Our Monday round-up of all the key points we reckon you need to know about from the weekend’s action.
This week we’re looking across a big bruise and a scalp for Ascot United Ladies, Maidenhead United’s remarkable run of form and attempt to understand why anyone associated with Bracknell Town is tweeting about Passion.
Jonny Denton off the mark for new club Binfield
He’s been a mole for a little over a week, but industrious midfielder Jonny Denton already has his first Binfield goal after scoring the opener in his new sides 1-1 draw with Sutton Common Rovers in the Isthmian League South Central Division One.
Denton – one of Ascot United’s longest-serving players – transferred up a division to Binfield and made his debut in the 1-1 draw with Guernsey.
Thankfully, Binfield regular @moledriver caught the moment on video:
Cup scalp worth the bruises for Ascot United’s Darcey Young
Ascot United Ladies Reserves remarkable season rolled on at the weekend, with a terrific cup scalp of Thames Valley Counties Women’s Football League Division One promotion chasers Long Crendon.
Ascot play two divisions below in Division 3 East and are mounting a title charge of their own – they have already won promotion, but the division gap between the two sides should have had the Buckinghamshire team down as ‘dead certs’ to progress to the League Cup semi-finals.
The Yellawomen’s fearsome forward line had other ideas though with Tia Johnson scoring twice and goal-machine Clodagh Farrell scoring again, and as you can see from Darcey Young’s tweet, victory was hard-fought and meme-able.
Ascot will play either Caversham United Women, Badshot Lea Ladies, Mortimer Ladies, Caversham AFC Women or Tilehurst Panthers in the semi-finals.
S4K Ladies lift the Division 3 title
This one has been on the cards now for a few weeks but S4K Ladies finally sealed the Thames Valley Counties Division 3 South title with 1-1 draw at home to Goring United on Sunday.
The Fawkes lead Goring in the table by 14 points but had played three games more than their title rivals, and five more than third-placed Taplow United who they beat the previous weekend and mean they’ve gone one better than last season when they finished runners-up to Mortimer.
Substitute Grace Belstone got the Fawkes only goal on Sunday while Josie Marden equalised for Goring but the point was enough for S4K to win their first-ever silverware.
Passion – Basingstoke Town vs Bracknell Town
Saw this crop up a few times over the weekend and it looks like various social media posts ahead of the big Basingstoke Town vs Bracknell Town fixture in the Isthmian League at the weekend really stoked the fires within the Robins dressing room.
A tweet from the Basingstoke Town Supporters Club described the fixtures as ‘The Passion vs The Money’ and after Seb Bowerman (I mean, who else really) scored the only goal of the game the Robins fans, and even Chairman were able to fire a few back.
It’s certainly an odd stance to take in this writer’s view. Any team on their way to a league title as Bracknell surely are, will be unpopular with just about everyone else in the rest of the league. It takes guts, hard work and a fair bit of frustrating football to win a league title.
But sure, fire the oppo up with a tweet like that..
And let’s say it out loud, to win a title at Step 4, any title, takes a few quid. But in Bobby Wilkinson, Bracknell have a manager who appears to have used that money wisely and galvanised a side capable of grinding out results, frustrating opposition, taking whatever flack is thrown at them and turning it into three more points.
We’ve no doubt Bobby is already thinking about next season’s assault on step 3.
Slough Town’s Alice Heady scores from a corner
Things you love to see. Goals direct from corners are a wonderful thing and if you listen to the video of Alice Heady’s strike from Slough Town’s friendly with Harefield, the surprise in the voice of the supporter is even better!
Maidenhead United’s remarkable run of form
Last but by no means least, Maidenhead United.
Maidenhead United are 14th in the Vanarama National League. I sincerely doubt even the most optimistic Magpie could have predicted that when on the 4th December, Dev’s men were losing 3-0 at fellow strugglers Barnet and slumping to 21st in the league.
Add a headache-inducing array of forthcoming fixtures that included Bromley, Chesterfield, Halifax Town, Stockport County, Eastleigh, Boreham Wood and the inevitable banana skin that would surely be Kings Lynn.
But Alan Devonshire’s side have torn up the playbook, the form book and every other book, taking points off all-comers including at the time table-toppers Chesterfield and Halifax.
They even went and took apart The Linnets at the weekend with free-scoring Josh Kelly helping himself to two goals in a 4-1 win.
I doubt any Magpies fan will feel safe yet with 16 games to go, but the odds are looking good now for another season of top-tier non-league football in Berkshire in 2022/23 – and they may yet be joined by Hungerford Town who are just two points off the National League South play-offs.
We were also very very pleased to see the Berkshire flag on show in Norfolk..
A full list of all the weekend’s results are here.
