Saturday 24th February 2024
UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE – PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH
COGENHOE UNITED v G.N.G OADBY TOWN
Compton Park,
Brafield Rd,
Cogenhoe.
NN7 1ND
KO 2-pm
The Cooks return home after a couple of draws on the road as goals from Earl Atat and Jack Connor had given us a 2-2 result in Yaxley seven days ago, followed by a midweek trip to Leicester Nirvana that ended goalless. Scott Carlin has named a nineteen-man squad for tomorrow’s game including the available again John Meadows, Sonny Knights, Dom Wysocki, Luke Bullement and Cobblers duo Josh Rayfield and Matty Ireland, but he is missing the suspended Ben Dimond alongside the those currently on the injured list.
GNG go into the game in 9th place (a position that we have in the back of our minds come April if we can finish the season well) and are eight points ahead, but we have played three games fewer. Their previous two games have been at home and they will have been disappointed not to have built on an excellent 1-1 draw at Racing Warwick as they have lost both. Our local friends Bugbrooke went their last Saturday and won it through Aiden Webster’s stoppage time goal in a thrilling 2-3 game with Suleiman Nassor getting both of the Poachers goals and this followed on from a 1-3 reverse to high-flyers Aylestone Park in a city derby. They are three without a win with the last success coming at Eynesbury where they returned home 2-1 victors, while the Cooks have gone one game more having lost once and drawn three since the first game of this year where Jack Connor’s late goal earned us a 2-1 win here against Rugby Borough.
We have already played them at the Riverside Ground this season and it was the home side who won this one late on in an exciting climax to the game. Mussa Bham had given GNG the half-time lead (he is another player who loves a goal against the Cooks, but hasn’t featured for them since Christmas), but a rush of blood by keeper Fred Craven saw him race of his area and take out Alex Parkes which saw him red-carded midway through the second period. The Cooks launched wave after wave of attacks before Sonny Knights eventually levelled the scores with 87 minutes gone, but we were caught short at the back two minutes later as Zaakir Bham curled home a shot from well outside the box to win the game.
Last season’s game at Compton Park ended 3-3 with Jessi Obeng giving us an early lead and Will Bates scoring either side of the break, but the visitors, who had equalised at 1-1, scored two more to take a point. Mussa Bham, Nassor Suleiman and Nyle Patel scoring for the Leicester team.
The club will take a look at the pitch in the morning to access the playing surface so please check our Twitter and Facebook pages for any status updates tomorrow. (It is currently chucking it down again where I live in Milton Keynes, but hopefully not in Cogenhoe).
John Meadows returns in goal.
Ben Dimond starts a three match ban for his red card at Yaxley. That will teach him not to protect himself in the future.
