Author: knebfc

Adult teams, Reserve team

Reserves – Saturday 3 April 2021

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Matt Cooper reports…

After a lockdown induced absence from Football, Knebworth travelled to Sarratt in the first of three group stage games of the newly created end of season cup competition.

Lockdown beer bellies and awful haircuts were the order of the day but it was great to get the boys back together and get a game of football back on.

The Reserves had a strong XI out with Stapleton in goal, a back four of Rowe, Cooper, McKechnie and Fleet, midfield of Dunn, Rose and Kitzio, with Phillips and Hatfield supporting Richardson up front.

The game started slowly with both teams exploring each other on a firm and bobbly pitch. It was Knebworth who took advantage first though with Richardson getting on the end of a wonderful through ball and slotting it calmly past the goalkeeper to give the Reserves a deserved 1-0 lead.  It wasn’t long before the lead was doubled in comical fashion, Richardson putting the Sarratt keeper under severe pressure and the keeper’s attempted clearance hit Richardson and ricocheted back into the net.

The rest of the half was rather quiet in terms of chances with the Knebworth back four doing well to repel the numerous long balls over the top coming from Sarratt defence and midfield. The score was 2-0 at half time.

The second half was a slightly different story with Sarratt having much more of the possession and Knebworth having to dig deep and try and catch them on the counter. Chances were missed by early substitutes Hale and Hutchinson to grab that killer third before Sarratt got back into the game on the hour mark with a scrappy goal from inside the box.

Sarratt threw the kitchen sink for the remaining half hour with the back four and Rose and Dunn in midfield doing an excellent job of dealing with the multitude of crosses, long balls and set pieces that were thrown into the box. The hosts did eventually get their reward for their pressure in fortuitous circumstances as a hopeful looped ball back into the box landed at the feet of an attacker who poked past the excellent Stapleton who had made a number of key saves all afternoon.

Both teams saw the rest of the game out and a 2-2 result saw the points shared by both teams. Great to be back and next week the reserves host Hinton at home.

Extrastaff man of the match: Alex Richardson

Youth teams

Youth report – Saturday 12 December 2020

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U8s Lions keep their Pride

The Lions enjoyed a well balanced match against tough opposition, in pretty challenging conditions.

The boys showed good discipline and grit to keep the match close, with excellent passing play throughout. JL made some excellent darting runs down the wings, and TM kept close marking throughout. EH scored a well finished first-touch goal, pouncing on a tight cross from HC. The boys were really pleased with their team performance, and listened well to coaches’ instruction. After spending time trailing the team kept their spirits up and continued to play positively.

ATEC Mechanical and Electrical Services player of the match: ZP for his spirited defensive play

Adult teams, First team, Reserve team, Youth teams

Seniors – Family Ties

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Stuart Biddle writes…

Since reforming in 1999, we’ve had over twenty sets of brothers playing for the Seniors and even a few father/son combos.

Callum McKechnie, who features on the list with his brother Marcus, prompted my interest in which brothers have made the most appearances for the Seniors since 1999…

So we start with the talented Dance family… slightly out of sequence as I’ve now added others!

Dance (15/2)                      Bobby (11/2) and Joe (4)

Father Danny (something of a local football legend) also played for the Club at some time in the late Seventies and/or early Eighties, and, having read the committee minutes from the time, helped build the stand and dug outs at the Old Knebworth Lane ground where Odyssey Health Club is – those structures remain to this day! Brother Riki also made a couple of friendly appearances but we don’t count those.

Kersey (2/1)                       Ashley (1/1) and Paul (1)

Hickin (12/2)                      Konnor (11/2) and Josh (1)

Yates (17/1)                        Andrew (14) and Rob (3/1)

Klimek (17/7)                     Andrew ‘Butch’ (16/7) and Mark (1)

Adamson (23/2)                Jake (22/2) and Alfie (1)

Gutzmore (29/10)            Kadeem (20/9) and Leon (9/1)

Ellis/Klimek (34/16)         Ryan Ellis (18/4) and Kieran Klimek (16/12)

Small (35/4)                        Dorian (21) and Ricardo (14/4)

Webb (43/9)                       Dan (25/1) and Tony (18/8)

Forde (43/15)                     Jono (41/15) and Darren (2)

Stephenson (46/24)        Sam (28/20) and Dan (18/4)

Lucy (50/5)                          Alex (39/5) and Joe (11)

Tear (51/4)                          James (31/2) and Matt (20/2)

Paine (61/10)                     Casey (52/9), Jake (7/1), Josh (2)

Wheeler (65/14)               Charlie (54/10) and Jed (11/4)

Gilbert (72/58)                  Louis (50/48) and Jack (22/10)

Kenna/Thomas (77/29)  Liam Kenna (75/29) and Dean Thomas (2)

Travi-Wombwell (80/7)  Billy (52/3) and Adam (28/4) – not actually brothers but they seemed to be!

Errington (91/2)                 Craig (82/1) and Liam 9/1) – nor are these two!

Miles (97/13)                     Jordan (56/11) and Aaron (41/2)

Fuller (104/28)                   Graham (80/19) and Rob (24/9)

Douglas (111/12)              Tom (67/9) and Ricky (44/3)

Lamacraft (125/41)          Adam (69/35), Sean (33/1), Glen (23/5) – more on this family below…

Evans (125/51)                  Seb (94/31) and Louie (31/20)

Dove (126/25)                    Graham (80/12) and Richard (46/13)

Downham (143/48)         Danny (117/45) and Ben (26/3)

Bennett (163/59)              Luke (144/57) and Tom (19/2)

Clark (164/42)                   Wayne (85/4) and Jamie (79/38) – another unrelated pair included for a laugh

Bysouth (178/26)              Alex (146/24) and Sam (32/2)

Bickell (179/27)                 Darren (165/27) and Dean (14)

Taylor (192/15)                  Max (97/5) and George (95/10)

Pratt (204/69)                    Charlie (164/69), Jake (11), James (Brooke) (29)

Oram (208/26)                   Will (144/9) and Tom (64/17)

Thompson (269/16)         Danny (144/11) and Matt (125/5)

And now to the top three…

McKechnie (287/35)        Marcus (164/26) and Callum (123/9)

The Knebworth born and raised McKechnie brothers edge out founding members the Thompsons.

Matthews (313/59)         Stewart (212) and Martin (101/59)

Second on the list are goalkeeper and striker pair the Matthews brothers, another set of homegrown players.

Mattia (347/67)                 Angelo (239/64) and Rafael (108/3)

And topping the list are the Mattias including Angelo who held the appearance and goalscoring records from early on until surpassed by Lewis Coward (281/21), Danny Griffiths (253/26) and Sam Harte (242/33) for appearances, and Frazer Triggs (208/129), Paul McCormack (126/83), Jason Drackford (115/82), Jamie Drackford (124/74) and Charlie Pratt (164/69) for goals.

We’ve also had nine father/son combinations that I’m aware of, excluding those that only coached/played; most notably Martin Bond and his son Jon (221/6) who reformed the Seniors in 1999 having finished Youth football.

Winn (3)                               Gary (2) and Callum (1)

Gary played for the original Club before it folded so he actually made far more appearances.

Klimek (17/12)                   Kieran (16/12) and Mark (1)

Like others on this list, Mark played for the Ks in his pomp and even managed the side for a time. He was a popular and talented local sportsman who sadly passed away.

Paine (73/10)                     Casey (52/9), Jake (7/1), Josh (2), and Martin (12)

Martin joined as player/coach in early 2010s having played a good standard of non-league football, and is another popular local football figure.

Bass (89/9)                          Dave (70/4) and Jack (19/5)

Dave had three seasons with us and quickly emerged as a leader of the team and captaining the First Team. Jack played one season, his first in adult football.

Bowgett (92/20)               Tom (90/20) and Paul (2)

Father Paul made two appearances for the Ks, having previously captained Wealdstone to the first-ever non-league double of FA Trophy and Conference title in 1985.

Mulcahy (97/16)               Ian (68/16) and Sam (29)

Ian joined to play for the Reserves under childhood friend Tony Lamacraft, and went on to become Reserves manager. The mercurial Mulcahy was a popular member of the Club.

Lawrence (99/4)               Lee (96/4) and Joe (3)

Lee was the first Club captain when the Seniors were reformed in 1999 and guided the young team through its first few seasons.

Lowe (120/30)                   Kevin (109/30) and Oliver (11)

Kevin Lowe played for Knebworth throughout the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties (as far as I know) and is well known local football circles, famous for his drop of the shoulder. In the twilight of his footballing days, Kevin played for the reformed Seniors in the early 2000s; often going on mazy runs which ended with him finding the net.

Lamacraft (156/45)          Adam (69/35), Sean (33/1), Glen (23/5), and Tony (31/4)

Father Tony, who sadly passed away in 2014, played for the Club soon after it reformed and later became Reserves and then First Team manager. He also coached our youth teams for many years and was chairman of the youth football club as it then was for three years.

Pratt (205/69)                    Charlie (164/69), Jake (11), James (Brooke) (29), Jeff (1)

Jeff made one appearance which is just enough to get the Pratt family on to the this list! Charlie’s 164 appearances give the family a comfortable lead which is likely to stand for many years to come.

So that’s the list – for now!

Youth teams

Youth reports – Saturday 5 December 2020

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U11s Jaguars Silvers enjoy new kit!

In what was an evenly matched game, The Silvers returned to match action against Lemsford Youth. Making the return to football even more special, it was our first game in our new kit very kindly sponsored by Commercial Body Fittings Ltd. The game was a nail biter, both teams scoring excellent goals and keeping the watching parents on edge to the very end. The Silver Jags played with an excellent attitude, showed resilience and plenty of self belief.

U11s in their new kit, kindly sponsored by Commercial Body Fittings

FH – excellent in goal, very quick off his line to sweep up dangerous through balls.
MT – brave defending, big heart and rewarded with a well deserved goal.
HJG – Made important tackles and passing from defence was excellent.
LW – Not much got past him, excellent defending and comfortable on the ball.
MKK – Showed good versatility playing well in defence and right midfield. Almost scored.
MA – Typical high energy performance, closing down quickly and looking to attack at every opportunity..
OE – showed most improvement. Influential playing at CDM.
BG – Excellent skill playing right wing, created chances and scored himself.
NZ – Positive play on left wing, was always a danger to the opposition and unfortunate he had to leave the game early with injury. Wishing you a speedy recovery!
OP – Was fantastic in midfield and covered every blade of grass; very influential performance.
MZ – led our attack well. Scored a wonder goal from long range and showed excellent link up play with midfield.

Commercial Body Fittings Ltd player of the match: OE – Was the player that showed most improvement. Enjoyed playing at CDM where he made important tackles, blocking shots and showed improved passing distribution which helped us turn the ball over and start attacks.

U8s Leopards enjoy fantastic return!

Great team co-ordination, ball skills and listening to coach Erika by the U8 Leopards in a close-matched game against Whitwell U8s.

U8s Leopards

A chilly morning at Whitwell Rec did not stop these fiesty young players from taking the lead in the final quarter. Great passing, tackling and defending – some amazing goals too!

A chilly morning at Whitwell Rec did not stop these feisty youngsters from demonstrating some great passing, tackling and defending. The Leopards showed their supporters what a brilliant team of players they are!

ATEC Mechanical and Electrical Services players of the match:
MJ for a fantastic all-round performance
HC for outstanding attacking play

ATEC players of the match: MJ and HC
Adult teams, First team, Reserve team

Seniors – Saturday 5 December 2020

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First Team flounder on return to football

The Firsts paid the price for poor concentration and a lack of desire on Saturday, as Wheathampstead netted twice in each half to take all three points home with them.

In what was an even match despite the scoreline, Knebworth were unable to find a way through and left the defence and goalkeeper Dan Smith exposed too often. Tom Grieveson went closest for the Ks, thumping the outside of the post in the closing stages.

If you missed Saturday’s match programme, download your copy here

Next Saturday, 12 December, the First Team travel to Old Parmiterians in Herts Senior County League Division One; 14:00 kick off at The Thomas Parmiter Sports Centre, High Elms Lane, Garston WD25 0JU.

Reserves out-foxed by Oxhey

Regular correspondent Matt Cooper reports for the Reserves…

After four long weekends away, the Reserves returned to action in Watford, away at Oxhey Jets in a match that pitted the youth of Knebworth against the experience of an older Jets side.

On a pitch that has bared the brunt of the recent bad weather, good football was at a premium in the first 20 minutes as both teams looked to blow out the cobwebs. The first blow was struck by the Jets as a long route one ball straight from the keeper found their striker who lifted it over skipper Pettitt in goal.

For the remainder of the half however, Knebworth found their feet and created a number of good chances that should have resulted in an equaliser. However the Jets held off the barrage and made it to the break holding a 1-0 lead.

The second half started as the first ended, with Knebworth doing all the running and dominating possession, they were finally rewarded when Callum McKechnie reacted first to head home when an absolute rocket of a shot from Dunn which hit the bar from 30 yards.

Goalscorer Callum McKechnie;
9 goals, 123 appearances

Knebworth continued to push and play their football but the experience of the Jets began to show and they caught the Reserves out three times on the break in the final 20 minutes to take all three points. Positive signs from Knebworth but lacking a clinical touch in front of goal will hurt you against teams in this league.

Extrastaff man of the match: Liam George

Next Saturday, 12 December, the Reserves host Hinton Reserves for a Herts Senior County League Division Three fixture; 14:00 kick off at The San Reco, Knebworth, SG3 6AH.