but you can understand his frustrations in this instance.

Fati played in a free-kick from wide right that Foxall caught well above everybody’s heads, then a lovely ball from Wakley sent Orosz away down the right flank, but he didn’t get the ball over and had to settle for a corner. Good battling by Orosz and Boateng saw the latter send in a cross from the left that was cut out, then we saw some great individual work from Wakley who cut in from the left and went past three challenges before hitting a powerful shot that Khan did well to get his hands too. The keeper then dived to his left to make a great save from Bates’ first time shot from 25-yards that had goal written all over it as he latched on to Culley’s clever flick.

Jack Riley was caught in possession as he tried to go past his man on the edge of his own box, but the ball didn’t run favourably for Biggleswade and we managed to get it away, whilst Mortimer made a driving run down the left but there wasn’t a lot of options for him in truth. Boateng won the ball inside the box on the right and laid it out to Orosz and his first time cross was headed over by Wilson, but the striker didn’t have long to wait for his sixth goal in five games as he dispossessed Adewold just outside the box and took the ball wide of the outrushing keeper before slotting home from 16-yards, making it 4-0 with nineteen minutes left to play.

A good cross from Adams was steered back to his keeper by the experienced Bailey, whilst Mortimer did a similar thing down the other end as he headed back to his own keeper to thwart an attack from the visitors despite being under a lot of pressure from an attacking player. Freddie Shaw replaced Boateng on 77 minutes and as Cogenhoe pressed, Khan did well as he came out to the edge of his area to take an awkward bouncing ball away from Wakley. Biggleswade’s final change saw George Harlow replace Ivan Otono for the final eleven minutes of the game.

Culley sent in a free-kick that looked like half shot/half cross that went unchallenged beyond the far post and then the final sub of the afternoon saw youth team player Manny Asante make his first team debut in place of Wakley. Foxall had to remain calm as Harlow sliced a volley high into the air from the edge of the box with the ball dropping down just this side of the bar, but the tall Cooks keeper wasn’t flustered and caught it cleanly as it descended. With 86 minutes played, Biggleswade got a goal back that they fully deserved for their efforts today, but it was a bit of a gimme if I’m honest. Not for the first time we were caught in possession just outside our own box, but this time Ajong robbed his man and took it into the box before coolly placing his shot across Foxall and into the far corner.

The visitors had another opportunity a minute later when Ajong fed Mienambolo deep inside the box just to the right and he sent a very dangerous low ball across the face of the 6-yard box, but nobody managed to get a touch and it carried on rolling out the other side. Culley headed away a Biggleswade corner and the Cooks player was then caught late by Abe who received the games second yellow card. Riley covered well as Abe slotted the ball through the middle of our defence and that proved to be the final attack of the game.

 

Five goals to entertain the crowd and three more points for the home side, but this was certainly no classic. Fair play to Biggleswade who battled and closed down for the whole 90 minutes which didn’t allow us to play the fluent football we have seen in the last couple of victories, although we still managed to net four times and miss a penalty. Tom Wakley gets my man of the match today, scored twice and so nearly had another and worked tirelessly as the link between the midfield and the front two. We were a little sloppy at times today and got caught in possession a few times too, but we should take the win, learn from this and move on to Peterborough Northern Star here next Saturday.

With no midweek game here, we still have plenty of action for you here at Compton Park with the Reserves at home to Bugbrooke on Tuesday and the U18s hosting Biggleswade Town two days later.

 

Cooks; 1. Craig Foxall 2. Will Bates 3. Josh Adams 4. Dan Mortimer 5. Jack Riley 6. Rico Alexander 7. Archie Culley 8. Paddy Cichosz (sub 12. Jordan Orosz HT) 9. Dylan Wilson 10. Chief Boateng (sub 15. Freddie Shaw  77) 11. Tom Wakley (sub 14. Manny Asante 83).

 

Biggleswade; 1. Arun Khan 2. George Joyce 3. Axel Ampadu 4. Zondi Chunga 5. Stefan Bailey 6. Gabriel Adewold © 7. Fraelias Mienambolo 8. Lewis Croucher (sub 15. Ayoola Abe HT) 9. Martin Ofosu (sub 16. Lawrence Ajong HT) 10. Braima Fati 11. Ivan Otono (sub 12. George Harlow 79). Sub not used; 14. Duke Narty.

 

Referee; Mark Shapland

Assts; Stuart Glendinning & Peter Wilson

 

The reserves were well beaten today at Desborough Town in the Les Underwood Junior Cup, crashing out 10-1 at the Waterworks Field. Luca Iaciofano scored the Cooks goal on 38 minutes, but it was scant consolation on a woeful day for our young lads.

 

Cooks; 1. Natham Adamson 2. Ollie Sljivic 3. Gideon Enchill 4. Ivan Moteiro 5. Jake Walpole © (sub 12. Archie Shaw) 6. Nathaniel Allam 7. Michael Mensah 8. Aiden Hawes 9. Ben Mason 10. Luca Iaciofano 11. Andis Vigants. Subs not used; 14. Nathan Jones 15. Matt Fletcher 16. Elijah Noel.

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