Frost is the winner as frozen conditions bite

HEAVY overnight frost ended any chance that the four Bedfordshire FA Sunday Junior Cup ties involving Bedford Sunday League clubs would be played on Sunday morning.

However the Premier Division boasted three games out of the four that were scheduled.

Atletico Europa took the chance to creep nearer Meltis Mexicans at the top when beating Queensmen 4-0 while Caldecote Young Boys also scored four, but lowly Haynes showed some fight by scoring one in return.

In the other match, London Road Supreme scraped past Constant & Co 3-2 to maintain their presence near the top.

London Road managed to score the first goal, bucking their usual trend of giving their opponents a start, Scott Joseph blasting home thanks to a deflection.

It was a tight game for the rest of the half while the score remaining 1-0 until the second period when Joseph scored again.

Michael Blackham then conceded an own goal but this didn’t spur Constant on very much and Michael Luke scored to make it 3-1 to Supreme before Constant added their second from the penalty spot. And they might have pinched a point had they scored a second penalty which was turned against the crossbar and away by Supreme’s Luke Pell.

London Road are still near the top but have played more games than Meltis and Atletico, the clever money being on either of those two for the divisional title at the end of the season.

Newtown Rangers beat Stewartby 4-2 in the only game in Division One.

Division Two also had just one game, but it was the highest scoring in the league when Eagle Heating trounced Caldecote Reserves 8-3.

M&DH Clapham moved back to the top of Division Three with a 5-1 win over Old Boys. The Old Boys opened the scoring but within ten minutes ‘Smudger’ had equalised for Clapham.

Clapham showed their good form and got on top with their pressure rewarded with a 25 yard shot from a Didlick free kick. Smudger then produced a 30 yard dipper over the Boys’ keeper to make it 3-1 at half-time.

The second half was dominated by Clapham and their fourth goal came courtesy of Danny Howett who scored from a rebound. It was Rowen who bagged number five with a coolly taken strike. Clapham remain undefeated and favourites to take the divisional title.

Division Four also has new leaders after Rose Biggleswade beat Bellini’s 3-1 at Stratton Way.

In the two other matches played, both ended up as 3-2 results; Santaniello’s beating BMC and Shillington Pirates edging past Goldington Rangers.

There were only two games surviving in Division Five.

Oakley Wanderers beat bottom club AFC Kempston Town & BC 4-1 while Sir William Peel Sandy won the Sandy derby 3-0 against the Titans.

Oakley were a goal up within five minutes as Mike Kalyan unleashed a left-footed screamer from 25 yards out. Jay Mead popped number two into the top corner of the Kempston net while it became 3-0 when Dan Cotton finished off a neat move.

In the second half, David Johns slammed home Oakley’s fourth only for Kempston to strike back with a consolation for 4-1.

Sir William Peel and Sandy Titans began their game tentatively, probably aware that the town’s bragging rights were the ultimate prize.

Once they got over all the misplaced passing and mistakes, the Peelers settle first and showed a bit more endeavour than the Titans.

Former Peeler, goalkeeper Mark Pallister, produced an excellent save to thwart his former teammate Dan Jones whose rasping free kick took a deflection off a Titan defender.A nd while the ball diverte, the keeper managed to poke it over his crossbar.

Robert Tant, the Peeler’s keeper, also had to earn his corn, again from a free kick which was well saved and held which meant at half time it remained goalless.

The deadlock was broken when Tom Smith drove the ball into the Titan’s net at the near post early in the new half while the second came from a Dan Jones corner which found the head of Dean Hamilton at the far post, the ball being duly despatched into the Titan’s net.

And it was leading scorer Conor Green made it 3-0 when he drove the ball in past the hapless Pallister.

The three games in the Under 21 Division were all played with leaders Hitchin Town scraping past a plucky Watling Youth side by scoring the only goal of the game.

Second placed Shefford Saints were surprisingly beaten by Leighton Corinthian Seniors 4-3 while Brickhill Wanderers ‘A’ thrashed Luton Central 8-1 in Luton to pick up two useful points.

Jamie Felts scored four of the goals with Jordan Jarrold bagging a hat-trick.

This weekend there are the four rescheduled County Cup ties to be played following the postponements along with the quarter-finals of the Michael R Peters Sunday League’s own Under-21s competition. There are also a number of league fixtures (see page 95). Clive Milton